Writing in the Ring

Building Community as Authors

A. Kayum Ahmed

A. Kayum Ahmed writes about the rewarding sense of community in the Columbia University Press author meet-ups for series authors.

November 10, 2025

Building Community Through Words

Reflections on Our Black Lives in the Diaspora: Past / Present / Future Series Writing Group

Carolette Norwood

Carolette Norwood reflects on her experience in the Black Lives in the Diaspora: Past / Present / Future Series Writing Group.

November 5, 2025

Reading Sanskrit Anew

Buddhism and the Language of the Gods

Luke Gibson

Luke Gibson highlights Buddhism’s deep connections with other religious and literary traditions, such as Sanskrit, a vehicle of literary artistry and dialogue.

October 13, 2025

Pauline Yu on Chinese Songs in a French Key

In this Q&A Pauline Yu offers an inside look at Judith Gautier’s story and how she became a cultural bridge between France and China.

October 7, 2025

David Obst in Conversation with Renee Bales About Saving Ourselves from Big Car

David Obst describes the Big Car industry and lifestyle and its negative impact on society, and offers advice on how consumers can fight back.

October 2, 2025

Textual Life, Institutional Death

On Gaza Solidarity, Columbia University, and the Crisis of the Humanities

Wendell Marsh

Wendell Marsh reflects on how his book Textual Life emerged from critical academic spaces now under siege, defending humanities scholarship.

September 30, 2025

Santiago Zabala on Signs from the Future

Santiago Zabala answers questions about Signs from the Future and discusses the philosophy of warnings and why we seldom listen.

September 25, 2025

Mistresses of Deception

Female Swindlers in Ming Dynasty China

Bruce Rusk and Christopher Rea

Translators Bruce Rusk and Christopher Rea explore how women perpetrated, subverted, and sometimes fell victim to the elaborate cons that flourished in Zhang’s criminal underworld.