John Stauffer is Professor of English and African American Studies and former chair of American Studies at Harvard University, and the new editor of 21st Editions, a limited edition photography press.He is the author or editor of 15 books and over 100 articles focusing on antislavery and/or photography. Two of his books ("GIANTS" and "State of Jones") were national bestsellers. "The Black Hearts of Men" was the co-winner of the Frederick Douglass Book Prize and the Lincoln Prize runner-up. "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" was a Lincoln Prize finalist. He has been a frequent contributor to 21st Editions. His writings on photography have also appeared in "Young America: The Daguerreotypes of Southworth and Hawes," "WAR/PHOTOGRAPHY," and "Listening to Cement." His new book, "Picturing Frederick Douglass: An Illustrated Biography of the Nineteenth Century's Most Photographed American," will be available in November 2015.His interest in visual culture extends to exhibitions and film. He consulted on the traveling exhibition "WAR/PHOTOGRAPHY" (2012-14). He advised and appeared in three award-winning documentaries ("God in America"; "The Abolitionists"; and "The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross"); and he has been a consultant for feature films including "Django" and the forthcoming "Free State of Jones", directed by Gary Ross and starring Matthew McConaughey, which is based on his book.His essays and reviews have appeared in "Time", "Wall Street Journal", "New York Times", "Washington Post", "Huffington Post", and in scholarly journals and books.He has appeared on national radio and television shows, including "The Diane Rehm Show," "C-SPAN," and "Book TV with Susan Swain," and he has lectured throughout the United States and Europe. In 2009 the U.S. State Department's International Information Programs hired him as one of its speakers.That same year Harvard named Professor Stauffer the Walter Channing Cabot Fellow for "achievements and scholarly eminence in the fields of literature, history or art." He has also received two teaching awards from Harvard: the Everett Mendelsohn Excellence in Mentoring Award; and the Jan Thaddeus Teaching Prize.He lives in Cambridge with his wife, Deborah Cunningham, and their two sons, Erik and Nicholas.(August 2015)