Changing of the Guard at Tampa Press

Summer has brought a changing of the guard at the University of Tampa Press, and it has been a time for words of fond farewell and hearty welcome.

Antonio Fasciano completed his MFA at Queens University of Charlotte this summer and has left his part-time position at the University of Tampa Press for full-time work. During his time here, Tony launched the UT Press monthly digital newsletter, led the complete revision of our online catalog, and helped to establish Tampa Review Online.  Along the way he found time to help out with some good, old-fashioned letterpress printing in the Book Arts Studio.

Tony is the creator and founding editor of Digital Americana Magazine, the first literary magazine made for the iPad, which was recently nominated for Digital Magazine Launch of the Year and Specialist Magazine of the Year.  His own writing has been published by various outlets—his favorite being included in Book: The Sequel by Perseus Books Group.  He will be missed.

Taking charge of the newsletter, other UTP digital domains, and occasional letterpress responsibilities is Joshua Steward,  a freelance illustrator and designer with a studio in St. Petersburg, Florida.  Josh is a graduate of the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, and previously served as an apprentice in letterpress printing at Yee-Haw Industries of Knoxville, Tennessee. 

In March of this year he began assisting in the Tampa Book Arts Studio, educating students about printing during class visits, proofing blocks, and most recently collaborating on the design of a broadside created for a special event at the TBAS with visiting author Denis Johnson. His experience with letterpress printing and his skills with graphic design and typography as well as digital media bring unique talents to the press. We’re looking forward to working with him!

Tampa Bay History Reviews Going, Going . . . Almost Gone

The latest issue of Tampa Bay History includes a good review of Going, Going . . . Almost Gone: Life in Early Lutz and Central Pasco County by Elizabeth and Susan MacManus.  “If the authors’ purpose is to save and savor a past—unabashedly nostalgic—of a rural Florida lifestyle that has nearly vanished, they succeeded admirably, ” writes historian James M. Denham of Florida Southern College. “The authors vividly depict how settlements that coalesced around villages with names like Nowatney, Drexel, Ehren, Godwin, Greenfield, Tucker, Disston, and Denham (much to the chagrin of this reviewer) slowly disappeared. Taking their place on the map were ‘Land O’ Lakes’ and ‘Lutz’ just to the south.”

Professor Denham’s review points out that “the agrarian-to-suburban shift depicted here was also occurring in other regions of Florida” making this study in some senses representative or archetypal of change in the state.  He concludes with appreciation for the hundreds of photographs, documents, and stories gathered in the milestone 700-page work: “Fortunately Elizabeth and Susan MacManus saw fit to capture the images of time and place before they were lost from memory.  With pictures and easy-to-read captions on nearly every page, Going, Going . . . Almost Gone is a delight to sample at random or to read from beginning to end.”

Copies of the book are available through our online catalog at this link.  Their earlier book about this area, Citrus, Sawmills, Critters, and Crackers: Life in Early Lutz and Central Pasco County, also remains in print and can be ordered online by clicking here.