Allison Van Deventer
@allisonvandev.bsky.social
Developmental editor for academic authors. Author: The Dissertation-to-Book Workbook (UChicago Press). Workshop facilitator. She/her. Comp lit PhD. https://www.allisonvandeventer.com/
Call for Applications: 3-day faculty development workshop on Global Asia(s), open to faculty based at institutions in Asia. Workshop will be held at Nanyang Technological University, January 13-15, 2027; apply by October 1. https://cga.shanghai.nyu.edu/teaching-global-asias/
We're running the Book Chapter Shortcut again this fall! The BCS is a 10-week Zoom-based workshop designed for busy scholars who want to turn a pile of messy writing into an argument-driven chapter draft. Find out more and sign up here: workshops.dissertationtobook.com/p/chapter-sh...
Reminder: FREE Zoom workshop today! Join us to think about your book's structure and have some fun doing it! What: Assessing Your Book's Table of Contents When: 2-3:30pm Eastern Time Sign up here: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi... (You'll get the recording if you sign up!)
Allison Van Deventer@allisonvandev.bsky.social · 4w agoAuthors of scholarly books: we're giving another free workshop! Your table of contents can yield a surprising amount of insight into your book-in-progress if you ask the right questions. Come with your list of chapters, and let's see what we can find! us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Via @kathrynpost.bsky.social: As ICE closes in, Ohio churches line up families to care for Haitian kids left behind religionnews.com/2026/08/17/a...
As ICE closes in, Ohio churches line up families to care for Haitian kids left behind
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (RNS) — In Springfield, Ohio, ICE shifts tactics to stealth raids and ankle monitors. Churches are responding by helping Haitian parents line up temporary caregivers, preparing for t...
religionnews.com
This summer, my family and I are rewarding ourselves for working on “projects” with these tiny animals. We are learning cursive, learning to type, practicing Portuguese, reading the Iliad, practicing the piano, exercising, and writing encrypted messages. We are obsessed.
Authors of scholarly books: we're giving another free workshop! Your table of contents can yield a surprising amount of insight into your book-in-progress if you ask the right questions. Come with your list of chapters, and let's see what we can find! us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
If you’re going to read one thing this weekend, read this.
The Guardian@theguardian.com · 4w ago‘I hate what AI is doing to the minds and happiness of the young’: Katherine Rundell on the view from the classroom
I work at a public library. People who want to use AI seem to have no trouble doing so. People who don't want to use AI have a harder time. I crowdsourced and then finalized this document "How to disable or avoid intrusive AI" and then gave it a short URL: notoai.org Please pass along if it's useful
Rendering hundreds of thousands of people “illegal,” out of status, overnight, makes it obvious that illegality is produced by policy, an event version of something that has taken place over years and decades
An editor's adventures in questioning their life choices: "Thank you for letting me line-edit your book on respectability politics" "Here are some strategies for improving this book on eugenics" "This point about porn studies isn't coming—" DAMMIT
AWFUL. Ordering ICE to target an ethnic group the president has repeatedly attacked is bigotry as official government policy. TPS recipients are the most vetted immigrants here. They have to pass background checks every 18 months. Most Haitians with TPS entered legally also!
ICE plans to target Haitians as Temporary Protected Status is set to end, sources say
The plans include arresting migrants in Ohio and quickly putting them on deportation flights to crisis-stricken Haiti, the internal documents indicate.
cbsnews.com
If you live in Massachusetts and want to protect your Haitian neighbors this is a great time to consider joining or supporting LUCE.
LUCE Immigrant Justice Network of MA
lucemass.org
The Trump admin's latest strategy to mass generate removal orders is diabolical: - Take a huge group of people with hearings scheduled in late 2026, 2027, or 2028. - Send them a physical letter rescheduling all of their cases to next week. - Those who inevitably miss court get ordered deported.
Deportation Orders Soar in NYC as Trump 'Mega Master' Hearings Accelerate
A new report finds removal orders for people who missed hearings more than doubled in New York City in June, as a new tactic of hastily scheduled court dates rolled out.
thecityreporter.nyc
At my free webinar on August 14th, I’ll explain how publishers see dissertation-based book projects, and I’ll offer concrete tips on how to avoid the dreaded “we don’t publish dissertations” rejection when submitting a proposal for your diss-based book courses.manuscriptworks.com/courses/diss...
