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News, Notes, Talk

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's next book is coming this May.

This morning, Reagan Arthur, Executive Vice President and Publisher of Knopf, announced Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s next book, Notes on Grief. The book, which Knopf will publish on May 11 of this year, is an expansion of her essay of the Read more >

By Emily Temple

The National Book Foundation has found its next Executive Director.

Today, the National Book Foundation announced that Ruth Dickey will be its next Executive Director, filling the role that Lisa Lucas vacated at the end of last year. Dickey has served since 2013 as the Executive Director of Seattle Arts Read more >

By Emily Temple

Here's the cover of Jonathan Franzen's next novel.

On October 5, this timeline will be blessed/cursed by Jonathan Franzen’s first novel since 2015: Crossroads, or, if you’re not abbreviating, Crossroads: A Novel: A Key to All Mythologies, Volume 1. It’s the first novel of a trilogy, A Key Read more >

By Walker Caplan

Asako Serizawa has won the 2021 Story Prize Spotlight Award.

The Story Spotlight Prize, established in 2014, honors books of exceptional promise by first-time authors; collections in alternative formats; or works that demonstrate an unusual perspective on the writer’s craft. The Award comes with a cash prize of $1,000, and Read more >

By Rasheeda Saka

Here are the finalists for the 2021 PEN America Literary Awards.

Today, PEN America announced the finalists for its 2021 Literary Awards, which recognizes and honors “dynamic, imaginative, and thought-provoking” books published in the last year. Previous winners include Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Imani Perry, and Yiyun Li. The 55 finalists were selected Read more >

By Rasheeda Saka

Steal these email sign-offs from famous writers.

It appears that Twitter has returned, once again, to the email sign-off discourse—one of the more boring discourses! Personally, I think “best” is a completely fine, if unimaginative, way to end an email. However, for those of you looking to Read more >

By Jessie Gaynor

Attention (old) millennial book nerds: Redwall is coming to Netflix.

Yes, it’s true: Netflix has picked up the rights to the entire Redwall universe: the beloved series of books by Brian Jacques (which I am sorry to tell you is pronounced “Jakes” and not the cool French way that naturally Read more >

By Emily Temple

Is this cancel culture? Josh Hawley vs. The 1619 Project

QUESTION ONE Please examine the following examples and describe which one is “cancel culture,” and which one is the “marketplace of ideas.” Explain your answer. A) Private citizens organize via the power of their wallets—i.e. a boycott—in protest of a Read more >

By Jonny Diamond

Danny Trejo's memoir is hitting shelves (extremely hard) this summer.

Beloved Mexican-American actor and restauranteur Danny Trejo’s first memoir, Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood—which details Trejo’s path from drug addiction and incarceration in some of America’s most notorious prisons (including San Quentin, Folsom, and Soledad), to unexpected Hollywood Read more >

By Dan Sheehan

Why are there so many book summary apps?

There is a new app. It distills books, both classics and modern bestsellers, into brief, accessible summaries. You can listen to audio versions of summaries, or read them on your phone. The app is called Instaread—or it’s called Blinkist, or Read more >

By Walker Caplan

Remember the time Haruki Murakami offended an entire town?

Haruki Murakami has been a beloved literary figure for decades, for good reason. He DJs radio shows; he uses charming metaphors for writing; he donates his personal archive to the public; he supports young novelists; he gives good advice, for Read more >

By Walker Caplan

Stephen King is helping a group of elementary students publish a pandemic-themed book.

Stephen King: Master of Horror, Ringleader of Nightmares and . . . youth literary advocate? It may not be the least bit spooky, but it’s true. The Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation, the non-profit founded by King and his wife Read more >

By Vanessa Willoughby

Why you should watch Body Heat, the best erotic thriller ever made.

As we all know, the worst thing to happen to mainstream American cinema in the 21st century was the near-total abandonment of that most compelling and enigmatic of subgenres: the erotic thriller. While there have been a few notable additions Read more >

By Dan Sheehan

Rare and lurid document of 18th-century English queerness discovered.

Wanton sex! Lurid seductions! A gentleman bricklayer? A rare extant document of 18th-century English queerness, The Life of Thomas Munn, alias, the Gentleman Brick-maker, alias, Tom The Smuggler, was recently discovered by a UK bookseller. Originally published in 1750, the Read more >

By Jonny Diamond

Virginia Woolf’s literary burn book has just sold for £21k.

Last month, we learned of the existence of a book of very strong literary takes by Virginia Woolf, Rebecca West, Hillaire Belloc, and 36 other 20th-century writers. Really and Truly: A Book of Literary Confessions featured handwritten answers to a Read more >

By Walker Caplan

Announcing the inaugural class of the PERIPLUS fellowship for BIPOCs.

Late last year, the PERIPLUS collective announced it was taking applications for a new fellowship whose goal was to connect writers who are Black, Indigenous and people of color with mentors—the impressive list of which included Hanif Abdurraqib, Jenna Wortham, Read more >

By Corinne Segal

15 new books to get from your local indie this week.

Is there anything better than (safe, socially distanced, double masked, sanitized) browsing at your local indie? I was having the crumbiest day the other day, and I passed by my local bookstore (the Greenlight on Flatbush, if you know it) Read more >

By Katie Yee

New in TikTok trends: A ten-year-old self-help book?

The latest TikTok trend is surprisingly old-school: it’s a book. Last week, Sherry Argov’s 2002 relationship guide Why Men Love Bitches: From Doormat to Dreamgirl—A Woman’s Guide to Holding Her Own in a Relationship made the Sunday Times bestseller list for Read more >

By Walker Caplan

Fran Lebowitz on Netflix is the most Netflix thing ever.

The latest Scorsese-Lebowitz joint (they get together on camera about once a decade) is an exercise in fantastic pointlessness—which makes it oddly perfect viewing for the present moment. The limited series is arranged into seven episodes with titles and somewhat Read more >

By Raf Richardson-Carillo

This North Carolina indie bookstore just got a Super Bowl-sized publicity boost.

Yesterday’s slate of Super Bowl commercials can be divided into two heavily-overlapping camps: cringey pop-culture nostalgia garbage fronted by stars you hoped were better than that, and expensive “unify the divided country through capitalism” garbage fronted by stars you hoped Read more >

By Dan Sheehan