Hannah (hveditorial)

@hveditorial

Editor of academic nonfiction and fiction novels, helping publishers, authors, and scholars. I like correcting citations a weird amount and reading kissing books a more understandable amount. | www.hveditorial.com | hannah@hveditorial.com

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Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· 15d

QUEER RESISTANCE: Contesting State, Family, and Inequality in Post-Socialist China by Susanne Yuk-Ping Choi is out now. Eye-opening book about LGBT+ millennials navigating life in modern China. (Copyedited by yours truly.) www.ucpress.edu/books/queer-...

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· 20d

Thought this recent paragraph from the Economist made a good exercise for copyeditors in training. #AmCopyediting #Copyeditor

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· 27d

Happy to say that a book I was really proud to copyedit, Lynching in the United States: An Encyclopedia, will be available to read in August. First of its kind to ever be published on the topic. Edited by Dr. Michael Pfeifer, with many contributions from historians I admire.

Lynching in the United States: An Encyclopedia, edited by Michael J. Pfeifer

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Jul 21

Real life as satire: I'm trying to read a research paper about how AI usage creates "metacognitive laziness" while an annoying AI pop-up offers to spare me the immense burden of reading. bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Feb 25

How your email finds me. #StetPets #AmCopyediting

Editor on laptop with a cat and a foster doggy beside her.

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Dec 17

People don't talk enough about how Google's AI overview, in addition to being wrong, is condescending about it. Like I wouldn't work with someone who sent emails in AI overview's constant "gotcha" tone.

"While specific 2026 schedules aren't out yet (as it's late 2025)," AI Overview says about schedules that have been released and are linked directly below it. Another few seconds of my one wild and precious life wasted!

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Nov 2

The Criterion Collection lineup for November hits all my very specific filmic interests, including a restoration of Zora Neale Hurston's fieldwork footage???

Pioneers of African American Cinema curation via The Criterion Channel

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Oct 10

My library got me a Halloween present. KJ Charles's writing is really living up to the cover. It feels like the KNIVES OUT cast meets THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO. #booksky

All of Us Murderers by KJ Charles. Book cover is in the style of a classic gothic pulp fiction cover, but with two men in suits fleeing from the foggy manor house instead of a lady in distress.

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Sep 7

I looked down and realized I was living in an old-school bookstagram photo.

A blue paperback of THE AGE OF INNOCENCE sits on a blue skirt with blue hydrangeas in the background

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Aug 11

I feel like Regina Black isn't nearly as well-known as she should be, considering she might be the best writer in the romance genre. Her latest is about two Black country singers in their 30s; neither of their careers turned out the way they imagined: www.goodreads.com/book/show/22... #booksky

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Jul 6

I received loads of ARCs at #ALA25, and since I'm not in the bookstagram world anymore, I should probably review them here: Danny Rensch is the cofounder of chess.com and his memoir is WONDERFUL, wild, and a great read for anyone who loves chess or The Queen's Gambit. #booksky

Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life by Danny Rensch

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Jul 2

Chicago style no longer requires place of publication in citations. Authors: If you put these in your citations, a copyeditor needs to take them out manually, so if you read this, please be a champ and skip them the first time around. #AmCopyediting #CMOS18

"Book
Notes
Note that a place of publication is no longer required in book citations (see CMOS 14.30).

1. Charles Yu, Interior Chinatown (Pantheon Books, 2020), 45.

2. Amy J. Binder and Jeffrey L. Kidder, The Channels of Student Activism: How the Left and Right Are Winning (and Losing) in Campus Politics Today (University of Chicago Press, 2022), 117–18."

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Jun 30

Books I copyedited have been spotted in the #ALA vendor hall! (When Women Get Sick by Rebecca Bloom and The Wounds Are the Witness by Yolanda Pierce) #AmCopyediting #Copyeditor #BroadleafBooks

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Jun 30

The book I brought to #ALA, (2/3rds of) the books I'm leaving with.

one old paperback copy of Treasure Island

rows of beautiful advanced reader copies of upcoming books

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Jun 23

So should we just assume all major outlets are using AI-generated rec lists now? Harpers Bazaar bizarrely repeats same movie with different descriptions in one list: www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film... Third pic is me asking ChatGPT to write about Pariah.

