The editorial staff of Public Books.
The Editorial Staff
Advertisement
Writing on Public Books
On Our Nightstands: September 2025
A behind-the-scenes look at what Public Books editors and staff have been reading this month.
On Our Nightstands: March 2025
A behind-the-scenes look at what Public Books editors and staff have been reading this month.
The Campus Transformed: A Protest Archive
There is no better time to revisit the accounts and reflections from the spring uprisings, in the words of participants and onlookers themselves.
On Our Nightstands: July 2024
A behind-the-scenes look at what Public Books editors and staff have been reading this month.
On Our Nightstands: September 2023
A behind-the-scenes look at what Public Books editors and staff have been reading this month.
On Our Nightstands: May 2023
A behind-the-scenes look at what Public Books editors and staff have been reading this month.
On Our Nightstands: February 2023
A behind-the-scenes look at what Public Books editors and staff have been reading this month.
On Our Nightstands: September 2022
A behind-the-scenes look at what Public Books editors and staff have been reading this month.
On Our Nightstands: July 2022
A behind-the-scenes look at what Public Books editors and staff have been reading this month.
On Our Nightstands: May 2022
A behind-the-scenes look at what Public Books editors and staff have been reading this month.
On Our Nightstands: January 2022
A behind-the-scenes look at what Public Books editors and staff have been reading this month.
To Air Is Human
An aerodynamicist and an anthropologist discuss the world of “Dune,” finding it as aesthetically beautiful as it is functionally implausible.
On Our Nightstands: September 2021
A behind-the-scenes look at what Public Books editors and staff have been reading this month.
On Our Nightstands: July 2021
A behind-the-scenes look at what Public Books editors and staff have been reading this month.
Public Picks 2021
Each May we send our readers into summer with a curated list of the titles that dazzled, challenged, and inspired us most over the past year (or so).
On Our Nightstands: February 2021
A behind-the-scenes look at what Public Books editors and staff have been reading this month.
On Our Nightstands: September 2020
A behind-the-scenes look at what Public Books editors and staff have been reading this month.
On Our Nightstands: July 2020
A behind-the-scenes look at what Public Books editors and staff have been reading this month.
On Our Nightstands: June 2020
A behind-the-scenes look at what Public Books editors and staff have been reading this month.
From the Archive: Police Brutality
In solidarity with the ongoing actions against police brutality, we return to previous work by our authors on the relationship between policing, poverty, capitalism, liberation, and racial justice. BLACK LIVES UNDER SURVEILLANCE 12.1.2016 BRANDI THOMPSON SUMMERS Today, poor communities of color are under constant surveillance and on the receiving end of brutal market forces. Where […]
Public Picks 2020
Each year around this time we send our readers into summer with a thoughtfully curated list of the titles appearing over the past 12 months that dazzled, moved, and challenged us most.
On Our Nightstands: April 2020
A behind-the-scenes look at what Public Books editors and staff have been reading this month.
On Our Nightstands: March 2020
A behind-the-scenes look at what Public Books editors and staff have been reading this month.
