With the Browns and Steelers facing off this Sunday, it seems like a good time to ponder the relationship between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. @chrisbriem.bsky.social, author of our upcoming book “Beyond Steel,” argues it’s worth approaching the cities not as rivals but as Rust Belt partners.

Baker & Taylor now shutting down by January, following the ReaderLink acquisition falling through www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

Great post! "In general, I do not edit reviewers’ reports before I send them to authors." I mostly completely agree, but in extreme cases I may delete sentences or change reviewers' language, especially if it feels targeted or truly offensive. Reviews should be constructive--never just an attack

Worth repeating, and appreciating every day: "More than 100 of North America’s top universities clearly believe that an energetic, outward-facing publishing program is a tremendous asset to, indeed a responsibility of, any university."

It was so lovely to chat with @llassabe.bsky.social! University presses are creative, resilient, mission-driven, and just one of my favorite things to talk about.

Absolutely terrible, terrible news. Trinity University has announced that Trinity University Press will close at the end of the fiscal year--described by one author as a "South Texas outlet for stories and culture" for which there is no replacement frankly. Awful. www.tpr.org/arts-culture...

KSUP author Jim Hollock on writing: “I think the difficulty is sticking to it. .... But it’s one of the better things I’ve ever done, because I knew, even if no one else does, I know the effort that went into it, and it is very satisfying when you can be finished with something.”

How do I find the right university press to publish my book? https://bit.ly/468Rupu @univpressofkansas.bsky.social answers this important question, one of more than 110 FAQs that host presses have answered on our Ask UP site. Curious about how university press publishing works? #AskUP!

My new post on Literary Cleveland’s Inkubator Festival, which starts today, and the activist conference READ Barcelona, organized by @versolibros.com —> open.substack.com/pub/derekkri...

In a new feature for the blog, we’re highlighting backlist titles that continue to resonate with issues in the region, nation, and world. First up: the series Voices of Diversity, which—in a mission that remains central to KSUP's work—helped celebrate the Cleveland area’s rich ethnic heritage.

The lineup for the Buckeye Book Fair has been released, and we’re thrilled that KSUP authors Deborah Fleming (author of “Ghosts of an Old Forest”) and Charles Malone (coeditor of “Light Enters the Grove”) will be there. Join the bookish fun on November 1 in Wooster!

What can Cleveland and Pittsburgh learn from each other? What would the two cities gain by teaming up as Cleveburgh? In a new podcast, @chrisbriem.bsky.social—author of our forthcoming book “Beyond Steel”—considers the relationship between two iconic Rust Belt cities: megaphone.link/CC6470937745

Behind the White House Curtain featured in the Kent State University Press Fall/Winter 2025 catalog.

Our fall catalog is here! Join us to: 📕anticipate new books (including titles by @chrisbriem.bsky.social and @terryallenbelew.bsky.social); 📕look back on 60 years of KSUP history; and 📕celebrate recent successes by @newsguy.bsky.social and others. www.kentstateuniversitypress.com/wp-content/u...

At Cleveland Magazine, @nickoloffoff.bsky.social has a new list of “81 Essential Cleveland Novels”—including one from KSUP! “The Coming of Fabrizze,” by Raymond DeCapite, was originally published in 1960 and tells the story of an Italian immigrant in the 1920s: clevelandmagazine.com/entertainmen...

New on Academe Blog: academeblog.org/2025/07/15/u...

I just backed this! It's a brilliant new project highlighting voices and stories of Southern Appalachia with wide-ranging art styles from acclaimed comics creators.

Pleased to share a new Q&A with @terryallenbelew.bsky.social, author of “The Deep Blue of Neptune”—selected as winner of the Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize.

Also: Most readers skip them. Even if you think you’re giving voice to your subjects, readers are less likely to take away meaning from an unparsed block quote than from interpretive text. It’s your job, as (nonfiction) author, to explain the interpretation to the reader.

Congrats to @mychal3ts.bsky.social for making the inaugural #TIME100Creators list! Influence comes in many forms, but Mychal’s is the kind that lifts people up. He’s a force for good in the world, spreading kindness, curiosity, and library joy. 📚💙 time.com/collections/...

My campus walk today took me to the parking lot at Kent State where students were gunned down on May 4, 1970. Always a visceral reminder of how threatened some feel by the expression of constitutional rights—and how critical it is that we honor these students’ legacies.

Happy pub day to Martin Bush, whose book “Deadbeats, Dead Balls, and the 1914 Boston Braves” is now available! www.kentstateuniversitypress.com/2024/deadbea...

