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Chris Kempshall

@chriskempshall.bsky.social

9.9K followers 3.7K following 2.1K posts

President @fwwsoc.bsky.social. Historian & Author on #FWW allied relations, historical games studies, & #StarWars. Rep'd Justin Nash of Kate Nash Literary Agency. Consulting partner @historystudiola.bsky.social. He/him https://linktr.ee/chriskempshall

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Chris Kempshall @chriskempshall.bsky.social · Apr 17

An extra fun surprise for everyone - I’ll be on the Celebration Live Stage on Saturday 19th at 3:45pm discussing books alongside the esteemed @adamchristopher.me and @philszostak.bsky.social!

A graphic card showing the schedule for Chris Kempshall across the three days of Star Wars Celebration. The details are as follows:

Friday 18 April:

10:00 am - 11:00 am
Holonet News Stage
Who's the Bossk?

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Galaxy Stage
LUCASFILM PUBLISHING: Stories from a Galaxy Far, Far Away....

Saturday 19th April:

1pm - 2pm
Lawson's
Book Signing

Sunday 20th April

9:45 am - 10:45 am
University Stage
History in a Galaxy Far, Far Away

12:45 pm - 1:45 pm
University Stage
Droids, Artificial Intelligence, and Sentience

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Chris Kempshall @chriskempshall.bsky.social · 8h

I’m seeing more articles at the moment wondering ‘is the AI bubble about to burst?’. And I’m wondering if there’s a way to actually shot it down. Like it’s a giant hydrogen-filled Zeppelin over London in the First World War. Yeah it might Hindenburg on its own eventually, but why leave it to chance?

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Reposted by Chris Kempshall

Madeleine Roux @authoroux.bsky.social · 14h

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

Some books are just meant to be, ya know? Had to be me, someone else might have gotten it wrong. ✨

Cover reveal for STAR WARS LEGACY with Leia, Rey and Kylo Ren

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Set between Episodes VIlI and IX, Rey and Leia embark on a quest to repair Rey's lightsaber and rekindle the legacy of the Jedi.
After barely escaping the First Order on Crait, Rey and the Resistance are struggling to rebuild. Her friends need the last Jedi more than ever, but Rey feels alone and overwhelmed: Jedi tradition is built on masters and apprentices, and Rey's teacher is gone. Leia Organa tries her best to train Rey in the ways of the Force as Luke did for her so many years ago, but Leia's knowledge is limited, Rey's lightsaber is broken, and the specter of Kylo Ren and regrets from the past haunt them both. How can Leia pass the torch, when she herself is unsure of the way?
But then, the ancient Jedi texts offer a glimmer of hope: a long-forgotten Jedi temple on Tython that might hold the key to repairing Rey's saber. Rey leaps at the chance to journey there - and to her surprise, so does Leia.
Rey and Leia's nascent mentorship is put to the test when they discover the temple on Tython is filled with obscure clues to decipher and arcane trials to complete.As they work to unravel the temple's mysteries, they encounter a group of refugees living in its shadow, hiding from a First Order officer hot on the trail of two freedom fighters in their midst: With the threat of the First Order looming and the secrets of the temple yet to be unlocked, the newly forged master and apprentice must confront their pasts, reach each other in the present, and decide what it means to carry the legacy of the Jedi into the future.

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jenny_tightpants🪑 @jtp.bsky.social · 10h

do not forget to feed your troops

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Chris Kempshall @chriskempshall.bsky.social · 11h

Do it. Do it right now. Stop reading this. Go and open another browser tab and pre-order Phil’s book.

Phil Szostak @philszostak.bsky.social · 13h

Pre-order your copy of @ABRAMSbooks’ The Art of Star Wars: Andor (The Complete Series) today! Featuring artwork from all 24 episodes, plus extensive interviews with creator Tony Gilroy, star Diego Luna, Emmy-winning production designer Luke Hull, and many more! (May 19, 2026)

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Kristin Baver @kristinbaver.bsky.social · 12h

Yeah I do. 🥹

Bria LaVorgna @chaosbria.com · 14h

The awesome @kristinbaver.bsky.social has a story about Rey in the December issue of Star Wars Insider.

