Rafael Walker

My book, Realism after the Individual: Women, Desire, and the Modern American Novel, is now out with @UChicagoPress! Use discount code UCPNEW for 30% off. I'm so excited! 🥳 press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book…

NEW ISSUE OUT NOW Arizona Quarterly 82.1, Spring 2026 Special Issue: The American Novel at the Turn of the Twentieth Century Guest Editors: Rafael Walker and Nathan Wolff tiny.one/mr2pwhp2 CONTRIBUTORS Philip Ellefson Gary Totten Cameron Loftis Max Chapnick and more

NEW ISSUE OUT NOW J19: The Journal of Nineteenth-Century Americanists 13.2, Fall 2025 tinyurl.com/yjddkuey CONTRIBUTORS Kristin Moriah Rafael Walker Susannah Sharpless Rachel Conrad Bracken Alexandra Burgess Matt Sandler Sabrina Evans Koritha Mitchell and more

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And what an encouraging blurb it is! Thank you, and let us hope the book lives up to your kind praise for it. #grateful

We're hiring in black and/or latino queer studies and have extended the app deadline to 1/5. The terms are sweeter than HR will permit us to disclose in the ad; feel free to get in touch with me with any questions. Thanks for helping to spread the word! jobs.chronicle.com/job/37909134/a…

Proofs for the Cambridge History of American Gay Autobiography, which includes my essay on Whitman! I'm sure it'll appeal widely—because who doesn't wanna read generations of gays talking about themselves, or, in Whitman's case, as I argue, artfully refusing to?!

Might not be as attention grabbing as what the administration is doing these days, but this kind of woke illiberalism is insidious. I was also told it was over (if it had ever happened): “In effect, [Junot] Díaz had been canceled, not just informally but in a final, official way. Removal from an anthology is far more consequential for a writer than ephemeral, even if viral, tweets or sensational feature stories. The Norton anthologies are one of the primary channels through which we establish and preserve literary canons. Assembled by the profession’s most influential scholars, they shape what instructors pass down to the next generations and what those next generations, in turn, will view as their cultural inheritance. In expunging Díaz’s work from such a high-profile anthology, the academy was conferring its imprimatur upon a smear campaign against a once-revered author based on reliably discredited rumors.”

@vjoshuaadams 😊

@raf_walk neither as tall nor as charismatic as you tho!

mutual hit me with a double whammy this weekend: I am both taller and more charismatic in person??

I've been uneasy about Junot Díaz's treatment by the mainstream media for a while now, but seeing him get nixed from the Norton anthology was the last straw for me. I've put my thoughts down here. Thanks, as usual, to my editor, @GutkinLen! chronicle.com/article/junot-…

@ProfMcInnis And congrats again on yours, which I’ve also been excited about! 🙌🏾

@raf_walk Beautiful cover and great title! Can’t wait to read it. Congratulations!

Elated to announce that my baby, "Realism after the Individual," has a stunning cover and is available for preorder! University of Chicago Press remains undefeated for making beautiful books. press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book…

I could not be more excited about this book.

@bureaucatliu Yup. And aspirational Ivies.

@raf_walk Ah ha...they are similar in being Southern, wealthy small (in terms of undergrad numbers) heavily STEM research based institutions with big med schools, ready to cut everything else in order to stream line their missions.

Ah, so it's not merely a coincidence that the two presidents recently co-authored an article on resisting the politicization of universities. chronicle.com/article/univer…

Last week, I received a request to extradite a New York doctor who provided life-saving abortion medication to a patient. Today, I’ve sent a letter to Louisiana with a clear message: I will not be signing the request. Not now. Not ever.

@proffwolff The kayaker must rename himself Jonah.

Whale prof here. Whales are sinewed with malice but will spit a guy out if it’s not who they meant to target. This is why it’s right and good for people to be specific about which whale they hate.

Today is the release day for my Audible Original, "James Baldwin: The Man and His Work"! It was a labor of love, and I hope you enjoy it. audible.com/pd/James-Baldw…