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.
Academics: don't miss this panel featuring my friend Shaun Vigil who is an incredible editor over at @templeunivpress.bsky.social
Peer reviews don't HAVE to be stressful and confusing I promise.
Peer reviews don't HAVE to be stressful and confusing I promise.
Peer review can be a tricky part of the academic publishing process. ✍️ What’s the best way to decode reviewer comments, and how should you respond to critiques? Get answers during our February 10 webinar Navigating Peer Review on Your First Book.
ideasonfire.net/first-book-p...
#FirstBook
ideasonfire.net/first-book-p...
#FirstBook
January 22, 2026 at 5:12 PM
Academics: don't miss this panel featuring my friend Shaun Vigil who is an incredible editor over at @templeunivpress.bsky.social
Peer reviews don't HAVE to be stressful and confusing I promise.
Peer reviews don't HAVE to be stressful and confusing I promise.
Reposted by Michelle Chen
January 22, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Great post that details the MASSIVE amounts of invisible labor that goes into publishing a book.
The Myth of "My Publisher Did Nothing for My Book"
A negative publishing experience doesn't mean nothing was done for a book. Plenty was probably done, but the work is invisible.
kathleenschmidt.substack.com
January 22, 2026 at 3:13 PM
Great post that details the MASSIVE amounts of invisible labor that goes into publishing a book.
Reposted by Michelle Chen
A possible hot take: I am so very tired of these surveys of faculty and/or student feelings/perceptions/attitudes about AI... www.chronicle.com/newsletter/t...
Here's a thread explaining why...
Here's a thread explaining why...
Faculty Are Overwhelmed and Conflicted by AI, Survey Shows
One-third of instructors say they’ve dealt with a lot of academic-integrity violations.
www.chronicle.com
January 22, 2026 at 4:57 AM
A possible hot take: I am so very tired of these surveys of faculty and/or student feelings/perceptions/attitudes about AI... www.chronicle.com/newsletter/t...
Here's a thread explaining why...
Here's a thread explaining why...
Reposted by Michelle Chen
We love to see this Big Book Proposal energy.
By the way, we are always accepting submissions for new projects! Send them to us here: upcolorado.com/manuscript
By the way, we are always accepting submissions for new projects! Send them to us here: upcolorado.com/manuscript
January 21, 2026 at 6:30 PM
We love to see this Big Book Proposal energy.
By the way, we are always accepting submissions for new projects! Send them to us here: upcolorado.com/manuscript
By the way, we are always accepting submissions for new projects! Send them to us here: upcolorado.com/manuscript
Currently trying to track down a non-responsive peer reviewer's phone number like I'm some kind of academic bounty hunter. Be warned ya'll: I WILL find you and get that 1-2 page report.
January 21, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Currently trying to track down a non-responsive peer reviewer's phone number like I'm some kind of academic bounty hunter. Be warned ya'll: I WILL find you and get that 1-2 page report.
Please send an exorcist I have a Nickelback song stuck in my head
January 21, 2026 at 2:45 AM
Please send an exorcist I have a Nickelback song stuck in my head
Reposted by Michelle Chen
My fav book publicist and fav person @amandaice.bsky.social on what academic authors need to know about promoting their books: yourwordsunleashed.com/ep-99-book-p...
Ep. 99 - Book Publicity 101: What Scholarly Authors Need to Know (with publicist Amanda Ice)
In this episode, Leslie chats with Harvard University Press senior publicist Amanda Ice about the do's and don'ts of book publicity.
yourwordsunleashed.com
January 20, 2026 at 9:26 PM
My fav book publicist and fav person @amandaice.bsky.social on what academic authors need to know about promoting their books: yourwordsunleashed.com/ep-99-book-p...
Reposted by Michelle Chen
Print copies of Adequate: Rewriting the Logics of Success in Rhetoric and Composition, edited by @timothyoleksiak.bsky.social and me, came in the mail today! Thanks to @upcolorado.bsky.social for publishing it!
January 20, 2026 at 9:31 PM
Print copies of Adequate: Rewriting the Logics of Success in Rhetoric and Composition, edited by @timothyoleksiak.bsky.social and me, came in the mail today! Thanks to @upcolorado.bsky.social for publishing it!
My cat at 3AM: You are my everything and I long to be as close to you as physically possible. Allow me to nibble on your face and sit on your neck to show you the depth of my love.
My cat during normal waking hours: Don't f**king touch me you dirty human.
My cat during normal waking hours: Don't f**king touch me you dirty human.
