25 years ago today Oprah Winfrey launched what would soon become the most powerful and influential force in American publishing: Oprah’s Book Club. Each month for over fourteen years, the beloved talk show host, cultural tastemaker, and undisputed “Queen of Read more >
Mary Shelley was goth before it was cool. She wrote Frankenstein—sometimes described as the world’s first science fiction novel—as part of a horror story writing game. She lost her virginity to Percy Shelley on top of her mother’s grave. (To Read more >
On this day in 1968, Wild author Cheryl Strayed was born in Spangler, Pennsylvania. At this point, the former Dear Sugar columnist needs no introduction. However, like many authors, Strayed’s success occurred after years of considerable struggle. In an interview with Manjula Read more >
Today, the National Book Foundation announced their longlist for the 2021 National Book Award for Fiction. This year’s longlist features three debuts and includes, appropriately for this year, many novels that ask questions about the nature of home. These ten Read more >
Today, the National Book Foundation announced their longlist for the 2021 National Book Award for Nonfiction. This year’s judges for the National Book Award in Nonfiction are Eula Biss, Aaron John Curtis, Nell Painter, Kate Tuttle, and Jerald Walker. The Read more >
Here’s a new “Shakespeare wrote King Lear in quarantine” for you: Stephen Sondheim just finished a new musical. In an interview last night with Stephen Colbert—a lifelong Sondheim fan who played Harry in New York Philharmonic’s 2011 production of Sondheim’s Read more >
Today marks the 37th anniversary of the death of Richard Brautigan, imaginative poet, novelist, and short story writer, best known for his novel Trout Fishing in America. Despite his fame and to his embarrassment, Brautigan was never treated with the Read more >
In news that will only surprise people who think Barack Obama’s election magically cured racism: a recent NBC News analysis found that many schools that are experiencing intense backlash over critical race theory are also becoming less white. NBC’s study, Read more >
Zibby Owens, the memoirist, editor, and entrepreneur who’s risen to prominence over the last few years via her much-beloved author-interview podcast Moms Don’t Have Time To, is launching her own publishing house, Zibby Books. Founded in partnership with writer and Read more >
Today, the National Book Foundation announced their longlist for the 2021 National Book Award for Poetry. This year’s longlist is made up almost entirely of first-timers—with the exception of Forrest Gander, who was longlisted in 2018 for his poetry collection Read more >
We’ve all had a lot of fun(?) this week with the announcement of the late capitalist monstrosity that is The Activist—a reality competition show in which activists compete for likes from both social media and Julianna Hough in order to Read more >
The Academy of American Poets has just announced the recipients of the 2021 American Poets Prizes. Considered to be one of the most valuable and prestigious poetry prizes in the US, the Academy of American Poets has recognized and funded Read more >
Today, the National Book Foundation announced the longlist for the 2021 National Book Award for Translated Literature. This year’s longlist includes books originally written in seven different languages—Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Korean, Russian, and Spanish—and includes works by three previous Read more >
Back in 2011, Colin Meloy, the lead singer and songwriter for The Decemberists, released a children’s novel called Wildwood. Illustrated by his wife Carson Ellis, who also illustrated The Mysterious Benedict Society, the novel follows two young friends, Prue and Read more >
This week marks the anniversary of the first publication of P.G. Wodehouse’s short story “Extricating Young Gussie,” which features the first appearance of two of Wodehouse’s most beloved characters: Bertie Wooster, the rich gentleman, and Jeeves, his wise and competent Read more >
Everyone knows that Rory Gilmore is America’s #1 on-screen bookworm. And I understand why—I too was once 15 and awkward, and Rory’s whole “I’d-rather-read-than-be-at-a-party” vibe was deeply relatable. But with time and age come wisdom, and with wisdom comes the Read more >
Zimbabwean artist Kudzanai Chiurai’s The Library of Things We Forgot to Remember is an archive of materials including vinyls, posters, and paintings drawn from private African collections; among other materials, the collection includes Chiurai’s own personal collection of 1970s-80s vinyl Read more >
Today, the National Book Foundation announced their longlist for the 2021 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. This year’s longlist includes books by two previous National Book Award longlisters, Kekla Magoon and Anna-Marie McLemore, as well as two novels Read more >
Major feelings! (Sorry.) This week, TIME magazine published its annual list of the world’s 100 most influential people, and Cathy Park Hong was featured on the issue’s cover. On Twitter, Hong pointed out how seldom the list highlights poets, to say Read more >
Norm Macdonald was very funny and I’m sad that he’s dead. His weird, dry, occasionally discordant humor always reminded me of the weird, dry, occasionally discordant humor I grew up with in suburban Toronto. Also, we both love Alice Munro. Read more >
