A formerly incarcerated writer reports that he and others who won PEN America’s Prison Writing Contest never received payments. After he tweeted about his lack of payment, the free speech organization used Zelle to pay him, he says. His cowriter on the story for Prism “identified five winners from 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 who are still missing a total of $925 in payments.” In a statement PEN America says it has “in all but one case, reconciled payment of the contest prize money” to six incarcerated writers it had identified as not receiving prize money and is otherwise putting measures in place to correct similar problems in the future.

Nonprofit Quarterly reports on the closure of Small Press Distribution, noting that it was “the only nonprofit literary distributor in the country.”

Literary Arts in Portland, Oregon, announced that it will celebrate its fortieth anniversary by moving into a more expansive downtown headquarters. The new digs, expected to open later this year, “will serve as a community and cultural hub with a bookstore and café, as well as classroom and event space, writing areas, staff offices and a recording studio.” The nonprofit literary organization aims “to engage readers, support writers, and inspire the next generation with great literature” by offering workshops, lectures, school programming, and more.

An exhibition of “book-like objects” dating from as early as the eighteenth century are now on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through July 16, reports Fine Books & Collections magazine. Made of materials ranging from wood to precious metal, the curiosities include jewelry, toys, and tools that resemble literary volumes.

A beloved pro-democracy bookstore in Hong Kong called Mount Zero has closed amid increasing government scrutiny of the shop in the wake of Chinese security laws that have cracked down on Hong Kong’s freedom and independence, reports the Hong Kong Free Press.

Less than two weeks before the scheduled April 29 PEN America Literary Awards ceremony, more than a third of nominated writers and translators have withdrawn their names from consideration due to the organization’s response to the war in Gaza, reports Literary Hub. A letter from thirty nominated writers and translators reportedly sent to the PEN America Board of Trustees this morning called for the resignations of PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel, PEN America President Jennifer Finney Boylan, and the entire PEN America Executive Committee.

The other four of the Big Five publishers have joined Penguin Random House in a lawsuit that aims to thwart a law in Iowa that bans books in school libraries that deal with sex, sexuality, and gender identity, Publishers Weekly reports. “We as publishers are uniting in our unwavering commitment to stand with educators, librarians, students, authors, and readers against the unconstitutional censorship measures being imposed by the state of Iowa,” the publishers wrote in a joint statement.

Translators are losing work because of language-generative AI, the Guardian reports. A survey by the Society of Authors—the United Kingdom’s largest trade union for writers, illustrators, and translators—found that more than a third of translators lost work due to the technology. Nonetheless, 37 percent of translators said they used AI to support their work.

A new literature museum will open in Hong Kong this June, reports Travel + Leisure. The Museum of Hong Kong Literature will store literary artifacts, mount exhibitions, and host literary exchange events.

Some publishers in the United Kingdom are looking toward AI to help sell books: Marketing tools that use generative AI “will enable the relatively smaller marketing resources of most publishers to punch way above their weight,” Sara Lloyd, global head of AI at Pan Macmillan, tells Fortune.

The New York Times reports on the closure of Small Press Distribution (SPD) and how hundreds of indie presses are working to claim remaining inventory and payments. SPD’s “dissolution is being overseen by the Superior Court of California, which will decide how to distribute any of S.P.D.’s remaining assets to creditors.” The nonprofit reportedly owes one small publisher, LittlePuss, $12,000, roughly a third of the small press’s revenue from last year.

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.