The University of Pittsburgh Press is pleased to announce that William Masami Hammell has joined the Press as senior acquisitions editor.

Will has 20 years of publishing and editorial experience, including over a decade in scholarly book acquisitions, most recently at Cambridge University Press, where he acquired new titles and managed multiple series in African and Middle Eastern studies, focusing on history, politics, religion, and anthropology. Prior to that, he was editor and director of publications at the Harvard University Asia Center, acquiring and producing award-winning monographs in East Asian studies.

He got his start in book publishing at Temple University Press, where he managed lists in Asian, Asian American, Latin American, and Caribbean studies, as well as anthropology and ethnomusicology. Will comes to the Press after working in a senior editorial position at an academic medical center affiliated with Harvard Medical School. He was raised and educated in Japan and the United States, completing his BSc in Languages with a double major in Chinese and Japanese at Georgetown University and his MA in Japanese Literature at Yale University.

“Will brings a wealth of valuable experience and expertise to the Press that will enhance our editorial program as we build on current strengths and develop new areas of acquisition,” said Editorial Director Abby Collier. “I look forward to working with him during an exciting period of growth for the Press.”

He will build new lists in Asian studies, expanding the breadth and depth of the Press’s longstanding area studies lists, as well as in African American and Africana studies, complementing books across our lists that have explored themes of systemic racism, racial identity, and race relations, often in the context of urban studies, Latin America, and the built environment in the Western Hemisphere.

Director Peter Kracht said, “We are thrilled that Will is joining the Press, and I’m particularly pleased with his outstanding background in Asian studies, which will serve our academic publishing program well.”

Will brings a level of editorial judgment and intellectual curiosity to this new role that will make a significant contribution to the Press’s long-term publishing goals.

“I’m honored to bring my experience and enthusiasm to the University of Pittsburgh Press—a publisher I have admired since my days as a fledgling editor,” Will said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues to build the Press’s distinguished lists in new and diverse directions.”

Will can be reached by email at whammell@upress.pitt.edu.