Great conversation with two baseball historians whose combined age is 186!!

Happy #TermTuesday! Today we're talking about page proofs, which is where a book really starts to take shape. For more information on what changes can be made at this stage, check out this article from @aupresses.bsky.social! (ask.up.hcommons.org/changes-made...)

And we're back! My latest in the Chronicle is now live: "How to Promote Your Scholarly Book," ft Libra-coded advice such as "use social media" & "or don't use social media." No doubt other publishers will have lots of tidbits to add. Pls share/reach out for a PDF. www.chronicle.com/article/how-...

I love every single one of these books. (Also, see those little Christmas cactus leaves in the upper left corner of three of the pics? Pretty proud of myself for remembering to water that plant week after week. It is *thriving,* friends.)

every week, we get folks in the bookstore—active and savvy readers—who are surprised and dismayed to learn that Amazon owns Goodreads and AbeBooks and who have never heard of the alternatives

In a poetic coincidence today, I now have a book cover. Not available yet, but you can pre-order, and I promised my editor everyone following here will want to preorder! But if you have landed here because of the Nippon Steel/US Steel news, you will want to read this:

Find & follow your favorite university presses on this platform with this handy starter pack of our members: go.bsky.app/7p95p7B And if you're looking for university presses that publish in a certain field, consult our Subject Area Grid: https://bit.ly/3C7ASUc. #ReadUP

"i asked grok" "i asked chagpt" yeah well I asked a rare books librarian and they found things I didn’t even know I was looking for, while answering questions about provenance

the story today is of a profoundly low energy military parade being met with millions of americans in nationwide protests denouncing the dictatorial pretensions of the president

Dr. Carla Hayden may have been fired, but she’s not backing down. In her first local interview since being removed as Librarian of Congress, Hayden reflects on her career, community, and the growing threats facing libraries. bit.ly/45soIBH

Key excerpt from Judge Breyer's ruling in Newsom v Trump: "..the Court must determine whether the President followed the congressionally mandated procedure for his actions. He did not. His actions were illegal—both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment."

So many great points here, especially this one: Trust that you’ve done the work. As I tell authors making final revisions, your manuscript wouldn't have made it through internal evaluation, peer review, and the Editorial Board if it weren't strong already.

Really important story - army officials asked soldiers to identify themselves if they don't agree with Trump's politics that way he'd get only supportive soldiers in uniform during his political rally on base. Heavier soldiers were also barred from participating.

Please for the love of everything do not do this (makes me wonder if we should add this into our peer reviewer agreement though....)

ChatGPT is down but The Museum of English Rural Life still stands, proving once again that Silicon Valley cannot compete with the history of rural England and its people.

Thrilled to see the Boston Globe recommend “Deadbeats, Dead Balls, and the 1914 Boston Braves” as a Father’s Day gift. Congrats to author Martin Bush! If you have access to the Globe, you can read the full piece here: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/07/s...

Happy pub day to Mary Noé, whose book “The Man Who Shot J.P. Morgan” is now available! Don’t miss launch events this month with @untappedny.bsky.social and the North Shore Historical Museum. www.kentstateuniversitypress.com/2024/the-man...

During the current extraordinary surge of book-banning efforts, committed advocacy by library ­workers & their allies is stemming the tide of censorship attempts in both school & public libraries, with more & more states enacting anti-book-ban laws. americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2025/06/02/b...

With the news from Los Angeles that David Huerta was charged with conspiracy and that the President and his Administration have authorized the National Guard to quell "riots" and "insurrection," I thought I might offer a historical parallel in case it's instructive.

More good news for “Light Enters the Grove.” It’s been selected to represent Ohio on this year’s “Great Reads from Great Places” list from the Library of Congress’s Center for the Book and the Ohio Center for the Book! See the announcement: ohiocenterforthebook.org/2025/06/05/g...

Jen Mapes here again, with another town from my new book The New American Small Town. Today: Kent, Ohio

It was such a pleasure chatting with Rose Bialer on behalf of @ksupress.bsky.social about the vibrant Rust Belt poetry scene. Between amazing poets and publishers with longstanding poetry lists, it's an incredible community to be a part of ❤️

Pro tip 👇

A thoughtful silver chonk from my collection. No documented date/info.

Happy pub day, @docsthilaire.bsky.social! 🤩 We couldn't ask for a better book to officially kick off the new-to-KSUP Medieval & Renaissance Literary Studies series either!

It's going to be SO GOOD, friends. We're so excited! #readUP