On Our Nightstands: January 2020
At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is …
On Our Nightstands: October 2019
At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is …
On Our Nightstands: September 2019
At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is …
On Our Nightstands: June 2019
At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is …
Public Picks 2019
Each year around this time we send our readers into summer with a curated list of the titles that dazzled, challenged, and inspired us most over the past year. For this, the seventh-annual edition of Public Picks, we’ve asked our editors for the Public Thinker series, Literary Fiction, Higher Education, Children’s & Young Adult Literature, […]
On Our Nightstands: April 2019
At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is …
On Our Nightstands: March 2019
At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is …
On Our Nightstands: February 2019
At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is …
On Our Nightstands: January 2019
At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is …
On Our Nightstands: November 2018
At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is …
“Read, Mourn, Learn”: Syllabi for Election Day 2018
Voting today is of the highest importance, but it’s likely that more than half of …
On Our Nightstands: October 2018
At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is …
On Our Nightstands: September 2018
At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is …
On Our Nightstands: July 2018
At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is …
On Our Nightstands: June 2018
At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is …
Keyword of the Week: Artificial Intelligence
21 years ago today, a human was defeated at chess by a computer for the first time. So we looked back to our coverage of artificial intelligence, filling our Public Bookshelf with articles on how William Gibson’s Neuromancer predicted our current AI fears, how we might fall in love with robots, the dangerous ubiquity of the smartphone, and the unseen algorithms that produce real-world harm. A […]
Keyword of the Week: Revolution
This week Americans celebrated Independence Day. But freedom comes in many forms, and is won in many fashions. So we looked back to our coverage of revolutions, filling our Public Bookshelf with articles on the memories of Ireland’s uprising, the heroines of theHaitian Revolution, Catalonia’s vote for independence from Spain, and the Combahee River Collective’s pioneering of identity politics as a tool for […]
Keyword of the Week: Pride
In tough times, LGBT Pride Month never fails to brighten our hearts. So we looked back to our coverage of pride, filling our Public Bookshelf with articles on a queered Choose-Your-Own-Adventure novel, the early gay protests of 1970s New York, the queer anti-normativity of Brontez Purnell, and a sports memoir that unexpectedly helped one reader realize they were gay. Queer your own adventure 2.7.2018 ALEXANDRA VALINT […]
Keyword of the Week: Nuclear Weapons
This week featured a summit with nuclear warfare (ostensibly) on the line. So we looked back to our coverage of nuclear weapons, filling our Public Bookshelf with articles on the idealistic scientists that deluded themselves while working on the atomic bomb, the void left by Trump’s failed leadership on the world stage, a look at how politicians convinced themselves to foolishly invade Iraq, and a virtual […]
Keyword of the Week: NASA
Now that the White House wants to sell the International Space Station to private companies, we asked ourselves just how important outer space and public infrastructure really are. So we looked back to our coverage of NASA, filling our Public Bookshelf with articles on how climate changes can only be solved by a politics for the whole planet, how robots are expanding our knowledge […]
Keyword of the Week: Working Class
The reboot of the sitcom Roseanne—which championed a narrow vision of working-class family life—has been cancelled. So we looked back to our coverage of the working class, filling our Public Bookshelf with articles on Martin Luther King Jr.’s work with Baltimore unions, an interview with the author of Sleeping Giant: How the New Working Class Will Transform America, how the very […]
Keyword of the Week: American Internment
We have no words for the detention of migrant children without their parents: except to note that this practice is legal, just like Japanese American internment, African American slavery, and indigenous relocation camps. So we looked back to our coverage of American internment, filling our Public Bookshelf with articles on a child hero who resisted Japanese American relocation, the […]
Public Picks 2018
Each year around this time we send our readers into summer with a thoughtfully curated list of the titles that dazzled, challenged, and inspired us most over the past 12 months. For this, the sixth-annual edition of Public Picks, we’ve asked our section editors for Literary Fiction, Children’s & Young Adult Literature, Art, Urbanism, Capitalism, […]
On Our Nightstands: April 2018
At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is …
On Our Nightstands: March 2018
At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is …
On Our Nightstands: February 2018
At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is …
On Our Nightstands: January 2018
At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is …
On Our Nightstands: November 2017
At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is …
On Our Nightstands: October 2017
At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands?
On Our Nightstands: September 2017
At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is …
On Our Nightstands: July 2017
At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands?
On Our Nightstands: June 2017
At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here …
Public Picks 2017
Each year around this time we try to send our readers into summer with a thoughtfully curated list of the books that wowed, charmed, and provoked us most over the past 12 months. For this, the fifth-annual edition of Public Picks, we’ve asked our section editors—for Global Black History, Literary Fiction, Comics, Children’s & Young […]
Keyword of the Week: Mothers
It’s Mother’s Day on Sunday! If you know a mom who loves to read, send her this week’s Public Bookshelf. It features four of our favorite PB articles about motherhood, including a review of Alison Bechdel’s Are You My Mother?, and an essay on Sally Mann’s extraordinary family photography. The Bingewatch: Mother Winona 9.15.2016 Sarah Kessler Since its release in mid-July, Stranger Things, […]
Keyword of the Week: Animals
It’s nonhuman appreciation week at Public Books. This week’s Public Bookshelf features four PB articles about animals, on topics ranging from animal sentience to the anthropomorphic world of Zootopia. What Is It Like to Be an Elephant? 12.15.2016 Matt Margini The Harambe incident demonstrated one coherent principle: when nonhuman animals lose political representation, as they inevitably do, it often becomes the […]
On Our Nightstands: April 2017
Here at Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands?
