Author: Sharifah Williams

New York Rescinds Restrictions On Books To Prisoners

Daniel A. Gross announced on Twitter that the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision has rescinded its program that restricted delivery of books to prisoners. The decision came after the New Yorker writer and other news outlets reported on the pilot program, which caused inmates to lose access to new and used book shipments from unapproved mail catalogues, online retailers, and family members. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo directed the Department of Corrections to rescind, stating, “Concerns from families need to be addressed, while we redouble efforts to fight prison contraband.”

The Vegetarian Translator Responds To Criticism

Deborah Smith, translator of Han Kang’s The Vegetarian, responded to criticism in a Los Angeles Review of Books piece. The criticism pointed to allegedly significant differences between the original text and the translated text, and the outcry claimed Smith took too many liberties with her translation. In response, Smith analyzed what it means to translate a text, and how public and cultural response to the book affected the acclaim surrounding both the original and the translation.

Get A Librarian Action Figure!

Flavorwire alerted us to an action figure modeled after real-life librarian Nancy Pearl. The Nancy Pearl Librarian Action Figure is one of Seattle-based novelty company Archie McPhee’s most popular. Because librarians absolutely are superheroes. Pearl is an award-winning librarian, best-selling author, literary critic, and TV personality.

These are the final days to enter to win a stack of our 20 favorite books of the year! Click here to enter.

Book Recovered From Wreck Of Blackbeard’s Ship

How cool is this? Archaeological conservators found 16 tiny fragments of paper in the ruins of Blackbeard’s Ship. The book bits were housed in the chamber of a cannon. After months of work spent conserving the fragments, the researchers have determined that they came from Captain Edward Cooke’s A Voyage to the South Sea, and Round the World, Perform’d in the Years 1708, 1709, 1710 and 1711.

Black Widow Is Getting A Movie And A Woman Is Writing It

Marvel Studios has picked Blacklist Screenwriter Jac Schaeffer to write Black Widow, the first solo film featuring the superhero played by Scarlett Johansson. Schaeffer directed and wrote for the 2009 Tribeca film TiMER. She also wrote the The Shower a female-centric sci-fi action comedy with Anne Hathaway attached to star, and Nasty Women, a remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

How Reading Increases Your Emotional Intelligence And Brain Function

Ever wonder just how reading improves your mental state? Open Culture rounded up and summarized some recent scientific studies on the effects reading has on emotional intelligence and brain function. These studies ponder how reading might represent an important intervention into developmental disorders, how the act can result in greater levels of empathy, and how we can “live several lives while reading.”

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Roxane Gay Calls Out Midwest Writers Workshop For Fatphobia

In a Twitter thread, Roxane Gay called out the Midwest Writers Workshop for weight discrimination against activist and writer Sarah Hollowell. It was when Hollowell was under consideration to be brought on to the organization’s Board of Directors that a board member said, “do we really want someone like her representing us?” and made discriminatory comments about Hollowell’s weight, according to Gay. Both Hollowell and the MWW director responded–Hollowell to express the pain she’s experienced as a result of the Board’s conduct, and Director Jama Kehoe Bigger to acknowledge, and apologize for, the organization’s wrongdoings.

National Book Foundation And NYC Partner On Raising Readers Initiative

The National Book Foundation is launching an adult-focused reading initiative, Raising Readers, implemented in partnership with the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development. Raising Readers aims “to empower adults who work with and raise children to expand their own love of books and reading, in order to better model the habit of reading for pleasure with the young people in their lives.” The initiative was created after the NBF received a Mayor’s Grant for Cultural Impact from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Not Even Lupita Nyong’o Can Get Tickets To Black Panther

Lupita Nyong’o got on Twitter to say she, one of the stars of Black Panther, couldn’t get her hands on advanced tickets to the movie (she wasn’t terribly mad, as you might imagine). They went on sale this week and became Fandango’s best-selling tickets to a Marvel Cinematic Universe film to date. Deadline also reported that the film is already outstripping Captain America: Civil War in that regard.