Pariah (2011):Writer-director Dee Rees’s debut feature is a poignant coming-of-age drama centered on Alike (Adepero Oduye), a 17-year-old Black lesbian growing up in Brooklyn. Quietly exploring her identity, Alike navigates the tension between her conservative household and the freedom she finds in New York City’s LGBTQ+ spaces. She struggles with her mother’s disapproval, her father's denial, and the complexities of her first romantic relationship with a friend named Bina (Aasha Davis). As she begins to assert her truth, Alike is forced to make difficult choices about love, family, and self-expression.

Pariah (2011): Dee Rees’s deeply moving, beautifully shot debut film follows Alike (Adepero Oduye), a 17-year-old girl living in Brooklyn, as she comes into her identity as a butch lesbian. Her mother (Kim Wayans) and father (Charles Parnell) are, respectively, hostile and indifferent; her friendship with her openly lesbian best friend, Laura (Pernell Walker), is complicated by Laura’s own feelings for her. As she navigates first love, ostracism, and heartbreak, Alike finds solace in her English class and a growing passion for poetry.

*Pariah* (2011), directed by Dee Rees, is a quietly powerful coming-of-age drama that explores identity, self-expression, and queer Black womanhood with rare intimacy and grace. The film follows Alike, a 17-year-old poet navigating the complexities of adolescence, sexuality, and family life in Brooklyn as she embraces her identity as a lesbian. Adepero Oduye delivers a deeply moving performance as Alike, whose journey toward self-acceptance is both tender and defiant. With its lush cinematography and emotionally honest storytelling, *Pariah* is a landmark in sapphic cinema—an essential watch for its nuanced portrayal of queer girlhood and the courage it takes to live authentically.

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Jun 8

I think one thing to take away from my rant: Opinions are not the only way to connect to what you read. "What is the point of writing phonetic dialect?" this reviewer says, but I can ask: "What is the point of criticizing a 19th-century writer for phonetic dialect?"

As a novel, Iola Leroy is a disappointment. The chronological jumps are clunky, and the narrative arc meanders into nothingness about halfway through. The dialogue is either heavily stilted or excessively depicted as phonetically spelled dialect. (And what’s the point of spelling “poor” as “pore”?)

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Apr 27

How my Independent Bookstore Day went: #booksky #IndieBookstoreDay #BrooklynBookCrawl

High bookcases stacked with colorful books.

Paper "passport" for the Brooklyn Bookstore Crawl with many bookstores listed. 6 bookstores have been stamped as visited: Books Are Magic, Cafe Con Libros, The Center for Fiction, Community Bookstore, Greenlight Bookstore, and Liz's Book Bar.

3 drinks in clear glasses lined up on a table; one drink is purple, another brown, the third orange.

The book haul: The Golem of Brooklyn by Adam Mansbach, Tyll by Daniel Kehlmann, Barn 8 by Deb Unferth, The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa, Christopher and His Kind by Christopher Isherwood, Blessings by Chukwuebuka Ibeh, Smoke and Ashes by Amitav Ghosh, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, Dom Casmurro by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, Ovid's Metamorphoses, Our City That Year by Geetanjali Shree, Retrospective by Juan Gabriel Vásquez, and Bees, and After by John Liles

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Apr 27

About to have my developmental editors' book club meeting, and I'm excited to see what other editors thought of this one: Spring, Summer Asteroid, Bird: The Art of Eastern Storytelling by Henry Lien #booksky

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Apr 25

The Meta AI Moby-Dick ad has the same energy as this 1980s ad Jenny Odell wrote about in HOW TO DO NOTHING: RESISTING THE ATTENTION ECONOMY:

'My favorite was an ad by NEC, whose motto was "Taking it to the limit." The ad, titled "Power Lunch," shows a man at home, typing on a computer whose screen shows a bar graph of increasing values. He drinks a small carton of milk, but his sandwich is untouched. Taking it to the limit indeed.' Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Apr 5

John Green's new book has a good cover; it catches people's attention. And nothing has convinced me of its arguments more than the sheer number of people who have come up to me saying, "Everything Is Tuberculosis? What does THAT mean? Doesn't John Green write YA?" -- #EverythingIsTuberculosis

A mustard-yellow book cover wih a bold drop of red in the center.

