The Public Scholar

""David Perry is one of the most trusted voices on how to think, write, and work in public. He has a clear ethic about the critical importance of intellectual labor at a moment when the risks of being public have rarely been greater, and the reasons why academics must risk it have rarely been so clear.""-Tressie McMillan Cottom, New York Times columnist, author of Thick: And Other Essays ""The Public Scholar is a wonderfully reliable guide to things many academics don't know about-like working on 48-hour deadlines and negotiating with editors over multiple drafts. It's fun to read, too.""-Michael Bérubé, coauthor of It's Not Free Speech: Race, Democracy, and the Future of Academic Freedom ""Too many of our leading scholars and scientists write and speak only for each other. David Perry provides a primer for effective public intellectual engagement. The Public Scholar is an indispensable guide for scholars eager to enter the public discourse.""-Peter J. Hotez, author of The Deadly Rise of Anti-science: A Scientist's Warning ""When it comes to public writing, no one is as practical, as helpful, or as good on the nuts and bolts as David Perry. He explains exactly how to break in, how to communicate with a general audience, and how to thrive and grow as a public scholar. This is the book I wish I'd had when I started out!""-Irina Dumitrescu, Times Literary Supplement columnist, author of The Experience of Education in Anglo-Saxon Literature ""Writing for the public entails great risks yet offers significant rewards. But nothing is guaranteed. David Perry is the best possible guide to the enterprise. This book reflects and demonstrates his clear style, his professional savvy, and his commitment to engage a broad audience with deep ideas. Democracy and the academy would be better off if all scholars read this book.""-Siva Vaidhyanathan, author of Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy ""It's a particular treat to encounter a book that fills a need you weren't, to be honest, aware existed and then, right from the first page, to find that it's as practical, super-smart, and adroitly written as David M. Perry's The Public Scholar. Here's an invaluable guide to capitalizing in the best possible ways on your own talent and academic erudition and making a place and a name for yourself in the larger world, covering everything from figuring out what your niche (or niches) might be, to how to attract and maintain the attention of publishing venues, even to coping with editing and reader feedback, whether it's accolades or threats. Perry knows his stuff, and he's walked the walk with the best of them. If you're a writer-any sort of a writer, really-in search of an audience, you will find so much that's invaluable in this candid, spirited, and openhearted handbook.""-Benjamin Dreyer, author of Dreyer's English