Crown Hill Press

05/08/2022

During the Pleistocene, the Laurentide Ice Sheet carved out a small ancient river valley, eventually leaving behind a lake which measures four miles long, 800 acres of surface space, and measures between 50-85 feet deep. I grew up on the shore of this lake and have always loved its history, promising myself to write its history one day. Each time I do, an obstacle arises. It's time to keep that promise to myself.

05/07/2021

Crown Hill Press is excited to announce the upcoming "Hilltop History" monograph series! Worcester, Massachusetts officially has seven hills in its borders and this monograph series will look at the history surrounding some of these prominent places in the city. The first of these monographs will be released in the coming weeks and will focus on the history of Wigwam Hill. Though not officially one of Worcester's "seven hills" the location has served as a village site for the Nipmucs, a summer camp for boys, and a working farm which occupied the hill for over two centuries. A look at the history of nearby Lake Quinsigamond and of the old coal mine, one of only two coal mines in the state, will be included as well.

More information to come soon!

10/05/2021

It's hard to believe that a year has passed since I wrote this and defended this before the thesis committee! Response to this work has been phenomenal and I really appreciate all of the folks who have checked it out! If you have not done so, get your copy today!

“The Job of Musicians is Not to Create Music but to Create Culture”: An Examination of Ann Arbor’s Underground Music Scene in the 1990s.

15/03/2021

“It is a good lesson—though it may often be a hard one—for a man who has dreamed of literary fame, and of making for himself a rank among the world’s dignitaries by such means, to step aside out of the narrow circle in which his claims are recognized, and to find how utterly devoid of significance, beyond that circle, is all that he achieves, and all he aims at.” – Nathaniel Hawthorne

02/03/2021

Back in print, newly edited and corrected! This eight-essay collection includes:
- a look at the theory that Joan of Arc had epilepsy
- the story of two brothers who fought with the MA 15th during the Civil War
- looking at how folklore and history collide in Edward Rowe Snow's books about Boston Harbor
- the story of the Tibetan Buddhist lama Je Tsong Khapa and how his work changed the face of Buddhism in Tibet
- and a look at Kenneth Grant's Typhonian Trilogies as interpreted by postmodern theory.

Collected Essays: Volume I (2018-2019): (Second Revised & Corrected Edition)

21/10/2020

I have been in touch with Scribd. com who has confirmed with me that they will not take my ebooks off of their website because I agreed to allow Lulu Press to give their website and its subscribing members access to my books without having to pay me royalties. I am now fighting with to have my work taken off of Scribd - imagine that, the copyright holder is trying to regain control of his work from a SELF-PUBLISHER who does not own the rights to the work.

My hope is that enough people will see posts like mine and will avoid using Lulu entirely as it has been a nightmare. I have third-party sellers printing my books on demand, not giving me a single dime, and it's all because of Lulu. Then I have to deal with submitting a request to have my material taken off of Scribd. I wish someone had warned me about this company. Totally disgusting.

20/10/2020

Over the weekend, I discovered that Lulu publishing sold electronic copies of my book to third party sellers who are now able to profit from my work without paying me. As a result, I am no longer going to be publishing in electronic formats. As it is too easy to bootleg my work when it is in eBook form only physical copies will be made available, moving forward. I will continue to publish electronic editions for library use only. If you want a eBook version of one of my latest books you better jump on it because they all come off of Amazon today.

16/10/2020

Earlier this fall, Crown Hill Press ended its relationship with Lulu.com after a botched site update left other self-publishers in a lurch. The decision was made to print future books through KDP and recently all files for previous books being printed by Lulu were "retired."

Now, I have discovered that even though the files have been retired third-party vendors still have access to the files and are able to do print-on-demand copies of my work and not have to pay royalties. I have recently discovered that Lulu has also partnered with Scribd who has been notoriously guilty of allowing copyrighted work to be freely distributed on its site for at least a decade or so. Electronic copies of CHP's publications are available to be read and download for free as long as you have a membership with Scribd.

Again, someone has copyrighted material on their website and they are profiting from it and denying royalty payments. Likely, there was some fine print agreement which indicated that this was going to happen. I may not be able to do much more than file a BBB complaint but I do hope that other authors who might end up using Lulu won't make the same mistake that I did.

