Over the weekend, hundreds of poets and supporters signed an open letter to the Poetry Foundation and Poetry Magazine condemning the Foundation’s “non-substantive, four-sentence statement” regarding the ongoing protests of anti-Black police violence and white supremacy, and demanding that it Read more >
Yesterday, riding my much-cheaper-than-a-Peloton bike and bobbing to Killer Mike and El-P on Run The Jewels 4, you could say I was in a mood. On the heels of Killer Mike’s speech in response to the George Floyd protests in Atlanta, Read more >
Nancy Bass Wyden, owner of New York City’s Strand Bookstore—one of the largest independent bookstores in the country—purchased stock in Amazon three times between April 6 and May 1, totaling somewhere between $115,000 and $250,000, according to Barron’s. If you’ll Read more >
Authors Kwame Alexander, Jacqueline Woodson and Jason Reynolds are leading the online Kidlit Community Rally for Black Lives, which will be streamed by The Brown Bookshelf tonight on Facebook Live and Zoom. Students ages kindergarten through 12th grade are welcome Read more >
Ibram X. Kendi, a leading scholar of antiracism and author of How to Be an Antiracist, will join Boston University to lead the BU Center for Antiracist Research. Kendi was previously a professor of history and of international relations at American Read more >
Even with their physical locations shuttered, libraries have been an invaluable resource to everyone stuck at home and desperate for new reading material. According to Time Out New York, the NYPL has seen a 864% increase in digital library card sign-ups Read more >
If your local bookstore is all sold out of its books on anti-racism, good. Finally. Backorder them for yourself. But in the meantime, the audiobook version of Ibram X. Kendi’s Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas Read more >
Listen to Claudia Rankine read her essay “Open to Arrival“ about the Paul Graham photograph, “Woman with Arms Outstretched (Memphis),” 2000. “Does a photograph reflect the moment before the moment realized in the title? I am beginning to wonder if Read more >
This afternoon, President Barack Obama will deliver his first on-camera address about the death of George Floyd and the ongoing protests in America and around the world in a town hall meeting hosted by My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) and entitled Read more >
If the widespread protests of unchecked, racist police violence have spurred you to read more about the deep-rooted and systemic problems with policing in this country, here’s an excellent place to start: Haymarket Books, University of Chicago Press, Verso Books, Read more >
Good news on this Wednesday morning: the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Nikil Saval—author of Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace, and former editor of highbrow literary and political magazine n+1, where he still serves on the Board of Directors—has Read more >
Across the country, black-owned bookstores have served as community gathering spaces, support for emerging authors, and educational resources. Those listed below are open and ready for online orders, with the exception of several stores that are only taking orders over Read more >
The Desmond Elliott Prize is awarded annually to a writer whose first novel is written in English and published in the UK. Since 2007, it has supported and heralded new writers; the honor comes with a £10,000 prize. It’s heartening Read more >
Still looking for ways to support Minneapolis and the black community there? One of Lit Hub’s favorite poets, Danez Smith, is organizing donations via their Venmo: Plans to get toys, books, black skin and hair products, and so many other Read more >
It’s official: on June 9th, the best TV show of the modern era is leaving the most reliable streaming service of the modern era. This is a harsh blow to the quarantined masses, whose reliance on the show during the Read more >
We are living in dark and heartbreaking times. There is a lot of amazing, vital writing here at Lit Hub—about the pandemic, about the protests—that I highly recommend you read right now. And then if you want to pick up Read more >
On June 1st, a group of book publishers—Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, John Wiley & Sons, and Penguin Random House, all member companies of the Association of American Publishers—filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the Internet Archive, whose “National Emergency Read more >
For over 30 years, Lambda Literary has been celebrating LGBTQ literature. This vital organization has been an advocate and support system for LGBTQ writers, their communities, and their stories. In lieu of an in-person ceremony, Lambda Literary will be hosting Read more >
Whitmaniacs and cruciverbalists, assemble! If both those words made sense to you, then you are definitely the specific kind of nerd for this blog post. Adrienne Raphel, poet and author of Thinking Inside the Box, created a Whitman-themed crossword puzzle Read more >
Did you know that Eudora Welty was probably a better gardener than you? It’s true. In addition to being a fantastic photographer and storyteller, Welty was known for her green thumb. The revamped website of the Eudora Welty House and Garden opens Read more >
