BOOK
BLACK. FEMINIST. WRITING.
A Practical Guide to Publishing Academic Books
SUNY Press
September 2024
Draws on the rich history of Black feminist writing to help scholars manage academic stress.
Writing scholarly books is stressful, and academic publishing can be intimidating—especially for women, queer folks, and scholars of color. Black Feminist Writing shows scholars how to prioritize their mental health while completing a book in race and gender studies. Drawing on Black women's writing traditions, as well as her own experience as the author and editor of nine university press books, Stephanie Y. Evans gives scholars tools to sustain the important work of academic writing, particularly in fields routinely under attack by anti-democratic forces. Evans identifies five major areas of stress: personal, professional, publishing-related, public, and political. Each chapter includes targeted discussion questions and tasks to help authors identify their unique stressors, create priorities, get organized, and breathe. Whether working on your first scholarly book or your tenth, this robust, heartfelt guide will help you approach writing as an ongoing practice of learning, creating, and teaching in ways that center wellness and collective self-care.
Reviews of BLACK FEMINIST WRITING:
"Highly productive, collaborative, wise … Professor Evans has penned a loving text, Black Feminist Writing, that stands alone conceptually as a guide to academic book publishing. Genre-defying, this guide for navigating the academy and remaining well, committed, and joyful is the most effective 'how-to' text for emerging and seasoned scholars as they struggle to stay afloat in challenging and often oppressive spaces. This 'self-help' text is theoretically sound and makes an important contribution to race and gender studies. Painstakingly candid, it also makes visible a clear path for a scholarly life that heals and inspires."
— Beverly Guy-Sheftall, author of Black! Feminist! Free!: Selected Essays, Speeches and Interviews. Anna Julia Cooper Professor of Comparative Women's Studies at Spelman College
"A new and needed take on the academic publishing guide, Black Feminist Writing presents a unique combination of personal life writing, intellectual history, and practical advice for emerging scholars. Dr. Stephanie Y. Evans generously offers a model for aspiring book authors by sharing her own journey to building a prolific yet sustainable and life-affirming writing and publishing practice firmly rooted in community. Writers, mentors, and publishing professionals in academia and beyond will welcome this humane and honest book."
— Laura Portwood-Stacer, author of The Book Proposal Book: A Guide for Scholarly Authors. Developmental editor and founder of Manuscript Works
BLACK FEMINIST WRITING ~ CHANGE AND TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE
Sesa Wo Suban
The West African Adinkra concept Sesa Wo Suban symbolizes change
and the transformation of one’s life. There are two concepts of applied
learning embedded in the symbol: change and transformation. Change
and transformation can happen each day with the morning star (the
inner part of the symbol). Change and transformation are constant waves
of movement (the outer part of the symbol). Together, the symbol summarizes
the overarching message of BWST: each new day is a chance to
rise and write in ways that improve the quality of life for self and others.
FACULTY BOOK WORKSHOPS
BOOK & MANUSCRIPT REVIEWS
University Works-in-Progress Book Workshops & Webinars
Pennsylvania State University. Works-in-Progress Manuscript Review. Panelist. December 2023.
Syracuse University. Works-in-Progress Manuscript Review panelist. July 2023.
Pennsylvania State University. Works-in-Progress Manuscript Review. Panelist. January 2023.
Manuscript Works, Developmental Editing Webinar. Attendee (recorded). December 2022.
Vanderbilt University. Callie House Works-in-Progress Manuscript Retreat. Participant. July 2022.
Georgia State University. Humanities Research Center Faculty Fellows. Participant. May 22-23.
University of Notre Dame. Works-in-Progress Manuscript Review. Panelist. May 2022.
Manuscript Reviews for Press & Published Reviews
SUNY Press, Black Women’s Wellness book series editor. February 2019.
University Press of Florida. Ongoing.
New York University Press. February 2023
University of Rochester Press. February 2023.
University of Mississippi Press. August 2022.
University Press of Florida. February 2022.
University of Illinois Press. September 2021.
Palimpsest: A Journal on Women, Gender, and the Black International. June 2020.
Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy. November 2015.
University of Illinois Press. January 2011.
SAGE Press. March 2009.
Alta Mira Press. June 2008.
Signs Journal. June 2008.
Review of Educational Research Journal. June 2008.
Oxford University Press. December 2007
Praeger Press. November 2007.
Black Women, Gender and Families. July 2007.
American Educational Review. June 2007.
Florida Historical Quarterly. October 2006.
Historical Higher Education in the South, Press of Florida. August 2006.
Association of Black Women Historians (ABWH) Leticia Woods Book or Article Prize Committee. 2004-06.
American Historical Association Wesley-Logan Book Prize, Committee member. 2004-05.
Florida Humanities Council Grant Program Evaluation. "Hidden Sagas: Stories of Florida's African American Experiences." Tallahassee, FL. March 26, 2005.
Reviewed one article for Sex Roles: A Journal of Research 2004.
Reviewed one special edition of the Journal of Social Issues: A Journal of The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. 2001.
National Day of Learning, May 3, 2023
Free workshop! WRITE ME DOWN IN HISTORY: SUPPORTING THE WORK OF NEXT GEN SCHOLARS
A BOOK PUBLISHING WORKSHOP FOR FACULTY IN RACE AND GENDER STUDIES
Hosted by Dr. Stephanie Y. Evans, author of Black Women in the Ivory Tower, 1850-1954: An Intellectual History
Details below.