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Derek Krissoff

@derekkrissoff.bsky.social

1.6K followers 1.2K following 52 posts

Publishing worker in Pittsburgh. Editor-at-large with @oupress.bsky.social and @ksupress.bsky.social. Email me at dkrissoff at gmail dot com. More at derekkrissoff.com and derekkrissoff.substack.com.

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Derek Krissoff @derekkrissoff.bsky.social · Feb 7

Excited to have a new piece in the Chronicle of Higher Ed (@chronicle.com). I’ve been in so many exchanges with people who’ve never heard anything happy about university presses. So I wrote an essay to share with them.

Opinion | This Is a Golden Age for University Presses

The focus on efficiency and innovation misses the point: We are producing fabulous books.

www.chronicle.com

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Porter Square Books in Cambridge & Boston @portersqbooks.bsky.social · 9h

One easy way to support your local bookstore WITHOUT SPENDING ANY $$$ is to nominate their booksellers for a James Patterson holiday bonus www.bookweb.org/james-patter...

James Patterson Holiday Bookstore Bonus Program 2025

www.bookweb.org

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Derek Krissoff @derekkrissoff.bsky.social · 2d

Nothing to apologize for—thanks for sharing it around!

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 2d

Ever since @derekkrissoff.bsky.social's blog about #BannedBooks week, I've been thinking about the need to highlight books that are not technically banned, especially now now when bans are less explicit, but exist all the same. So I'll have recs every day this week (bc reading widely is resistance!)

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Kent State University Press @ksupress.bsky.social · 14d

Excited to hear Kent State University Press’s director, @tottencs.bsky.social, on the American Campus Podcast, where she talks with @llassabe.bsky.social about the meaning and value of university-press publishing.

The future of university presses with Clara Totten - American Campus Podcast

And how to approach an acquisitions editorReferences:Association of University Presses and #AskUpSteven L. Herman. 2024. Behind the White House Curtain. Kent State University Press.Madeleine L'Engle. ...

americancampuspodcast.buzzsprout.com

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University of Oklahoma Press @oupress.bsky.social · 15d

Out Now! "Empowered: A Woman Faculty of Color's Guide to Teaching and Thriving" by Chavella T. Pittman. www.oupress.com/978080619565...

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Wilfrid Laurier University Press @wlupress.bsky.social · 27d

In this episode of Community of Praxis, Brenna Clarke Gray interviews Cate Denial about her essay-turned-book, A Pedagogy of Kindness. Listen on our website or your favourite podcast provider. www.wlupress.wlu.ca/...

A photograph of Cate Denial, a white woman with short red hair and glasses. The text reads New Episode! Community of Praxis by Brenna Clarke Gray with guest Cate Denial, author of Pedagogy of Kindness.

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University of South Carolina Press @uscpress.bsky.social · Sep 2

USC Press seeks a full-time Marketing, Sales, and Publicity Director! Are you a collaborative team leader? Do you enjoy developing creative sales strategies? Then we can't wait to hear from you! Apply here: uscjobs.sc.edu/postings/194...

#publishingjob #hiring @uofscprovost.bsky.social

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The New York Times @nytimes.com · Sep 5

Breaking News: The A.I. firm Anthropic agreed to a record $1.5 billion settlement for illegally downloading and storing copyrighted books.

Anthropic Agrees to Pay $1.5 Billion to Settle Lawsuit With Book Authors

The settlement is the largest payout in the history of U.S. copyright cases and could lead more A.I. companies to pay rights holders for use of their works.

nyti.ms

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Rebecca Colesworthy @rcolesworthy.bsky.social · Sep 3

I started reading the list of Bucknell English dept faculty. I don't think I know any irl or on here but every single bio lists a current book project or a/many published book/s--expected, presumably, for tenure. Will Bucknell--upon closing Bucknell UP--stop expecting their own fac to publish books?

Rebecca Colesworthy @rcolesworthy.bsky.social · Aug 29

Side note: I look forward to Chicago and any other schools suspending PhD admissions and hiring also suspending publication requirements for current faculty in those fields since such reqs presuppose the existence of an adequate pool of peer reviewers

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Kent State University Press @ksupress.bsky.social · Aug 30

This Labor Day Weekend, take a Rust Belt Roadtrip with @gmoult.bsky.social, who recommends three books about Cleveland’s extraordinary sacred architecture from Kent State University Press: kentstatebooks.wordpress.com/2025/08/30/m...

Three books on Cleveland's sacred architecture arranged in a row on a white background.

The book "Eric Mendelsohn’s Park Synagogue" in a spread on a white background.

Cleveland’s Holy Rosary in Little Italy.

Three books on a white background, with "Dedication: The Work of William P. Ginther, Ecclesiastical Architect" open to a spread.

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Andrew Berzanskis @aberzanskis.bsky.social · Aug 28

This was a cathartic read, I say as someone who cannot help but see any glossy Banned Books Week display of titles from the Big 5 through the lens of cratering library sales.

New from @derekkrissoff.bsky.social, "My problem with Banned Books Week: The Unbought Book vs. the Challenged One."

My problem with Banned Books Week

The unbought book vs. the challenged one

derekkrissoff.substack.com

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Derek Krissoff @derekkrissoff.bsky.social · Aug 27

This is very kind. Thank you!

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Lauren Lassabe Shepherd @llassabe.bsky.social · Aug 27

One of my favorite blogs is Book Work by @derekkrissoff.bsky.social

Today’s piece on the hype over Banned Books Week and how much is actually obscures about the publishing industry is 📣📣📣

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Rebecca Colesworthy @rcolesworthy.bsky.social · Aug 21

This is awful news for many reasons. I so appreciate seeing this solidarity. I have many questions and mixed feelings about alarmism. We should be sounding the alarm about our mutual conditions and threats—though the latter also well exceed the current admin.

www.chronicle.com/blogs/letter...

