This week’s news in Venn diagrams.
It’s the AWP Conference and Bookfair this week, and most of the Lit Hub staff has been in Baltimore. With the editors out of town, those of us not at AWP have been taking good care of the place, and Read more >
The Hub
News, Notes, Talk
A mini reading list to understand what’s happening in Iran.
Today marks the seventh day of the unlawful U.S-Israel war against Iran. Like many a citizen, I’ve been struggling to understand what’s animating this latest burst of imperial violence. It’s hard to argue with un-reason. And with legal, moral, and Read more >
By Brittany Allen
Here’s what’s making us happy this week.
Hello, weekenders. It’s been a minute. We’ve been holding our joy a bit too close to the vest over here at the Hub, with editorial apologies. But the good Fridays are back! Molly Odintz, our resident curious George, enjoyed a Read more >
By Brittany Allen
The Authors Guild is allowing more writers to certify their books are AI-free.
The Authors Guild is expanding its Human Authored certification program to allow publishers and non-Guild members certify that their work is untainted by AI, according to the Guild and Publishers Weekly. The program, which aims to “distinguish human creativity in Read more >
By James Folta
Announcing the 2026 Honey & Wax Book Collecting Prize.
For the tenth year in a row, Literary Hub is pleased to announce the opening of the Honey & Wax Book Collecting Prize, which awards $1,000 to an American woman, aged 30 or younger, to acknowledge an outstanding book collection. Read more >
By Literary Hub
A spot of good news! Adult fiction sales are up 1%.
As Publishers Weekly reported yesterday, there’s a little bit to celebrate this week in Bookland. Industry analyst and Circana BookScan employee Brenna Connor recently gave a bird’s eye view of the industry at the American Booksellers Association’s Winter Institute. According to Read more >
By Brittany Allen
Rufi Thorpe’s Margo’s Got Money Troubles wins this year’s Clark Fiction Prize.
The 2026 L.D. and LaVerne Harrell Clark Fiction Prize has been awarded to Rufi Thorpe’s novel Margo’s Got Money Troubles, a funny novel about a dissatisfied and underemployed young woman who decides to keep a baby, let her estranged pro-wrestler Read more >
By James Folta
Here’s the longlist for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction.
Today, the Women’s Prize Trust announced the longlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, which highlights sixteen novels—including seven debuts, seven American writers, and nine offerings from indie publishers—published in the last year. “Across a longlist that is international in Read more >
By Literary Hub
The American Library Association’s workers have formed a union.
Workers at the American Library Association have announced that they’re forming union with AFSCME Council 31. When the new union is certified, American Library Association Workers United/AFSCME will represent over 100 primarily Chicago-based ALA workers. An open letter signed by Read more >
By James Folta
Don’t miss these amazing Minnesota writers reading at AWP
If you’re headed to Baltimore this week for the 53rd annual AWP (aka literary rumspringa for writers-who-should-know-better), I insist you come have a beer and celebrate some of Minnesota’s (and America’s) best writers reading at ICE OUT: Minnesota Writers Respond Read more >
By Jonny Diamond
How authors can protect themselves from scams, according to a book publicist.
Publishing scams are everywhere right now — and they are getting slicker and harder to detect. As a book publicist who works every day with serious nonfiction authors, I’m seeing more and more writers contacted by people promising exposure, media coverage, and Read more >
By Jessica Pellien
Rebecca Solnit, Vigdis Hjorth, Terry Tempest Williams, and more: 23 new books out today!
Some stunning nonfiction, some scintillating novels: it’s the beginning of a new month, one that promises more sunshine, and more life-giving literature. Rebecca Solnit, Terry Tempest Williams, Benjamin Hale, and Anand Gopal number among our erudite nonfiction authors for the Read more >
By Julia Hass
Here are the finalists for the 2026 PEN/Faulkner award for fiction.
Today, the PEN/Faulkner Foundation announced the five finalists for the 2026 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. The judging panel, which this year was comprised of Samantha Hunt, Tania James, and De’Shawn Charles Winslow, selected these finalists from a list of 387 Read more >
By Literary Hub
This week’s news in Venn diagrams.
The end of February always feels like struggling to fold and force the last bit of toothpaste out of the tube, but with energy and emotions. Plus Mercury is doing something wild up there and going back into Pisces, I’m Read more >
By James Folta
Karen Russell, Wendell Berry, Writers on Freud, and 26 more paperback books out today.
It’s March, and with that comes a new season in a year that has already felt like more than one season has passed by. But even amidst so much bewildering bleakness, there are moments of beauty to be found in Read more >
By Gabrielle Bellot
Congressional Republicans have introduced a nationwide book banning bill.
A group of right-wing Congressional Representatives introduced a federal book banning bill in Congress this week that would give book censors wide latitude to remove books from schools and libraries. The bill also explicitly targets trans people. House Resolution 7661, Read more >
