Ted Forsyth

holy shit, this is the whole ballgame in a single paragraph gAI systems require mass theft of copyrighted works, for the explicit purpose of replacing the market for the people they stole from, and the people in charge knew what they were doing ahead of time, and did it anyway

To commemorate today’s official book release of “The People’s Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn” I wrote the following column for @thenation.com “Liberals Are Shaming Howard Zinn’s Memory Yet Again” thenation.com/article/soci...

A third thing-I-planned-to-do but never did: write an overview of labor history for 17c/18c North America, a book-length version of my article “Good Hands, Stout Hearts, and Fast Feet.” Commissioned by Eric Foner for Hill & Wang Books. I was too busy with *The Many Headed-Hydra*.

For all you writers out there: a list of sixteen writing tips, culled from long experience of trying get unruly words down onto the page. Originally posted on social media, recently republished in the *Pittsburgh Review of Books (@pghreviewofbooks.bsky.social). pghrev.com/sixteen-writ...

Decertification of upstate officers in police departments and sheriff's offices is more than double downstate even though there are more decertifications in raw numbers downstate! The rate standardizes the raw numbers and tells an interesting story.

Here’s an interview with one of my favorite poets and musicians, the incomparable Linton Kewsi Johnson. I discovered his work when I went to London for the first time in 1979. LKJ has long been an inspiration. His music was the soundtrack to one of my book, *Outlaws of the Atlantic*.

I was elated that Dr. @malszy.bsky.social insisted I write something about my FOIL experiences for @cliocontemporary.bsky.social. I'm really proud of this work and hope it helps you out in your transparency journey!

Ted Forsyth encourages historians to become more fluent in open records policies. This detailed and accessible guide demystifies New York State's FOIL process from initial inquiry to appeals. #academia 🗃️ clioandthecontemporary.com/2026/07/23/f...

New project!!!

Sad I couldn't make the Roc Indie Comic Expo, but I do want to say that the poster for it has to be one of the best rochester posters I've ever seen. Don't know who made it, but please give them a high-five for me if you do.

I was skimming my old FOIL emails from the city and found an unopened zip file full of complaints against Rochester Police Department (RPD) officers. The file size was 14 gigs.... I can't wait to dive into it!

A density analysis of use of force incidents in Rochester, NY overlaid with a redlining map from 1935. Orange circles are for 2015 and green are for 2016.

Publishing tip #4: Try to make personal contact with editors early, after a year or so of research. The ideal place to do this is in the book stalls at the AHA, OAH, ASA, etc., where editors always show up. Drop by, have a friendly conversation, mention your work, plant a seed.

Publishing tip #3: Don’t approach editors until it is completely clear in your own mind exactly what the contribution of your book project actually is. Do not overstate its importance and do not understate it. Be precise and seek the editor’s reaction to your summary.

Dear friends, please join us for the world premiere of our new documentary film, *Becoming Benjamin Lay*, Sat., April 11, 4:00 pm, Carnegie Library, 419 Library St., Braddock PA. Please help us publicize the event as we have a big venue to fill! Tickets here: www.eventbrite.com/e/becoming-b...

On the set of Star Trek with the one and only Leonard Nimoy. 🖖 Thinking of him today! (Photo via The Everett Collection)

Publishing tip #2: Ask all your friends and colleagues who work in your field or a related one about their presses and editors. When you are in the final six months of completing your project, make appointments with a few editors to make your pitch in person.

Here’s an interview I did with my friend Dave Clinch for *Socialist Worker*. A British edition of the book was published March 10 by @versobooks.bsky.social. socialistworker.co.uk/reviews-and-...

Average immigration detention deaths per month from FY 2010 to FY 2024: 0.69 Average immigration detention deaths per month in FY 2025: 1.75 Average immigration detention deaths per month so far in FY 2026: 4.6 www.npr.org/2026/03/10/g...

Publishing tip #1: Identify the presses that publish well in your specific field. That proves their interest. Find books that have had success and figure out how. When you are close to finishing your work, use those books as examples of how you would want your own book to be handled.

I've now finished the writing tips and can offer tips on another subject: publishing, based on forty years of experience with manuscripts, submissions, editors, agents, university presses, and trade presses. Any interest?

The dots on the maps represent uses of force by Rochester police ofcs in their subject resistance reports from 2015. The first image has the HOLC redline map of Rochester in 1935. The second is race and ethnicity data by US Census tract in 2010. What interventions might be used to reduce force?

Happy to share the trailer for our new documentary, *Becoming Benjamin Lay*, about the “Abolitionist, Quaker, Sailor, Dwarf, and Revolutionary." The world premiere will be held Sat., Apr. 11, 2026, 4:00 pm, Carnegie Library, 419 Library St., Braddock, PA. Join us! vimeo.com/1166424363?f...

Writing tip #12: Economy of expression. Strunk and White said, “Omit needless words.” Blaise Pascal wrote to a friend: “I’m sorry I wrote you such a long letter; I didn’t have time to write a short one.” Use 3 words rather than 4; 2 words rather than 3; be ruthless. Shorter = more powerful.

