2022 Locus Awards Winners
Connie Willis MCed the awards ceremony for The Locus Science Fiction Foundation’s 2022 Locus Awards virtual Locus Awards Weekend on June 25, 2022. Winners of the Locus Awards include Arkady Martine’s A Desolation Called Peace for Science Fiction Novel, Fonda Lee’s Jade Legacy for Fantasy Novel, and P. Djèlí Clark’s A Master of Dijinn for First Novel.
Publishers Discriminate Against Women and Black Authors — but Readers Don’t
An analysis by The New York Times found that only 11% of fiction published in 2018 was written by people of color. Following this analysis in June 2020, the viral Twitter hashtag #PublishingPaidMe demonstrated how many well-known Black authors’ book advances were often less than those of less experienced white authors. A new study published in PLOS One suggests that these numbers don’t reflect market preferences. The study consisted of more than 9,000 people on Amazon’s gig-work site MTurk who were asked to evaluate three made-up books based on their covers and blurbs. The authors’ gender seemed to make no difference in how interested participants were in reading a given book, and it seemed participants were actually willing to pay a premium (about 50 cents more) for books by Black authors.
Roanoke County School Leaders Approve New Book Review Policy
The Roanoke County School Board in Virginia unanimously approved its new media review policy at Thursday night’s meeting with the goal to have more people review books. The policy change was sparked in November when a parent challenged the school’s regulations regarding the book When Aidan Became my Brother, which discusses transgender topics. Upon review of the policy, school leaders found that these decisions rested in the hands of only one person. The new policy leaves it up to a group of librarians who will meet after reading the books and decide which are suitable to be in the school’s library.
Book Club Books to Read This Summer and Fall
It’s about time to start planning your club’s book picks for the fall and the summer. Here’s a list of must-read books for your book club that are out now or that will be out in time for your summer/fall book club meetings.