05/10/2020

Folks have been sharing images of themselves holding a copy of my latest book (keep 'em coming!) and thanks to Adam L Brook I was able to get a photo of poet, activist, and former MC5 manager John Sinclair holding his copy! A birthday gift to St. John, his 79th, the book talks briefly talks about John's work with the MC5, the Free John Rally at the U of M, and the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival. John's work directly impacted the city's history and set the stage in many ways for what was achieved during the 1990s. Now on sale at https://www.amazon.com/Job-Musicians-Create-Music-Culture/dp/B08KG6PKX6/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=jj+griffin+iv&link_code=qs&qid=1601900886&sourceid=Mozilla-search&sr=8-1&tag=mozilla-20

30/09/2020

Now available!

“The Job of Musicians is Not to Create Music but to Create Culture”: An Examination of Ann Arbor’s Underground Music Scene in the 1990s.

29/09/2020

On sale tomorrow - the story of the Ann Arbor underground music scene in the 1990s!

24/09/2020

Crown Hill Press is actively seeking out nonfiction manuscripts for publication! Historical monographs, memoirs, collections of essays - you name it. Don't let the idea of publishing your work overwhelm you. CHP will edit your manuscript, create the cover, do all of the layout work, and handle all of the publishing tasks!

22/09/2020

Now available! In paperback and EPUB editions!

The Wizard of Mortlake: Essays on the Life of John Dee

19/09/2020

18/09/2020

Crown Hill Press' latest publication is now available! Read about one of Elizabethan England's most dynamic and interesting individuals! Now available in paperback and EPUB format!

The Wizard of Mortlake: Essays on the Life of John Dee

16/09/2020

Kindle edition now available!

The Wizard of Mortlake: Essays on the Life of John Dee

14/09/2020

Coming VERY soon!

11/09/2020

Proof copies have arrived! I'll do a final review this weekend and then I'll make the book available for purchase next week!

09/09/2020

To quickly update folks, I mentioned that Lulu.com was the publishing company who was handling previous Crown Hill Press releases but after a botched site update in the spring it has become nearly impossible to work on new projects. After having multiple issues, I have chosen to no longer print future works through Lulu and moving forward, KDP will be handling all future publishing jobs. It is a shame that Lulu has chosen to make these mistakes as I was initially quite pleased with the company, but the site update ruined everything and I have chosen to end my partnership with them as a result.

09/09/2020

Coming soon from Crown Hill Press! Two essays on the life of one of Elizabethan England's most enigmatic and dynamic characters!

11/05/2020

Since its inception, Crown Hill Press has worked with Lulu Publishing to release its work. Due to the company botching a site update, all CHP books have been unavailable and information on sales and royalty has disappeared. Regrettably, I am going to have to break down and go with one of their competitors as it has been over two weeks of this now with no end in sight.

I am requesting that people not purchase any CHP books for the time being and will update the links once the switch has been made to a new distributor and publishing company.

Once this change has been made, exciting news about TWO upcoming CHP releases will be announced!

31/01/2020

Crown Hill Press' second release for January of 2020!

Frightening, raw, visceral, and confrontational. In their short history, Barbed Wire Play Pen established themselves as a bizarre anomaly which made their mark on the Ann Arbor, Michigan music scene in the 1990s. Despite their constantly playing shows, and performing with many of the era’s largest acts, they never made an impact outside of the Detroit-Ann Arbor corridor. Yet, despite the fact they never released a record, never toured, and couldn’t hold a steady line-up together for more than a few months at a time, they had an undeniable impact on their sometimes-volatile audiences.

Now for the first time, Barbed Wire Play Pen’s story is told in detail, complete with dozens of rare photographs and flyers, spanning their lifespan. Lyrics, a list of members, and a list of shows and the bands they played with supplement the band’s tumultuous story. With an introduction by Ann Arbor indie-pop icon, Fred Thomas, and a foreword by the band’s former singer, the book is an entertaining look at one of the most bizarre bands to ever emerge from Ann Arbor’s eclectic music scene.

Buy The Illustrated Adventures of Barbed Wire Play Pen by J.J. Griffin IV (Paperback) online at Lulu. Visit the Lulu Marketplace for product details, ratings, and reviews.

31/01/2020

17/01/2020

.epub version, for sale now!

Buy Collected Essays: Volume I (2018-2019) by J.J. Griffin IV (eBook) online at Lulu. Visit the Lulu Marketplace for product details, ratings, and reviews.

14/01/2020

The digital .epub version of "Collected Essays: Volume I (2018-2019)" is now available on LuLu!

Buy Collected Essays: Volume I (2018-2019) by J.J. Griffin IV (eBook) online at Lulu. Visit the Lulu Marketplace for product details, ratings, and reviews.