Writers Call for Urgent Action Over Missing Rwandan Poet
More than 100 authors from around the world have written to the Rwandan president about the case of a missing Rwandan poet. Innocent Bahati disappeared one year ago today. According to PEN International, Bahati was last seen at a hotel in Nyanza district, in the Southern Province of Rwanda, on February 7th 2021. The poet failed to return to Kigali, and his phones have been switched off since. Now, writers and artists—including Margaret Atwood, Ben Okri, and JM Coetzee—have written to Rwandan president Paul Kagame to express their “grave concern” about Bahati’s life and whereabouts. “We are bringing this matter to your attention, with a plea for urgent action because, one year later, Bahati is still missing and his situation unknown. We note with concern that the Rwandan authorities are yet to disclose any progress or outcome of investigations on his case,” say the authors, led by PEN International president Burhan Sönmez.
Two Highly-Anticipated Cookbooks Delayed After Shipping Collapse
The release dates of two highly-anticipated cookbooks have been set back by months after copies were lost in a shipping container collapse. Mason Hereford, owner of New Orleans restaurant Turkey and the Wolf and author of the unreleased cookbook Turkey and the Wolf: Flavor Trippin’ in New Orleans took to Instagram to announce the disappointing news. Hereford writes, “I’m sorry to say the Turkey and the Wolf cookbook won’t be shipping out in February as planned. There was a container collapse on the cargo ship that contained the Turkey and the Wolf books. The good news is that there were no critical injuries, as can happen in these situations. But the bad news is the books might be in a cargo container at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.” The release of the book has been pushed back from February 15 to June 21.
New York Times columnist Melissa Clark also announced the news that her cookbook Dinner in One: Exceptional & Easy One-Pan Meals would be delayed. The book, which had an initial release date of March 22, has been postponed until September. Clark writes, “I like to think that if the books are at the bottom of the ocean, they’re teaching whole schools of fish some very tasty recipes. Poseidon and his nereids are dining in style.”
Amazon’s Lord of the Rings Trailer to Air During Super Bowl
Amazon Studios will release the first teaser trailer for its long-awaited The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series during Super Bowl LVI on Sunday, February 13th. According to Amazon, the show, which is the most expensive TV series ever made, “brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness.”
American Library Association Names Best YA Audiobooks for 2022
The Young Adult Library Services Association (part of the American Library Association) has announced their 2022 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adult Readers list. Here are the winning audiobooks.