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Apr 4

Love it when doorstopper anthologies are described as "portable." Like yes I do in fact need my Harlem Renaissance works on the go.

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Mar 15

Thank you, Publishers Marketplace, for making me aware of CARELESS PEOPLE by Sarah Wynn-Williams, which I definitely won't read because Mark Zuckerberg is fighting in court so that the former Meta employee can't promote it. I won't link to it either: read.macmillan.com/fib/careless... #booksky

Meta Wins Bid To Stop Whistleblower Book Promotion
An emergency arbitrator ruled in an interim award on Wednesday that author Sarah Wynn-Williams must cease promotion of her book CARELESS PEOPLE, her whistleblower account of the culture at Facebook.

The arbitrator writes that Meta will suffer "immediate and irreparable loss...in the absence of emergency relief," according to a copy of the filing posted by the company.

In a claim brought against Wynn-Williams and publisher Flatiron Books/Macmillan, Meta argued that the book violated a non-disparagement contract the author signed as part of her severance package after being fired from Facebook in 2017.

Wynn-Williams is enjoined from making any "disparaging, critical, or otherwise detrimental comments" about Meta, must "retract" any such comments she made previously, and is barred from "further publishing or distributing" the book, "to the extent within [her] control."

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Jan 20

Excited to have gotten my tickets for the online #Sundance #Film Festival. I'll be "visiting" Iran, Kenya, Russia, and India. #filmsky

Cutting Through Rocks
As the first elected councilwoman of her Iranian village, Sara Shahverdi aims to break long-held patriarchal traditions by training teenage girls to ride motorcycles and stopping child marriages. When accusations arise questioning Sara’s intentions to empower the girls, her identity is put in turmoil.

From the moment we meet Sara Shahverdi, she embodies perseverance and strength. Not easily intimidated — despite constant attempts — she is determined to uplift her community and put an end to the empty promises and laziness perpetuated by local councilmen over the years.

In their insightful debut feature documentary, co-directors Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni shine a light through simple observation on an extraordinarily tenacious individual. We witness Sara’s many wins and joys, as well as her struggles and heartbreaking setbacks. Her greatest goal, which feels so basic yet radical in this context, is to give women the option to choose their path — or at a minimum, have a say in it. Cutting Through Rocks (اوزاک یوللار) is a deeply moving vérité account of one woman’s fight for dignity that demands to be seen.—Ania Trzebiatowska

How to Build a Library

Two intrepid Nairobi women decide to transform what used to be a whites-only library until 1958 into a vibrant cultural hub. Along the way, they must navigate local politics, raise millions for the rebuild, and confront the lingering ghosts of Kenya’s colonial past.

Shiro and Wachuka have never tackled a project like this before, but their determination to redefine what the formerly whites-only McMillan Memorial Library can be pushes them through each challenge. Their friendship gives us a glimpse into their warm personalities, and their candidness about their frustrations draws us into their journey, making us feel like we’re right there with them.

Directors Maia Lekow and Christopher King capture the complicated work to restore a library and the deeper challenges of confronting colonial legacies. As the library team sifts through archival images, they face conflicting emotions of anger and appreciation, grappling with what aspects of this colonial history should be remembered and what can be left behind. When are compromises justified in the larger conversation about decolonization? The result is a nuanced exploration of legacy and reclamation that extends beyond the library’s walls.— Stephanie Owens

Mr. Nobody Against Putin

As Russia launches its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, primary schools across Russia’s hinterlands are transformed into recruitment stages for the war. Facing the ethical dilemma of working in a system defined by propaganda and violence, a brave teacher goes undercover to film what’s really happening in his own school.