Keyword of the Week: France
On Sunday, eyes were on the French election as two candidates, Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, advanced to a runoff that will determine the presidency next month. This week’s Public Bookshelf features four of our favorite PB articles about France, ranging from a special series on Thomas Piketty (in collaboration with La Vie des Idées) to an essay about the PEN–Charlie Hebdo controversy. […]
Keyword of the Week: Hunger
Humanitarian groups are projecting four impending famines, in Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria, and Yemen. This week’s Public Bookshelf features Public Books articles about the history of food crises and hunger. Syria’s Wartime Famine at 100: “Martyrs of the Grass” 12.15.2016 Najwa al-Qattan In the days leading up to the Muslim holiday of the Feast of Sacrifice (Eid al-Adha) in October 2013, several Syrian clerics issued […]
On Our Nightstands: March 2017
Here at Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done …
Keyword of the Week: Supreme Court
After four days of confirmation hearings, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has vowed to filibuster the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. This week’s Public Bookshelf features four of our favorite PB articles about the Supreme Court, on topics ranging from Antonin Scalia’s originalism to Sonia Sotomayor’s memoir. The High Power of the Lower Courts 12.7.2016 Doni Gewirtzman In 2010 the National […]
Keyword of the Week: Healthcare
House Republicans are attempting to replace the Affordable Care Act with legislation that that would disadvantage sick and low-income Americans. This week’s Public Bookshelf features four articles about health and health care, on topics ranging from immigrants and illness to comics about medicine. Show Me Where it Hurts: Part 1 11.15.2015 Jared Gardner Illness, mental and physical, is arguably comics’ invisible master theme, deeply woven into […]
Keyword of the Week: Russia
When we partnered with La Vie des Idées last year for a three-part series on “Russia Today,” we couldn’t have guessed how timely those essays would feel in 2017. This week’s Public Bookshelf features the articles in that series, as well as an essay by Masha Gessen on Putin’s effort to “retrofit” totalitarianism. Retrofitting Totalitarianism 12.15.2015 Masha Gessen No sooner […]
On Our Nightstands: February 2017
Here at Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done …
On Our Nightstands: January 2017
Here’s a peek into the mind of the new Public Books. With this edition of On Our Nightstands, we are delighted to introduce our section editors …
On Our Nightstands: November 2016
Here at Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we bring you, in our own words, a behind-the-scenes look at what we have been reading (and watching) this month. Caitlin Zaloom Editor in […]
Public Streets Storymap
In each installment of Public Streets, our series dreamed up and curated by Ellis Avery, a writer reflects on a locale—a neighborhood, park, city, street—of personal importance …
Around the World in 13 Reviews
Whether you’re traveling this summer or just in the mood for some armchair tourism, here are 13 reviews to fuel your cosmopolitan curiosity …
How Well Do You Know Your Hemingway?
You probably know at least two things about Hemingway: that he loved to drink, and that he was assigned to you in high school. Here’s a third: today, July 21, was his birthday, and if he were still alive he’d be turning 117. (He would have hated all the clauses in that sentence.) What else […]
On Our Nightstands: June 2016
Here at Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles, but when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we bring you, in our own words, a behind-the-scenes look at what we have been reading this month. SHARON MARCUS Editor in Chief Susie […]
15 Great Book-to-TV Adaptations to Watch This Summer
It’s a good time to be a novelist if you dream of seeing your work on the small screen. So far this year, Showtime has picked up Ben Stiller’s adaptation of Gary Shteyngart’s Super Sad True Love Story, Amazon Studios ordered a pilot from Jill Soloway based on Chris Kraus’s I Love Dick, and Europe’s […]
On Our Nightstands: May 2016
Here at Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles, but when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we bring you, in our own words, a behind-the-scenes look at what we have been reading this month. STEPHEN TWILLEY Managing Editor Borislav […]
On Our Nightstands: April 2016
Here at Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles, but when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we bring you, in our own words, a behind-the-scenes look at what we have been reading this month. SHARONMARCUS Editor in Chief L. […]
On Our Nightstands: March 2016
Here at Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles, but when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we bring you, in our own words, a behind-the-scenes look at what we’ve been reading this month. CAITLIN ZALOOM Editor in Chief Matthew Desmond, […]
Quiz: Gertrude Stein or a Children’s Book?
