Brian Halley
@brianbhalley.bsky.social
Executive Editor at University of Massachusetts Press, based at UMass Boston. Views here don’t reflect them. Feminist, progressive, 🏳️🌈, into books, dogs, ocean, print culture, lit studies, environmental studies/climate justice, and more.
Pinned
Brian Halley
@brianbhalley.bsky.social
· Nov 16
Homepage - University of Massachusetts Press
Welcome to the online home of University of Massachusetts Press. We publish scholarship, literature, and books for general readers that reflect the quality and diversity of intellectual life on our ca...
www.umasspress.com
I’m fortunate to work with brilliant authors & colleagues at @umasspress.bsky.social and it’s worth checking out website. I’ll be posting on range incl my areas (print culture, env studies, lgbtq+ and gender studies, African American studies, Native studies, New England, etc) & probs w/ #publishing.
Add this to list of human rights abuses in which our government is engaging. Truly terrifying and shameful.
Gutting of key US watchdog could pave way for grave immigration abuses, experts warn
Former oversight officials alarmed by dismantling of DHS system that oversees complaints about civil rights harms
www.theguardian.com
November 30, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Add this to list of human rights abuses in which our government is engaging. Truly terrifying and shameful.
There’s a lot to watch rn but keep your eyes on these pathetic tactics, state by state.
1. In Tennessee, public libraries have closed for up to a week to facilitate a Trump-inspired book purge.
Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett (R) has ordered most of the state's public librarians to remove children's books with LGBTQ characters or themes.
Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett (R) has ordered most of the state's public librarians to remove children's books with LGBTQ characters or themes.
Tennessee public libraries close for Trump-inspired book purge
One hundred and eighty-one public libraries in Tennessee are reviewing their children’s collections after Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett (R) ordered them to remove books with LGBTQ themes…
popular.info
November 29, 2025 at 12:51 AM
There’s a lot to watch rn but keep your eyes on these pathetic tactics, state by state.
Reposted by Brian Halley
A very readable, deeply-informed piece by Naomi Klein that combines genocide, the Surrealists, fascism then and now -- and Mamdani.
www.equator.org/articles/sur...
www.equator.org/articles/sur...
Surrealism Against Fascism • EQUATOR
A century ago, artists who survived the trenches captured humanity’s capacity for destruction. What can they teach us about confronting the far-right in a new age of genocide?
www.equator.org
November 28, 2025 at 3:34 AM
A very readable, deeply-informed piece by Naomi Klein that combines genocide, the Surrealists, fascism then and now -- and Mamdani.
www.equator.org/articles/sur...
www.equator.org/articles/sur...
State dept employees and grantees have been told to “refrain from publicly promoting World AIDS Day through any communication channels, including social media, media engagements, speeches or other public-facing messaging.” Everytime you think they’ve gone the lowest, they go lower.
Trump Administration Will No Longer Commemorate World AIDS Day
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 11:13 PM
State dept employees and grantees have been told to “refrain from publicly promoting World AIDS Day through any communication channels, including social media, media engagements, speeches or other public-facing messaging.” Everytime you think they’ve gone the lowest, they go lower.
Reposted by Brian Halley
The number of immigrants in detention without criminal records has surged by over 2,000% since Trump reentered the White House.
Nearly half of all detainees have no criminal charges or conviction.
Trump was always lying about going after the “worst of the worst.”
Nearly half of all detainees have no criminal charges or conviction.
Trump was always lying about going after the “worst of the worst.”
November 26, 2025 at 6:30 PM
The number of immigrants in detention without criminal records has surged by over 2,000% since Trump reentered the White House.
Nearly half of all detainees have no criminal charges or conviction.
Trump was always lying about going after the “worst of the worst.”
Nearly half of all detainees have no criminal charges or conviction.
Trump was always lying about going after the “worst of the worst.”
Reposted by Brian Halley
As you’re preparing for your Thanksgiving meal, remember the skilled work it took to get that food to your grocery store.
Tell us your favorite Thanksgiving dish, and we can share some of what we know about the work behind the ingredients.
Tell us your favorite Thanksgiving dish, and we can share some of what we know about the work behind the ingredients.
November 26, 2025 at 6:03 PM
As you’re preparing for your Thanksgiving meal, remember the skilled work it took to get that food to your grocery store.
Tell us your favorite Thanksgiving dish, and we can share some of what we know about the work behind the ingredients.
