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☆ Book Bans Continue to Surge in Public Schools
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Book bans in public schools continued to surge in the first half of this school year, according to a report released on Tuesday by PEN America, a free speech organization. The rise in book bans has accelerated in recent years, driven by conservative groups and by new laws and regulations that limit what kinds of books children can access. Since the summer of 2021, PEN has tracked book removals in 42 states and found instances in both Republican- and Democratic-controlled districts. The numbers likely fail to capture the full scale of book removals. PEN compiles its figures based on news reports, public records requests and publicly available data, but many removals go unreported.

Persons: — Organizations: PEN America, PEN, Republican

☆ Before He Died in Prison, Aleksei Navalny Wrote a Memoir. It’s Coming This Fall.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

During the years leading up to his death in a Russian prison, Aleksei A. Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, was writing a memoir about his life and work as a pro-democracy activist. Titled “Patriot,” the memoir will be published in the United States by Knopf on Oct. 22, with a first printing of half a million copies, and a simultaneous release in multiple countries. Navalny, who rose to global prominence as a fierce critic of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, resisted the Kremlin’s repeated attempts to silence him through physical harm, arrests and imprisonment in a remote Arctic penal colony, where he died in February, at age 47. The book, telling his story in his own words, comes as a final show of defiance, his widow, Yulia Navalnaya, said in a statement, and could have a galvanizing effect on his followers.

Persons: Aleksei A, Vladimir V, Putin, Yulia Navalnaya Organizations: Knopf Locations: Russian, United States, Russia

☆ Gabriel García Márquez Wanted to Destroy His Last Novel. It’s About to Be Published.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Toward the end of his life, when his memory was in pieces, Gabriel García Márquez struggled to finish a novel about the secret sex life of a married middle-age woman. “He told me directly that the novel had to be destroyed,” said Gonzalo García Barcha, the author’s younger son. When García Márquez died in 2014, multiple drafts, notes and chapter fragments of the novel were stashed away in his archives at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. The story remained there, spread over 769 pages, largely unread and forgotten — until García Márquez’s sons decided to defy their father’s wishes. Now, a decade after his death, his last novel, titled “Until August,” will be published this month, with a global release in nearly 30 countries.

Persons: Gabriel García Márquez, “, ”, Gonzalo García Barcha, García Márquez, Harry Ransom, García Márquez’s, Ana Magdalena Bach Organizations: Harry, University of Texas Locations: Austin, Caribbean

☆ Publishing Pledged to Diversify. Change Has Been Slow.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Alexandra Alter | Elizabeth A. Harris | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

More than three years after nationwide protests over racial inequality led publishers to promise they would reshape their overwhelmingly white industry, a survey showed they made little progress toward creating a more diverse publishing work force. White workers made up 72.5 percent of the book business in 2023, according to a new report from the publishing house Lee & Low. That marks a slight decrease from 2019, when the survey found that white people accounted for 76 percent of publishing industry employees. These changes are hardly the transformation many hoped for, and are likely to ignite debate about whether publishing companies have faltered in their pledge to prioritize racial diversity. The slow pace of progress reflects what many in the book world say are entrenched structural and cultural problems.

Persons: Lee

☆ Some Authors Were Left Out of Awards Held in China. Leaked Emails Show Why.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Suspicions in the science fiction community have been building for weeks that something was amiss with last year’s awards, which rotate to a different city each year, and in 2023 were hosted in Chengdu, China. What are the Hugo Awards? The awards, first established in 1953, are given annually at a gathering hosted by the World Science Fiction Convention. Writers are nominated and awarded prizes by members of the World Science Fiction Society, which includes science fiction fans. In January, the Hugo Awards revealed which writers had been nominated for last year’s awards, and by how many people.