Writing tip #13: Do everything you can as a writer to control the circle of meaning with your readers. Be crystal clear in everything you say; edit ruthlessly to eliminate ambiguity. Readers are of course free to misread you, and they will. Clarity of argument will make that harder.

Looking forward to this. Highest respect to the Zinn Education Project!

Writing tip #14: Go on reading your sources until you hear voices, then write a deeply human story about your historical subjects. Readers want to learn about real people, making real choices, in real circumstances. Make your actors complex and multi-dimensional.

Here is a long, deep vein of maritime radicalism: revolutionary Russian sailors in Kronstadt in 1921 recreated an 18c pirate flag to represent their struggle, using the skull and crossbones with a pike and scythe, to say “death to the bourgeoisie.” Thanks to @erikloomis.bsky.social for the photo.

Writing tip #15: Read broadly and deeply to master the cultures you are writing about. Your command of cultural detail, especially language and meaning, will add authenticity and depth to your writing. Much history from below is to be found in *A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue* (1785).

Last writing tip, #16: Find ways to combine narrative and analytical voices in your writing. This is hard to do but well worth working at. Adding deep context to storytelling will help, but it is still important to step back from the story to explain its causes and consequences.

The dots on the maps represent uses of force by Rochester police ofcs in their subject resistance reports from 2015. The first image has the HOLC redline map of Rochester in 1935. The second is race and ethnicity data by US Census tract in 2010. What interventions might be used to reduce force?

A few years ago, before I left Twitter, I published a set of tips on writing and another on publishing -- wisdom culled from forty-plus years in the game. Is there any interest out there in having me rerun those tips here?

Writing tip #7: When, during the course of research, you come across a story that is central to the theme of your book, go ahead and write 2-3 pages about it. If you do this consistently, you’ll accumulate building blocks for the book. You’ll eventually find a place for each one.

Today, March 10, is the publication day for the UK edition of my book *Freedom Ship: The Uncharted History of Escaping Slavery by Sea*, by @versobooks.bsky.social . I’ll be in the UK the last two weeks of April. I'll post the dates/times of my book talks soon. www.versobooks.com/products/343...

Writing tip #8 : Embodiment. Anytime you can make an idea or a concept come alive through a person or an event, do it. An argument made through vivid, concrete human thought and action is much more powerful and memorable than a dry abstraction.

Writing tip no. 9: Find a fragment of a poem from the time period you are studying, one that embodies a theme or two of your investigation, and write a paragraph, a section, or a chapter around it. Make that poem sing its historical significance.

Writing tip #10: Very few writers of non-faction ever comment on this kind of thing, but almost every book has a complex and secret emotional life. The more the writer is aware of the deepest emotional wellsprings of the book, the deeper and more creative the book is likely to be.

Writing tip #11: Suffuse your writing with energy. Use the active voice. Craft strong topic sentences for each paragraph and finish each with a flourish that drives home the main point. Embrace metaphor and poetic description. Use adjectives that evoke light and movement.

Writing tip #6: In my view, the essential unit of good writing is the paragraph. If you’re stuck, spinning your wheels, write one strong paragraph, just one, about whatever topic you are on. In my experience, this breaks the logjam and allows thoughts to flow onto the page.

Writing tip no. 5: When I know what I want to write about the following morning, I reread my primary sources closely the night before. This makes it easier to get started the next day, and sometimes the unconscious mind does a stunning job of sorting things out.

Writing tip #4: As I write a book, I bury myself in a brilliant work of fiction about the same time period, to fill my mind with its atmospheric literary power. As I wrote *The Fearless Benjamin Lay* I read Barry Unsworth’s epic novel about the 18c, *Sacred Hunger*, (for the fifth or sixth time).

Writing tip #3: Figure out what time of day you write best (very early morning for me), and write something every day, as little as a paragraph or a page. This is easier to do than you think. Consistency of effort matters; it is a form of discipline and should become a habit.

Writing tip #2: Three things to do to write for a broader audience. First, you need to want to. (Most people do not.) Second, you need to read and study gifted prose stylists and learn from them. Third, you must work hard at the art and craft of writing. It’s all pretty simple.

Writing tip #1: No matter where you are in the writing process, imagine your ideal audience and write for it – small, large, simple, complex: friends, family, community, scholars, activists, children, theatre-goers, the general public. You pick the combination & decide to whom you want to speak.

I'm so happy to announce the release of our publication with my co-authors Gregory Drake, PhD and Irshad Altheimer, PhD! This is based on my thesis that I completed while I obtained my master's degree at RIT in their amazing criminal justice program. Here's the link: lnkd.in/eh2djhPe

To the 8 senators who voted to give up the only leverage they had and trust the GOP:

Absolutely sick of these thugs standing like they are ready to empty an assault rifle into a Chicago playground at a moment’s notice. Next Dem president needs to put all these GI Joe wannabes on desk duty, armed with nothing more than a cheap plastic water gun. This behavior is vile.