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Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, The Dead Are Arising by Les Payne and Tamara Payne, and After the Last Border by Jessica Goudeau are among the books on the 2021 shortlists for the Lukas Prizes from the Columbia Journalism School and the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. Adaptations coming out this week include Cherry, based on the book by Nico Walker, Moxie, based on the book by Jennifer Mathieu, and The Mauritanian, based on Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Salahi. BuzzFeed Book Club's March pick is Surviving the White Gaze by Rebecca Carroll. Plus, the official trailer for The Underground Railroad, based on the book by Colson Whitehead, is out, as is a premier date: May 14.

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas debuts at No. 1 on both the NYT Hardcover Fiction Best Sellers list the USA Today Best-Selling Books list. In nonfiction, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates starts at No. 1 on the NYT Hardcover Nonfiction Best Sellers list and No. 3 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list. Former Beatle Paul McCartney will publish The Lyrics, a memoir of sorts with more than 900 pages across two volumes and a list price of $100, this fall. The longlist for the 2021 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction is out. Adaptations in the works include The Silence by Don DeLillo, The Killer by Alexis Nolent, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sánchez, and more.

Poet and publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti died on Monday at the age of 101. He'll be remembered for his San Francisco bookstore City Lights, for inspiring many other independent publishers with his press City Lights Books, and for his role in the Beat poetry movement. Hillary Clinton is teaming with Louise Penny to write the political thriller State of Terror. The Audio Publishers Association announced finalists for the 2021 Audie Awards, including the Audiobook of the Year. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro and Flight of the Diamond Smugglers by Matthew Gavin Frank are getting a lot of buzz in reviews this week. Plus, a series adaptation based on the series of books featuring Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins by Walter Mosley is in the works, author Brian Selznick is writing an animated adaptation of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, a teaser is out for Jupiter’s Legacy, and more adaptation news.

The Horror Writers Association announced the 2020 Bram Stoker Awards finalists, which include The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones, Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, True Story by Kate Reed Petty, and many more. The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Dark Fantastic by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, and DIE by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans are among the winners of the British Fantasy Society's 2020 British Fantasy Awards. The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen is getting a lot of buzz in reviews this week. Plus, adaptation news about the Eternity Springs series by Emily March, The Real All Americans by Sally Jenkins, Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll, and more.

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke leads holds this week, while other titles in high demand include The Kaiser's Web by Steve Berry, Love at First by Kate Clayborn, Quiet in Her Bones by Nalini Singh, and Kingdom of Shadow and Light by Karen Marie Moning. LibraryReads selections out this week include Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers and The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan. People's "Picks" book of the week is Send for Me by Lauren Fox. Adaptations in the works include updates of The Running Man by Stephen King and The 39 Steps by John Buchan.

The Poetry Society of America named N. Scott Momaday its 2021 recipient of the Frost Medal for distinguished lifetime achievement in poetry. The shortlist of nominees for the 2020 BSFA Awards from the British Science Fiction Association includes The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin, Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, Club Ded by Nikhil Singh, and more. Brit Bennett, Amanda Gorman, and Ijeoma Oluo are among the emerging leaders on the Time 100 Next list. New adaptations in the works include We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal, The Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton, and Big Vape by Jamie Ducharme. Adaptations out this week include Nomadland, Mafia Inc., Superman & Lois, and more.

The finalists for the 2021 Aspen Words Literary Prize are Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa, Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam, The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich, The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans, and If I Had Two Wings by Randall Kenan. New fiction bestsellers include Faithless in Death by J. D. Robb and The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles, and new nonfiction bestsellers include Walk in My Combat Boots by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann and Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad. To honor what would have been Toni Morrison’s 90th birthday, the NYT offers suggestions on where to start with her books. Plus, Mindy Kaling's production company is working on a TV adaptation of Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian.

Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir by Natasha Trethewey, The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels, and I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes and illustrated by Gordon C. James, are the 2021 Southern Book Prize winners. Finalists for the Baltimore Science Fiction Society's 2021 Compton Crook Award are out. What to recommend to patrons waiting to borrow A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas, the top hold of the week. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Andrew Sean Greer and screenwriter David Gilbert will adapt The Man Who Ate Too Much by John Birdsall, the recent biography on James Beard. Plus, the Authors Guild sent a letter to the new administration calling for, among other things, the creation of a new Federal Writers Project.

The March Library Reads list is up, and the top pick is The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner. Nazima Abdillahi shares why she founded Muslim Voices in Publishing. Henry Louis Gates Jr. has a new four-hour series premiering tonight on PBS that's based on his book The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song. Plus, Reese Witherspoon is expanding her book club with a four-episode cooking show called Eat the Book. It will feature Reese's Book Club pick authors, including Tembi Locke and Delia Owens, and premiers Feb. 18 on YouTube.

In a strong year for World War II historical fiction, a novel about the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion—the only all-Black battalion of the Women’s Army Corps at the time—is of special interest. Plus, a book by Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. 

When show organizer ReedPop announced in December 2020 that it would be retiring its family of major publishing trade shows—BookExpo, BookCon, and UnBound—Publishers Weekly (PW) saw an opportunity to organize its own event. Working quickly after ReedPop’s announcement, PW leadership conceived and created the U.S. Book Show, a virtual conference for the global bookselling and book publishing industry that will debut from May 25–27.

A new book from Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar, activism from Mansoor Adayfi and Rafia Zakaria, a biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and more. 

A range of books about women, friendship, family life, touring authors, and take-charge animals, with two books starring librarians.

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas leads holds this week. Other titles in demand include Missing and Endangered by J. A. Jance, A Fatal Lie by Charles Todd, and Relentless by Mark Greaney. Two books highlighted by both LibraryReads and Indie Next come out this week: The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey and First Comes Like by Alisha Rai. In adaptation news, there's a new trailer for Zack Snyder's Justice League, and New Pictures is adapting The Haunting of Alma Fielding by Kate Summerscale as a TV series.

Founded in 1970, the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) is a leading advocate for libraries serving the nation’s African-American community. The BCALA has given awards for traditionally-published poetry and prose for twenty years.

A series adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Overstory by Richard Powers is in the works at Netflix, with Hugh Jackman and Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss serving as executive producers. There's a lot of other adaptation news as well, including a look at why there are so many book to screen adaptations currently underway. This week sees the release of a few completed adaptations, including To All the Boys: Always and Forever, French Exit, and The Luminaries. Audiobook producer RBmedia has acquired the audiobook publishing business and catalog of the Spanish company Booka. Plus, remembering sci-fi writer and editor James E. Gunn, who died late last year.

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah debuts at No. 1 on the NYT fiction bestsellers list and the USA Today list, while Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain tops the NYT nonfiction list and is at No. 8 on the USA Today list. The finalists for the 2021 PEN America Literary Awards are out, with winners to be announced April 8. The Story Prize Spotlight Award, honoring an exceptional short story collection, goes to Inheritors by Asako Serizawa. There is adaptation news about the Redwall series by Brian Jacques, The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna, and more. Plus, lots of buzz about Wild Rain by Beverly Jenkins.

The 2021 University of North Texas Rilke Prize, which honors emerging poets, goes to Kiki Petrosino for White Blood: A Lyric of Virginia. The Loan Stars list for March arrives, and The Lost Village by Camilla Sten is the top pick. Ample adaptation news includes the trailer for M. Night Shyamalan's Old, based on the graphic novel Sandcastle by Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters, plus new details on filming for the next season of Outlander. Books receiving a lot of buzz include No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood and Unfinished: A Memoir by Priyanka Chopra Jonas.

Series start-ups and wrap-ups will keep fans busy at summer’s end.