Persons: Ursula K, Le Guin, William Gibson, Philip K, Dick, Hugo, Kuang, Xiran Jay Zhao Organizations: Science, Convention, Writers, Science Fiction Society, Canadian Locations: China, Chengdu, American, Oxford

☆ The Barefoot Memoirist: Ina Garten Takes Her Story to a New Publisher
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Alexandra Alter | Elizabeth A. Harris | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In 2019, the celebrity chef Ina Garten set off a flurry of excitement among her millions of fans: Garten, a Food Network star, best-selling cookbook author and social media sensation, was writing a memoir. The publisher behind the book, Celadon, celebrated the acquisition of what was sure to be a best seller in a news release. “Ina Garten is beloved by all, a national treasure who has become iconic beyond the food world,” Deb Futter, now the president and publisher of Celadon Books, an imprint of Macmillan, said in the release. One crucial detail was missing: The book was no longer coming from Macmillan. Instead, it will be published by Crown, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

Persons: Ina Garten, “ Ina Garten, ” Deb Futter, “, Garten Organizations: Food Network, Celadon, Macmillan, Crown, Penguin Random

The National Book Award ceremony took a political turn on Wednesday night, as the event concluded with a joint statement from a group of writers who called for a cease-fire in Gaza. For the final award of the night, Justin Torres received the fiction prize for “Blackouts,” his widely acclaimed, genre-defying novel about erasure and queer history. As Torres gave his speech, more than a dozen other nominees from different categories joined him on the stage. They stood behind Aaliyah Bilal, a finalist in the fiction category for her short story collection “Temple Folk,” as she read the statement. “On behalf of the finalists, we oppose the ongoing bombardment of Gaza and call for a humanitarian cease-fire to address the urgent humanitarian needs of Palestinian civilians, particularly children,” Bilal said.

Persons: Justin Torres, Torres, Aaliyah Bilal, ” Bilal, “, LeVar Burton, ” Burton Locations: Gaza

☆ The Success of Rebecca Yarros and Barbra Streisand’s Mammoth Memoir
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

It’s dueling Alexandras on this week’s Book Review podcast. First, the reporter Alexandra Alter discusses two of her most recent pieces. One is about Georgette Heyer, the “queen of Regency romance,” and the recent attempts to posthumously revise her most famous works by removing offensive stereotypes. She also talks about her recent profile of Rebecca Yarros, author of one of this year’s biggest hits: the “romantasy” novel “Fourth Wing.” The sequel, “Iron Flame,” has just been released. Then, staff critic Alexandra Jacobs joins to discuss her review of Barbra Streisand’s long-awaited memoir, “My Name is Barbra.”We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode, and about the Book Review’s podcast in general.

Persons: Alexandra Alter, Georgette Heyer, Rebecca Yarros, ”, Alexandra Jacobs, Barbra Streisand’s

☆ How Rebecca Yarros Packed Dragons, Magic and Steamy Sex Into a Blockbuster Fantasy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Alexandra Alter | More About Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Rebecca Yarros pitched her publisher a sexy fantasy about telepathic dragons and their riders, she thought it might be a tough sell. She’d built a career and a dedicated following writing romances, often drawing on her experience as a military wife. What she was proposing was wildly off-brand: an epic fantasy series with dragons, griffins, magic and political intrigue. To Yarros’s surprise, her publisher, Entangled, loved the idea, and wanted to launch a new fantasy imprint with it. Over a feverish few months, Yarros crash-wrote “Fourth Wing,” an intricately plotted 500-plus-page narrative that takes place at an elite war college, where two dragon riders feud, then fall in love.

Persons: Rebecca Yarros, She’d, Yarros —, ” Locations: Colorado Springs, vise

☆ ‘You Can’t Hide It’: Georgette Heyer and the Perils of Posthumous Revision
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Alexandra Alter | More About Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Georgette Heyer, one of the most popular and influential romance authors of all time, was not a romantic when it came to her work. “I ought to be shot for writing such nonsense,” she once declared in a letter to her publisher. Among her ardent fans, though, she remains revered as the Queen of Regency Romance, a subgenre she essentially created and popularized. Her intricately researched historical narratives are still widely read nearly 50 years after her death; Julia Quinn, whose Regency romance series “Bridgerton” spawned the hit Netflix series, called her “the original.”To date, Heyer’s books have sold around 20 million copies. But some readers have questioned her enduring popularity in light of offensive ethnic and antisemitic stereotypes that occasionally appeared in her work.