We’re giving away a stack of our 20 favorite books of the year. Click here to enter.

Sponsored by Dreaming Of Manderley by Leah Marie Brown.

Manderley Butler is too busy fetching coffee in her job as an assistant to an internationally famous mystery writer and proofreading manuscripts for real writers to even think about working on her own novel. But when her wealthy, eccentric employer decides to relocate to the South of France for the summer, Mandy decides to do something completely out of character: she abandons responsibility in favor of Cannes. Will Mandy find love with a rich, handsome Frenchman and step into the spotlight of her own life in this modern retelling of Daphne du Maurier’s classic romantic thriller Rebecca?

Stranger Things’ Millie Bobby Brown Will Play Sherlock’s Sister

Oh, and the 13-year-old will also produce the film. Millie Bobby Brown (otherwise known as Eleven) will star in a series of movies based on Nancy Springer’s Enola Holmes Mysteries. Brown will play Sherlock Holmes’ teenage sister. Legendary Entertainment is putting the film together, but no writers or directors are attached so far.

A GoFundMe Will Help Harlem’s Children See BLACK PANTHER

A GoFundMe to send children in Harlem to see Marvel’s upcoming film Black Panther exceeded its $10,000 goal in three days. The fund, created by Frederick Joseph, will go to the Boys & Girls Club of Harlem, and will pay for admission and refreshments for the children and their chaperones. The GoFundMe page states, “The release of Marvel’s film the ‘Black Panther’ is a rare opportunity for young students (primarily of color) to see a black major cinematic and comic book character come to life.” Any remaining funds will go toward helping the organization advance its work within the community.

PEN Center USA Will Merge With New York Chapter

PEN Center USA, the Los Angeles branch of the literary and human rights organization PEN International, will merge with the New York PEN this year. This new entity, PEN America, will be overseen by Suzanne Nossel in New York. Of the unification, Michelle Franke, executive director of PEN Center USA, said the two braches, which competed for funders and members, will be able to create a unified community. Nossel added that the decision was born from a sense of urgency to fortify their collective efforts “at a time of unprecedented challenges to free speech here at home.”

We’re giving away a stack of our 20 favorite books of the year. Click here to enter, or just click the image below.

Get Your Butterbeer On At Starbucks

Starbucks has a sneaky, secret Harry Potter menu, and Entertainment Weekly tipped us on how to order a Butterbeer latte (“order a latte with whole milk and add pumps of caramel syrup, toffee nut syrup, and cinnamon dolce syrup”), and a Butterbeer frappuccino. Grab some coffee money at Gringotts and a copy of your favorite book in the series, then close your eyes and be transported to The Leaky Cauldron.

Limitations On Prisoner Access To Books

We got a couple stories about limitations on book access for prisoners on the East Coast. The ACLU wrote to New Jersey after Michelle Alexander’s award-winning book, The New Jim Crow, was banned at two jails. Following the article, New Jersey corrections officials said they will make the book on mass incarceration and racial discrimination available to inmates at all state correctional facilities. And, in New York, a new program is cutting people in prison off from all books except five romance novels, 14 religious texts, 24 drawing or coloring books, 21 puzzle books, 11 how-to books, one dictionary, and one thesaurus.

Irish Publishers Now Eligible To Submit Novels For The Man Booker Prize

The Man Booker Prize for Fiction announced that, as of 2018, “any novel written originally in English and published in Ireland by an imprint formally established in Ireland is now eligible for the prize.” The new rule aims to ensure independent Irish publishers have the same opportunity to be recognized by the prize as Irish publishers who have UK headquarters and are already eligible to submit titles.

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Today in Books is sponsored by As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti.

What if you could wish for anything—and get it?

Madison is a small town in the Mojave Desert on the road between nothing and nowhere. It’s an unremarkable speck on the map, which is perfect for protecting the town’s secret. Because in Madison, everyone can make one wish on their eighteenth birthday — and that wish always comes true.