Tell us your favorite Thanksgiving dish, and we can share some of what we know about the work behind the ingredients.
Reposted by Brian Halley
This is the scandal. Trump isn’t targeting dangerous people. He’s targeting peaceful immigrants. Almost exclusively.
November 26, 2025 at 2:10 PM
This is the scandal. Trump isn’t targeting dangerous people. He’s targeting peaceful immigrants. Almost exclusively.
I wish the @nytimes.com would make press names clear for books in Top 100 (which would make dearth of uni presses more obvious). I had to click multiple times to discover Hagfish, a reprint/editorial agency of sorts that looks cool, who have a book called To Smithereens in list. #publishing
Hagfish
cargo.site
hag.fish
November 25, 2025 at 9:13 PM
I wish the @nytimes.com would make press names clear for books in Top 100 (which would make dearth of uni presses more obvious). I had to click multiple times to discover Hagfish, a reprint/editorial agency of sorts that looks cool, who have a book called To Smithereens in list. #publishing
A good one today.
Jessica McClure, After the Well
Can you tell our viewers what it was like? I / told you, I don't remember anything.
poets.org
November 25, 2025 at 3:37 PM
A good one today.
I didn’t have phone out at Patti Smith’s Boston show last night, but I woke up today wanting to keep going by googling live clips of her. She’s still in full control, and still performing this song in a way that takes you right out of your body, now with references to env degradation and Gaza.
Patti Smith - Horses (Live,1976)
YouTube video by Mako A Secas
m.youtube.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:56 PM
I didn’t have phone out at Patti Smith’s Boston show last night, but I woke up today wanting to keep going by googling live clips of her. She’s still in full control, and still performing this song in a way that takes you right out of your body, now with references to env degradation and Gaza.
My mother spent her whole long career as a nurse. I learned so much from her. Two months plus after her death, leave it to the incompetent WH admin / feckless Dept of Education to insult and injure the profession by limiting student loans available for nursing. Our healthcare will only get worse.
November 22, 2025 at 8:09 PM
My mother spent her whole long career as a nurse. I learned so much from her. Two months plus after her death, leave it to the incompetent WH admin / feckless Dept of Education to insult and injure the profession by limiting student loans available for nursing. Our healthcare will only get worse.
Happy 75th birthday to @utpress.bsky.social! (Proud alum of UT, where I stupidly never got job or internship at incredible press which was right there bc I didn’t know I could?) @publisherswkly.bsky.social
University of Texas Press Celebrates 75 Years
The Austin-based academic publisher has evolved from a modest regional publisher into one of the most innovative academic presses in the United States, striking a balance between scholarly and trade s...
www.publishersweekly.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Happy 75th birthday to @utpress.bsky.social! (Proud alum of UT, where I stupidly never got job or internship at incredible press which was right there bc I didn’t know I could?) @publisherswkly.bsky.social
Reposted by Brian Halley
the gulf between the swift brutality with which places like harvard treated students protesting genocide and the endless, endless latitude those same institutions have given people like larry summers tells you everything you need to know
November 20, 2025 at 1:36 AM
the gulf between the swift brutality with which places like harvard treated students protesting genocide and the endless, endless latitude those same institutions have given people like larry summers tells you everything you need to know
Reposted by Brian Halley
Few things bug me more than higher ed leaders saying that we lost our mission and lost the trust of the public, when we have actually been the target of a decades-long smear campaign by the right wing that worked. The moment we’re losing our mission is right now, in capitulation.
November 19, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Few things bug me more than higher ed leaders saying that we lost our mission and lost the trust of the public, when we have actually been the target of a decades-long smear campaign by the right wing that worked. The moment we’re losing our mission is right now, in capitulation.
Reposted by Brian Halley
Texas' abortion ban has killed another woman.
Let's be very clear: Republicans are killing women. Democrats need to start calling them murderers loudly and often.
www.propublica.org/article/texa...
Let's be very clear: Republicans are killing women. Democrats need to start calling them murderers loudly and often.
www.propublica.org/article/texa...
“Ticking Time Bomb”: A Pregnant Mother Kept Getting Sicker. She Died After She Couldn’t Get an Abortion in Texas.
Walker is one of several women ProPublica found with underlying health conditions who died when they couldn’t access abortions.
www.propublica.org
November 19, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Texas' abortion ban has killed another woman.
Let's be very clear: Republicans are killing women. Democrats need to start calling them murderers loudly and often.
www.propublica.org/article/texa...
