Shortest flight of all time and I’m in Pittsburgh for my very first Winter Institute! Looking forward to meeting @gauthamrao.bsky.social and @johngmarks.com IRL and seeing my fave sales reps and meeting many new booksellers and publishers! #Wi2026

"I'll never not believe in books." Tattoo it on your heart.

"To me Vietnam is like the Civil War; this is part of our culture now, and it's something we're going to go back to and back to and back to. We'll *never* get away from it." Preorders are now being taken for my 20th book, a biography about journalist Wallace Terry. www.unmpress.com/978082637015...

My first podcast appearance 🥹 Thank you to @katecarp.bsky.social for having me on to demystify book publicity! I had so much fun yapping about it all and I’m glad we ended on the hill I will die on: books will ALWAYS matter. Culture doesn’t move without ideas and ideas still start on the page.

The latest episode of Unsung History with guest @johngmarks.com is out one day early. Today, on George Washington's 294th birthday, we discuss both Washington's complicated legacy as active slaveholder who emancipated those he enslaved in his will & the American fight over that legacy ever since.

Some good news for historical truth-telling: www.nytimes.com/live/2026/02...

The rise of rhythm and blues and funk in Minneapolis grew out of the apartheid system put in place in the first half of the twentieth century. Excerpt from @drrashadshabazz.bsky.social's PRINCE'S MINNEAPOLIS on @literaryhub.bsky.social: lithub.com/the-origin-o...

Tomorrow evening, I'll be hosting John Garrison Marks, author of 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘉𝘦 𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘦: 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯'𝘴 𝘓𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺, on my YouTube channel. The event kicks off at 7:00 pm ET, and we would love to see you in the live chat. www.youtube.com/live/YUgthVz...

Looking for Presidents day reads? We've curated a selection perfect for Presidents Day AND Black History Month 👇 uncpressblog.com/2026/02/16/r...

My book mentions a lot of other Presidents—Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, Johnson, Grant, Roosevelt, Harding, Obama—but these were the most notable highlights. If this is interesting to you, I hope you’ll buy my book! It comes out April 7. bookshop.org/p/books/thy-...

For Presidents’ Day, I thought I’d put together a thread of *other* Presidents talking about George Washington and slavery. Away we go! 🧵/1

I talked to BookToker, reader, and writer Josh Johnson (@joshreadsbooks.bsky.social) about my book and about how we remember George Washington's involvement in slavery. Happy Presidents' Day. www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjcI...

Q&A with @drshabazzz.bsky.social for the @startribune.com about Prince’s Minneapolis and how music, place, and city history shaped a sound that still defines Minneapolis today. www.startribune.com/princes-minn...

I wrote a book about how Americans have remembered, forgotten, and fought over George Washington and slavery for the past 250 years. It comes out on April 7—but you can win an advance copy and read it before anyone else by entering this giveaway on Goodreads! Please share.

President Donald Trump's tariffs cost the average American household $1,000 last year, according to new research from the nonpartisan Tax Foundation. abcnews.go.com/Business/tru...

Read our full story that details how we got inside the Dilley detention center for immigrant families here: www.propublica.org/article/life...

Please take the time to read what the children detained in Dilley wrote me in their own words: www.propublica.org/article/ice-... 10/

Inbox: The New Yorker is hiring Washington Post book critic Becca Rothfeld.

@publisherswkly.bsky.social on @drshabazz.bsky.social’s PRINCE’S MINNEAPOLIS (@uncpress.bsky.social) as a book that celebrates Black history: “Shabazz analyzes Prince’s life, career, and discography, showing how it was intrinsically shaped by Minneapolis, and shaped Minneapolis in turn.”

We're both excited and sad that one of the last book reviews in the Washington Post is this terrific one of our new book "P FKN R" by Vanessa Díaz and Petra Rivera-Rideau: www.washingtonpost.com/books/2026/0...

A marathon, not a sprint

I'm quoted (and my book is mentioned!) in this excellent piece by Jennifer Schuessler about the President's House site in Philadelphia and our broader fight over George Washington and slavery. My first time ever having my name in the NYT, pretty excited about it. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/a...