Most of Eldon’s classmates have had their wishes picked out for months, even years. Not Eldon. He’s seen how wishing has hurt the people around him. His parents’ marriage is strained, his sister is a virtual ghost in their house, his ex-girlfriend is dating his ex-friend…where does he even begin?

One thing is for sure: Eldon has only twenty-six days to figure it out―and the rest of his life to live with the consequences.

Hear A Dramatization Of Anansi Boys Free

We mentioned before that the BBC would be streaming a dramatization of Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys, and now it’s available. You can hear the 30-minute episodes free, but the six-part radio adaptation is only available for a limited time.

French Publisher’s Plan To Produce Antisemitic Texts Creates Controversy

The French publisher Gallimard plans to publish 1930s pamphlets by Louis-Ferdinand Céline, who called for the extermination of Jews. Gallimard says its intention is to frame the texts “and put them back in their context as writings of a great violence, marked by the antisemitic hatred of the author,” but the decision has created a divide in the literary community between those for and against publication. The prime minister’s delegation in charge of fighting racism, anti-semitism, and anti-LGBT hatred even summoned the publisher, urging it to include notes giving the full context drawn up by specialists, including historians. The editor has allegedly rejected this recommendation.

Lily Cole Responds To Emily Brontë Row

Lily Cole responded to the literary expert who quit the Brontë Society after the model and actress was named “creative partner” for upcoming celebrations to mark the bicentenary of the author’s birth. In response to Nick Holland’s argument that the Wuthering Heights author would never have approved of a model receiving the role, Cole said Brontë would not have judged “any piece of work on name alone.” The Brontë Society has also defended their decision to select Cole.

We’re giving away a stack of our 20 favorite books of the year. Click here to enter, or just click the image below.

Pre-Orders For Fire and Fury Skyrocket

Donald Trump’s lawyers have sent a cease-and-desist letter to the publisher Henry Holt and to author Michael Wolff demanding they stop publication of Wolff’s forthcoming tell-all “and issue an apology to @realDonaldTrump for defamatory statements made thus far.” This came after the White House issued a statement in response to a released excerpt from Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House where Steve Bannon called a meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a group of Russians, during the 2016 campaign, “unpatriotic” and “treasonous.” Fire and Fury is currently ranked #1 on Amazon.

Jacqueline Woodson Named National Ambassador For Young People’s Literature

Author and four-time Newbery honoree Jacqueline Woodson has been named the sixth National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. The current Ambassador, author-illustrator Gene Luen Yang, will pass the torch at an inauguration ceremony on January 9 at the Library of Congress. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden will preside over the ceremony. One of Woodson’s goals as Ambassador is to reach young people in traditionally underserved areas of the country.

Lindy West Will Release 2 More Books

Lindy West fans, the Shrill author has announced that she’ll be releasing two books: a book of cultural critique and a book of film criticism (she used to be a film editor at The Stranger), both published by Hachette. The books don’t have titles yet, but they will be released sometime in 2018.

Time’s running out! We’re giving away a stack of our 20 favorite books of the year. Click here to enter.

Today in Books is sponsored by HMH Teen, publisher of Meet Cute.

MEET CUTE is an anthology of original short stories featuring tales of “how they first met” from some of today’s most popular YA authors. Readers will experience Nina LaCour’s beautiful piece about two Bay Area girls meeting via a cranky customer service Tweet, Sara Shepard’s glossy tale about a magazine intern and a young rock star, and Nicola Yoon’s imaginative take on break-ups and make-ups. This incredibly talented group of authors brings us a collection of stories that are at turns romantic and witty, epic and everyday, heartbreaking and real.

2018 Tournament of Books Shortlist

The Tournament of Books announced this year’s shortlist, judges, commentators, and Zombie poll for the 14th edition of the literary event. The shortlist is comprised of 18 books TOB “believe to be some of the most interesting works of fiction published last year.” These include The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker, Dear Cyborgs by Eugene Lim, and Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong. The TOB is calling for Zombie votes (before midnight ET, January 10, 2018) to put your favorite book back on the list.