Let's be very clear: Republicans are killing women. Democrats need to start calling them murderers loudly and often.
www.propublica.org/article/texa...
Please note: none of these are university presses. Thank you.
"academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who created it... The dominant four collectively generated... $12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024."
November 19, 2025 at 4:27 AM
Please note: none of these are university presses. Thank you.
Reposted by Brian Halley
“Closeups show human faces distorted beyond recognition, sprouting extra appendages. The bodies of what appear to be dogs horrifically merge with human figures. Happy holidays indeed.”
Town's Huge Christmas Mural Was Generated Using AI, Resulting in Ghastly Chthonic Horrors
An enormous new mural near London, depicting a crowded Christmas scene, has drawn outrage and mockery from passersby.
futurism.com
November 19, 2025 at 1:51 AM
“Closeups show human faces distorted beyond recognition, sprouting extra appendages. The bodies of what appear to be dogs horrifically merge with human figures. Happy holidays indeed.”
Next couple of weeks includes first an Erykah Badu concert and then Patti Smith. I’ve made some good decisions.
November 17, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Next couple of weeks includes first an Erykah Badu concert and then Patti Smith. I’ve made some good decisions.
Rest in power, Alice Wong, a powerful activist and writer
November 17, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Rest in power, Alice Wong, a powerful activist and writer
Reposted by Brian Halley
In February, Vought told the Federal Reserve & a federal judge he was requesting $0 of the $329m available, because CFPB had too much money. Now that it's running out, he has a new excuse.
Don't let Vought keep stealing from you. Tell Congress: restore CFPB funding & fire Vought NOW! nteu335.org
Don't let Vought keep stealing from you. Tell Congress: restore CFPB funding & fire Vought NOW! nteu335.org
November 13, 2025 at 8:37 PM
In February, Vought told the Federal Reserve & a federal judge he was requesting $0 of the $329m available, because CFPB had too much money. Now that it's running out, he has a new excuse.
Don't let Vought keep stealing from you. Tell Congress: restore CFPB funding & fire Vought NOW! nteu335.org
Don't let Vought keep stealing from you. Tell Congress: restore CFPB funding & fire Vought NOW! nteu335.org
Reposted by Brian Halley
Maybe it’s just the Humanities professor in me, but let it be noted that events of today (ahem) have demonstrated the value of being able to assess a large volume of qualitative data and do careful textual analysis with deep attention to context.
November 13, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Maybe it’s just the Humanities professor in me, but let it be noted that events of today (ahem) have demonstrated the value of being able to assess a large volume of qualitative data and do careful textual analysis with deep attention to context.
Reposted by Brian Halley
This amount would fund NEH for more than a decade.
November 12, 2025 at 4:32 PM
This amount would fund NEH for more than a decade.
"When we listen to audiobooks produced in the West, they have a Wakandan accent," said Eghosa Imasuen, executive director of Narrative Landscape Press in Lagos, Nigeria... "Nobody talks like that on the continent." via @publisherswkly.bsky.social
African Publishers Battle ‘Wakanda Problem’ as Market Grows
Africa's 54 countries often get flattened into one imaginary place, but now publishers across the continent are fighting back by building literary bridges across the continent, prioritizing local read...
www.publishersweekly.com
November 12, 2025 at 4:40 PM
"When we listen to audiobooks produced in the West, they have a Wakandan accent," said Eghosa Imasuen, executive director of Narrative Landscape Press in Lagos, Nigeria... "Nobody talks like that on the continent." via @publisherswkly.bsky.social
Reposted by Brian Halley
Since January, Trump's Treasury has quietly gutted enforcement of the corporate alternative minimum tax — a huge boon for big business and wealthy investors.
Meanwhile, he's led an all-out assault on Medicaid, SNAP, and other programs that help the poor.
Reverse Robin Hood.
Meanwhile, he's led an all-out assault on Medicaid, SNAP, and other programs that help the poor.
Reverse Robin Hood.
November 10, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Since January, Trump's Treasury has quietly gutted enforcement of the corporate alternative minimum tax — a huge boon for big business and wealthy investors.
Meanwhile, he's led an all-out assault on Medicaid, SNAP, and other programs that help the poor.
Reverse Robin Hood.
Meanwhile, he's led an all-out assault on Medicaid, SNAP, and other programs that help the poor.
Reverse Robin Hood.