About Pittsburgh Review of Books
The Pittsburgh Review of Books publishes engaged, incisive, and smart cultural criticism and analysis.
True to its name, PRoB tackles problems, evaluates probabilities, and problematizes issues. An interdisciplinary humanities periodical housed in Carnegie Mellon University’s Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences and published by the English Department in association with Belt Media Collaborative, PRoB features essays, reviews, interviews, and excerpts that engage with salient and pressing issues. True to Pittsburgh’s historical reputation for hard work and creativity, PRoB is committed to the democratic, visionary, and inclusive values that have defined this city at its best.
Masthead
Editor-in-Chief
Ed Simon
Ed Simon is Public Humanities Lecturer in the English Department at CMU, and a widely published author of over a dozen books, including Devil’s Contract: The History of the Faustian Bargain, which was named one of the best books of 2024 by The New Yorker. A monthly columnist for Literary Hub, as well as a contributing editor at The Montreal Review, Simon has written for publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Paris Review, and The New Republic.
Managing Editor
Jessica Limardo
Jessica Limardo is a writer and educator with fifteen years of experience in industry. She has written for major brands like General Motors and Peloton, and ghostwritten for smaller publications like Make: Magazine. She has served as a reader for TriQuarterly and The Writer’s Foundry Review, and as a lecturer at St. Joseph’s University in the English department. Her nonfiction has been featured on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign website. She holds an MFA from St. Joseph’s University in Brooklyn.
Associate Editor
Christl Caspar
Christl Caspar is a writer and editor from Philadelphia, PA whose interests include contemporary fiction, visual design, and pop culture. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from West Virginia University and a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Currently, she is pursuing her MA in Professional Writing at Carnegie Mellon University.
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Saty Mukherjee
Saty Mukerjee is an associate editor at Pittsburgh Review of Books and an incoming MA student in Literary and Cultural Studies at Carnegie Mellon University. She has experience in literary editing with magazines like Chestnut Review and experience in nonprofit communications with organizations like NDoula Community Alliance and MentoraPromise. When she has free time, she usually likes to get out her Kindle and plow through her ever growing to-be-read list or play some video games.
Resource Development Adviser
Danielle Hoffman
Danielle works full time for Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science as the Director of Philanthropic Engagement; she’s also a very part-time student in the Masters of Professional Writing Program. Though she’s written hundreds of fundraising proposals, stewardship reports, and the like – and is the go-to editor for friends, family, and colleagues – she only recently published her first article, in the SCS Link Magazine. Danielle is thrilled to be a part of PROB and believes the magazine fills an important niche. When she’s not working or studying, Danielle is an avid reader, an occasional yoga teacher at Yoga Factory Pittsburgh, and a devoted mom to her six year old daughter.
ENGAGEMENT EDITOR
Jessica Manack
Jessica Manack holds degrees from Hollins University and lives with her family in her hometown of Pittsburgh. Her writing, much of which focuses on Appalachian history, especially that of its women residents, has appeared widely in anthologies and journals, including Still: The Journal, SWWIM Every Day, and Fine Print, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She is a recipient of a 2022 Curious Creators Grant and a 2024 Getaway Artist Fellowship, and serves as a Poetry Reader for TriQuarterly. Gastromythology is her first book.