David Fiske's Solomon Northup research
in the news

August 2013

Adirondack Almanack: Solomon Northup, of Minerva, NY

September 2013

New York Times, Escape from Slavery story

October 2013

Albany Times Union

Glens Falls Post Star

Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy blog (what happened to Northup afterward)

CBS6 Albany (television interview)

November 2013

New York History blog (my response to writers who question the authenticity of Northup's book)

Syracuse New Times, Northup's Southern Discomfort (Northup's connection to Syracuse)

The Canadian Press (article on Samuel Bass was picked up by many media outlets in Canada)

Omaha World Herald (Northup's grandson lived in Omaha)

Richmond Times Dispatch (Northup passed through Richmond, VA)

Plattsburgh Press-Republican

Virginia Pilot (Northup's daughter Margaret, and granddaughter Florence Stanton, in Norfolk VA area)

Saratogian

The Hill Country Observer did a feature article on my Solomon Northup research in its December issue (which is not available online).

January 2014

An article I wrote on Rev. Daniel Webster Shaw, son of Harriet Shaw, for Oberlin Heritage Center blog.

I receive a brief mention at the end of this item in The Guardian, from the UK.

Sarah Churchwell credits my research on Northup in this item in The Guardian, from the UK.

The British Library posted a short item I wrote on a visit Tabbs Gross made to London. Gross and Solomon Northup reportedly worked on the Underground Railroad together.

Steve Zeitchik, of the Los Angeles Times, quotes me in this article about awareness of Northup in Saratoga Springs, NY

February 2014

On February 5th, I was the guest on Jane E. Wilcox's online radio program. Listen here

I wrote this New York History Blog article on the practice of kidnapping in New York State (as happened to Northup).

I talked about Solomon Northup on the John Batchelor Show. It aired on February 20, 2014. Listen here (my part begins 19 minutes into the recording).

I'm included in this WAMC radio story on Solomon Northup that focuses on his time in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Heidi Kim calls the biography I co-authored the "best available text on Northup's life," in her book review in the Los Angeles Review of Books.

I appear briefly in this Sky News story, by Amanda Walker.

March 2014

I am mentioned in these articles in the Saratogian, following the Academy Award ceremony:
Solomon Northup Day Revitalized
Book Written by Local Residents

I am quoted in this article in the Albany Times Union: Saratoga Reflects on an Oscar Winner

My research on the two men who lured Northup from Saratoga Springs is discussed in this article in the Daily Gazette.

This Associated Press story discusses my efforts to discover how Northup died.

Report of a presentation on Northup at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York.

Article in MetroWest newspapers about Solomon Northup's appearances in Massachusetts following his rescue from slavery.

On March 28, I did a live interview on Bob Cudmore's radio program, The Historians, on WVTL-FM in Amsterdam, NY.

On March 30, an article in the Fitchburg Sentinel and Enterprise discussed my book in reference to Northup's presence in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

May 2014

Article I wrote for the International Slavery Museum's blog, on how kidnapping was enabled in America.

Listen to me talk about 12 Years a Slave, Mrs. Northup and Justice on Lesley Gist's "Gist of Freedom" online radio program.

An article I wrote for the New York History Blog, on how a New York anti-kidnapping law, which allowed for the rescue of Solomon Northup, came about in 1840.

February 2015

I am mentioned in this article, because I discovered that a diary held by the Swems Library had been kept by Solomon Northup's granddaughter, Florence Barber.

December 2017

In this C-SPAN video, I give the basics of the Solomon Northup story.

February 2018

In this New York History Blog article, I provide some informed speculation on Northup's ultimate fate.

January 2019

Northup's family relocated to Glens Falls, New York, during the time that he was enslaved in Louisiana. I wrote this item for the Glens Falls Chronicle about the struggles and successes experienced by the family in the Glens Falls region.

May 2019

I am quoted in this article about Northup's story, in the National Post

July 2019

I was interviewed for this article in the Plattsburgh (NY) Press-Republican. I told about Eli Terry, a free black whose experience as a kidnapping victim was quite similar to that of Solomon Northup's. Tales of Slavery, Freedom

Full biography of Solomon Northup, Solomon Northup: The Complete Story of the Author of Twelve Years a Slave.
Information at Solomon Northup page

Solomon Northup was the most well-known kidnapping victim, but he was by no means the only one. The 2016 book, Solomon Northup's Kindred: The Kidnapping of Free Citizens before the Civil War, tells about many others who were kidnapped and sold into slavery. The book also provides historical background that explains why kidnappers were able to operate with relative ease.

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You can purchase autographed copies of these books. Go to Book Order page