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Chris Kempshall @chriskempshall.bsky.social · 12h

And it means we’re sharing a publication!

Chris Kempshall @chriskempshall.bsky.social · 12h

My pleasure!

Chris Kempshall @chriskempshall.bsky.social · 12h

Even reviews on Amazon & Goodreads help power the algorithm that recommends books. For getting ARC copies for blog/podcast etc reviews that can mean going through the publisher. But sometimes the authors know who to direct requests to. I did for ‘Rise and Fall’

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Chris Kempshall @chriskempshall.bsky.social · 12h

It looks like everyone is understandably excited about all these amazing books! The best way to ensure you get more books like this is to:

1) Pre-order them
2) Read them
3) Review them

All of those together help show that there’s an audience for your favourite types of books & helps the authors!

Michael Siglain @msiglain.bsky.social · 14h

Incredibly excited for these current and upcoming #StarWars titles from Lucasfilm Publishing and all of our partners. We have a story and a format for everyone, because Star Wars is for everyone. Thank you all for reading and supporting our books & comics and #MTFBWY!

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Chris Kempshall @chriskempshall.bsky.social · 13h

Turns out that I learned about the perfect island at the recent @fwwsoc.bsky.social conference. Judging by the historical record it wouldn’t to 1,000 years on there to solve the problem…

leon @leyawn.bsky.social · 16h

i’m running for president in 2028, this is my platform:

- no more spam texts and calls
- smaller cars with weaker headlights
- imprison every person in ice and the trump administration on a remote island for a thousand years

Reposted by Chris Kempshall

Kelly Knox @kelly-knox.com · 14h

All the Lucasfilm Publishing reveals from NYCC in one place! www.starwars.com/news/nycc-20...

Artwork of Leia Organa and Rey from the cover of Star Wars: Legacy

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Alexander Douglas @axdouglas.bsky.social · 27d

Why not combine the two worst things ever created?

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...

AI could be used for REF, says Royal Society president - Research Professional News

Research Excellence Framework is “not best use of human brainpower”, Adrian Smith tells Lords committee

www.researchprofessionalnews.com

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Chris Kempshall @chriskempshall.bsky.social · 14h

I love this

Chris Kempshall @chriskempshall.bsky.social · 17h

So this panel is today! I’m doing very well to hide how jealous I am about not being there. So if you’re NYCC you have to go along and clap and cheer and queue up to get books signed from my friends so I can live vicariously through you.

Michael Siglain @msiglain.bsky.social · 7d

Lucasfilm Publishing returns to NYCC one week from today w/ all-star authors @kristinbaver.bsky.social, @adamchristopher.me, @marcguggenheim.bsky.social, @kwamembalia.bsky.social, @ethansacks.bsky.social, & @charlessoule.bsky.social, moderated by the great @jenheddle.bsky.social. See you there!

Reposted by Chris Kempshall

Adam Christopher @adamchristopher.me · 19h

#NYCC DAY 3 let's goooooo!

Today is the big one: the famous LUCASFILM PUBLISHING STAR WARS BOOKS PANEL!

Come to room North 406.2 at 11:30am - but get there early to get a seat - and prepare to be blown away, then come to Hall 1A and get all the amazing panelists (and me) to sign stuff!

PANEL
11:30AM – 12:30PM
Star Wars: Stories From a Galaxy Far, Far Away
Location: Room 406.2
Description: Join Lucasfilm Publishing and a group of all-star authors and artists for a sneak peek into a galaxy far, far away! From the era of the High Republic to the time of the New Republic and beyond, be here for updates, behind-the-scenes stories, and announcements and reveals that expand the Star Wars saga into books, comics, and magazines!

POST-PANEL SIGNING
12:45PM – 1:45PM
Location: Hall 1A, Tables 46-48

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Brooke Harrington @ebharrington.bsky.social · 20h

What Thiel is saying about tax havens = what Altman is saying about copyright:

"I can't be rich unless you let me steal from you."

This is how Broligarchs differ from oligarchs of yore: the latter tried to hide their thievery; the Broligarchs trumpet their entitlement to steal as a natural right.

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Chris Kempshall @chriskempshall.bsky.social · 1d

'But, Chris - How bad could it be?' I hear you ask.

