Damon Galgut wins Booker prize with 'spectacular' novel The Promise
Damon Galgut has won the Booker prize for his portrait of a white South African family navigating the end of apartheid. The judges praised The Promise as "a spectacular demonstration of how the novel...
View ArticleIs Superman Circumcised? favorite to win Oddest book title of the year
Voting for the annual Diagram Prize for the Oddest Book Title of the Year is now open. The six contenders waiting for your vote are: 1. Curves for the Mathematically Curious 2. Handbook of Research on...
View ArticlePaul Newman will tell his own story, 14 years after his death
Decades ago, the actor and philanthropist Paul Newman, frustrated by all the unauthorized biographies and coverage of his life, recorded his own oral history, leaving behind transcripts that for years...
View ArticleMovement builds on right to target books
...It's easy to caricature a particular movement with some of its most extreme promoters. And there is a demonstrated history of efforts to ban books in schools, including by liberals. Such efforts...
View ArticleBestselling novelist Wilbur Smith dies aged 88
Novelist Wilbur Smith died on November 13 aged 88, according to a statement from the author's official website: "Global bestselling author Wilbur Smith died unexpectedly this afternoon at his Cape...
View ArticleNPR books editor Petra Mayer has died
Petra Mayer, a beloved books editor on NPR's Culture desk, died on Saturday. She died suddenly at Holy Cross Hospital in Maryland of what's believed to be a pulmonary embolism, said Nancy Barnes,...
View ArticleAward-winning American poet Robert Bly dies aged 94
The poet Robert Bly, who counted the National Book Award and the Poetry Society of America's Frost Medal among his many honours, has died. He was 94. The Star Tribune newspaper, in his native...
View ArticleNFT is Collins Dictionary's word of the year
In a year that has seen the musician Grimes sell a collection of digital artworks for almost $6m (£4.4m), and the original photo behind the 2005 Disaster Girl meme go for $473,000 (£354,000), Collins...
View ArticleCosta Book Awards shortlists
Shortlists in five categories have been announced for the 2021 Costa Book Awards, recognizing some of the most enjoyable books published in the last year by authors living in the U.K. and Ireland....
View ArticleAlice Sebold apologizes to exonerated man who spent years in prison for her...
Author Alice Sebold apologized to a man who last week was exonerated of her rape, a crime she wrote about in her memoir "Lucky," but the writer also appeared to place as much blame on a "flawed legal...
View ArticleIowa legislators target books and teachers for upcoming session
Two Iowa Republican leaders said they want to pursue legislation that makes it a felony offense for school officials, including teachers, to provide "obscene materials" to students. Prior to...
View ArticleAAP sues to block Maryland, New York library e-book laws
The Association of American Publishers filed suit December 9 to stop a new library e-book law in Maryland from taking effect on January 1, claiming that the law, which would require publishers who...
View Article'Interview with the Vampire' author Anne Rice dies at age 80
Anne Rice, author of the best-selling Vampire Chronicles novel series, died December 11 from complications resulting from a stroke, her son Christopher announced on social media. She was 80 years old....
View ArticlePenguin Random House defends effort to buy Simon & Schuster
Penguin Random House, the largest book publisher in the United States, said in a court filing on Monday that its plan to buy a competitor, Simon & Schuster, would be a boon for the industry,...
View ArticleObituary Note: bell hooks
bell hooks, the renowned author, scholar, feminist and activist whose work examined race, class, gender and the ways they intersect, died on December 15 at the age of 69, the Lexington Herald...
View ArticleSome school librarians fed up with book bans are organizing and fighting back
Carolyn Foote was shocked and angry when hundreds of books about race, equality or sexuality in Texas school libraries were targeted by Republican lawmakers. She and other librarians focused on making...
View ArticleJoan Didion, whose 'electric anxiety' inspired a generation, has died at 87
American novelist, journalist and essayist Joan Didion died on Thursday at her home in New York at age 87 from Parkinson's disease, according to Knopf publicist Paul Bogaards. The bestselling writer...
View ArticleLondon publishing staffer arrested and accused by FBI of stealing manuscripts
A London publishing staffer has been arrested and charged by the FBI with allegedly stealing hundreds of book manuscripts over several years. The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on 5th January...
View ArticlePrint books had a huge sales year in 2021
Unit sales of print books rose 9% in 2021 over 2020 at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. 826 million print units were sold last year, a jump of nearly 68 million over 2020 and a whopping 132...
View ArticleMaya Angelou featured on new U.S. quarter
The U.S. Mint has begun shipping a new quarter featuring writer, poet, performer, social activist, and teacher Maya Angelou, who becomes the first Black woman to be featured on the quarter. Coins...
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