Pittsburgh is more than just a home for author Kathleen George: the city and its people are a source of inspiration. A native of Johnstown, George has lived in the city for many years, teaches theatre arts and creative writing at the University of Pittsburgh, and has written several novels and short stories based in the Pittsburgh region, including The Johnstown Girls. Her latest, The Blues Walked In, is a period fiction novel set against the backdrop of Pittsburgh’s once-bustling Hill District. It’s 1936, and a nineteen year-old Lena Horne is walking to her father’s hotel in the Hill after a long tour with Nobel Sissel’s orchestra. Along the…

On September 19th, the University of Pittsburgh Press and author Patricia M. DeMarco celebrated the publication of her book Pathways to Our Sustainable Future: A Global Perspective from Pittsburgh. An enthusiastic crowd of about 100 filled the Tropical Forest area of Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Oakland. Attendees included Max King, President and CEO of The Pittsburgh Foundation and his wife Peggy, David Feingold, President of Chatham University, Bernard Goldstein, former Dean of the Pitt Graduate School of Public Health and Member of the National Academy of Sciences and his wife Rossalyn, Terry Collins, Theresa Heinz Professor of Green…

This Father’s Day let dad brush up on his Pittsburgh sports history with The Slide: Leyland, Bonds, and the Star-Crossed Pittsburgh Pirates by father-son writing duo Richard and Stephen Peterson and Chuck Noll: His Life’s Work by Michael MacCambridge. The Petersons trace Pirates baseball history from the 1970s to today, including the twenty-year bump along the road. MacCambridge gives life to the man who brought the Pittsburgh Steelers to the forefront of the National Football League, but removed himself from the spotlight. This is the first comprehensive biography of Chuck Noll.  With both books, you get a newfound understanding of the…

In a comprehensive guide, Butterflies of Pennsylvania: a field guide by James L. Monroe and David M. Wright, the butterflies that traverse the state are described in stunning detail, with over 900 color photos to complement them.  Here is a selection of ten out of the one hundred and eighty-six species that make up Pennsylvania’s unique butterfly population. Zebra Swallowtail So aptly named for the mammal that it resembles, male Zebra Swallowtails puddle, or rest in sandy or gravely areas to absorb salts and amino acids, which aid in their reproduction. Diana Fritillary The Diana Fritillary is incredibly rare, and…

Event dates and times:  Wednesday, Oct. 26, 4-6 p.m. University of Dayton Bookstore Marianist Hall 300 College Park Dayton, OH  45469 Free and Open to the Public – Friday October 28, 6 p.m. Barnes & Noble-South Hills 301 South Hills Village Pittsburgh, PA 15241 Free and Open to the Public – Saturday October 29, 2 p.m. Penguin Bookshop 417 Beaver St. Sewickley, PA 15143 Free and Open to the Public – BOOK LAUNCH The Life and Legacy of Chuck Noll with Pittsburgh Steelers Greats Joe Greene, Rocky Bleier, and Tunch Ilkin  Sunday October 30, 1 p.m. Heinz History Center 1212…