The Hub

News, Notes, Talk

The Velvet Underground! Anthony Veasna So! Queer Sci-Fi! 21 new books out today.

The wheel of the year always keeps turning, and, no matter how unreasonably fast or glacially slow it seems to do so, it always, eventually, reaches December, that beginning of an end. But it’s also the beginning, looked at another Read more >

By Gabrielle Bellot

Mosab Abu Toha and his family have made it to Egypt.

Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha, his wife, and their three children have made it to Egypt. Abu Toha—whose Twitter feed these past eight weeks has been a litany of eyewitness horrors, desperate pleas for help to the international community, and achingly Read more >

By Dan Sheehan

For the love of “Orange Jesus.” Liz Cheney’s new book calls out GOP Trumpers.

Look, we’re no huge fans of the Cheney family around here, but Liz Cheney’s steadfast commitment to calling a thing what it is—namely, the almost total moral bankruptcy of a Republican Party that prefers power over principle and a man Read more >

By Jonny Diamond

Here are some literary organizations you can support this #GivingTuesday.

The sales are over (mostly), the pie has been eaten (mostly), the gratitude has been felt (mostly), and we’re back to work (er, completely, boss!) It’s time for Giving Tuesday, so why not consider donating a few dollars to these Read more >

By Literary Hub

Read Palestine Week begins tomorrow, and you can read these titles for free.

Spurred on by a silencing of Palestinian voices within the Western cultural industry and horrified by “Israel’s incessant bombardment of Gaza as a form of collective punishment,” a collective of more than 350 global publishers and people working in the Read more >

By Olivia Snaije

Booker judge admits it’s nearly impossible to read ALL the books.

In a refreshing “quiet part loud” moment earlier this fall, this year’s celebrity Booker judge, Peep Show’s Robert Webb, admitted publicly that it’s basically impossible to read the entire pre-longlist pool of 163 books in seven months. While that’s not Read more >

By Jonny Diamond

A Crime-Solving Maid! A History of The OC! 15 new books out today.

November is nearing its end, and, after a holiday weekend that may have been filled as much with leftovers as the kind of family drama that makes you wish for the power of invisibility, you may be coming into this Read more >

By Gabrielle Bellot

Gaza's main public library has been destroyed by Israeli bombing.

Authorities in Gaza City have condemned what they say was the deliberate destruction of the city’s main public library by Israeli forces after finding the building in ruins while a ceasefire was being observed between Israel and Hamas. As reported Read more >

By Dan Sheehan

Check out Paul Lynch's reaction to winning the Booker Prize.

Paul Lynch proved the bookies right when he became the sixth Irish writer (after Iris Murdoch, Roddy Doyle, John Banville, Anne Enright, and Anna Burns) to take home the Booker Prize, one of the literary world’s most prestigious awards, at Read more >

By Dan Sheehan

Will Haberman and Swan’s 2025 Trump book be a comedy or a tragedy?

Photo by Rachel Cobb Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan have signed a lucrative deal with Simon & Schuster to write a book about whatever the hell happens to Donald Trump in 2024. Oh, sorry: THIS IS AN AXIOS SCOOP!  • Read more >

By Jonny Diamond

Take a peek into "the world's greatest typewriter collection."

On December 15, Heritage Auctions will be kicking off their Historical Platinum Session Signature® Auction, which will include Steve Soboroff’s storied typewriter collection. 33 typewriters are going up for auction, including those used by writers Jack London, Tennessee Williams, George Read more >

By Emily Temple

This Palestinian group has an urgent request for theater companies around the world.

ASHTAR Theatre, a non-profit Palestinian theater company based in Ramallah, has launched an urgent global solidarity call asking theatre makers around the world to publicly read or perform The Gaza Monologues on November 29 (International Day of Solidarity with the Read more >

By Dan Sheehan

Your definitive guide to Goodreads ratings. (Or: why does your favorite book have 3 stars?)

If you use Goodreads at all, you’ve likely noticed that the platform allows you to “rate” your “reads” using “stars” (those are scare quotes). If you use Goodreads regularly, you probably know that the ratings system is, in a word, Read more >

By McKayla Coyle

Reports suggest that Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha has been released.

It looks like Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha, who was kidnapped on the weekend by Israeli forces as he was trying to cross into Egypt with his family, has been released. Word from both David Remnick and Diana Buttu suggest Read more >

By Jonny Diamond

Carmen Maria Machado on video games! Murder mysteries! 17 new books out today.

For readers in America, the holidays are just around the corner, and, if you’re like me, you’ll eventually want some time away from family and friends to yourself, where having a new book to read after sneaking away will feel Read more >

By Gabrielle Bellot

Belal Jadallah, the "godfather of Palestinian journalism," has been killed in Gaza.

Belal Jadallah, one of the most beloved and respected journalists in Gaza, was killed yesterday by Israeli shelling. Known locally as “the godfather of Palestinian journalists,” Jadallah was the founder and chairman of the Gaza Press House—an organization dedicated to Read more >

By Dan Sheehan