Persons: Georgette Heyer, “, Julia Quinn, ”, moneylender, Goldhanger Locations: leer

☆ Zadie Smith Drops In; Drew Barrymore Is Eased Out
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Zadie Smith’s new novel, “The Fraud,” is set in 19th-century England, and introduces a teeming cast of characters at the periphery of a trial in which the central figure claimed to be a long-lost nobleman entitled to a fortune. Smith drew many of the book’s details from the historical record — the trial and the main characters all existed much as they appear in the novel — but as she tells Sarah Lyall on this week’s episode, her archival research was far from dusty or dutiful. “‘Research’ makes it sound really heavy,” Smith says. “It was actually a joy to read about this period and to read books set in the period. We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode, and about the Book Review’s podcast in general.

Persons: Zadie, ”, Smith, Sarah Lyall, “, ” Smith, Alexandra Alter, Julia Jacobs, Drew Barrymore, Gilbert Cruz Organizations: Times, Hollywood Locations: England

The Authors Guild lawsuit is the latest in a series brought by writers against OpenAI. “It knew everything, and that’s when I got a bad feeling.”A representative for OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Since OpenAI introduced ChatGPT in November, authors, publishers and retailers have been trying to rein in the rampant and increasingly disruptive incursion of A.I. Amazon has taken steps to monitor and curb the influx of A.I.-generated books. to its customers, but it may do so in the future, according to an Amazon representative.

Persons: David Baldacci, Jodi Picoult, George R.R, Martin, George Saunders, Michael Connelly, Douglas Preston, ChatGPT, “, ‘, ”, OpenAI Organizations: OpenAI, York Mycological Society Locations: A.I

☆ Michael Cunningham Couldn’t Help but Write a Pandemic Novel
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Alexandra Alter | More About Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

With his fourth novel, “The Hours,” Cunningham repaid his debt to Woolf, and established himself as one of the country’s most talented and ambitious literary writers. Cunningham set out to write a modern update of “Mrs. He did something almost equally audacious, casting Woolf in his novel and burrowing into her psyche, a choice he knew was presumptuous. Cunningham’s audacity paid off: The novel won a Pulitzer Prize and was adapted into a star-studded feature film and an opera. Cunningham sank into depression, convinced that “it can only be downhill from here,” and struggled to start a new novel.

Persons: ” Cunningham, Woolf, Cunningham, Dalloway, Clarissa, ”, Walt Whitman, “, Covid Locations: California, New York, United States

The network said that the show would be returning on Sept. 18 without written material that is “covered by the W.G.A. strike,” a similar approach to that taken by “The View,” which began airing episodes from its new season this month, circumventing union writers. Barrymore, who had stepped down as the host of the MTV Movie and TV Awards in May in solidarity with the striking Hollywood writers, was greeted by a wave of critical backlash online after the decision to go back on air. Representatives for Barrymore and her show did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Recent hosts include the author and TV host Padma Lakshmi, the author and comedian Phoebe Robinson, and actors like LeVar Burton, Nick Offerman and Cynthia Nixon.

Persons: Barrymore, ”, Colson Whitehead, gestured, Ms, Padma Lakshmi, Phoebe Robinson, LeVar Burton, Nick Offerman, Cynthia Nixon Organizations: MTV Locations: United States

☆ For John Green, the Battle Over Access to Books Has Gotten Personal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Alexandra Alter | More About Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For about as long as he’s been a published author, John Green has faced efforts to censor his books. His debut novel, “Looking for Alaska,” a coming-of-age story that includes references to drug use and sex, has been challenged in schools for at least 15 years, and has frequently landed on the American Library Association’s most banned books list. Last year, it received more than 50 challenges in schools across the country. But a recent dust-up over whether his books are appropriate for teens feels more personal, and like an escalation of a growing movement to ban and restrict access to books, Green said. A public library in his home state of Indiana implemented a new policy earlier this year requiring library staff to remove any books with sexually explicit content from the children’s and teens section and re-shelve them in the adult collection.

