ReedPop Retires BookExpo, New Yorker Writers Select Best Books of the Year, and More

by Staff
12.2.20

Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—publishing reports, literary dispatches, academic announcements, and more—for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today’s stories.

ReedPop has announced it will “retire” BookExpo, the largest publishing convention and trade show in the United States, in addition to its two consumer-focused literary events, BookCon and UnBound. Event director Jennifer Martin cited the pandemic as a precipitating factor for the decision—this year’s conventions were held exclusively online—but noted that the organization had been examining how to restructure for some time. She hinted at future plans, noting ReedPop will “evaluate the best way to move forward and rebuild our events that will better serve the industry.” (Associated Press)

New Yorker writers share their favorite books of the year. Among the recommendations: Alex Ross picked Cleanness by Garth Greenwell and Lauren Michele Jackson chose Stranger Faces by Namwali Serpell. 

Emily Bell will depart Macmillan Publishers, where she served as an executive editor at Farrar, Straus and Giroux and director of FSG Originals. She will join Zando, a new independent publisher founded by Molly Stern, as head of editorial. (Publishers Lunch) 

O, the Oprah Magazine previews thirty-two queer books forthcoming in the new year. “The state of LGBTQ books in 2021 is marvelous and vast, leaving room for all kinds of stories, by and about people from all walks of queer life,” writes editor Michelle Hart. 

“When I first discovered I was pregnant, we were deep into a very strange spring.” Writer and librarian Hannah Matthews reflects on creating new life in an increasingly dangerous and inequitable world. (Catapult)

“The aim of a translation, most generally, is to make a work available to another group of readers, and this was also my aim in the case of this unusual translation.” Lydia Davis writes about creating a modern version of Alfred Ollivant’s 1898 children’s book, Bob, Son of Battle. (Believer)

New York Times staff critics Dwight Garner, Parul Sehgal, and Jennifer Szalai highlight the top books they reviewed this year

Carter Sickels, John Fram, Malcolm H. Tariq, and eight other queer writers reflect on how the pandemic has affected their writing routines. (Lambda Literary Review)