The Hub

News, Notes, Talk

Two books with AI-generated covers have been disqualified from New Zealand's top book prize.

Somewhere on the goofy/sad spectrum in AI slop news, today two novels up for the prestigious Ockham New Zealand Book Award were disqualified on the basis of their AI cover art. Obligate Carnivore, a story collection by Stephanie Johnson, and Read more >

By Brittany Allen

Rejected pitches for the live-action Eloise.

Eloise, the OG enfant terrible best known for causing mayhem at the Plaza Hotel, is getting a live adaptation. And an unlikely duo is behind it: Ryan Reynolds and Amy Sherman-Palladino, of Deadpool and Gilmore Girls, respectively. The beloved 50s Read more >

By Brittany Allen

Our favorite Literary Twitter moments: Jessie Gaynor on Joyce Carol Oates

Pulling together the 64 original Literary Twitter moments and incidents to create our winter game, What Was Literary Twitter? The Bracket, required the vast institutional memory of the entire Lit Hub team, who each had their personal favorite e-dramas to Read more >

By Literary Hub

The 2025 Cercador Prize goes to The Queen of Swords.

This week, the Cercador Prize announced Christina MacSweeney as the winner of the 2025 prize for her translation of Jazmina Barrera’s The Queen of Swords, out from Two Lines Press. This is the third year of the Cercador Prize, which Read more >

By Drew Broussard

Behind Infinite Jest’s new 30th anniversary redesign.

On February 3, 2026, Back Bay Books will publish a special edition of David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest, complete with a new cover and a new foreword by Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast, to celebrate the cult American novel’s 30th anniversary. Read more >

By Literary Hub

Joy Williams, Cher, Solvej Balle, and more: 22 new books out today!

The apex of book releases winds down somewhat at this time of the year, as we make our way slowly, steadily, and then all at once, into holiday season. At this point, many publishers have already launched their Big Books, Read more >

By Julia Hass

Here’s what’s making us happy this week.

Good Friday, readers! Over here, we have happy feet. Music’s been getting us through these freaky days. So today, up is down and Lit Hub is…Pitchfork. McKayla Coyle and Oliver Scialdone are all about the new Rosalía. This fourth album Read more >

By Brittany Allen

What’s going on at Teen Vogue?

Last week, several prominent staffers at Teen Vogue—including culture editor Kaitlyn NcNab and politics editor Lex McMenamin—took to socials to share bummer news. A round of layoffs had hit half the masthead. Six writers who’d made their names covering climate change, Read more >

By Brittany Allen

Five novels to read if you’re fascinated by the Black bourgeoisie.

In a recent piece for Cultured, novelist Rob Franklin observed “a surge” in recent depictions of the Black bourgeoisie. This milieu, defined by a lifting as we climb ethos and certain cultural signifiers (Jack and Jill, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Oak Read more >

By Brittany Allen

Olivia Laing, Sarah Weinman, Alison Roman, and more: 23 new books out today!

Finally, a sense of hope in the air. A tide change, or a wind shifting: New Yorkers can, and do, expect better for themselves. There’s a beauty to that realization, that no matter the hardships and beat-downs our country has Read more >

By Julia Hass

David Szalay’s Flesh has won the 2025 Booker Prize.

Today, at a ceremony in London, David Szalay was awarded the 2025 Booker Prize for his novel, Flesh. The judges called it “a disquisition on the art of being alive, and all the affliction that comes along with it, but it Read more >

By Literary Hub

Elon Musk gets roasted on his own platform by Joyce Carol Oates.

Like an ancient cyborg culling through the ruins of a post-apocalyptic planet (twitter, derogatory), Joyce Carol Oates recently fired her full-power death ray at aspiring trillionaire Elon Musk, whose childish attempts to justify his riches prompted this, from JCO (who Read more >

By Jonny Diamond

This week's news in Venn diagrams.

I’ve been a very stereotypical New Yorker this week in that I can’t stop thinking, saying, or texting “Greatest city in the world, baby!” Zohran’s win is validating and invigorating, and I’m excited for a New York City where we Read more >

By James Folta

Here's the winner of the 2025 American Library in Paris Book Award.

Today, the American Library in Paris announced the winner of their 2025 Book Award, which “celebrates outstanding works of literature that draw on France as a timeless source of inspiration.” The winning title, chosen from a shortlist revealed in September, Read more >

By Literary Hub

Here’s what’s making us happy this week.

As your proud neighborhood clearinghouse for leftie literary sentiment, most of us here at the Hub were elated by Zohran Mamdani’s big win. But we all drew different inspiration from the new Mayor. Mamdani’s triumph represents, at once, an energy Read more >

By Brittany Allen

Want to understand the Zohran phenomenon? Here's a mini reading list.

Have you thanked a bodega cat today? Remember, they won’t be getting raises under the new administration. For 51% of New York City bipeds, however, it’s a pretty great week. Zohran Mamdani, the charming upstart, will be our new mayor. Read more >

By Brittany Allen