In her essay “In The Great Green Room,” Anne E. Fernald discusses the surprising influence of literary modernism on Margaret Wise Brown, author of the legendary children’s book Goodnight Moon (1946). Or maybe it’s not so surprising: after all, Brown saw children as “an audience sensitive to the sheer elements of the English language.” A five-year-old, she remarked, was […]
On Our Nightstands: Movies Edition
Last week, in anticipation of the Oscars, we published a special “Women and Movies” issue of Public Books. Now that the statuettes have been handed out and the glitter has settled, we look back on our favorite movies of the past year, ranging from underdogs to popular favorites. The envelope, please … SHARON MARCUS Editor in Chief Ryan […]
Public Books Tote Bag Giveaway
What are you reading? Our new Public Books tote bag, which features a panel from Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel Fun Home, is perfect for library runs, trips to the bookstore, and starting conversations with strangers on the subway. Click here to enter to win one of these limited-edition totes!
On Our Nightstands: January 2016
Here at Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles, but when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we bring you, in our own words, a behind-the-scenes look at what we have been reading this month. SHARON MARCUS Editor in Chief […]
2015’s Most-Read on the Public Books Blog
Now that you’ve had a chance to look over our most popular features from last year, here were the top five most-read essays from our blog: “Thinking Critically about Critical Thinking,” by Christopher Schaberg It’s a phrase that’s parroted endlessly, but is anyone quite sure exactly what it means? “In the Great Green Room: […]
Quiz: Can You Match the Punk Memoirist to the Lyric?
In “The Female Body of Punk,” Ivan Kreilkamp reviews recent memoirs by Viv Albertine, Chrissie Hynde, Patti Smith, Kim Gordon, and Carrie Brownstein. As Kreilkamp puts it, “Although these women position themselves in very different ways in relation to the movement and the music, their life narratives reveal the possibility of a punk history centered less around the […]
On Our Nightstands: 2015 Favorites
Here at Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles, but when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Each month this year, we’ve given you a behind-the-scenes glimpse into our cultural diets. Now, for this special holiday edition of On Our Nightstands, […]
Second Opinions
In a special holiday edition of On Our Nightstands next week, the Public Books editorial staff will talk about our favorite books of the year. Meanwhile, we’ve gathered together our reviews of the books that made best-of lists in the New York Times, the Huffington Post, the Guardian, and NPR. Some of them we loved […]
On Our Nightstands: November 2015
Here at Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with compelling, thought-provoking articles, but when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we bring you, in our own words, a new behind-the-scenes look at what we have been reading this month. CAITLIN ZALOOM Editor in […]
On Our Nightstands: October 2015
Here at Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with compelling, thought-provoking articles, but when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we bring you, in our own words, a new behind-the-scenes look at what we have been reading this month. SHARON MARCUS Editor […]
On Our Nightstands: September 2015
Here at Public Books our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with compelling, thought-provoking articles, but when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we bring you, in our own words, a new behind-the-scenes look at what we have been reading this month. SHARON MARCUS Editor in Chief […]
On Our Nightstands: August
Here at Public Books our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with compelling, thought-provoking articles, but when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we bring you, in our own words, a new behind-the-scenes look at what we have been reading this month. CAITLIN ZALOOM Editor In Chief […]
On Our Nightstands: July
Here at Public Books our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with compelling, thought-provoking articles, but when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we bring you, in our own words, a new behind-the-scenes look at what we have been reading this month. STEPHEN TWILLEY Managing Editor Patrick […]
On Our Nightstands: June
Here at Public Books our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with compelling, thought-provoking articles, but when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we bring you, in our own words, a new behind-the-scenes look at what we have been reading this month. SHARON MARCUS Editor in Chief […]
Public Picks 2015
