The Hub

News, Notes, Talk

Laura Lippman and Daniel Silva are back (and more of this week's most clicked-on books).

Hello from Book Marks, Lit Hub’s “rotten tomatoes for books!” How It Works: Every day, our staff scours the most important and active outlets of literary journalism—from established national broadsheets to regional weeklies and alternative litblogs—and logs their book reviews. Each Read more >

By Katie Yee

Welcome to Women in Translation Month!

It’s August, and that means Women in Translation Month (#WITMonth) is finally here. The annual celebration (which, if we’re honest, might as well just be yearlong) began in 2014 on the initiative of book blogger Meytal Radzinski. Radzinski grew up speaking Read more >

By Aaron Robertson

Edward Snowden's memoir will be published in September.

Metropolitan Books, an imprint of Macmillan, will release a memoir by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden titled Permanent Record in September, the publisher announced Thursday. The project has been cloaked in secrecy for the last year; the Associated Press reported Thursday Read more >

By Corinne Segal

Don't forget to watch the Ursula K. Le Guin documentary tomorrow night.

Wouldn’t it be nice to hang out on a quiet beach on some exo-planet somewhere, listening to Ursula K. Le Guin? Yes it would. Failing that, don’t forget to tune in to PBS tomorrow night for the documentary Worlds of Read more >

By Jonny Diamond

127 years after his death, letters of love and angst still come to Rimbaud's grave.

I’ve always loved the tradition of trekking to a beloved author’s grave and leaving gifts for them (and future visitors) to find. Attention has recently turned to the resting place of Arthur Rimbaud, that scraggly-haired tempestuous poet, in the Charleville-Mézières Read more >

By Aaron Robertson

There's a newly translated John Steinbeck story about a chef and his cat.

Long before funny cat content flooded every single corner of the internet, John Steinbeck, legendary dog person, was writing it for Le Figaro, proving once again that France gets all the good stuff before we do. Steinbeck wrote “The Amiable Fleas,” Read more >

By Corinne Segal

All my libations must have worked, because a Circe series is coming to HBO Max.

In possibly my favorite adaptation news of the year, Madeline Miller’s 2018 novel Circe—a gorgeous, gripping reimagining of the story of its titular goddess—will be adapted as and eight-episode limited series on HBO Max (a new subscription streaming service, set Read more >

By Jessie Gaynor

40 writers signed a letter in protest of 'abhorrent' conditions at the US-Mexico border.

Forty writers, including Ocean Vuong, Ilya Kaminsky, Reza Aslan, and Viet Thanh Nguyen signed a letter urging Congress to address the brutal treatment of migrants at the US-Mexico border. In the letter, published in The Nation, the writers—who all identify as Read more >

By Corinne Segal

Murder? Poachers? What the hell is going on with Where the Crawdads Sing author Delia Owens?

A few days ago, Publishers Weekly reported that Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens’ debut novel and the September 2018 pick for Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine Book Club, topped a million in print sales in 2019. Today, Laura Miller at Slate had a much Read more >

By Jessie Gaynor

Is this the oldest debut author in history?

Sarah Yerkes didn’t begin writing until she was in her 90s, but last month, at the age of 101, she released her first collection of poems, Days of Blue and Flame. A graduate of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and Read more >

By Dan Sheehan

Wall Street Journal op-ed writer manages simultaneously terrible takes on books and college.

The “woke liberal colleges will indoctrinate your child” op-ed industrial complex is alive and well at the Wall Street Journal (seriously, how is this still a thing? After this? And this?). Reporting for duty is tech/markets columnist Andy Kessler who’s Read more >

By Jonny Diamond

In The Black Clown, a Langston Hughes poem gets a modern revival

I’d call it a remarkable legacy for a poet to have, whose work, over time, time and again, has allowed playwrights and musicians to plumb it for more. Admittedly I’ve read only a little of Langston Hughes’ poetry. He is Read more >

By Aaron Robertson

Everybody's curious about George Takei's graphic memoir (and more of the week's most clicked-on books).

Hello from Book Marks, Lit Hub’s “rotten tomatoes for books!” How It Works: Every day, our staff scours the most important and active outlets of literary journalism—from established national broadsheets to regional weeklies and alternative litblogs—and logs their book reviews. Each Read more >

By Katie Yee

Is this all-ages coloring book the thing that will finally mobilize society in the climate crisis?

Remember a few years ago when adults discovered coloring books and a wave of new pieces hailed them as a tool for mindfulness and dealing with anxiety? In a move both educational and depressingly efficient, this coloring book on climate change and renewable Read more >

By Corinne Segal

The New York Times profiles Louise Erdrich's Native American-focused bookstore.

The New York Times books section today featured a lovely profile by J. D. Biersdorfer of Birchbark Books & Native Arts, the Minneapolis bookstore owned by National Book Award-winning writer Louise Erdrich which provides indigenous-language guides, literature and crafts, alongside the Read more >

By Dan Sheehan

Chicago rapper Noname's new book club highlights work from writers of color.

If you don’t know Noname, the Chicago rapper and former slam poet born as Fatimah Nyeema Warner, now might be a good time to read up following the official launch of her book club on Wednesday. The unassuming 90s kid launched Read more >

By Aaron Robertson

Here's the Center for Fiction's 2019 First Novel Prize longlist.

The Center for Fiction just announced the longlist for this year’s best debut novel. The shortlist will be announced in September and the winner will be announced in December at The Center for Fiction’s Annual Benefit and Awards Dinner at Read more >

By Eleni Theodoropoulos

Andrew Scott, AKA Fleabag's Hot Priest, will narrate Beatrix Potter audiobooks.

Audible has made great strides toward cornering the coveted Thirsty Parents market today by announcing that Fleabag‘s Hot Priest Andrew Scott will be narrating an audiobook collection of Beatrix Potter stories. Well played, Audible! I don’t have any children, but Read more >

By Jessie Gaynor

Megan Rapinoe has a f*cking book deal.

Megan Rapinoe, captain of the US women’s soccer team and everyone’s summer crush, now has a book deal! She’ll be writing an adult nonfiction book for Penguin, which “will include anecdotes from Ms. Rapinoe’s life,” as well as a middle-grade Read more >

By Jessie Gaynor

China has censored a Twitter account posting quotes from the "father of modern Chinese literature."

Chinese authorities have shut down a Twitter account that was posting quotes from Lu Xun, who is widely regarded as one of the most influential writers in China from the 20th century, Echo Huang of Quartz reported Wednesday. Though Twitter is blocked in Read more >

By Corinne Segal