January 20, 2026 at 3:48 PM
My cat at 3AM: You are my everything and I long to be as close to you as physically possible. Allow me to nibble on your face and sit on your neck to show you the depth of my love.
My cat during normal waking hours: Don't f**king touch me you dirty human.
My cat during normal waking hours: Don't f**king touch me you dirty human.
Reposted by Michelle Chen
Here are 8 successful *proposals* for academic books/monographs. I am hoping that these help someone who is starting out trying to write one and wants to see what worked for me. They are provided as examples, rather than exemplars. A lot of it was just finding my own way eve.gd/2026/01/16/s...
Some example academic book proposal forms in case they help
A pivotal moment in my academic career, or at least one I remember clearly, was when a very senior professor in the US sent me his book proposal for an acade...
eve.gd
January 16, 2026 at 11:32 AM
Here are 8 successful *proposals* for academic books/monographs. I am hoping that these help someone who is starting out trying to write one and wants to see what worked for me. They are provided as examples, rather than exemplars. A lot of it was just finding my own way eve.gd/2026/01/16/s...
Just bought 18 boxes of girl scout cookies and I'm not mad about it.
In case anyone else needs the vegan guide:
In case anyone else needs the vegan guide:
January 18, 2026 at 4:55 PM
Just bought 18 boxes of girl scout cookies and I'm not mad about it.
In case anyone else needs the vegan guide:
In case anyone else needs the vegan guide:
My partner has set our valentines gift exchange spending limit at $20 so I guess I will be buying him 1.5 avocados
January 17, 2026 at 4:15 PM
My partner has set our valentines gift exchange spending limit at $20 so I guess I will be buying him 1.5 avocados
Me to authors: Set reasonable deadlines you can actually meet! Be kind to yourself and know that life will sometimes get in the way.
Me to myself: if you don't get this done in two weeks you are a trash human with a trash brain and everything you've ever done is built on a foundation of trash.
Me to myself: if you don't get this done in two weeks you are a trash human with a trash brain and everything you've ever done is built on a foundation of trash.
January 16, 2026 at 3:51 PM
Me to authors: Set reasonable deadlines you can actually meet! Be kind to yourself and know that life will sometimes get in the way.
Me to myself: if you don't get this done in two weeks you are a trash human with a trash brain and everything you've ever done is built on a foundation of trash.
Me to myself: if you don't get this done in two weeks you are a trash human with a trash brain and everything you've ever done is built on a foundation of trash.
"It is essential to remember that the millions of works at issue in this lawsuit did not spring out of thin air but were conceived, created, developed, perfected, and financed by a creative sector that is dedicated to public progress."
YES THIS THANK YOU
YES THIS THANK YOU
Publishers Move to Intervene in Class Action Suit Against Google for Generative AI Product “Gemini” - AAP
Direct Participation Would Support Individual Plaintiffs and Bolster Legal Case The Association of American Publishers (AAP) announced today that two of its member companies, Cengage Group and Hachett...
publishers.org
January 15, 2026 at 7:27 PM
"It is essential to remember that the millions of works at issue in this lawsuit did not spring out of thin air but were conceived, created, developed, perfected, and financed by a creative sector that is dedicated to public progress."
YES THIS THANK YOU
YES THIS THANK YOU
Reposted by Michelle Chen
Too much research is behind a paywall, which is why we're so grateful to participate in the @jstor.bsky.social Path to Open program which generously makes select titles free to read for all. No excuse now not to dig in! Check out our newest OA books here tinyurl.com/mswbfp2v
#OA #OpenAccess #ReadUP
#OA #OpenAccess #ReadUP
January 15, 2026 at 4:13 PM
Too much research is behind a paywall, which is why we're so grateful to participate in the @jstor.bsky.social Path to Open program which generously makes select titles free to read for all. No excuse now not to dig in! Check out our newest OA books here tinyurl.com/mswbfp2v
#OA #OpenAccess #ReadUP
#OA #OpenAccess #ReadUP
I've always found book contracts to be the most surreal part of an acquisitions editor's job. Like here I am with my cute little degree in Transatlantic Modernism just negotiating complex and binding legal language nbd 🤷♀️
#justeditorthings
#justeditorthings
January 15, 2026 at 3:55 PM
I've always found book contracts to be the most surreal part of an acquisitions editor's job. Like here I am with my cute little degree in Transatlantic Modernism just negotiating complex and binding legal language nbd 🤷♀️
#justeditorthings
#justeditorthings
INORDINATELY excited about this book, forthcoming in March. Serious kudos to the brave grad students in this collection willing to tackle the realities of being a POC in academia (spoiler alert: it's hard)
January 14, 2026 at 4:12 PM
INORDINATELY excited about this book, forthcoming in March. Serious kudos to the brave grad students in this collection willing to tackle the realities of being a POC in academia (spoiler alert: it's hard)
Reposted by Michelle Chen
What are the cost considerations of including maps in my book? https://bit.ly/3eGxcKn
University press publishers answer frequently asked questions like this one on our #AskUP site.