A few examples taken from my chapter here: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/multiling...

I strongly recommend reading: 'Chad Louis Williams, Torchbearers of Democracy: African American Soldiers in the World War I Era' 🗃️

After arriving in Brest in January 1919, the men of the 369th Infantry Regiment were in a jubilant mood, however within a few minutes of their arrival one private had his head split open by the club of a Military Policeman (M.P.). Major Little questioned the M.P. as to his actions towards a man who had simply been asking for directions towards the latrines and it was in response to this that the situation became complicated. Initially the Military Police announced that they had been instructed not to answer questions or accept orders from the officers in charge of these soldiers. Despite this, Major Little was able to get the man to reveal that ‘they had been warned that our “Niggers” were feeling their oats a bit and that instruction had been given to “take it out of them quickly just as soon as they arrived, so as not to have trouble later on”’.

The ‘Red Summer’ of 1919 saw attacks against black Americans across the United States. Returning African-American soldiers in particular were targeted for having ‘physically and symbolically disrupted the southern color line’ and a number of black veterans were attacked in different manners including being beaten, shot, burned alive, and lynched. Having returned to America in 1919, Private Malcolm Aitken, a white soldier, recalled being part of a casual company utilised to put down race riots in Washington and Baltimore. On one occasion after a member of the company, a man who had been all through the war in France, was shot and killed from an upstairs window Aitken and his men became ‘terrible’. After a ‘pitched battle’ for a minute or two in which they used all of their ammunition Aitken and his men ‘proceeded to finish the war’. Aitken ‘did not care to report the number killed on the other side’ but referred to this incident as ‘Special Duty with the Blacks’.

Following their efforts in the First World War black veterans utilised the same language of freedom and democracy that President Woodrow Wilson had deployed to justify the American entry into the conflict. Having been attacked in the street by a white man in April 1919, Daniel Mack retaliated and was arrested. At his trial Mack declared, ‘I fought for you in France to make the world safe for democracy. I don’t think you treated me right in putting me in jail and keeping me there, because I’ve got as much right as anybody else to walk on the sidewalk’. As he was sentenced to thirty days in ‘a chain gang’ the presiding judge reminded him that ‘this is a white man’s country and you don’t want to forget it’. Mack would not forget; whilst in prison he was seized by a white mob in cooperation with the local police chief and beaten nearly to death on the outskirts of the town.

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Chris Kempshall @chriskempshall.bsky.social · 1d

If you've never encountered the details of these events in 1919 and are wondering how bad it could possibly be: its absolutely fucking awful. Genuinely, horrendous.

Dr. William Horne @wihorne.bsky.social · 1d

I’m teaching abt Red Summer today, when white vigilantes & National Guardsmen across the country harassed, detained, assaulted, & murdered Black Americans as part of a backlash against Black military service in WWI.

Red Summer of 1919

eji.org

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Dr. Vaughn Joy @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social · 1d

Please check out our Announcements on Black & White & Read All Over for a CfP from @contingent-mag.bsky.social, a podcast series from @melusinagr.bsky.social, and praise to @tdtherrien.bsky.social and @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social for new book deals!

Please send your news/calls with us to share!

Announcements – Black and White and Read All Over

This space is reserved for you! If you have a talk coming up, a book on its way, a podcast trailer to drop, or an accomplishment to celebrate, we want to help you share it! Please contact us to share ...

blackwhiteandread.com

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Chris Kempshall @chriskempshall.bsky.social · 1d

I've seen you spinning and manipulating your spreadsheets whilst taking notes at conferences and honestly found it a terrifying experience.

Chris Kempshall @chriskempshall.bsky.social · 1d

You can do this. I believe.

Chris Kempshall @chriskempshall.bsky.social · 1d

Ah I can believe that. And my current table is super useful in keeping track of things. But I also just spent all day updating it with new content as I’d been purposefully ignoring it.

Chris Kempshall @chriskempshall.bsky.social · 1d

Now that's much more my vibe

Chris Kempshall @chriskempshall.bsky.social · 1d

Well I know what my forthcoming nightmares are going to look like.

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Chris Kempshall @chriskempshall.bsky.social · 1d

Oh god, this feels like the start of a schism...

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