Love this. Publishing is labor.

Horror Novel ‘Shy Girl’ Canceled Over Suspected A.I. Use

Welp, here we go. Been expecting this to happen soon.

Not Enough Workers for the Job - The American Prospect Understaffing has become an epidemic in American workplaces of all kinds.

1/ As I reported my book, I noticed something that has completely changed American life: widespread chronic under-staffing. It leads to, among other things, deadly medication errors at pharmacies, flight delays, messy stores, and the crime wave. From me @prospect.org

prospect.org/2026/03/19/u...

Great to see Book Work featured on Arts & Letters Daily! @derekkrissoff.bsky.social @uchicagopress.bsky.social

So pleased with the way Pittsburgh continues to come through for books and authors. This Q&A from public radio station @wesa.fm joins attention for Chris's book at @pghreviewofbooks.bsky.social, @post-gazette.com, @ryandeto.bsky.social at Axios, White Whale Books, and others in this bookish city.

Thanks to @meganposco.bsky.social for talking with me about P FKN R! @dukepress.bsky.social @aupresses.bsky.social #badbunny

It's been a blast showing off books in the @oupress.bsky.social "Teaching, Engaging, and Thriving in Higher Ed" series at the Transformative Learning Conference at UCO today.

Many thanks to @thetattooedprof.bsky.social for modeling with a complete set of books in the series so far!

Doctorow—who once, pre-AI, publicly thanked me for my copyedit of his book—is at least consistent in his techno-libertarian defense of Open at all costs.

"Book reviewing can be labor intensive ... and it takes a very special, refined skill and one that gets better with wider reading. It’s not something that can be done well on cheap labor, and along the line, the pipeline for training reviewers has diminished."

"I also want authors to know that a book can still succeed in the absence of traditional reviews, and while the acknowledgment that comes with a review is fantastic, its impact is not certain." open.substack.com/pub/derekkri... @derekkrissoff.bsky.social

There's a Richard Scarry quality to working with an author from your busy little town on a book that's about your town and then walking down the street and seeing it in your town's shop window.

Publishing job:

We are looking for an acquisitions coordinator at @oupress.bsky.social to support our acquisitions editors and authors!

It's a good entry point for a career in book publishing.

The position is on-site in Norman.

Questions? andrewb@ou.edu

Apply here:
ou.taleo.net/careersectio...

Cover of OU Press title, luminescent bubbles

- how to find joy in teaching online
- Native punk
- Aboriginal Australians & the Black Panther Party
- Oklahoma's natural wonders
- much more!

I am proud of the books @OUPress.bsky.social is publishing this spring.

Take a look at the OU Press Spring 2026 catalog >
www.oupress.com/spring-summe...

"The demise of Book World is a tragic blow to writers, readers, and the publishing industry": Join former BW editors and contributors at @politicsprose.bsky.social on Feb. 21 at 5 p.m. to celebrate decades of great books coverage in the WaPo. politics-prose.com/tribute-book... #BookSky 📚

Secret Lives of Church Ladies being pulled from a bookstore shelf.

Secret Lives of Church Ladies face out in a bookstore display.

One week, two Charlestons (SC and WV), two indie bookstores, and lots of ongoing support—almost six years after the pub date—for the big success story from the little university press.

Happy to talk about this position!

Promotional Flyer for Perusall Snafu Edu book club with author Jessamyn Neuhaus

Let's talk about things going wrong in teaching & learning! Join the #SnafuEdu (@oupress.bsky.social) @perusall.com book club, 2/17-3/16. Register: www.perusall.com/engage-book-....

man's always hated books and the people who love them tbh

A photo of the book "Beyond Steel," with text: "An excellent history of the region's defeats and resurrections." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A big review for @chrisbriem.bsky.social's "Beyond Steel"! If you have access to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, be sure to read the full rave at the link below. And don't miss the author at Pittsburgh indie White Whale Books on Tuesday.

www.post-gazette.com/ae/books/202...

Glad the Kindle edition is showing up! I think your follow-up question is outside my range of expertise, but if you email the sales manager at Oklahoma she should be able to help with questions about getting copies to faculty groups. Address should be on their site.

Finding the Fizz with Flower Darby

Listen In! We've got some new podcast notifications to get you through this Wednesday. First up, OUP author @flowerdarby.bsky.social talks about her new book "The Joyful Online Teacher: Finding Our Fizz in Asynchronous Classes" on the Centering Centers podcast! open.spotify.com/episode/2mFC...

From novelist to literary agent My Q&A with Madison Smartt Bell

Over at Book Work, Jeremy Wang-Iverson interviews Madison Smartt Bell about making the transition from novelist to literary agent.

Especially interesting: the list of book projects Bell is working to place now.

derekkrissoff.substack.com/p/from-novel...

Did the Wolf Finally Leave? - Pittsburgh Review of Books In early 2014, colleagues in the media relations department at the University of Pittsburgh forwarded to me a voicemail they said was from an independent

Big thanks to @pghreviewofbooks.bsky.social for sharing an excerpt from @chrisbriem.bsky.social’s much-anticipated book “Beyond Steel.” We're excited for the official launch event at White Whale Bookstore on February 3.

New on Book Work: an interview with Michael Lowenthal. His first essay collection “Place Envy” is out on Feb. 11 @derekkrissoff.bsky.social @rafertess.bsky.social @ohiostatepress.bsky.social

Speculative nonfiction My Q&A with Michael Lowenthal, author of "Place Envy"

@derekkrissoff.bsky.social’s chat with Michael Lowenthal, author of Place Envy, resonates with anyone who has moved from where they were born: “I envied folks who were nth-generation residents of a certain town...geography as shortcut to sense of belonging” derekkrissoff.substack.com/p/speculativ...

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In a time of change for Pittsburgh journalism, TribLive reaffirms its commitment to local news. We've been here for over 30 years and remain dedicated to serving our community.

triblive.com/local/always-local-alway...

Just heard that this is meant to be available for Kindle—my colleagues at Oklahoma are trouble-shooting now.

I'll ask around!

Twin Cities lit folks: there is a rare opening to join the wonderful humans of @uminnpress.bsky.social in our marketing dept (mostly remote). It's a really good gig!

www.upress.umn.edu/job-openings...

Well folks, some news. Ownership is folding @pghcitypaper.com. I wish I could say this was more surprising. I'll be on the lookout for new roles while I continue to teach and hopefully find places to publish some stories I haven't finished. In the meantime, I'm all ears for opportunities.