In his hometown in the Ural Mountains, fun-loving Pasha works as a nonconformist teacher at the same primary school he attended as a child. However, Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine changed everything. Suddenly the school and community he loved transformed from a place of education and self-expression to one of militarization and state ideology. Soon, his own students and their family members are recruited to fight, and Pasha must ask himself what one person can do. Filmed secretly over two years, Mr. Nobody Against Putin is an unforgettable portrait of life in Russia today and the impossible choices citizens face when the country they love is in the hands of a ruler who demands it become something they cannot accept.

Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears)
Anand, a 30-something city dweller compelled to spend a 10-day mourning period for his father in the rugged countryside of western India, tenderly bonds with a local farmer struggling to stay unmarried. As the mourning ends, forcing his return, Anand must decide the fate of his relationship born under duress.

Anand’s (Bhushaan Manoj) grief over losing his father is compounded by having to return to his ancestral home with his mother, and the inevitable questions from extended family about his marital status. Wholly original in depicting queer life among the rural and lower castes of India, writer and director Rohan Parashuram Kanawade in his debut feature shares this semi-autobiographical story of two men who find each other amid their shared origins in the farming life of their elders. Featuring impressive turns from the cast, beautiful cinematography in open landscapes and small villages, and gentle, open-hearted storytelling that skews predictable tropes, Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) is an achievement of independent Indian filmmaking with characters and a story that will connect with audiences around the world.—Sudeep Sharma

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Dec 17

Starting to think my editorial assistant might be in over her head. #stetpet

A very tiny dog sitting behind a laptop.

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Dec 7

Some sections of the annual report are just for fun. #AmEditing #Copyeditor #Booksky

Editing-related books I read this year:
-Craft in the Real World
-The Emotional Craft of Fiction
-5 Editors Tackle the 12 Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing
-7 Figure Fiction
-Goal, Motivation & Conflict by Debra Dixon
-Elements of Indigenous Style
-Indexing Books by Nancy C. Mulvany
-The Copyeditor's Lifestyle Guide
-In Other Words by Jhumpa Lahiri

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Dec 7

Inspired by @castlewallsedit.bsky.social's ACES talk, I'm creating my end-of-year report on my editing business today.

Creating an Annual Report for Your Editing Business: Celebrate, Evaluate, Improve

What goes into this report? Cover, overview, finances, clients, training, equipment and tools, marketing, insurance, bank accounts, retirement, other, appendix

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Nov 23

Please kindly allow me to share the second-best picture of a dog I've ever taken.

A small black and white dog on a sofa; she's positioned so that her tail end looks oddly square, and her snout is very pointed.

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Oct 14

This is really easy to see in Kristin Cashore's writing over time. Here we have dialogue examples from her medieval fantasy series—book 1, GRACELING, published in 2008, and book 4, WINTERKEEP, published in 2021.

"We've also had to travel for days to settle this matter," Giddon said. "Our absence from court is a great nuisance to the king."
"Of course," the lord said. "Of
course."
"I imagine if you doubled your original payment, it would lessen
the strain of inconvenience for the king."

"Oh, please," said Bitterblue,
rolling her eyes. "You know, I've had just about enough today. Lovisa, go downstairs. I'll deal with this kitten-head."
"Lovisa?" said Benni. “Is this really the Queen of Monsea? She seems a bit unhinged."
"I am unhinged!" said Bit- terblue. "You took my hinges!"

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Oct 14

Always interested when I see hints of meme-speak enter our writing, often ironically, but increasingly apparently unconsciously. This is from Ta-Nehisi Coates's THE MESSAGE. He has a famously formal prose style, so it caught my attention.

I've always been ashamed of this sense that I did less with more, that I had one job and could not complete it

Hannah (hveditorial)@hveditorial· Oct 14

My friend's dog spends his whole life looking so goofy—until the moment a camera comes out and he suddenly strikes a pose.