Appalachian Consortium Press Publications
The Appalachian Consortium Press was founded in 1973, making it the first publisher devoted to Appalachia. The Press published scholarly books and reference materials, including the first contemporary and comprehensive bibliography of the region (Bibliography of Southern Appalachia), oral histories, environmental studies, and poetry. As the “Father of Appalachian Studies” Cratis Dearl Williams wrote: Our Press is the most important resource we have for fueling the enthusiasm of our people for their cultural and historical traditions and for encouraging the participation of our many colleges and universities in Appalachia in curricular developments and research that will in time enable people of our region to assume leadership roles that have in the past been filled by well-meaning outsiders insensitive to the values of our subculture.
The Appalachian Consortium was a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of Southern Appalachia. From its incorporation in 1971 to its dissolution in 2004, the Appalachian Consortium’s goal was to “promote regional cooperation within Southern Appalachia; to assist in solving current problems, to improve the quality of present and future life in the area and raise the pride of the Appalachian people in their traditions and the region in which they live.” Among the Appalachian Consortium’s important and pioneering publications were the proceedings of the early Appalachian Studies Conferences, the proceedings of the Linear Parks Conferences, and the proceedings of the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Golden Anniversary Conference. The proceedings of the annual Appalachian Studies Conference (ASC) warrant particular attention for bringing together scholarly research about the region that would otherwise have been dispersed in various disciplinary journals. The ASC proceedings presented studies on labor and the economy, urban migration, local and regional history, literature, folk culture, religion, and the environment.
The Appalachian Consortium Press published multidisciplinary scholarly works in history, literature, photography, music, sociology, folklore, and environmental studies that together provided a holistic view of the region. The Press dissolved in 2004, and thereafter, the works that it published were no longer marketed and sold. We have the complete collection of Consortium publications and may be the only organization that can make these publications openly available.
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