PEN America has released a report on book banning efforts in school libraries, recording “more school book bans during the first six months of the 2023-24 school year than in all of 2022-23.” PEN America’s announcement follows a report by the American Library Association last month that found book banning had reached unprecedented levels last year in public and school libraries.

Deep Vellum, a nonprofit publisher and bookstore owner in Dallas, is planning to expand by opening offices in New York and possibly London, reports the Mercury, a publication of the University of Texas in Dallas.

Attendance at literary events in New York City is surging, prompting leaders in other industries to host readings, including in restaurants and fashion, reports the New York Times.

Masie Cochran is the new publisher and editorial director for Tin House Books, reports Shelf Awareness. Cochran had been serving as interim publisher and editorial director. She succeeds Craig Popelars, who left the press in October.

On Literary Hub Alissa Quart investigates the financial tenuousness of the writing life in a six-part series called “Cutting Class: On the Myth of the Middle Class Writer.”  

Condé Nast Traveler profiles poet Hala Alyan. Listen to Alyan read from her new poetry collection, The Moon That Turns You Back.

The Associated Press reports on authors turning down awards and award consideration from PEN America in protest of the free speech organization’s response to the war in Gaza.

The New York Times writes about Salman Rushdie and how he has been faring personally and professionally since he was attacked at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York in 2022. Rushdie’s memoir about the experience, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, will be published tomorrow by Random House.

On CBS’s 60 Minutes on Sunday, author Salman Rushie will offer his first televised interview since he was attacked at the Chautauqua Institution in New York in August 2022, the Guardian reports.

The New Yorker considers how smartphones have altered our reading practices.

PBS NewsHour reports on efforts by librarians to resist censorship and defend the right to read in the midst of an unprecedented movement to ban books from libraries nationwide.

The New York Times reports on a university program in Australia that seeks to create ties between the nation’s mainstream and Indigenous publishing industries.

Political leader Aleksei A. Navalny, who opposed Russian president Vladimir Putin before dying in prison in February, wrote a memoir. Titled Patriot, the memoir will be published in October by Knopf, reports the New York Times.

Literary Hub reports on trouble that continues to swirl around PEN America, which has received criticism for its response to the war in Gaza, where Israel’s offensive has reportedly killed more than thirty-three thousand Palestinians and induced “imminent” famine. Several writers have declined to have their books considered for PEN America’s historically prestigious awards, and more writers have declined to participate in the PEN World Voices Festival.

The winners of the 2024 Whiting Awards for emerging authors have been announced.  

The town of Princeton, New Jersey, has declared itself a book sanctuary, joining a growing movement to protect the right to read amid heated book-banning efforts nationwide. Read more about the book sanctuary movement in Poets & Writers Magazine.

The Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) and the Seattle Public Library (SPL) have issued a report on the work of Books Unbanned, an initiative to counter efforts to ban books by offering borrowers nationwide digital access to titles through the libraries. The report includes data and testimonials about the impact of the program—launched in April 2022 by BPL and in April 2023 by SPL—which has reportedly increased access to books for readers facing a variety of challenges. Read more about Books Unbanned in Poets & Writers Magazine.

An investigation by the New York Times reveals how tech companies “cut corners” to train language-generative AI, including ChatGPT and other chatbots. Tech executives “discussed skirting copyright law,” and Meta, the parent company of Facebook, even considered buying Simon & Schuster to have access to longer works.

Goddard College in Vermont, which offered a low-residency MFA in creative writing, has announced that it will close in May due to financial challenges and low enrollment, reports Inside Higher Ed.

PEN America has announced its longlists of finalists for the free speech organization’s literary awards, the winners of which will be announced April 29.