Two Dying Memoirists Write About Their Final Days; Their Spouses Fall In Love With Each Other

Start placing your bets for a book/movie deal around this story. The Washington Post wrote a touching piece about John Duberstein and Lucy Kalanithi–husband of The Bright Hour author and wife of the When Breath Becomes Air author, respectively–and how they fell in love with each after their spouses died. Paul Kalanithi and Nina Riggs both passed away from cancer in their late 30s, and both wrote critically-acclaimed memoirs about their final days. The story of how their spouses met and fell in love is the stuff of pure kismet.

The Strand Owner Dies At 89

Fred Bass, the owner of New York City’s Strand Book Store, died this morning surrounded by loved ones. Bass began working in the store his father founded, and acquiring books for The Strand at age 13. He made it the epic bookstore it is today. Read about his life and legacy here.

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Today in Books is sponsored by Park Row Books, publisher of Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig.

Meet Ginny Moon. She’s mostly your average teenager—she plays flute in the school band, has weekly basketball practice and reads Robert Frost poems for English class. But Ginny is autistic. And so what’s important to her might seem a bit…different.

Full of great big heart and unexpected humor, Ludwig’s debut introduces the lovable, wholly original Ginny Moon who discovers a new meaning of family on her unconventional journey home.

Obama Lists His Book Recommendations For 2017

Over the holidays, Barack Obama shared 10 of his 2017 book recommendations with the internet. The former president and known bookworm’s picks included The Power by Naomi Alderman, Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward, and Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond. The list included a couple bonus picks for basketball fans, and you can check out the full Facebook post for his music recommendations.

First Teaser For A Series Of Unfortunate Events Season 2

It’s here, fans. The second season of the Netflix series, based on Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events books, will premiere March 30.

The David Bowie Book Club Launches

David Bowie’s son, director and screenwriter Duncan Jones, has launched the David Bowie Book Club, inviting participants to read the legend’s favorite books. The reading selections will be based on Bowie’s Top 100 must-read books, and Jones announced via Twitter that the first title will be Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd. If you want to participate, you have until February 1st to read the novel.

Don’t forget–we’re giving away a stack of our 20 favorite books of the year! Click here to enter.

Today in Books is sponsored by TarcherPerigee, publisher of My Friend Fear by Meera Lee Patel.

From the bestselling author of Start Where You Are comes a vibrantly inspiring look at making peace with fear–to become our truest selves.

On the heels of her bestselling journal Start Where You Are, author and illustrator Meera Lee Patel takes us deeper into her artistic vision and emotional journey in this stunning new four-color book. A mix of personal reflections, inspirational quotes, questions for reflection, and breathtaking watercolor visuals, My Friend Fear asserts that having big fear is an opportunity to make big changes and to discover the remarkable potential inside ourselves.

The Origins Of A Christmas Carol

BBC got into the spirit with an article on the origins of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. From his views on the wealthy to a visit with his disabled nephew to the sight of impoverished families starving on the street, Dickens’ experiences and post-Industrial Revolution England provided plenty of inspiration and passion to create change. Read the full article to learn more about Dickens and his classic Christmas tale.

NYPL’s Top Checkouts

The New York Public Library reported on the year’s top 10 checkouts. The data collected was system-wide and for The Bronx, Staten Island, and Manhattan. The top three, system-wide, were Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Underground Railroad: A Novel by Colson Whitehead, and Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J. D. Vance. The top checkouts in the boroughs were TASC: Test Assessing Secondary Completion: Strategies, Practice, & Review, 2017-2018 by Kaplan for The Bronx; The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood for Manhattan; and The Award by Danielle Steel for Staten Island.

A Working Class Writers Collective

Author Kit de Waal is behind a working class writers’ movement. She voiced a need to see more working class voices in literature, and, in response, a working class writers’ collective has formed, and an Unbound anthology titled Common People, featuring new and published working class authors and edited by de Waal, was launched. Author Carmen Marcus reached out to other writers on Twitter and began the movement after hearing de Waal speak on the lack of diversity in publishing for “Where Are All the Working Class Writers?” a BBC Radio 4 documentary.

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