As book coverage takes another devastating hit, I’m reminded how lucky we are to have Sarah and @indyweek.bsky.social championing stories that matter. Grateful for Sarah's care and vision and speed with this excerpt! Hope everyone clicks and reads and shares.

Important piece from @uncpress.bsky.social author Robert Bland on how today’s voting-rights battles echo the unresolved conflicts of Reconstruction

Being Palestinian is not an identity crisis. From Rana Barakat's Ongoing Return: Mapping Memory and Storytelling in Palestine.

This was going to be me if the kids school called and said they're home again tomorrow

Media coverage of Gaza has plummeted. So today on @thenation.com, we're doing something pretty special: we're only running pieces by people in and from Gaza. We're calling it "A Day for Gaza." You can find links to all of the incredible pieces here. Please read! www.thenation.com/article/worl...

Books for Understanding ICE in Minnesota from @uminnpress.bsky.social. Been thinking about our publishing friends in the Twin Cities, proud to be in community with presses doing this kind of work and sending lots of support www.upress.umn.edu/books-for-un...

I'm deep in Rachel’s forthcoming (and excellent) book and every breaking news story about the Supreme Court feels different once you know this history. The Court we treat as timelessly secretive is anything but 👇🧵

Perfect timing. Taking a break from writing to check out what looks to be a fascinating new book by @gauthamrao.bsky.social. Thanks to @uncpress.bsky.social for the advance reader copy. 🗃️

The National Park Service is Celebrating Black History Month #NationalParks open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...

New book from @gauthamrao.bsky.social! Looking forward to digging into this one.

There are so many great publishers in Minneapolis—one thing the rest of us can do is support their books. Here are a few recent novels from Coffee House, Graywolf, and Milkweed sure to give the goons from ICE a stroke: www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-fea...

BREAKING: The Senate just blocked a bill that would have renewed ICE's budget without real, enforceable changes. This is a direct result of hundreds of thousands of people across the nation demanding that our Senators vote no.

Are you a creative and intellectually curious editor ready to grow lists in environmental history, history of medicine, urban history, and labor history? We’re hiring an Acquisitions Editor to help shape our history lists 🙌 Interested? You can learn more here👇 
uncpress.org/now-hiring-a...

What a review!!

Abolish DHS. If you can imagine a world before Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, you can imagine a world without the Department of Homeland Security. My latest at @startribune.com. (gift link)

Ice, you could have put a trigger warning for publicists first 😩

if you're wondering why democrats make such a shitty opposition party, may I suggest looking into how they run local politics: www.pennpress.org/978151282349...

Why Parents and Students Should Care About Academic Freedom ncnewsline.com/2026/01/26/w...

Historians! We’ve gotta stay motivated. Keep bringing your expertise to the public. It’s imperative.

got a cute not-so-little ARC in the mail (forthcoming may 2026 in canada, oct 2026 in murica)

The Q&A I did with @inquirer.com made the Sunday print edition! Here’s a link to the piece. www.inquirer.com/news/philade...

they're executing moms and nurses in the street. they're using preschoolers as bait. they're stealing people's dads and grandmas and children. they're tear gassing babies. they're staking out schools. there is no remedy but abolition. any proposal that doesn't start there is an act of violence.

We’re supposed to believe this is a domestic terrorist attacking ICE with a gun

So much of Titus Kaphar’s art addresses themes of historical erasure and injustice, he’s truly an incredible artist. You should check out his work and see it in person somewhere if you can. www.kapharstudio.com

My book cover art is by Titus Kaphar. Over a portrait of Washington, he shredded and nailed the runaway advertisement GW placed for Ona Judge after she fled from slavery in Philadelphia. It quite literally forces us to ask how we’d see Washington differently if we put slavery front and center.

We discussed the Monroe Doctrine, the former plans for a canal in Nicaragua - not Panama - and a great deal more on the Colombia Calling podcast this week with @jlepler.bsky.social. Tune in for this and the news by Emily Hart on the Colombia Briefing. podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast/c...

ICE is sending these kids to the concentration camp in Dilley, Texas, where they're preparing to have so many children that they're opening a new school there. They're actively hiring teachers now. I reported on it last month. We have to get people out of there.

Publicity likes to move fast over at @uncpress.bsky.social 😎