It’s April 15, just about midway through a month of drizzly days, blossoms, and ever more political chaos, a chaos rippling across the globe. It’s a difficult time to remain happy, hopeful, and certain of things from day to day, Read more >
Two weeks ago, the White House signed a spate of executive orders designed to restore “truth and sanity” to cultural institutions. This administration has made no secret of the fact that it’s gunning for the archive, but the latest saber-rattling Read more >
The Nobel Prize-winning Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa, the last living titan of the Latin American literary “boom,” and one of the most influential writers of the Spanish-speaking world, died on Sunday at the age of 89. His death was Read more >
Portrait of Charlotte Brontë by John Hunter Thompson © The Brontë Society As Patti Smith writes in her introduction to the first-ever publication of A Book of Ryhmes, the poet, a thirteen-year-old Charlotte Brontë, must have transcribed her ‘ryhmes’ (the Read more >
Here on the Eastern seaboard, we’re waiting out the April showers. But it turns out there’s plenty to be grateful for, despite the gloom. This week the Lit Hub staff are shouting out nostalgic reads, making things with our hands, Read more >
Today, the Cleveland Foundation announced the winners of its 90s annual Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, which seek to recognize books that “have made important contributions to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of the rich diversity of human cultures.” It Read more >
The U.S. Naval Academy recently removed 381 books from its Nimitz Library in Annapolis, Maryland, in another sick and sad blow to freedom of expression. The titles are what you might expect, the result of a ctrl+F search for any Read more >
On May 2nd, the U.S. Postal Service will unveil a new stamp to kick off Children’s Book Week. The newest honoree to be cast Forever in adhesive is Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight, Moon. The new pane will pay tribute to Read more >
In a ceremony on Wednesday night, the Whiting Foundation announced the ten new recipients of the Whiting Award, an award “designed to recognize excellence and promise in a spectrum of emerging talent.” The award comes with a monetary prize of $50,000 Read more >
Mark your calendars, Pynchon fans. Today, Penguin Press announced that they will be publishing a new novel by the famously reclusive American master this fall, on October 7. The novel, his first since 2013’s Bleeding Edge, is titled Shadow Ticket, and clocks Read more >
In some ways, writing fiction about theatre—or any other artistic medium—is a tricky brief. (Maybe a little like dancing about architecture.) Though plays make great occasions for exploring motley group dynamics, plays, unlike novels, are collaboratively built. Some wonderful books Read more >
On Friday, a group of 21 state Attorneys General from across the US announced a lawsuit challenging the Trump and Musk cuts to federal agencies. The team of state AGs are suing to to protect a number of organizations, including Read more >
This morning, five novels and one short story collection have been recognized on the International Booker Prize shortlist. This annually given award recognizes literature in translation. Some takeaways—slim novels took the cake this year, with the longest book ringing at Read more >
The wheel of the year continues to turn, its its pace at once chaotically swift and glacially slow, and, as we reel from the staggering effects of ever more political chaos in the United States and around the globe, chaos Read more >
You’ve probably already heard the news: Mr. Beast, the YouTuber your cousins are obsessed with, and James Patterson, the novelist your uncles are obsessed with, have finally teamed up to write a book together. The thriller is Mr. Beast’s first Read more >
Another not-great week in world time, but we at Lit Hub are determined to let the sunshine in. We’re creeping outside, we’re shaking off winter, and we’re finding delight in the little things. If you too could use some recommendations, Read more >
Publishers for Palestine, a global solidarity collective of nearly 600 publishers across 50 countries, has condemned the ongoing silence of the world’s largest children’s book fair on the slaughter of children in Gaza. In a press release issued earlier today, Read more >
Reductress is one of the best humor sites out there. They have an amazing editorial staff and a talented pool of writers who keep their headlines and articles sharp and surprising. It’s a tough moment to find a good comedic Read more >
Today, the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction, which celebrates excellence in novels, short story collections, and graphic novels written by women and non-binary authors and published in the US and Canada, announced its 2025 shortlist. This year’s finalists were selected Read more >
The National Book Foundation announced the five writers under 35 whose debut novels or short story collections promise “to leave a lasting impression on the literary landscape.” This year’s 5 Under 35 honorees are short story writers, prose-poets, and novelists Read more >
