The Hub

News, Notes, Talk

Lace up your skates, the next horny hockey book is coming.

Used to be that if you saw steam coming off a hockey rink, it meant a Zamboni had just cruised by. But lately it’s more likely because a sports romance book is getting someone hot and bothered rinkside. Unrivaled, the Read more >

By James Folta

BookTok is driving tourists to Prague to snap a pic with this novel sculpture.

As The Daily Sabah reported this morning, Prague may be the new hot spot for a certain sort of literary tourism. Officials have noted an uptick in visitors thanks to a statue built of 8,000 books. “The Idiom,” created by Read more >

By Brittany Allen

Thanks to the Trump administration, LGBTQ+ books are getting harder to sell.

As Surina Venkat reported at The Hill this morning, both authors and publishing executives have detected “a notable chill in the market for queer stories.” Children’s books in particular are feeling the squeeze. Several agents have received rejections citing the Read more >

By Brittany Allen

Texas A&M is banning Plato, citing his “gender ideology.”

Today, Texas A&M resumes classes for the spring semester—but a number of canonized texts will not be welcomed back to school. The public research university has lately been caught in the crossfire between state and stupid. As The Texas Tribune Read more >

By Brittany Allen

Dozens of writers are boycotting the Adelaide festival for booting Palestinian-Australian Dr. Randa Abdel-Fattah.

Nearly 50 authors, commentators, and academics have dropped out of this year’s Adelaide Festival in Australia after the Festival announced that they were canceling an appearance by Dr. Randa Abdel-Fattah over “cultural sensitivity” concerns. The Palestinian-Australian academic was involved in Read more >

By James Folta

What to read next if Marty Supreme was your favorite movie of 2025.

As we slouch into awards season, this Letterboxer is reflecting on the best flicks of 2025. And every good list deserves another. For the next few Fridays, you can watch this space for a tailored recommendation based on your favorite Read more >

By Brittany Allen

Stop anthropomorphizing lines of code.

Elon Musk promised that his social media company X would be “the everything app,” but these days “everything” seems to only include slop, fascist propaganda, and abuse. Increasingly, the social media site has been awash in vulgar and non-consensual sexual Read more >

By James Folta

France and Mexico celebrated their friendiversary by exchanging ancient books.

At a recent meeting, French president Emmanuel Macron and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum conducted a highly symbolic book swap. To commemorate years of diplomatic relation—and sure, with an eye to continued trade—France and Mexico exchanged two ancient manuscripts: the Codex Read more >

By Brittany Allen

Announcing the 2026 class of Periplus fellows!

Every year, the Periplus collective awards mentorships to writers of color living and working in the United States, pairing each one with a member of the collective: an established writer who will meet monthly with their mentee to foster community, Read more >

By Literary Hub

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting voted to close itself down.

As reported by AP, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private agency created in 1967 to manage the federal funds for PBS, NPR, and other public media, voted itself out of existence on Monday. CPR’s CEO Patricia Harrison said the Read more >

By James Folta

The boycott of PEN America led by Writers Against the War on Gaza was a success.

On December 31st, 2025, Writers Against the War on Gaza ended their boycott of PEN America, declaring a win in the collective effort of pressure and condemnation that they helped to organize: …as PEN America has responded to our demands Read more >

By James Folta

Eric Lichtblau, Alice Jolly, Laura Dave, and more: 17 new books out today!

Welcome back, and happy new year to all! I hope everyone’s holiday break was filled with slowness, rich food, and delectable winter reads. I know many people who plan their holiday reading months in advance: that rare time of year Read more >

By Julia Hass

Harlequin France is firing its human translators and replacing them with—welp, you guessed it.

Harlequin France, which is owned by HarperCollins, has just confirmed that they’re shifting away from human translators with an eye to robot replacements. As The Bookseller reported this morning, this change has been in the works for several weeks. According Read more >

By Brittany Allen

Escape the early January doldrums by letting J.R.R. Tolkien read to you.

It’s Reaping Monday, when all the “will get back to you in the new year!” emails we sowed in December are coming due. If you’re trying to get away from your inbox, or the sun setting too early, or dry Read more >

By James Folta

In 2025, most Americans read fewer than four books.

According to a YouGov poll released at year’s end, American reading habits stay in the toilet. Four in ten Americans didn’t read a single book during our last spin around the sun. And of the 60% who did venture to Read more >

By Brittany Allen

This week’s news in Venn diagrams.

Happy Hanukkah and a merry early Christmas! Hope you’re getting some time to rest, be with friends, and reflect on the year. I’m starting to wrap gifts and meal plan for my visit home—I like to try one new recipe Read more >

By James Folta