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Christoph Irmscher @chrisirmscher.bsky.social · 16h

Such a pleasure to speak with Anne Kim of @washingtonmonthly.com about the art of book reviewing.

Longtail News @longtail.news · 21h

Feed: "Washington Monthly"
By: Anne Kim on Thursday, October 9, 2025

Kukula Award winner Christoph Irmscher discusses the craft of professional criticism, and why book reviews remain vital to democracy.

washingtonmonthly.com

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Longtail News @longtail.news · 21h

Feed: "Washington Monthly"
By: Anne Kim on Thursday, October 9, 2025

In Defense of Book Reviews

Kukula Award winner Christoph Irmscher discusses the craft of professional criticism, and why book reviews remain vital to democracy.

washingtonmonthly.com

Christoph Irmscher @chrisirmscher.bsky.social · 9d

Laurent Binet's brilliant art historical whodunnit "Perspectives" (@fsgbooks.bsky.social, @penguinbooksuk.bsky.social) makes the world of 16th-century Florence come alive. My review in The Art Newspaper: www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/10/01/p...

Pontormo, Vasari and Michelangelo take leading roles in this 16th-century whodunnit

Novelist Laurent Binet weaves a compelling tale of Renaissance Italy with this art historical murder mystery

www.theartnewspaper.com

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Christoph Irmscher @chrisirmscher.bsky.social · 20d

New review in this week's @wsj.com of Henry Wiencek's "Stan and Gus" (@fsgbooks.bsky.social), a dual bio of Augustus Saint-Gaudens and the notorious Stanford White. Find out why I think a crab is the fitting symbol of their friendship:

www.wsj.com/arts-culture...

‘Stan and Gus’ Review: Monsters and Monuments

Stanford White and Augustus Saint-Gaudens had ambitious visions for New York City—and towering egos to match.

www.wsj.com

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Christoph Irmscher @chrisirmscher.bsky.social · 27d

My take on Jonathan Aaron’s wonderful “Just About Anything” @cmupress.bsky.social in @ronslate.bsky.social’s “On the Seawall”: “Aaron’s poetry, for the length of a few lines, a handful of pages, persuades us that things or people that are gone aren’t, in fact, lost.” www.ronslate.com/on-just-abou...

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Christoph Irmscher @chrisirmscher.bsky.social · Sep 3

My new review in @wsj.com--"The Shape of Wonder," @pantheonbooks.bsky.social, a very readable book, by astrophysicist Alan Lightman and abstronomer Martin Rees. Felt compelled to put in a reminder at the end that the humanities and arts are kind of cool, too: www.wsj.com/arts-culture...

‘The Shape of Wonder’ Review: Loving Their Lab Lives

The pursuit of scientific knowledge through experiment demands training, rigor and precision. For some it is a deep source of joy.

www.wsj.com

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Christoph Irmscher @chrisirmscher.bsky.social · Sep 1

If you‘re curious about what‘s happening to higher ed in my state (Indiana), here‘s an indispensable analysis, with plenty of evidence, by my colleague Purnima Bose: againstthecurrent.org/atc238/india...

Indiana’s Assault on Public Education

Godfather of Trump University, Trump is insisting on his rules for private and public U.S. universities. RIGHT-WING AUTHORITARIANS such as Donald Trump and his MAGA minions drive their ideological …

againstthecurrent.org

Christoph Irmscher @chrisirmscher.bsky.social · Aug 20

I am so thrilled to have won one of the two 2025 Kukula awards, and congratulations to all the finalists and fellow award winner Ian Johnson. My deep gratitude to @washingtonmonthly.com for making this award possible—and to Kukula Kapoor Glastris, too, for her work. What a legacy!

Washington Monthly @washingtonmonthly.com · Aug 20

The Washington Monthly’s annual award celebrates the best in nonfiction book reviewing and honors the memory of Kukula Kapoor Glastris, the magazine’s beloved books editor. Read online about this year's winners:

washingtonmonthly.com/2025/08/20/t...

The 2025 Kukula Award Winners | Washington Monthly

Annual award celebrates nonfiction book reviewing and honors the memory of Kukula Kapoor Glastris, the magazine’s beloved books editor.

washingtonmonthly.com

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Washington Monthly @washingtonmonthly.com · Aug 20

The Washington Monthly’s annual award celebrates the best in nonfiction book reviewing and honors the memory of Kukula Kapoor Glastris, the magazine’s beloved books editor. Read online about this year's winners:

washingtonmonthly.com/2025/08/20/t...