How to Publish a Book from Your Dissertation
Learn how to reframe your dissertation project so publishers will see it as an appealing future book. This webinar will explain what scholarly publishers are looking for in new books and how to increa...
courses.manuscriptworks.com
Last call for the May–July cohort of the Book Chapter Shortcut! This workshop both is and isn't a shortcut. You still have to write the chapter! But with a clear method and practical exercises, you can cut through a lot of the self-doubt. workshops.dissertationtobook.com/p/chapter-sh...
Book Chapter Shortcut: May 19 to July 24, 2026
workshops.dissertationtobook.com
🧵 I want to crack down on Big Tech as much as anyone, prob more than most. But the draconian and unworkable kids' online safety bill that the MA House passed earlier this month is not the way to do it. From @evangreer.bsky.social & me in today's @bostonglobe.com : www.bostonglobe.com/2026/04/22/o...
A flawed fix for social media’s harms - The Boston Globe
The state’s approach could create new risks for users while letting tech companies off the hook.
bostonglobe.com
Me: "OK kids, time to put on your shoes, let's go!" 7yo: "Just a minute, Mom. First I have to do an overview of how I can do Yankee Doodle starting from every note." (actual quote)
Allison Van Deventer@allisonvandev.bsky.social · 5mo agoWhen I signed our 7yo up for piano lessons, I never dreamed that I would end up listening to so much Yankee Doodle. Yankee Doodle fast and slow. Yankee Doodle in all 12 keys. Yankee Doodle staccato and remixed with the Gravity Falls theme. My visiting parents are losing their minds
The most recent iteration of The Book Chapter Shortcut was a resounding success, so I'm running it again for the late spring/summer crowd! Come join me in the "make a mess, then clean it up" approach, with practical exercises and lots of community! workshops.dissertationtobook.com/p/chapter-sh...
Book Chapter Shortcut: May 19 to July 24, 2026
workshops.dissertationtobook.com
When I signed our 7yo up for piano lessons, I never dreamed that I would end up listening to so much Yankee Doodle. Yankee Doodle fast and slow. Yankee Doodle in all 12 keys. Yankee Doodle staccato and remixed with the Gravity Falls theme. My visiting parents are losing their minds
The most recent iteration of The Book Chapter Shortcut was a resounding success, so I'm running it again for the late spring/summer crowd! Come join me in the "make a mess, then clean it up" approach, with practical exercises and lots of community! workshops.dissertationtobook.com/p/chapter-sh...
Book Chapter Shortcut: May 19 to July 24, 2026
workshops.dissertationtobook.com
A fresh batch of library books from my gorgeous local public library
Please share and/or consider applying to the Cambridge Amplifying Grant for underrepresented scholars. Applications are due next Monday, April 13. www.cambridge.org/us/universit.... This is a great opportunity!
Amplifying voices
New Cambridge grant to help under-represented scholars publish
cambridge.org
"oh, do I have to include the notes and bibliography in the word count?" only if you want them to be part of your book!
"A people sometimes will step back from war, elect an honest man, decide they care enough, that they can’t leave some stranger poor. Some men become what they were born for..." - "Sometimes," Sheenagh Pugh
Sometimes
Visit the post for more.
poemsontheunderground.org
Over the past 18 years as a developmental editor and writing coach, @sarahchauncey.com has noticed certain patterns among her clients with ADHD, and why neurotypical writing advice doesn’t always land for ADHDers.
Why ADHD Writers’ Brains Are Like Lions (and How to Harness Their Power) | Jane Friedman
By learning to embrace the nonlinear nature of the ADHD brain, you can learn to write with more ease and less frustration.
janefriedman.com
Have an argument that just won't come into focus? Want to feel more confident in your writing? Try this FREE workshop! I'm a former tenured professor turned dev editor and I can't wait to share my insights on argument! Register here: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi... #AcWri #PhDSky #AcademicSky
I don’t have a screenshot, but my favorite ever was @manongarcia.bsky.social’s attempt to get ChatGPT to write her bio paragraph. She had just written a work of academic philosophy on submission and it mistook her for…a practitioner
Dr. Sarah Parcak @indyfromspace.bsky.social · 5mo agoOK for fun: top funniest tweet ever? I am torn between "moon's haunted" and "Denise I was at your wedding."
"What can matter such as gravel tell us about race, a characteristic often conceived as intrinsically human?" "Racial Beings: Experiments in Asian American New Materialisms" by @nancyhelicopter.bsky.social (@dukepress.bsky.social) is dazzling and unforgettable, and I'm honored to have worked on it.
Who wants to chat #academicgrants? Join the Academic Editing group's Book Club discussion next week on The Grant Writing Guide. Come listen and learn (and bring your questions!) as @bettyslai.bsky.social chats with Letitia Henville. See you there! To register: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