The 2021 Dublin Literary Award longlist is up, and features 49 books nominated by librarians from around the world. Among those honored are The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead, and On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong. ALA's 2021 Reading List is out, highlighting the best books from eight fiction genres for adult readers. The class-action lawsuit against Amazon over ebook pricing now includes the Big Five publishers as defendants, added as "co-conspirators" after an amended complaint was filed. Plus, lots of adaptations are in the works, including plans for Falling by T.J. Newman, Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason, and The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han.

There’s something for every history buff in August’s variegated lineup.

Moving tales of family, friendship, and loss dominate August’s memoir list.

The books most in-demand by parenting readers are about anxiety, social media, toxic masculinity, and multiracial identity.

Faithless in Death by J.D. Robb tops hold lists this week. The March Indie Next list is up, and the No. 1 pick is We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker. The February Barnes and Noble book club pick is Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan. Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen, My Year Abroad by Chang-rae Lee, and Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad are getting a lot of buzz. Plus, Samantha Irby is one of the writers working on the upcoming Sex and the City reboot.

Innovative turnkey service from Sourcebooks and Baker & Taylor includes access to
high-quality ebooks and programming

Deacon King Kong by James McBride wins ALA's 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and Fathoms: The World in the Whale by Rebecca Giggs wins the 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. The RUSA/CODES Book and Media Awards are also announced. Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden's son, will publish the memoir Beautiful Things on April 6. Grey's Anatomy fans will want to bookmark How to Save A Life, the forthcoming book from Lynette Rice that's based on 80 interviews with those involved in the show. Time has a special project, "The Renaissance Is Black," which features an introduction by Ibram X. Kendi, several books as part of "The 25 Defining Works of the Black Renaissance," and more. Salma Hayek’s production company is developing A Boob’s Life by Leslie Lehr as a series. Plus, a video game that lets you use authors like Saeed Jones, Jia Tolentino, and Tony Tulathimmute as fighters.

Complementing LJ’s “Books and Authors To Know: Titles To Watch 2021,” which focuses on fiction and nonfiction, the nearly 100 key poetry titles featured here represent some of the most important and dynamic writing being done today. 

Penguin Random House will publish a young readers edition of Becoming by Michelle Obama on March 2. The Russian by James Patterson and James O. Born and Just as I Am by Cicely Tyson lead the NYT Best Sellers and the USA Today Best-Selling Books lists. The 2021 United States Artists Fellows were announced, and among those honored are 8 writers, including Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, Danez Smith, and Ocean Vuong. A new podcast about library workers, librarypunk, has launched. Former Baltimore Ravens player Jason Brown discusses Centered: Trading Your Plans for a Life That Matters on The Today Show.

The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse is Reese Witherspoon's February book club pick. How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones is the GMA February book club pick. The longlist for the 2021 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is out, as are nominees for the 52nd NAACP Image Awards, which includes a large literary category. Jeff Bezos is stepping down as CEO, but will stay involved as executive chairman, of Amazon. NetGalley, along with its parent company Firebrand, have been sold to the U.S. subsidiary of Japan's Media Do. George R.R. Martin says he wrote a whole lot of The Winds of Winter last year, but adds, "I will make no predictions on when I will finish." Plus, Ken Burns has a documentary about Ernest Hemingway in the works.

From James Lee Burke to Paula Hawkins to Preston/Child, big names with big print runs for maximum thriller pleasure.

CIA and DEA agents tackle the world.

Jenna Bush Hager selects two books for her February "Read with Jenna" book club: Send for Me by Lauren Fox and The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. In other book club news, New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard has launched his own club, and Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu is this month's PBS NewsHour/NYT pick. The February Earphones Award winners are up at AudioFile. The New York Public Library has launched the Woodson Project, featuring book lists, events, and more, to honor Black History Month. Plus, the forthcoming novel The Maidens by Alex Michaelides, which is due out June 15, has been optioned for a TV series.

The consequences for everyone when young women disappear.

When trouble starts close to home. 

Timely thrillers and historical suspense, with psych wards and fancy fishing retreats as settings. 