The 2025 Kukula Award Winners | Washington Monthly

Annual award celebrates nonfiction book reviewing and honors the memory of Kukula Kapoor Glastris, the magazine’s beloved books editor.

washingtonmonthly.com

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Christoph Irmscher @chrisirmscher.bsky.social · Aug 18

Audubon is usually associated with largeness—here’s my view of him as a miniaturist, published in @engelsbergideas.bsky.social. engelsbergideas.com/essays/when-...

When nature took flight

In The Birds of America, a monumental achievement in every sense, John James Audubon wanted more than to illustrate nature. He made it come alive in his art, humbling mankind in the process.

engelsbergideas.com

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Christoph Irmscher @chrisirmscher.bsky.social · Aug 12

Very happy to be a finalist. Book reviewers often work in obscurity—it’s so great of @washingtonmonthly.com to recognize our work. Congratulations to all the other finalists!

Washington Monthly @washingtonmonthly.com · Aug 12

The Washington Monthly proudly announces the finalists of the 2025 Kukula Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Book Reviewing:

The Washington Monthly Announces Finalists for 2025 Kukula Award Book Review Prize | Washington Monthly

Kukula Award book review prize honors exemplary nonfiction book reviewing that elucidates key issues of our times.

washingtonmonthly.com

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Washington Monthly @washingtonmonthly.com · Aug 12

The Washington Monthly proudly announces the finalists of the 2025 Kukula Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Book Reviewing:

The Washington Monthly Announces Finalists for 2025 Kukula Award Book Review Prize | Washington Monthly

Kukula Award book review prize honors exemplary nonfiction book reviewing that elucidates key issues of our times.

washingtonmonthly.com

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Christoph Irmscher @chrisirmscher.bsky.social · Jan 24

Congrats to all the poetry finalists of @bookcritics.bsky.social! It has been such an honor to serve on this committee!

National Book Critics Circle @bookcritics.bsky.social · Jan 23

We're excited to announce the shortlist for the 2024 NBCC Award for Poetry! Congratulations to all of the finalists.

The finalists for the 2024 NBCC Award for Poetry are An Authentic Life by Jennifer Chang (Copper Canyon), Consider the Rooster by Oliver Baez Bendorf (Nightboat), Instructions for the Lovers by Dawn Lundy Martin (Nightboat), Scattered Snows, to the North by Carl Phillips (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), and Wrong Norma by Anne Carson (New Directions).

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Christoph Irmscher @chrisirmscher.bsky.social · Jan 24

What a delight to serve on the autobiography committee of @bookcritics.bsky.social! Congrats to all our finalists!

National Book Critics Circle @bookcritics.bsky.social · Jan 23

We're excited to announce the shortlist for the 2024 NBCC Award for Autobiography! Congratulations to all of the finalists.

The finalists for the 2024 NBCC Award for Autobiography are The Last Fire Season: A Personal and Pyronatural History by Manjula Martin (Pantheon), Little Seed by Wei Tchou (Deep Vellum), The Minotaur at Calle Lanza by Zito Madu (Belt), Mother Archive: A Dominican Family Memoir by Erika Morillo (University of Iowa), and Patriot: A Memoir by Alexei Navalny, translated from the Russian by Arch Tait with Stephen Dalziel (Knopf).

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Christoph Irmscher @chrisirmscher.bsky.social · Jan 24

It has been such an honor to serve on the biography committee of @bookcritics.bsky.social. Check out our excellent finalists below!

National Book Critics Circle @bookcritics.bsky.social · Jan 23

We're excited to announce the shortlist for the 2024 NBCC Award for Biography! Congratulations to all of the finalists.

The finalists for the 2024 NBCC Award for Biography are Candida Royalle and the Sexual Revolution: A History from Below by Jane Kamensky (W. W. Norton), Candy Darling: Dreamer, Icon, Superstar by Cynthia Carr (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), Family Romance: John Singer Sargent and the Wertheimers by Jean Strouse (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a Free People by Tiya Miles (Penguin Press), and The World She Edited: Katharine S. White at The New Yorker by Amy Reading (Mariner).

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Christoph Irmscher @chrisirmscher.bsky.social · Jan 24

So happy to have been involved in selecting this fabulous list of finalists! Congrats to all!

National Book Critics Circle @bookcritics.bsky.social · Jan 23

Congratulations to all of our finalists and winners! www.bookcritics.org/2025/01/23/n...

