Grateful to Sam E. Anderson, former member of SNCC and the Black Panther Party, and the Pan-African *Pambazuka News*, for one of the best reviews of *Freedom Ship* so far: “an essential, inspiring, and necessary correction to the North American historical record.” www.pambazuka.org/index.php/Fr...

A few years ago Peter Linebaugh and I visited the Communards’ Wall at the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris, where 166 fighters for the Paris Commune were executed on May 28, 1871. Sacred ground.

Watch gifted artist David Lester at work on our book, *The Black Schooner: Rebellion on the Amistad, A Graphic Novel*, coming from Beacon Press June 9! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bpc2...

I just found out about a fourth person who got a hydra tattoo after reading *The Many-Headed Hydra*. These might be the best “reviews” ever. I also heard from someone who got a tattoo of the radical abolitionist Benjamin Lay. Are there any others out there?

The magnitude of the crime measured …. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

Another thing I like about working with the @zinnedproject.bsky.social. They are organized! Here’s a newspost about the Monday evening event with a link to the video, an audiogram, and lots of support supporting materials, all especially designed for teachers. www.zinnedproject.org/news/freedom...

I had a memorable time talking about my book *Freedom Ship* with Jesse Hagopian, the @zinnedproject.bsky.social, 100+ teachers from around the country, and Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner and his operations manager Daniel Pelt. Here is the video of our event. www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2Oz...

Love this video by David Lester about our new book, *The Black Schooner: Rebellion on the Amistad, A Graphic Novel*, forthcoming from @beaconpress.bsky.social next month.

A strange use of history from below: Madonna channeling early 19c London beggar Joseph Johnson with a ship on her head at the Met Gala yesterday.

If you teach U.S. history -- or simply want to learn more -- join us for our free class today at 4pm PT/7pm ET with historian @marcusrediker.bsky.social to learn about the Underground Railroad on waterways. ASL interpretation & PD certificates provided. RSVP: www.zinnedproject.org/news/freedom...

Teachers! Do you know about the important work the Zinn Education Project is doing? Join us tonight at 7:00 pm EDT for a discussion of *Freedom Ship* that is geared especially to teachers as the protectors of our history! Register here: www.zinnedproject.org/news/freedom...

Join us Monday, May 4, 7:00 pm EDT, for a conversation and a free online class on about my book *Freedom Ship*, organized by the @zinnedproject.bsky.social as part of a continuing discussion of the Black Freedom Struggle. Register here: www.zinnedproject.org/news/freedom...

Happy Mayday everyone! It was my pleasure last evening to hear Peter Linebaugh speak about “Mayday and the Commons” at Cooper Union in NYC. On the screen behind him are early 19c gleaners, women commoners who collected leftover crops after the main harvest.

Here is the video of a talk I gave Tuesday evening on my book *Freedom Ship* as part of series of “Freedom Conversations,” sponsored by the University of Illinois and hosted by Abdul Alkalimat and Kate Williams. mediaspace.illinois.edu/media/t/1_cr...

Thank you, Jack and Damn History!

Leading up to the American Revolution, in what way were “slave revolts, shipboard mutinies, agrarian risings, strikes, prison riots, and urban mobs” connected? Find out on May 4 in our online class with historian @marcusrediker.bsky.social. More & register: www.zinnedproject.org/news/freedom...

“The Many-Headed Hydra: Sailors, Slaves, Commoners, & the Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic” makes great background reading for our class with @marcusrediker.bsky.social on May 4. Find book recs, lessons & more on teaching the American Revolution: www.zinnedproject.org/news/teachin...

Just watched Werner Herzog’s latest film, *Ghost Elephants*, and wanted to recommend it to everyone. Available on Hulu. It is a philosophical film about the relationships among humankind, the animal world, and Western/African forms of knowledge.

Looking forward to to this May 4, 7:00 pm EDT!

Save the dates! Tony Buba and I will screen our new documentary film, *Becoming Benjamin Lay*, four times in the Philadelphia area in late May/early June 2026. Thanks to Lee Hall for helping to organize the events and for making the poster.

Publishing tip #11: Seek an agent the same way you seek an editor. Ask friends and colleagues about their agents and their experience working with them. When you do find an agent you wish to contact, you can do so with a recommendation from someone is already represented.

Publishing tip #10: I love my agent, Sandy Dijkstra. But I do not recommend seeking an agent for a first book: you’re an unknown author and having an agent can limit your submission options. If your first book is successful, and you want to try a trade press, then seek an agent.

Later today, at 2:00 pm, I’ll hold a conversation with Dr. Omar Ali about my book *Freedom Ship* for Let’s Learn, a free online learning/teaching community. Scan the QR code below and join us!

I saw The Return of Benjamin Lay at the Friends House earlier today; it was inspiring on so many levels! It features actor Mark Povinelli, director Tony Buba, and producer @marcusrediker.bsky.social. I highly recommend it and look forward to reading more about Benjamin Lay very soon.

Feeling gratitude this morning. I got to make two films with Tony Buba; a book with Peter Linebaugh; a play with Naomi Wallace; four graphic novels with David Lester & Paul Buhle; a children’s book with Michelle Markel and Sarah Bachman. I am lucky man to work with such supremely gifted people.

Join me in supporting “Books from Below” in Newcastle. Sending to solidarity to all of the organizers!

