Great-Grandma’s CMOS
A look back to 1906, when the more straitlaced 1st edition of the Manual offered intriguing punctuation, puzzling spaces, and curious examples . . .
Andrew Abbott on brute-force research, the future of libraries, and what makes good research good
Andrew Abbott, the Gustavus F. and Ann M. Swift Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, edits the American Journal of Sociology. Abbott has twice chaired the University of Chicago’s Library Board and played a central role in planning the university’s Joe and Rika Mansueto Library. His latest book is Digital Paper . . .
Wordnik founder Erin McKean talks about her ideal dictionary
Erin McKean is the founder and CEO of Wordnik. Before Wordnik, she was the editor in chief of American dictionaries for Oxford University Press. She has stated that her life goal is “to make sure every word in English has a place in the dictionary.” In her “free” time, she has written half a dozen…
Section 9.4 in the Spotlight
CMOS 9.4. Hundreds, thousands, and hundred thousands: “Any of the whole numbers mentioned in 9.2 followed by hundred, thousand, or hundred thousand are usually spelled out (except in the sciences)—whether used exactly or as approximations.” This section causes some readers befuddlement because . . .
High school teacher Nathan Fulcher talks about teaching English to teens
Nathan Fulcher teaches African American literature, English, and English composition at Santa Monica High School in California. He is currently pursuing a master’s in educational technology at California State University–Fullerton.
Russell Harper on revising The Chicago Manual of Style
If you have ever submitted a question to our Chicago Manual of Style Q&A (and we encourage you to do so here), Russell Harper may have been one of the editors considering your question. Russell is especially qualified to answer CMOS questions thanks to his role as the principal reviser for the sixteenth edition. This means . . .
Steven Pinker talks about The Sense of Style
Steven Pinker is an experimental psychologist and one of the world’s foremost writers on language, mind, and human nature. He is chair of the Usage Panel of The American Heritage Dictionary and often writes for the New York Times, Time, and the New Republic. After years of research and numerous books on visual cognition and the psychology of language, he has now . . .
This month we’re talking to Levi Stahl about editing Donald Westlake
A prolific, hard-boiled crime novelist, Donald Westlake wrote nearly one hundred novels, many under the pseudonym Richard Stark. After Westlake died in 2008, Levi Stahl, promotions director at the University of Chicago Press, took on the mission of creating a portrait of the master storyteller. The Getaway Car: A Donald Westlake Nonfiction Miscellany explores Westlake’s craft through his own writing.
Washington Post Editor Bill Walsh on grammar gripes and being a more polite language snob
Bill Walsh has been at the Washington Post’s copy desk for nearly two decades, riding out changes in both the newspaper business and the wider world of publishing. He helms their live grammar and style chat, Grammar Geekery with Bill Walsh, ruling on everything from hashtags to whether puns are encouraged at the Post.
An English major in a science world: Peter J. Olson on STM copyediting
Peter J. Olson is an English major in a science world. As senior copyediting coordinator for Dartmouth Journal Services, he manages copyediting services for a variety of science and medical journals and has learned to navigate a sea of styles and style guides. In this month’s Shop Talk, he shares his tips on creating a…
