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Leah Hampton writes on Appalachia in the American imagination; Peter Blackstock reflects on editing Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain; Publishers Weekly learns more about the vision for Penguin Random House Español; and other stories.
Historian and writer Jan Morris has died; longtime Simon & Schuster editor Fred Hills has died; the New York Times announces its “10 Best Books” list; and other stories.
Literary agent Mitch Douglas has died; the New York Times announces this year’s “100 Notable Books”; the Washington Post names its top ten books of 2020; and other stories.
Gabriel Bump has won the 2020 Ernest J. Gaines Award; Penguin Random House shares diversity, equity, and inclusion updates; Jorge Carrión celebrates the magic of bookshops around the world; and other stories.
Korea University Museum honors poet Cho Ji-hoon; Destiny O. Birdsong discusses engaging with trauma in poetry; John Washington talks documenting one man’s quest for asylum; and other stories.
The ongoing bidding over Simon & Schuster; the American Library Association announces the shortlists for its 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medals; Kima Jones to publish debut memoir with Knopf; and other stories.
Eight books are finalists for the Barnes & Noble Book of the Year distinction; Michelle Bowdler writes on including “rape” in the title of her book; McKenzie Wark discusses her pursuit of new, liberatory language; and other stories.
Maaza Mengiste discusses the research process behind The Shadow King; this year’s Booker finalists share short essays on the origins of their novels; Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore describes her eternal search for connection; and other stories.
Macmillan delays reopening New York City offices to July; Jamaica Kincaid considers America as a snow globe; Detroit-based poet Naomi Long Madgett has died; and other stories.
Tracy K. Smith reflects on translating Chinese poet Yi Lei; Douglas Stuart discusses the breakout success of Shuggie Bain; Renee Simms writes about the act of wailing; and other stories.
Penguin Random House to establish new Spanish-language division; the National Black Writers Conference is taking place this week; Valzhyna Mort reflects on music, poetry, and love; and other stories.
Danielle Evans celebrates the short story; G’Ra Asim writes about white racial anxiety; Tim Murphy praises cinematic writing; and other stories.
Roxane Gay reflects on the future of the country; Jason Reynolds to host this year’s National Book Awards; Khalisa Rae reports on the growth of Black-centered book clubs; and other stories.
George Saunders reflects on the art of the short story; Hanif Abdurraqib writes on photographer Robert Clark; Maggie Smith challenges the idea of writing as catharsis; and other stories.
Maureen Palacios reflects on running a children’s bookstore in the age of COVID-19; Oliver Munday turns to In Search of Lost Time as a pandemic project; Bryan Washington discusses the relationship dynamics in Memorial; and other stories.
Editor and marketer Fred Klein has died; Caleb Femi on paying tribute to his childhood community; Viet Thanh Nguyen on his forthcoming sequel to The Sympathizer; and other stories.
Dwight Garner reflects on decades of sentence collecting; Barbara Lane shares guidelines for writing negative criticism; Bookshop launches in the U.K.; and other stories.
Poet Nikki Giovanni offers writing advice; Lisa Lucas reflects on her new role at Penguin Random House; French booksellers fight to keep their businesses open during lockdown; and other stories.
Jess Walter discusses reimagining the Western; J. Nicole Jones recommends Maryse Condé’s I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem; Marlon James talks speculative fiction; and other stories.
Novelist Lynn Steger Strong reflects on motherhood in the pandemic; Kishani Widyaratna to serve as editorial director of the Fourth Estate; Barnes & Noble and former CEO Demos Parneros cease litigation; and other stories.
The New York Times reports on the Strand Bookstore’s call for help; Hilary Mantel reflects on the writing life; poet Diane di Prima has died at age eighty-six; and other stories.
Black Lives Matter cofounder Alicia Garza discusses her new book; Angie Cruz celebrates the multiplicity of immigrant stories; Susie Yang charts her transition from tech to creative writing; and other stories.
The awards buzz for Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart; Vivian Gibson talks being a lifelong writer; translator David Boyd reflects on Hiroko Oyamada’s unique writing style; and other stories.
Publishing veteran Molly Stern has founded her own independent press; Kaitlyn Greenidge writes against the cultural obsession with firsts; editors recover ghost stories by women writers of the past; and other stories.
Tyree Daye recalls finding his poetic tradition; Tamara Payne reflects on completing her late father’s biography of Malcolm X; Donna Hemans traces how family history informs her fiction; and other stories.
