Blanket Fort Radio Theater — (SIU Press / SIU Press)

Journey back Inside The Blanket Fort as we near the end of the year, we’ll be starting a recap of the incredible group of books that SIU Press has published in 2025.

Southern Illinois Fishing: A Comprehensive Guide for Anglers by Colby Simms shares the secrets the author has gleaned from years of hard-won experience: colossal catfish dominate the Mississippi River; monstrous muskies rule over Kinkaid Lake. Rend gives up record crappie and bowfin, while Crab Orchard produces excellent largemouth bass fishing and Cedar offers huge striped bass. Whether you’re powerboating a large lake or paddling an out-of-the-way oxbow, the region presents countless opportunities for different styles of fishing.

Abraham Lincoln belongs to everybody. The women he interacted with helped forge the outstanding moral character of America's greatest president. The unique biography Loving Lincoln: A Personal History of the Women Who Shaped Lincoln’s Life and Legacy, by Stacy Lynn, features thirty historical and personal essays, and within them, the stories of more than ninety women, each with their own mini biographies in an appendix. Among them are Lincoln’s friends, clients, and extended family, as well as writers, artists, and—blurring the lines between history and memoir—author Stacy Lynn herself.

These books and more, this week on Inside The Blanket Fort.