Michelle Chen
@michellechn.bsky.social
Senior Editor at the Univ Press of Colorado (Utah State UP & U of Alaska Press) acquiring books in composition & rhetoric, folklore, & polar studies. Formerly at OUP (music), Palgrave (politics) & Bloomsbury (33 1/3). Based in Brooklyn. Opinions my own.
Heading to a hot dog eating party which is really the only kind of holiday party there should be 🌭
December 14, 2025 at 12:42 AM
Heading to a hot dog eating party which is really the only kind of holiday party there should be 🌭
Author 1: "I know I was contracted for 75,000 words but my manuscript is at 75,639 words. Is that OK? I'm SO sorry!"
Author 2: "Here is my 200,000 word manuscript. Deal with it."
Author 2: "Here is my 200,000 word manuscript. Deal with it."
December 11, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Author 1: "I know I was contracted for 75,000 words but my manuscript is at 75,639 words. Is that OK? I'm SO sorry!"
Author 2: "Here is my 200,000 word manuscript. Deal with it."
Author 2: "Here is my 200,000 word manuscript. Deal with it."
Reposted by Michelle Chen
also, just because your book hasn't gone into copyediting doesn't mean we aren't working on the book in other ways—marketing and publicity, copy and metadata, etc. a lot goes into publishing a book!
Put differently: projects “sitting” doesn’t mean time lost/wasted. We spend weeks scheduling projects for publication in a specific month. Not hearing anything for a few weeks while your ms is one of 20 being prepped for production doesn’t mean it will appear in the world any later.
December 11, 2025 at 6:12 PM
also, just because your book hasn't gone into copyediting doesn't mean we aren't working on the book in other ways—marketing and publicity, copy and metadata, etc. a lot goes into publishing a book!
Hi I fixed it.
(seriously extremely grateful, always, for the HUMANS who peer review academic books)
(seriously extremely grateful, always, for the HUMANS who peer review academic books)
December 11, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Hi I fixed it.
(seriously extremely grateful, always, for the HUMANS who peer review academic books)
(seriously extremely grateful, always, for the HUMANS who peer review academic books)
Reposted by Michelle Chen
Sharing these powerful words from our upcoming edited collection ADEQUATE edited by @joshuabarsczewski.bsky.social & @timothyoleksiak.bsky.social
Professors: you 👏 are 👏 doing 👏 enough
PREORDER this book using code HOLIDAY25 for 40% off!
#teamrhetoric #writingstudies #ReadUP
Professors: you 👏 are 👏 doing 👏 enough
PREORDER this book using code HOLIDAY25 for 40% off!
#teamrhetoric #writingstudies #ReadUP
December 11, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Sharing these powerful words from our upcoming edited collection ADEQUATE edited by @joshuabarsczewski.bsky.social & @timothyoleksiak.bsky.social
Professors: you 👏 are 👏 doing 👏 enough
PREORDER this book using code HOLIDAY25 for 40% off!
#teamrhetoric #writingstudies #ReadUP
Professors: you 👏 are 👏 doing 👏 enough
PREORDER this book using code HOLIDAY25 for 40% off!
#teamrhetoric #writingstudies #ReadUP
Reposted by Michelle Chen
Consider this a book publisher's very important contribution to the ongoing font discourse #FontDebate
December 10, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Consider this a book publisher's very important contribution to the ongoing font discourse #FontDebate
Think of the editorial/publishing process "not as an adversarial set of gatekeeping encounters...but as a process designed to make your work the best it can be before it goes public." YES WOW THANK YOU @lportwoodstacer.bsky.social
Remember: editors and peer reviewers are not your enemy!
Remember: editors and peer reviewers are not your enemy!
Career Advice Reminder | The Good Enough Manuscript
Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good enough when it comes to sending your manuscript to a publisher, Laura Portwood-Stacer writes. https://bit.ly/4pZoHvV
#EDUSky #AcademicSky #HigherEd
Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good enough when it comes to sending your manuscript to a publisher, Laura Portwood-Stacer writes. https://bit.ly/4pZoHvV
#EDUSky #AcademicSky #HigherEd
December 10, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Think of the editorial/publishing process "not as an adversarial set of gatekeeping encounters...but as a process designed to make your work the best it can be before it goes public." YES WOW THANK YOU @lportwoodstacer.bsky.social
Remember: editors and peer reviewers are not your enemy!
Remember: editors and peer reviewers are not your enemy!
If you are like me and have hyper-bookish friends who somehow already own/have read every single mainstream title out this year, gift them an indie pick from a university press! (My personal fave is NURSERY RHYMES IN BLACK) #booksky #Black #Indigenous #poetry #climate #fiction #novel
When was the last time you read creative writing from a #universitypress? Consider gifting from our collection of poetry, novels, and creative nonfiction for the indie literary reader in your life (thread 1/7) #fiction #poetry #booksky #ReadUP #giftguide
December 10, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Well, I am off to spend my morning ̶s̶e̶n̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶p̶e̶e̶r̶ ̶r̶e̶v̶i̶e̶w̶ ̶r̶e̶q̶u̶e̶s̶t̶s̶ being mercilessly rejected #december
December 10, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Well, I am off to spend my morning ̶s̶e̶n̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶p̶e̶e̶r̶ ̶r̶e̶v̶i̶e̶w̶ ̶r̶e̶q̶u̶e̶s̶t̶s̶ being mercilessly rejected #december
Taking a moment to brag about our writing studies books because our amazing authors just. keep. winning. awards.
