I’m sorry, you just shouldn’t write in library books. Do whatever you want with your own books—highlighter, pen, pencil, the blood of the innocent—but being a member of a library is a contract with your fellow readers, and you should Read more >
Life’s got you down? At least there are always books! This week brings new gems from Elif Batuman, Nell Zink, Akwaeke Emezi, Elizabeth Hardwick, and more. * Elif Batuman, Either/Or (Penguin Press) “Batuman has a gift for making the universe Read more >
Well, it’s that time of year again. Time for TIME to dub 100 musicians, actors, artists, activists, politicians as The Most Important. (Actually, to put it in their terms: Artists, Innovators, Titans, Leaders, Icons, Pioneers.) It appears there is —yet again—only one Read more >
In very 1984 news, Belarus has banned the sale of 1984. Belarusian weekly newspaper, Nasha Niva, reported that security forces detained Andrei Yanushkevich, publisher and bookstore owner, and confiscated 200 books, with a focus on 1984. Nasha Niva also reported that they had Read more >
Phew. Thanks to the intrepid work of books valuer Jim Spencer (at an antiques show in the surely-it-must-be-charming Moreton-in-Marsh), we’ll finally have a chance to sit back at the beach and read Christiaan Huygens’ The Celestial World Discover’d: Or, Conjectures Read more >
You probably don’t need to be reminded that book-banning is alive and well in America. But take heart: there are some incredible people doing what they can to combat it. Skylark Bookshop in Columbia, Missouri, has launched a banned books Read more >
Recently, while editing Nicole Miller’s excellent essay on Joy Williams’ cosmic waiting rooms, I learned a bit of trivia: in 1999, Starbuck’s launched a quarterly literary magazine called Joe. Though the fact of the magazine’s existence (and roster of writers) Read more >
This is the eighth year that the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses is celebrating indie publishing with the Firecracker Awards—and the first year that it’s giving award recipients a cash prize! Each winner in the books category will receive Read more >
Heartwarming, hyper-local news reports about kids and books are definitely my beat—and reader, this is the one: KCCI Des Moines is reporting that an elementary school student in Johnston, Iowa—simply named “Eric”—was able to bring six of his favorite sheep Read more >
Lit Hub is pleased to reveal the cover for Ross Gay’s new essay collection Inciting Joy, which will be published by Algonquin Books in October. Algonquin describes the book as an “intimate and electrifying collection.” In these gorgeously written and Read more >
Here’s a cool one. The first trailer for Spiderhead, the hotly-anticipated (around the Lit Hub water cooler, at least) Netflix film based on George Saunders’ short story “Escape From Spiderhead,” has been released and it looks like a hoot (a Read more >
This seems like a cause worth supporting, if you’re able: Copper Canyon Press has launched a Kickstarter to help fund two projects featuring Red Pine, whose work translating Chinese poetry and Buddhist texts has reached audiences around the world. Here’s Read more >
In good news for—likely every reader on this website, a company called WordsRated is looking for “Bibliofile-at-large” (i.e. contractors) to… read books for them. For every book you read, they’ll pay you $200. WordsRated is a “non-commercial research organization” whose Read more >
Available at indies bookstores and local libraries everywhere! * Phil Klay, Uncertain Ground (Penguin Press) “An introspective collection of essays … Klay’s reassuring voice offers truth, hope, and ways forward during a challenging, polarized period in America.” –Booklist Maggie Shipstead, Read more >
Lit Hub is pleased to reveal the cover for the latest issue of Freeman’s, “Animals,” which will be published by Grove Press in October. The issue, which will feature new work from Mieko Kawakami, Martín Espada, Kali Fajardo-Anstine, Arthur Sze, Read more >
Following last week’s surprising news that The Black Mountain Institute at The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, had sold the magazine The Believer to a marketing company called Paradise Media, The Believer is now back with its former parent company, Read more >
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