Clara Totten

Cleveburgh: Christopher Briem’s tale of two Rust Belt cities Why’s an Ohio-based publisher like Kent State excited for Christopher Briem’s upcoming’s study of Pittsburgh, Beyond Steel? For one thing, we’re invested in relationships be…

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 Prepares Plan to Shut Down At a town hall yesterday, B&T owner and CEO Aman Kochar announced that following the termination of the ReaderLink acquisition deal, he does not see a path to keep the library wholesaler in business.

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.

Trinity University announced its publishing house is closing Trinity University said Trinity University Press will be closing its doors in late 2026.

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...

But for real, that tote #jealous

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.”

I thought the Publishers Lunch rundown from 9/8 was thorough yet understandable (with the caveat that the judge has since delayed approving the settlement). Lmk if you'd like me to forward you the email version of the post.

Ask UP logo, tagline: Authors Seeking Knowledge from University Presses

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!

Building communities with smaller book festivals Cleveland, Barcelona, and beyond

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...

Backlist spotlight: Celebrating the ethnic heritage of Northeast Ohio In a new feature for the blog, we’re highlighting backlist titles from Kent State University Press that continue to resonate with issues in the region, nation, and world.

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.

Rumor has it they were house hunting outside of Cleveland recently. Probably for the top-notch water infrastructure.

2025 BUCKEYE BOOK FAIR Saturday, November 1, 2025 | Wooster, Ohio Ghosts ofan Old Forest Essays on Midwestern Rural Heritage Deborah Fleming Deborah Fleming's newest book, Ghosts of an Old Forest, tells of her life in the Allegheny Plateau region of Ohio. Her previous collection of nature essays, Resurrection of the Wild, won the 2020 PEN-America Art of the Essay Award. Previously she was editor and director of the Ashland Poetry Press. 00000 BUCKEYE BuckeyeBookFair.org

2025 BUCKEYE BOOK FAIR Saturday, November 1, 2025 l Wooster, Ohio Light Enters the Grove Charles Malone from Kent, OH edited the anthology "Light Enters the Grove: Exploring Cuyahoga Valley National Park Through Poetry" featuring over 80 Ohio writers. Come write your own poem about a place that is important to you. Exploring Cuyahoga Valley National Park through Poetry Edited by Charles Malone, Carrie George, and Jason Harris Foreword by Jennie Vasarhelyi BUCKEYE BOOKEDE, BuckeyeBookFair.org

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!

CITY & CAST Pittsburgh Should Pittsburgh & Cleveland Be Friends? by City Cast Pittsburgh Orange background, skyline with bridges

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.

NEW CATALOG! 困 THE KENT STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS FALL/WINTER 2025 CATALOG kentstateuniversitypress.com 玉 THE KENT STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS With flames from industrial site on catalog cover.

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...

"A modern folk tale filled with love, laughter and the joy of life. Reading these merry pages is something like eating a dinner of the very best spaghetti and meat sauce with plenty of Chianti and a string orchestra nearby playing 'Santa Lucia." —The New York Times THE COMING OF FABRIZZE A NOVEL RAYMOND DeCAPITE Foreword by Tony Ardizzone The 81 Essential Cleveland Novels These stories may be fiction, but they are all set in a real place: Northeast Ohio. Read novels from the 1800s to 2025 that use our home as their home. Edited by Annie Nickoloff

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...

Urgent Message from CUNY, Berkeley, and Georgetown Jewish Faculty On July 15, 2025, City University of New York Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, Robert M. Groves, Interim President of Georgetown University, and Rich Lyons, Chancellor of the University of Cali…

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.

A Q&A with Terry Belew, author of “The Deep Blue of Neptune” Big thanks to Cheryl Dyer for talking with Terry Belew, author of The Deep Blue of Neptune—selected as winner of the Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize. It’s coming in September from Kent State U…

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.

Mychal Threets: TIME100 Creators 2025 Find out why Mychal Threets is on the list

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/...

A rectangular space in a parking lot outlined by pink granite and short pillars. It outlines the spot where Jeffrey Miller was shot by National Guardsmen on the Kent State University campus on May 4, 1970.

A triangular marker made of pink granite that says. “May 4, 1970 Jeffrey Miller.” There are a couple small, handmade lanterns in the foreground and, near the middle of the picture, a small, pink Himalayan salt chunk.

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.

Deadbeats, Dead Balls, and the 1914 Boston Braves being held against a summery background.

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...)

Advice | How to Promote Your Scholarly Book An acquisitions editor offers eight tips for marketing-shy academics.

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