100 pages into The Fearless Benjamin Lay by @marcusrediker.bsky.social and Diogenes and the Cinics are introduced and it’s giving me life. There’s something comforting knowing that the wealthy have been properly despised by the spiritually sound for ages. Benjamin is such a badass, too!

Yesterday I had lunch with a former student of mine, Julius Page, who was a high-flying, All-Big East basketball player during Pitt’s glory years. He has now published a book *One Who Knows* about his own journey and works in education to help underprivileged, at-risk children. Very proud of him.

What a tremendous pleasure it has been to make a second film with this guy, the legendary filmmaker Tony Buba. Here we are onstage Saturday at the premiere of *Becoming Benjamin Lay*, which was screened at the Carnegie One Library in Braddock. Thanks for everything, Tony.

We had a blast with the 300 family members, friends, co-workers, comrades, colleagues, and the people of Braddock and Pittsburgh who showed up yesterday for the world premiere of *Becoming Benjamin Lay* at the Carnegie Library in Braddock. Thanks to all who attended!

Pittsburgh people! Join us today at 4:00 pm for the world premiere of *Becoming Benjamin Lay*, our new documentary film about history, politics, and how to resist an unjust world. Carnegie Library, Braddock, 419 Library Street. Join us! Tickets here: www.eventbrite.com/e/becoming-b...

We have the first review of our new documentary film, *Becoming Benjamin Lay*, written by Jordan Snowden for the *Pittsburgh Review of Books*, and it’s a good one! Join us tomorrow (Saturday, April 11) for the premiere at the Carnegie Library in Braddock, 4:00 pm. pghrev.com/becoming-ben...

Publishing tip #9: Try to find an editor who believes in your project and shares your vision of it. An author’s ability to affect what people inside the publishing house think about the book is limited. Your editor will be your advocate and hopefully will generate in-house enthusiasm.

To any and all who write on 19c America and want to improve the quality of their writing, a simple piece of advice: quote Frederick Douglass as much as you can and bask in the glow of his eloquence.

Join us Saturday, April 11 at 4:00 pm for the world premiere of our new documentary film, *Becoming Benjamin Lay*, at the Carnegie Library, 419 Library St., Braddock, PA. For tickets scan the QR code below or go here: www.eventbrite.com/e/becoming-b...

Publishing tip #8: Beware heavy-handed, interventionist editors. Some will develop their own conception of what your book should be and a few will actually fight you over it (and they might be right!) Find out early on exactly what changes the editor has in mind for your manuscript.

Publishing tip #7: Editors come in many stripes, hands-on, hands-off, and everywhere in-between. Try to find someone who fits your specific needs. Some authors need help with structure/argument, others with writing; a few might not need much help at all.

Publishing tip #6: Try to find an editor who actually edits, someone who will help you think hard, conceptually and structurally, about your project. Editing is increasingly a lost art as universities cut subsidies to their presses, but there are still great editors out there.

Publishing tip #5: Choose your editor carefully. I’ve worked with five excellent editors at three different presses (on eleven books) and I’ve learned a lot from each one. The choice of editor, even more than the press you pick, will be formative for your book and for you as a writer.

The writing tips I published one by one here have now been gathered up and published by Ed Simon in the *Pittsburgh Review of Books*. Happy to make them available here: pghrev.com/sixteen-writ... Be sure to check out the relatively new PRoB while you are there!

Publishing tip #4: Try to make personal contact with editors early, after a year or so of research. The ideal place to do this is in the book stalls at the AHA, OAH, ASA, etc., where editors always show up. Drop by, have a friendly conversation, mention your work, plant a seed.

Publishing tip #3: Don’t approach editors until it is completely clear in your own mind exactly what the contribution of your book project actually is. Do not overstate its importance and do not understate it. Be precise and seek the editor’s reaction to your summary.

Dear friends, please join us for the world premiere of our new documentary film, *Becoming Benjamin Lay*, Sat., April 11, 4:00 pm, Carnegie Library, 419 Library St., Braddock PA. Please help us publicize the event as we have a big venue to fill! Tickets here: www.eventbrite.com/e/becoming-b...

Publishing tip #2: Ask all your friends and colleagues who work in your field or a related one about their presses and editors. When you are in the final six months of completing your project, make appointments with a few editors to make your pitch in person.

If anyone wants an e-book of *The Slave Ship: A Human History*, it is on sale today on Amazon for $1.99.

Here’s an interview I did with my friend Dave Clinch for *Socialist Worker*. A British edition of the book was published March 10 by @versobooks.bsky.social. socialistworker.co.uk/reviews-and-...

Translations of my books have been published by 30+ different foreign presses. Only one of them, Galmuri based in Seoul, South Korea, sends me photographs of the workers and labor processes that make the books. Here is their beuatiful and elegant forthcoming edition of *Villains of All Nations*.

I received the copies of the Spanish translation of my book, *The Amistad Rebellion*, published by the wonderful @traficantes-ed.bsky.social in Madrid. Happy to be able to tell my Spanish-speaking friends that the book is available for free download! traficantes.net/libros/la-re...

Happy to report that our new documentary film, *Becoming Benjamin Lay*, has a website! It contains all kinds of information, about the filmmaking team and upcoming screenings, a photo gallery, and a video archive (outtakes from our filming). Check it out here: becomingbenjaminlay.com

Suddenly there are a thousand (fake) book clubs out there that want to feature one or another of my books. They can seem convincing because they use AI to summarize the books they have illegally scraped. Everyone beware of these scams.