Hey #teamrhetoric: Not sure what to get for the #writingstudies scholar in your life? We've got some ideas for you! Check out these award-winning titles that are a must-have on every writing studies bookshelf (thread 1/7) #ReadUP #booksky #giftguide
December 9, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Taking a moment to brag about our writing studies books because our amazing authors just. keep. winning. awards.
Normal person: "Sounds good."
Me, an over-thinker: "Wow no exclamation mark. So you hate me."
Me, an over-thinker: "Wow no exclamation mark. So you hate me."
December 9, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Normal person: "Sounds good."
Me, an over-thinker: "Wow no exclamation mark. So you hate me."
Me, an over-thinker: "Wow no exclamation mark. So you hate me."
No big deal or anything but we have two novels on this list **flips hair**
Just in time for the holidays, here are ADN reviewers’ favorite books of 2025
Top selections by Nancy Lord and David James include poetry, works of fiction, adventure stories, a Pulitzer-winning memoir and multiple books that interrogate the changing nature of the North.
www.adn.com
December 8, 2025 at 8:01 PM
No big deal or anything but we have two novels on this list **flips hair**
Hey. Hey you there. Shop small presses (we have fiction & poetry too!) 🥰
As gift-giving season approaches, don't forget to check out our holiday sale, from now until end of year! Spread the joy of scholarship and use promo code HOLIDAY25
upcolorado.com/our-books
upcolorado.com/our-books
December 8, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Hey. Hey you there. Shop small presses (we have fiction & poetry too!) 🥰
**raises hand** and university presses that both foster and disseminate said research 🙏
Ready to start a movement that argues universities should spend money on their core functions, rather than flashy nonsense. Such as teaching and research for example.
December 8, 2025 at 1:51 PM
**raises hand** and university presses that both foster and disseminate said research 🙏
Movie you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Stars (Wars nor Trek), LOTR, or Marvel, Disney Animated or Pixar.
December 8, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Movie you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Stars (Wars nor Trek), LOTR, or Marvel, Disney Animated or Pixar.
"Well, I'm off to buy a tree from the communist tree co-op down the street!" might be the most Brooklyn thing I've ever said.
December 6, 2025 at 4:57 PM
"Well, I'm off to buy a tree from the communist tree co-op down the street!" might be the most Brooklyn thing I've ever said.
A real life photo of all my late peer reviewers coming out of the woodwork before the holidays
December 5, 2025 at 6:21 PM
A real life photo of all my late peer reviewers coming out of the woodwork before the holidays
Everything about this article is spot on. University Presses are not a "bespoke ornament" but an integral part of the academic ecosystem. The claim that UPs "don't serve undergraduates" creates a (frankly head-scratching) false barrier between research & teaching--one informs the other & vice versa.
Why Close Bucknell University Press? (opinion)
Erosions of shared governance, narrow definitions of “student-centeredness” and a broader abandonment of a liberal arts ethos all lie behind the closure announcement.
www.insidehighered.com
December 4, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Everything about this article is spot on. University Presses are not a "bespoke ornament" but an integral part of the academic ecosystem. The claim that UPs "don't serve undergraduates" creates a (frankly head-scratching) false barrier between research & teaching--one informs the other & vice versa.
Pretty proud to be part of this tbh. I've always wanted to work at a small university press and this year I got to join the amazing staff at UPC!
It's kind of amazing what just 9 people can do together, if I say so myself. #smallpress #readUP
It's kind of amazing what just 9 people can do together, if I say so myself. #smallpress #readUP
December 4, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Pretty proud to be part of this tbh. I've always wanted to work at a small university press and this year I got to join the amazing staff at UPC!
It's kind of amazing what just 9 people can do together, if I say so myself. #smallpress #readUP
It's kind of amazing what just 9 people can do together, if I say so myself. #smallpress #readUP
My top listened to song in 2025 was "Hands Down" by Dashboard Confessional because apparently I'm in high school
December 4, 2025 at 1:19 PM
My top listened to song in 2025 was "Hands Down" by Dashboard Confessional because apparently I'm in high school
Reposted by Michelle Chen
We have some developmental edits
December 3, 2025 at 4:28 PM
We have some developmental edits
PSA sometimes your dissertation is not a book but a series of journal articles my friend and there is nothing wrong with that
December 3, 2025 at 2:01 PM
PSA sometimes your dissertation is not a book but a series of journal articles my friend and there is nothing wrong with that
Surprise surprise: my top two words were "book" and "books." What are y'all's?
This seems accurate.
My most-used words in 2025 were:
1. "lotr" (55×)
2. "book" (47×)
3. "lotreread" (41×)
4. "students" (39×)
5. "amreading" (34×)
See which words you used the most here: anisota.net/harvest
My most-used words in 2025 were:
1. "lotr" (55×)
2. "book" (47×)
3. "lotreread" (41×)
4. "students" (39×)
5. "amreading" (34×)
See which words you used the most here: anisota.net/harvest
Anisota's Annual Bluesky Harvest 2025
A recap of your year on Bluesky. Discover patterns, connections, and insights from your journey in the ATmosphere.
anisota.net
December 3, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Surprise surprise: my top two words were "book" and "books." What are y'all's?
Reposted by Michelle Chen
December 3, 2025 at 1:12 AM
"I love this weather," I insist, rubbing my red, sandpaper skin
December 2, 2025 at 11:23 PM
"I love this weather," I insist, rubbing my red, sandpaper skin