Persons: John Green, Green, Judy Blume, Laurie Halse Anderson, ” Organizations: American, Hamilton East Public Library Locations: Alaska, ”, Indiana, Indianapolis

☆ Authors and Booksellers Urge Justice Dept. to Investigate Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Alexandra Alter | More About Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

appears to be closing in on its decision to bring an antitrust case against Amazon. Amazon representatives are expected to meet this week with members of the commission to discuss the possible suit, a sign that legal action may be imminent. Even as books have become a smaller slice of the company, Amazon has become an overwhelming force in the book market. It accounts for at least 40 percent of physical books sold in the U.S., and more than 80 percent of e-books sold, according to an analysis released by WordsRated, a research data and analytics group. With its purchase of Audible in 2008, Amazon has also become one of the largest audiobook producers and retailers.

Persons: Lina Khan, Jonathan Kanter, It’s, Mayer, WordsRated, beholden Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, Department’s Antitrust, Amazon, Metro, Goldwyn, Markets Institute Locations: U.S, United States

☆ Obsessed With the Ocean, Susan Casey Takes the Plunge
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Alexandra Alter | More About Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Her deep sea adventures were exhilarating, and occasionally harrowing. Given how massive and important it is, why do you think we’ve paid so little attention to the deep ocean? It took a really long time for people to understand that there is life throughout the entire water column. When you hit the seafloor, there’s a whole other ecosystem that extends even below the seafloor. So, this vast, vast, vast, vast majority of our world is down there in the dark.

Persons: Casey, Vescovo Locations: Hawaii, Bahamas, Hudson

In the past two years, book bans have surged in the United States, driven by conservative activists who have targeted books about race and racism or L.G.B.T.Q. While the fight has largely centered on books that are available in school classrooms and libraries, the legislation in Texas has drawn booksellers directly into the conflict. “Some school libraries have books with sexually explicit and vulgar materials,” he said during the bill signing session. But the plaintiffs said that the Texas law would take decisions out of the hands of schools and parents and put the burden on vendors instead. The law’s opponents also argue the legislation will increase the number of book bans in Texas, which already leads the country in removing books from schools, according to an analysis by the free speech organization PEN America.

Persons: Greg Abbott, ”, “ Organizations: PEN America Locations: United States, Texas

☆ TikTok Sells A Lot of Books. Now, Its Owner Wants to Publish Them, Too.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Elizabeth A. Harris | Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Many of TikTok’s users — more than 150 million in the United States alone — are interested in books. In the past year, videos with the #BookTok hashtag have been viewed more than 91 billion times, up from nearly 60 billion views the year before, according to the company. Posts tagged #ColleenHoover have been viewed more than 4.2 billion times, and her books have sold more than 24 million copies. “To say it’s hugely important is an understatement at this point,” said Bess Braswell, a senior publishing director at Harlequin. According to the description, it would create an ecosystem where people could find, buy, read, review and discuss books.

Persons: — Colleen Hoover, Circana, “, ”, Bess Braswell, ByteDance Organizations: Harlequin, Press Locations: United States

☆ How Review-Bombing Can Tank a Book Before It’s Published
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Alexandra Alter | Elizabeth Harris | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But she didn’t expect a backlash to strike six months before the book was published. In January, after a Goodreads user who had received an advanced copy posted a plot summary that went viral on Twitter, the review site was flooded with negative comments and one-star reviews, with many calling the book anti-Black and racist. Some of the comments were left by users who said they had never read the book, but objected to its premise. “It may look like a bunch of one-star reviews on Goodreads, but these are broader campaigns of harassment,” Rabess said. As a cross between a social media platform and a review site like Yelp, the site has been a boon for publishers hoping to generate excitement for books.

