Lesley Rains
@lesleyrains.bsky.social
Publicity Manager, @upittpress.bsky.social; board member, Autumn House Press; former bookseller, “such an Aires”
1996 was a good year
November 17, 2025 at 9:32 PM
1996 was a good year
Selling books and enjoying this N/A beer from fellow vendor, Athletic Brewing Co.
November 8, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Selling books and enjoying this N/A beer from fellow vendor, Athletic Brewing Co.
All set up at the Allegheny Sport and Outdoor Summit Expo! Find us in between Steel City Squash and Yinz Run Club. 11-6pm at Rockwell Park, free entry!
www.alleghenysport.com
www.alleghenysport.com
November 8, 2025 at 3:33 PM
All set up at the Allegheny Sport and Outdoor Summit Expo! Find us in between Steel City Squash and Yinz Run Club. 11-6pm at Rockwell Park, free entry!
www.alleghenysport.com
www.alleghenysport.com
Reposted by Lesley Rains
Also, maybe we come up with, like, two more holidays, say in the early and late spring, that involve walking around the neighborhood and talking to your neighbors?
October 31, 2025 at 10:56 PM
Also, maybe we come up with, like, two more holidays, say in the early and late spring, that involve walking around the neighborhood and talking to your neighbors?
Reposted by Lesley Rains
is this a metaphor for something, idk, maybe too subtle
Scoop: Trump has started demolishing the White House's East Wing facade to build his ballroom. The president had claimed construction of the $250 million building wouldn’t ‘interfere’ with the existing White House structure. /W @ddiamond.bsky.social wapo.st/4hqBNiU
White House begins demolishing East Wing facade to build Trump’s ballroom
The president had claimed construction of the $250 million ballroom wouldn’t ‘interfere’ with the existing White House structure.
wapo.st
October 20, 2025 at 6:46 PM
is this a metaphor for something, idk, maybe too subtle
Reposted by Lesley Rains
Hell yes, Pittsburgh. Love Yinz. No Kings.
October 18, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Hell yes, Pittsburgh. Love Yinz. No Kings.
Reposted by Lesley Rains
A celebration of Ed Ochester’s life and legacy reveals how a poet from Queens transformed Pittsburgh’s literary scene. By @kcollins1974.bsky.social.
pghrev.com/king-cool-ed...
pghrev.com/king-cool-ed...
King Cool: Ed Ochester and The Pittsburgh School of Poetry - Pittsburgh Review of Books
Only a handful of Saturdays ago I found myself in the awkward and somewhat surreal position of being at a crowded party and having to squeeze through a
pghrev.com
October 16, 2025 at 1:26 PM
A celebration of Ed Ochester’s life and legacy reveals how a poet from Queens transformed Pittsburgh’s literary scene. By @kcollins1974.bsky.social.
pghrev.com/king-cool-ed...
pghrev.com/king-cool-ed...
Reposted by Lesley Rains
Did you know that if you buy my book on Amazon, Jeff Bezos makes 5 times as much as I do on each copy sold? Sharing some behind-the-scenes book math on why buying directly from presses is best for EVERYONE (except Bezos) in my newsletter today! aubreyhirsch.substack.com/p/book-math
October 14, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Did you know that if you buy my book on Amazon, Jeff Bezos makes 5 times as much as I do on each copy sold? Sharing some behind-the-scenes book math on why buying directly from presses is best for EVERYONE (except Bezos) in my newsletter today! aubreyhirsch.substack.com/p/book-math
Reposted by Lesley Rains
“The feeling of wonder is not just the feeling of awe, the captivation of wild landscapes or the sun falling under the ocean’s rim at twilight. Wonder is a quiet strum in a churchyard with a tender hound bounding after rabbits.”
An excerpt from CE Mackenzie's ACHY AFFECTS.
pghrev.com/wonder-drug/
An excerpt from CE Mackenzie's ACHY AFFECTS.
pghrev.com/wonder-drug/
Wonder Drug - Pittsburgh Review of Books
The more I wonder, the more I love.
pghrev.com
October 9, 2025 at 4:42 PM
“The feeling of wonder is not just the feeling of awe, the captivation of wild landscapes or the sun falling under the ocean’s rim at twilight. Wonder is a quiet strum in a churchyard with a tender hound bounding after rabbits.”
An excerpt from CE Mackenzie's ACHY AFFECTS.
pghrev.com/wonder-drug/
An excerpt from CE Mackenzie's ACHY AFFECTS.
pghrev.com/wonder-drug/
Reposted by Lesley Rains
Loved this poetry book so much! It was an honor to judge.