Welcome to the third annual edition of Public Picks, a selection of the books and art that most interested and excited our editorial staff over the past year. As with previous years’ Picks (2013, 2014), we aimed for a list that combines the best of the best with more idiosyncratic works that you may have missed. With admiring […]
On Our Nightstands: May
Here at Public Books our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with compelling, thought-provoking articles, but when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we bring you, in our own words, a new behind-the-scenes look at what we have been reading this month. SHARON MARCUS Editor in Chief […]
On Our Nightstands: April
Here at Public Books our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with compelling, thought-provoking articles, but when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we bring you, in our own words, a new behind-the-scenes look at what we have been reading this month. SHARON MARCUS Editor in Chief […]
On The Horizon
“On The Horizon” is a new quarterly feature from Public Books that looks forward to the coming season’s notable events—literary and artistic, intellectual and pop-cultural—in and around New York City. FILM & TELEVISION Film About Elly at Film Forum, April 8–21 From director Asghar Farhadi comes this mystery-thriller, set among a group of Iranian college […]
On Our Nightstands: March
Here at Public Books our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with compelling, thought-provoking articles, but when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we bring you, in our own words, a new behind-the-scenes look at what we have been reading this month. CAITLIN ZALOOM Editor in Chief […]
On Our Nightstands: February
Here at Public Books our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with compelling, thought-provoking articles, but when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we bring you, in our own words, a new behind-the-scenes look at what we have been reading this month. SHARON MARCUS Editor in Chief […]
On Our Nightstands: January
Here at Public Books our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with compelling, thought-provoking articles, but when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we bring you, in our own words, a new behind-the-scenes look at what we have been reading this month. SHARON MARCUS Editor in Chief […]
On Our Nightstands: November
Here at Public Books our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with compelling, thought-provoking articles, but when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we bring you, in our own words, a new behind-the-scenes look at what we have been reading this month. SHARON MARCUS Editor in Chief […]
On Our Nightstands: October
Here at Public Books our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with compelling, thought-provoking articles, but when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we bring you, in our own words, a new behind-the-scenes look at what we have been reading this month. SHARON MARCUS Editor […]
On Our Nightstands: September
Here at Public Books our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with compelling, thought-provoking articles, but when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we bring you, in our own words, a new behind-the-scenes look at what we have been reading this month. SHARON MARCUS Editor […]
On Our Nightstands
Since Public Books launched in 2012 we have published over 200 essays, interviews, and other features, including our annual “Public Picks.” Our editorial staff and contributors work hard to provide readers with thoughtful and interesting pieces, but when the workday is done—what is actually on our nightstands? Here we bring you, in our own words, […]
Public Picks 2014
Welcome to the second annual edition of Public Picks, a selection of the books and art that most interested and excited our editorial staff over the past year. As in last year’s Picks, we aimed for a list that combines the best of the best with more idiosyncratic works that you may have missed. With admiring nods to […]
Video from Panel Discussion with Thomas Piketty
On April 17, 2014, in New York City, Public Books and the Institute for Public Knowledge hosted a panel conversation with Thomas Piketty, Julia Ott, David Stasavage, and Frédéric Viguier on Piketty’s new book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century. What are the grand dynamics that drive the accumulation and distribution of capital? Questions about the long-term evolution of inequality, the concentration of wealth, and the […]
Best Poetry 2013–2014: An Envy Chain
In celebration of National Poetry Month, we asked seven poets to name their favorite poetry book released in the last year …
Public Picks 2013
Since we launched Public Books twelve months ago more than a hundred essays and reviews have appeared on the site, discussing works in a striking variety of genres and media, and our editors have considered nigh on a thousand candidates for review. It would seem an occasion to look back and take stock. At the […]