Persons: Cecilia Rabess, Goldman Sachs, ” Rabess, Goodreads Organizations: Twitter

☆ Taking a Late-in-Life Victory Lap, Thanks to His Novel’s ‘Lunatic Energy’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Robert Plunket was living in a trailer park in Englewood, Fla., with his pug, Meatball, when an email interrupted his life of quiet retirement. “I did feel like an obscure has-been,” Plunket said, “because that’s what I was, technically.”Now, Plunket is relishing his new status as a former has-been. This month, the independent publisher New Directions reissued his novel, “My Search for Warren Harding,” a biting comedy about a scholar who goes to extreme, morally questionable lengths to access letters Warren Harding sent to his mistress. What’s even more unusual about Plunket, and his unlikely return, is how stealthily influential his fiction has been over the decades. His admirers include writers like the novelist Ann Beattie and the journalist Frank Rich, comedians like Amy Sedaris and Larry David.

Persons: Robert Plunket, Meatball, Plunket, ” Plunket, Warren Harding, ”, Danzy Senna, Ann Beattie, Frank Rich, Amy Sedaris, Larry David, Madonna, Ian Organizations: New Locations: Englewood, Fla, New York

☆ Group Challenges Arkansas Law That Would Criminalize Access to Some Books
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Elizabeth A. Harris | Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A new state law in Arkansas that could send librarians and booksellers to prison was challenged on Friday in a federal lawsuit filed by libraries, independent bookstores and publishers who said the legislation was unconstitutional. The suit comes as states and counties around the country are increasingly restricting the availability of certain kinds of books, and as those who oppose such regulations are finding more ways to push back. The complaint, which was filed in the United States District Court for the western District of Arkansas, said the law “forces bookstores and libraries to self-censor in a way that is antithetical to their core purposes.”The Arkansas law, which is scheduled to go into effect in August, requires any material that might be “harmful” to minors, including books, magazines and movies, to be shelved in a separate, “adults only” area.

Organizations: United States, Court, of Locations: Arkansas, of Arkansas

☆ Mary Trump and E. Jean Carroll Are Collaborating on a Romance Novel. No Politics Allowed.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Earlier this year, Mary Trump, a niece and prominent critic of Donald J. Trump, had a bad bout of writer’s block. She was juggling several nonfiction projects and felt stuck, so she decided to write something completely different. Her latest book, “The Italian Lesson,” is a romance novel about an American woman with a secret past who tries to reinvent herself in Tuscany, where she opens a cafe and meets a handsome local vineyard owner. “It’s completely unlikely and weird and counterintuitive,” Trump said of the project. Later, they decided it would be fun to collaborate on a screenplay for a Hallmark-type romance movie as a way to stay in regular touch.

Persons: Mary Trump, Donald J, Trump, “, Donald Trump’s, “ It’s, ” Trump, Jean Carroll, Donald Trump, Jennifer Taub Organizations: Trump, Hallmark Locations: Tuscany

☆ The Rise of FTX, and Sam Bankman-Fried, Was a Great Story. Its Implosion Is Even Better.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Since they arrested Sam, I’ve been back three or four times, and it gets better and better because everyone gets looser and looser. When he was arrested, did you worry that it might blow up your book, or make it better? I did think, just how messy is this going to get, as the writer, because I’d been so involved. Nobody watched this the way I did, so, was I going to be dragged into this in some way? But I’ve been allowed to do my job, and it’s been one of the most exciting creative experiences I’ve ever had.

☆ She Wrote a Blistering Satire About Publishing. The Publishing Industry Loves It.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

When Kuang sent the first 100 pages to Hannah Bowman, her literary agent, Bowman at first tried to dissuade her from pursuing the project, warning that nobody would want to publish it. “We did have a conversation where I said, ‘There are things in here that I am afraid could offend people you work with,’” Bowman recalled. After Kuang insisted, Bowman sent it out, and was pleasantly surprised by the enthusiastic responses. “For publishing insiders, it’s just catnip, it’s so dishy about the industry,” Bowman said. “We’re like ‘Wow, does she like us?’”For Kuang — who at 26 has built a devoted following for her deeply researched and thought provoking fantasy novels — publishing a scorched-earth satirical takedown of the publishing industry was creatively and professionally risky.

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