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah leads holds this week. Other titles in high demand include The Survivors by Jane Harper, Serpentine by Jonathan Kellerman, Girl A by Abigail Dean, and more. PopSugar picks The Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson for its February book club, and Luster by Raven Leilani is Vox's February book club selection. The Authors Guild, the National Writers Union, and others sent a letter to the Department of Justice asking it to block the sale of Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House. Following news of her death, Cicely Tyson's memoir Just as I Am hit No. 1 on Amazon, and also sold out of copies available there.

Actress Cicely Tyson, whose memoir Just as I Am was released this week, died yesterday at age 96. With massive demand following her reading at Joe Biden's inauguration, poet Amanda Gorman's three unreleased books will see a print run of one million copies each. Entertainment Weekly has an excerpt from Billy Summers by Stephen King, which is due out Aug. 3. Lala Kent of The Vanderpump Rules has a memoir, Give Them Lala, coming May 4. Adaptations out this week include Finding You, based on There You'll Find Me by Jenny B. Jones and Firefly Lane, based on the book by Kristin Hannah. Plus, the graphic novel The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag will be adapted as an animated musical for Netflix.

Actor Seth Rogen's first book, Yearbook, is due out May 11, and his mother provided a statement for the press release. Moneyball and The Big Short author Michael Lewis has a forthcoming pandemic novel, The Premonition, while The End of October author Lawrence Wright has a nonfiction pandemic book coming called The Plague Year. More forthcoming book news includes work from Big Little Lies author Liane Moriarty, The View co-host Sunny Hostin, and others. Poet Amanda Gorman will read at the Super Bowl. Plus, news on upcoming adaptations of Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee, All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai, and more.

Gerry Smyth discusses his book Sailor Song: The Shanties and Ballads of the High Seas and ponders the newfound popularity of the art form on social media.

The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey wins the 2020 Costa Book of the Year award. The forthcoming book The Daughters of Kobani: A Story of Rebellion, Courage, and Justice by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon has been optioned for a series by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton's new production company. Other adaptations in the works include Outlawed by Anna North, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and more. Plus, the Library of Congress receives a $15 million grant to improve diversity programs.

Stars like David Grossman, Caroline De Robertis, and Charlotte McConaghy are joined by up-and-comers from Nawaaz Ahmed to Meredith Westgate, and August literary fiction also tours the world from Paris to Cuba to Namibia and South Africa. 

From literary star Juan Gabriel Vásquez to  Anthony Veasna So, a rising star whose life was tragically cut short, five collections for fans of fiction, short or long. 

Nominees for the 2021 Edgar Allan Poe Awards are out, and include When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole, These Women by Ivy Pochoda, Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and a Woman’s Search for Justice in Indian Country by Sierra Crane Murdoch, and many more. See the winners of the Alex Awards, the Printz Award, and all the other 2021 ALA youth media award honorees. Forthcoming book news includes an essay collection edited by Tarana Burke, an instructional tome on talking dogs, and the Dragonlance trilogy. Plus, HBO Max is looking to develop a live-action Harry Potter series.

Old hands like Donna Andrews and Louise Penny are joined by rising stars Naomi Hirahara, Camilla Trinchieri, and more. 

Key titles in a brave new world marked by pandemic and political upheaval. 

Natalie Baszile discusses We Are Each Other’s Harvest: Celebrating African American Farmers, Land, and Legacy.

Finalists for the 2020 National Book Critics Circle Awards are out and include Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, Memorial by Bryan Washington, Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart, and more. The Russian by James Patterson and James O. Born leads holds this week. The People "Picks" book of the week is American Baby: A Mother, a Child, and the Shadow History of Adoption by Gabrielle Glaser. Plus, reviews and more buzz for Let Me Tell You What I Mean by Joan Didion.

The ALA President’s Program at the American Library Association Virtual Midwinter Meeting 2021 featured U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo in conversation with fellow poet and memoirist Jill Bialosky, an executive editor at W. W. Norton.

The books most in demand by garden readers are about houseplants, cottage designs, native plants, and saving seeds.