Curious about how university press publishing works? #AskUP!
University press publishers answer frequently asked questions like this one on our #AskUP site.
Curious about how university press publishing works? #AskUP!
January 14, 2026 at 3:00 PM
What are the cost considerations of including maps in my book? https://bit.ly/3eGxcKn
University press publishers answer frequently asked questions like this one on our #AskUP site.
Curious about how university press publishing works? #AskUP!
University press publishers answer frequently asked questions like this one on our #AskUP site.
Curious about how university press publishing works? #AskUP!
Accidentally made myself decaf coffee this AM which is to say that I can't be held responsible for my actions today
January 13, 2026 at 12:47 PM
Accidentally made myself decaf coffee this AM which is to say that I can't be held responsible for my actions today
Yes, this! Always ask! Many universities have some kind of faculty funding available for publications and even a modest subvention toward production can go a long way at a small university press.
It is always worth checking if you can get funding for book indexing or other production costs. Depending on the subject area there are funds available if you know who to ask.
Said this at a panel I chaired on Saturday, and so it’s on my mind.
My dream is a grant/prize that funds the cost of book indexing for un/underemployed or independent historians. It’s $1,000+ (depending on indexer’s rate and book length) or you do it yourself—which is a big investment of time.
My dream is a grant/prize that funds the cost of book indexing for un/underemployed or independent historians. It’s $1,000+ (depending on indexer’s rate and book length) or you do it yourself—which is a big investment of time.
January 13, 2026 at 12:37 PM
Yes, this! Always ask! Many universities have some kind of faculty funding available for publications and even a modest subvention toward production can go a long way at a small university press.
Does the Hudson count as a river or are we still doing the pedantic thing where in NYC it's technically an estuary?
My favorite Twitter prompt was "RT this with your home river," so reskeet this with your home river.
Mine is the Patuxent.
Mine is the Patuxent.
January 13, 2026 at 12:14 AM
Does the Hudson count as a river or are we still doing the pedantic thing where in NYC it's technically an estuary?
Someone: not even pigs are this stupid
Me: actually, pigs are very smart!
***realizes that I am annoying
Me: actually, pigs are very smart!
***realizes that I am annoying
January 12, 2026 at 6:19 PM
Someone: not even pigs are this stupid
Me: actually, pigs are very smart!
***realizes that I am annoying
Me: actually, pigs are very smart!
***realizes that I am annoying
✅ Flight to Cleveland acquired
✅ Hotel room booked
✅ Roundtable with some very smart co-presenters (led by @jacobbabb.bsky.social @timothyoleksiak.bsky.social) officially on the conference program
Looking forward to nerding out about the ethics of academic peer review in #writingstudies at #CCCC26!
✅ Hotel room booked
✅ Roundtable with some very smart co-presenters (led by @jacobbabb.bsky.social @timothyoleksiak.bsky.social) officially on the conference program
Looking forward to nerding out about the ethics of academic peer review in #writingstudies at #CCCC26!
January 9, 2026 at 2:48 PM
✅ Flight to Cleveland acquired
✅ Hotel room booked
✅ Roundtable with some very smart co-presenters (led by @jacobbabb.bsky.social @timothyoleksiak.bsky.social) officially on the conference program
Looking forward to nerding out about the ethics of academic peer review in #writingstudies at #CCCC26!
✅ Hotel room booked
✅ Roundtable with some very smart co-presenters (led by @jacobbabb.bsky.social @timothyoleksiak.bsky.social) officially on the conference program
Looking forward to nerding out about the ethics of academic peer review in #writingstudies at #CCCC26!
Once I heard about someone who set an out of office that said something like "Upon my return I will be deleting all emails received while I was gone so if it's important you'll have to email me again" and I truly think about this every day in both horror and veneration
January 8, 2026 at 9:01 PM
Once I heard about someone who set an out of office that said something like "Upon my return I will be deleting all emails received while I was gone so if it's important you'll have to email me again" and I truly think about this every day in both horror and veneration