Congrats to John Bonanni @bananascallops.bsky.social, winner of the 2025 Donald Hall Prize for Poetry for his collection, RETROVIROLOGY, selected by @blklibrarygirl.bsky.social!
UPP will publish RETROVIROLOGY in the Fall 2026:
www.awpwriter.org/AWP/Contests...
UPP will publish RETROVIROLOGY in the Fall 2026:
www.awpwriter.org/AWP/Contests...
October 6, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Loved this poetry book so much! It was an honor to judge.
Reposted by Lesley Rains
Every October for Halloween I transform my studio into a retro VHS rental place with tapes for sale from vintage friends; it's a ton of work and so much fun. The Grand Opening is this Saturday, 12-4pm with vintage horror paperback seller The Bookubus and I'd love it if you came! 517 Greenfield Ave.
October 2, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Every October for Halloween I transform my studio into a retro VHS rental place with tapes for sale from vintage friends; it's a ton of work and so much fun. The Grand Opening is this Saturday, 12-4pm with vintage horror paperback seller The Bookubus and I'd love it if you came! 517 Greenfield Ave.
Reposted by Lesley Rains
"a well-written biography that will persuade Wilson’s admirers to revisit his plays and introduce his work to a new generation of fans."
Terrific pre-pub review of August Wilson's American Century: Life as Art (on sale 2/10/26)
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
Terrific pre-pub review of August Wilson's American Century: Life as Art (on sale 2/10/26)
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
AUGUST WILSON'S AMERICAN CENTURY | Kirkus Reviews
A biography of one of America’s greatest playwrights.
www.kirkusreviews.com
September 29, 2025 at 3:13 PM
"a well-written biography that will persuade Wilson’s admirers to revisit his plays and introduce his work to a new generation of fans."
Terrific pre-pub review of August Wilson's American Century: Life as Art (on sale 2/10/26)
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
Terrific pre-pub review of August Wilson's American Century: Life as Art (on sale 2/10/26)
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
Reposted by Lesley Rains
Autumn House had a great time hanging out with @alternatehistories.bsky.social for National Read a Book Day! Thanks to Matt for hosting us and naming AHP as the nonprofit for the September "Give Back" program--this means they'll be donating 10% of their in-person sales to the press. 🧡
September 18, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Autumn House had a great time hanging out with @alternatehistories.bsky.social for National Read a Book Day! Thanks to Matt for hosting us and naming AHP as the nonprofit for the September "Give Back" program--this means they'll be donating 10% of their in-person sales to the press. 🧡
“Pitt [Poetry Series] is, to me, the shit.” - Ross Gay, celebrating the life and editorship of Ed Ochester
September 13, 2025 at 1:09 AM
“Pitt [Poetry Series] is, to me, the shit.” - Ross Gay, celebrating the life and editorship of Ed Ochester
Nice to see @upittpress.bsky.social author Brian Gyamfi’s poet debut, What God in the Kingdom of Bastards on this list, along with @tyler-m.bsky.social My Prisoner and other Stories, both out this month!
debutiful.net/2025/09/01/1...
debutiful.net/2025/09/01/1...
12 noteworthy debut books you should read this September
Debutiful’s Adam Vitcavage recommends noteworthy debut books for readers to discover each month.
debutiful.net
September 1, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Nice to see @upittpress.bsky.social author Brian Gyamfi’s poet debut, What God in the Kingdom of Bastards on this list, along with @tyler-m.bsky.social My Prisoner and other Stories, both out this month!
debutiful.net/2025/09/01/1...
debutiful.net/2025/09/01/1...
Reposted by Lesley Rains
This social media site will not and cannot succeed until everybody pats me on the head and tells me I’m a good boy for all my opinions
September 1, 2025 at 2:07 PM
This social media site will not and cannot succeed until everybody pats me on the head and tells me I’m a good boy for all my opinions
Reposted by Lesley Rains
Mubanga Kalimamukwento Wins 2025 Firecracker Award for Fiction - JAY Lit jaylit.com/mubanga-kali...
Mubanga Kalimamukwento Wins 2025 Firecracker Award for Fiction - JAY Lit
Zambian author Mubanga Kalimamukwento has won the 2025 CLMP Firecracker Award for Fiction for her collection Obligations to the Wounded, published by the University of Pittsburgh Press. Awarded…
jaylit.com
July 13, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Mubanga Kalimamukwento Wins 2025 Firecracker Award for Fiction - JAY Lit jaylit.com/mubanga-kali...
Reposted by Lesley Rains
Reposted by Lesley Rains
The winner of the 2025 #FirecrackerAward in Fiction is OBLIGATIONS TO THE WOUNDED by Mubanga Kalimamukwento, published by @upittpress.bsky.social! upittpress.org/books/978082...