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National Book Critics Circle @bookcritics.bsky.social · Jan 23

Congratulations to all of our finalists and winners! www.bookcritics.org/2025/01/23/n...

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National Book Critics Circle @bookcritics.bsky.social · Jan 23

We’re excited to announce that in honor of our 50th anniversary, we’ll be joined at the NBCC Awards ceremony by Maxine Hong Kingston!

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National Book Critics Circle @bookcritics.bsky.social · Jan 23

Congratulations to @thirdworldpress.bsky.social, the winner of the 2024 Toni Morrison Achievement Award!

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National Book Critics Circle @bookcritics.bsky.social · Jan 23

Congratulations to Lori Lynn Turner, the winner of the 2024 NBCC Service Award!

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National Book Critics Circle @bookcritics.bsky.social · Jan 23

We're excited to announce the shortlist for the 2024 John Leonard Prize, given to an outstanding first book in any genre! Congratulations to all of the finalists.

The finalists for the 2024 John Leonard Prize, given to an outstanding first book in any genre, are By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight For Justice on Native Land by Rebecca Nagle (Harper), Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir by Tessa Hulls (MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux), Great Expectations by Vinson Cunningham (Hogarth), Miss May Does Not Exist: The Life and Work of Elaine May, Hollywood’s Hidden Genius by Carrie Courogen (St. Martin’s), Ward Toward by Cindy Juyoung Ok (Yale University), and When The Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the Early 1990s by John Ganz (Farrar, Straus and Giroux).

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National Book Critics Circle @bookcritics.bsky.social · Jan 23

We're excited to announce the shortlist for the 2024 NBCC Award for Poetry! Congratulations to all of the finalists.

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National Book Critics Circle @bookcritics.bsky.social · Jan 23

We're excited to announce the shortlist for the 2024 NBCC Award for Biography! Congratulations to all of the finalists.

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National Book Critics Circle @bookcritics.bsky.social · Jan 23

We're excited to announce the shortlist for the 2024 NBCC Award for Autobiography! Congratulations to all of the finalists.

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Christoph Irmscher @chrisirmscher.bsky.social · Jan 10

A timely artist. My review of the Alfred Kubin exhibit at the Albertina in Vienna & the accompanying catalog. www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/01/08/t...

The stuff of nightmares: catalogue of Alfred Kubin’s work shines a light on his dark world

The macabre artist’s blood-soaked prints and drawings at the start of the 20th century foretold future wars

www.theartnewspaper.com

Christoph Irmscher @chrisirmscher.bsky.social · Dec 19

I served on the poetry committee of @bookcritics.bsky.social. It was an honor to help select our first-ever poetry longlist for 2024. Congratulations to all these wonderful writers!

National Book Critics Circle @bookcritics.bsky.social · Dec 18

We're excited to announce the longlist for the 2024 NBCC Award for Poetry! Congratulations to all of the nominees. www.bookcritics.org/2024/12/18/2...

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National Book Critics Circle @bookcritics.bsky.social · Dec 18

We're excited to announce the longlist for the 2024 NBCC Award for Poetry! Congratulations to all of the nominees. www.bookcritics.org/2024/12/18/2...

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Christoph Irmscher @chrisirmscher.bsky.social · Dec 18

Here is our first ever longlist for biography 2024 @bookcritics.bsky.social. Proud to be a member of our biography committee and to help select these wonderful titles. Congrats to the authors!

National Book Critics Circle @bookcritics.bsky.social · Dec 17

We're excited to announce the longlist for the 2024 NBCC Award for Biography! Congratulations to all of the nominees. www.bookcritics.org/2024/12/17/2...

Covers of the books on the longlist for the NBCC Award for Biography.

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National Book Critics Circle @bookcritics.bsky.social · Dec 17

We're excited to announce the longlist for the 2024 NBCC Award for Biography! Congratulations to all of the nominees. www.bookcritics.org/2024/12/17/2...

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Christoph Irmscher @chrisirmscher.bsky.social · Dec 17

Check out our autobiography longlist below. I served on the autobiography committee of @bookcritics.bsky.social, and it was a pleasure and an honor to spend the last few months in the company of these amazing writers! Congratulations!

National Book Critics Circle @bookcritics.bsky.social · Dec 17

We're excited to announce the longlist for the 2024 NBCC Award for Autobiography! Congratulations to all of the nominees. www.bookcritics.org/2024/12/17/2...

Covers of the books on the longlist for the NBCC Award for Autobiography.

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