Letter | Bucknell University Press to Close

This should alarm university presses nationwide, writes Aníbal González-Pérez.

www.chronicle.com

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Kate Knibbs @knibbs.bsky.social · Aug 26

NEW: A major AI copyright legal showdown just took a huge twist today. Facing a class action on behalf of book authors that could've seen it pay over a TRILLION in damages for alleged piracy, Anthropic has agreed to settle instead: www.wired.com/story/anthro...

Anthropic Settles High-Profile AI Copyright Lawsuit Brought By Book Authors

Anthropic faced the prospect of more than $1 trillion in damages, a sum that could have threatened the company’s survival if the case went to trial.

www.wired.com

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Rich Lord @richelord.bsky.social · Aug 25

I’ve been around Pittsburgh for a while (though I didn’t exist in '62) but had never heard of this early-60s plan to basically roof Panther Hollow and turn it into a nuclear-powered research hub. Thankfully we have @chrisbriem.bsky.social to unearth such moments www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-h...

Panther Hollow was once envisioned as a roofed ‘Valley of Tomorrow’

In the 1960s, Pitt dreamed of a million-dollar research park over Panther Hollow. The ambitious plan would have built a nuclear reactor in the heart of Oakland.

www.publicsource.org

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Kent State University Press @ksupress.bsky.social · Aug 25

Grateful to @publicsource.org for sharing a first look at @chrisbriem.bsky.social's book “Beyond Steel: Pittsburgh and the Economics of Transformation.”

Pittsburgh's Public Source @publicsource.org · Aug 25

In the 1960s, mills were still dominant in Pittsburgh. A project to turn Panther Hollow into the “Valley of Tomorrow” — with a nuclear reactor, a computing center and data bank — never came to fruition, but it laid the seeds for the meds and eds we see today. buff.ly/xIaoPlB

Panther Hollow was once envisioned as a roofed ‘Valley of Tomorrow’

In the 1960s, Pitt dreamed of a million-dollar research park over Panther Hollow. The ambitious plan would have built a nuclear reactor in the heart of Oakland.

buff.ly

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Dr. Natalie Mendoza @drmendozan.bsky.social · Aug 20

🗃️ Variation of this: I gave students one of my chapters w/no footnotes, asked where they thought footnotes should go: What type of source was used? What makes you think that? They have to consider how writing shows evidence vs. context vs. author’s voice. They liked it a lot and had great questions!

roxanne panchasi @rpanchasi.bsky.social · Aug 20

Just sharing the “Xtreme endnotes” assignment @parisnoire.bsky.social mentions here in case anyone else finds it helpful as we begin a new academic year.

FWIW, it’s a purely analog exercise in an AI-freaky world & my students have never not had fun doing it.✌🏽

www.historians.org/perspectives...

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Andrew Berzanskis @aberzanskis.bsky.social · Aug 18

It says a lot when Times Higher Education (@timeshighered.bsky.social) casually cites a book as a relevant authority—

So I appreciate the nod here to "The Opposite of Cheating: Teaching for Integrity in the Age of AI" by Tricia Bertram Gallant & David Rettinger from @oupress.bsky.social!

Managing student risk AI-version

Could a safe space to experiment with using artificial intelligence to complete an assessment offer students a path to both deeper learning and AI proficiency?

www.timeshighereducation.com

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Kent State University Press @ksupress.bsky.social · Aug 11

Grateful to @postindustrial.bsky.social for this short piece anticipating @chrisbriem.bsky.social's book "Beyond Steel: Pittsburgh and the Economics of Transformation," coming from KSUP this winter. postindustrial.com/stories/post...

Postindustrial Books: Pittsburgh’s evolution hasn’t always been easy

Explore Pittsburgh’s evolution from steel town to urban reinvention in the Postindustrial Era and its contested path forward.

postindustrial.com

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Colin @celsmooth.bsky.social · Aug 10

A GREAT read. Everyone need to check out this review

Charles Logan @charleswlogan.bsky.social · Aug 9

FWIW, @anterobot.bsky.social, @philnichols.bsky.social, and I reviewed Blood in the Machine and argued the Luddites have much to offer educators in the fight against automation and obnoxious machines.

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University of Oklahoma Press @oupress.bsky.social · Aug 6

Gear Up for Great Reads! Our Fall/Winter 2025 Catalog is LIVE and waiting for you! Explore what’s new from OU Press. www.oupress.com/catalogs/

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Alastair Horne @pressfuturist.bsky.social · Jul 31

Do you have opinions about book covers? (I know you do. ;-))

Could you please spare a few minutes to help our @stirlingpublishing.bsky.social student @oliviagw.bsky.social with her dissertation research by answering her survey?

(Please share, too!)

Olivia Wood @oliviagw.bsky.social · Jul 31

Hello, I’m Olivia Wood and I am a Publishing MLitt student at Stirling University. For my dissertation, I am running a survey to examine the reader response to the use of people on book cover designs. The survey should take around 5 – 10 minutes to complete. Thank you!
forms.office.com/e/xhcRvsrUjU

Microsoft Forms

forms.office.com

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Kent State University Press @ksupress.bsky.social · Jul 28

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

CITY & CAST
Pittsburgh
Should Pittsburgh & Cleveland Be Friends? by City Cast Pittsburgh

Orange background, skyline with bridges

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Viji @vijisathy.bsky.social · Jul 24

I’m enjoying newly published book season!!! What’s on my desk now? It’s @geekypedagogy.bsky.social Snafu Edu. The book is rich with practical suggestions and skillful integration of teaching and learning scholarship. Congratulations, Jessamyn!

Copy of snafu edu on my red metal desk in my office

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