June 26, 2025 at 10:14 PM
The winner of the 2025 #FirecrackerAward in Fiction is OBLIGATIONS TO THE WOUNDED by Mubanga Kalimamukwento, published by @upittpress.bsky.social! upittpress.org/books/978082...
Part memoir, part rhetoric study, Achy Affects considers how the ideas of harm reduction intersect with being trans.
Really proud to help usher this book into the world.
Really proud to help usher this book into the world.
"It's okay to be wrong."
CE Mackenzie discusses their new memoir, Achy Affects, on WESA:
www.wesa.fm/arts-culture...
CE Mackenzie discusses their new memoir, Achy Affects, on WESA:
www.wesa.fm/arts-culture...
Harm-reduction philosophy informs memoir by Pittsburgh author
CE Mackenzie's memoir "Achy Affects" explores how harm-reduction practices informed their experience as a trans person.
www.wesa.fm
June 23, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Part memoir, part rhetoric study, Achy Affects considers how the ideas of harm reduction intersect with being trans.
Really proud to help usher this book into the world.
Really proud to help usher this book into the world.
Reposted by Lesley Rains
Happy pub day to Achy Affects: Crisis and Compositions of Selfhood by CE Mackenzie
Achy Affects is a trans-genre memoir that boldly reimagines how we care for ourselves and our communities amidst relentless cultural, political, and ecological upheavals.
Order here: upittpress.org/books/978082...
Achy Affects is a trans-genre memoir that boldly reimagines how we care for ourselves and our communities amidst relentless cultural, political, and ecological upheavals.
Order here: upittpress.org/books/978082...
June 10, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Happy pub day to Achy Affects: Crisis and Compositions of Selfhood by CE Mackenzie
Achy Affects is a trans-genre memoir that boldly reimagines how we care for ourselves and our communities amidst relentless cultural, political, and ecological upheavals.
Order here: upittpress.org/books/978082...
Achy Affects is a trans-genre memoir that boldly reimagines how we care for ourselves and our communities amidst relentless cultural, political, and ecological upheavals.
Order here: upittpress.org/books/978082...
Reposted by Lesley Rains
Think about all the incredible writers you know who can’t get any publicity but James Fucking Frey gets the front page glow up in the Sunday NY Times, called a “literary outlaw” for making shit up in a book billed as non-fiction, and a whole paragraph devoted to him describing his orgasms.
June 8, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Think about all the incredible writers you know who can’t get any publicity but James Fucking Frey gets the front page glow up in the Sunday NY Times, called a “literary outlaw” for making shit up in a book billed as non-fiction, and a whole paragraph devoted to him describing his orgasms.
Reposted by Lesley Rains
Great to see Kent State University Press alongside our friends at @upittpress.bsky.social, @uakronpress.bsky.social, and Cleveland State University Poetry Center in this writeup of poetry publishing in the Rust Belt!
"We can be of our region and communities while also being part of a larger thing—whether that be American poetry, university press publishing, or just publishing in general.”
Read “A Rust Belt Poetry Renaissance” by Rose Bialer.
beltmag.com/a-rust-belt-...
Read “A Rust Belt Poetry Renaissance” by Rose Bialer.
beltmag.com/a-rust-belt-...
A Rust Belt Poetry Renaissance - Belt Magazine
"We can be of our region and communities while also being part of a larger thing—whether that be American poetry, university press publishing, or just publishing in general.”
beltmag.com
June 5, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Great to see Kent State University Press alongside our friends at @upittpress.bsky.social, @uakronpress.bsky.social, and Cleveland State University Poetry Center in this writeup of poetry publishing in the Rust Belt!
Reposted by Lesley Rains
"We can be of our region and communities while also being part of a larger thing—whether that be American poetry, university press publishing, or just publishing in general.”
Read “A Rust Belt Poetry Renaissance” by Rose Bialer.
beltmag.com/a-rust-belt-...
Read “A Rust Belt Poetry Renaissance” by Rose Bialer.
beltmag.com/a-rust-belt-...
A Rust Belt Poetry Renaissance - Belt Magazine
"We can be of our region and communities while also being part of a larger thing—whether that be American poetry, university press publishing, or just publishing in general.”
beltmag.com
June 5, 2025 at 2:27 PM
"We can be of our region and communities while also being part of a larger thing—whether that be American poetry, university press publishing, or just publishing in general.”
Read “A Rust Belt Poetry Renaissance” by Rose Bialer.
beltmag.com/a-rust-belt-...
Read “A Rust Belt Poetry Renaissance” by Rose Bialer.
beltmag.com/a-rust-belt-...