Historians Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain discuss their latest work, Four Hundred Souls, and how they sought to bring together a community to reflect on, and make, history.

HBO is working on a series adaptation of Tales of Dunk and Egg by George R. R. Martin, a prequel to Game of Thrones. The 2021 Rathbones Folio Prize longlist is out and includes Just Us by Claudia Rankine, The Actual by Inua Ellams, Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart, among others. The White Tiger, Penguin Bloom, and Resident Alien are some of the adaptations premiering this week. In more adaptation news, Bridgerton, based on the series by Julia Quinn, is getting a second season.

22-year-old poet Amanda Gorman made headlines—and book sales—following her reading at Joe Biden's inauguration. New releases on the NYT and USA Today bestsellers lists include The Scorpion's Tail by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders, and more. Nominees for the 2021 Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize and the 2021 Philip K. Dick Award are out. Plus, buzz for The Doctors Blackwell by Janice P. Nimura, Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor, and others.

The February LibraryReads list is announced, and the top choice is The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. The Gotham Book Prize announces the finalists for its first $50,000 award, which honors New York City-based books. After becoming friends with fellow stutterer Joe Biden, 13-year-old Brayden Harrington now has a book deal, with the picture book Brayden Speaks Up due out in Aug. See the trailer for The Luminaries, based on the book by Eleanor Catton, which premiers Feb. 14. Books set for TV and film adaptations include The Whistler by John Grisham, Libra by Don DeLillo, The Walled City by Ryan Graudin, and more.

Candace Robb brings her passion for York to this new page-turning crime thriller. She shared her thoughts about the latest installment in her long-running hit series with Library Journal.

22-year-old poet Amanda Gorman will read at Joe Biden's inauguration. Meanwhile, more than 250 authors, editors, agents and others signed an open letter opposing any book deals for Donald Trump and members of his administration. Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner leads holds this week. A class-action lawsuit accuses Amazon of colluding with the "Big Five" publishers to inflate ebook prices. CNN anchor Don Lemon announced his forthcoming book, This Is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism. Plus, Netflix is developing three anti-racism projects that will be executive produced by Ibram X. Kendi and based on his books Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You, and Antiracist Baby.

Register at https://storeapi.libraryjournal.com/magento2-ib/customform/form.php?name=2021-lj-ala-galley-signing-guide.  A big mailing is being assembled now and will come to you soon. 

Noah Baumbach will direct Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig in a feature adaptation of White Noise by Don DeLillo. In other adaptation news, there are first-look deals on The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw and Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor. HarperCollins nabbed a three-book deal with Jeffrey Archer. First up this fall is the next book in his William Warwick series, Over My Dead Body. One Book, One Philadelphia at The Free Library of Philadelphia selects the Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of poems The Tradition by Jericho Brown. YALSA picks "2021 Great Graphic Novels for Teens."

PEN International honors activist and author Tsitsi Dangarembga, This Mournable Body, with its 2021 Award for Freedom of Expression. This week's new best sellers include Star Wars: Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule, Neighbors by Danielle Steel, The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins, and Keep Sharp by Sanjay Gupta. Connecticut is looking into whether Amazon engaged in anti-competitive behavior in its ebook distribution agreements. Plus, see the trailer for To All the Boys: Always and Forever, the film adaptation of Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han.

From personal crisis to epic perceptions of our culture, top July reading in literary fiction.

Big-name authors and 100,000-copy first-printing newbies provide top summer reading.

From Troy to 1950s Cold War America but focusing on World War II, a big historical sweep.

Historically and politically informed sf/fantasy.

Science titles have become increasingly prominent, but three major books on the sea in a single month is a standout. 

Register now for the forthcoming ALA Midwinter Galley & Events Guide at https://storeapi.libraryjournal.com/magento2-ib/customform/form.php?name=2021-lj-ala-galley-signing-guide

Sally Rooney's next book, Beautiful World, Where Are You, will be published Sept. 7. In other forthcoming book news, Billie Eilish announced a photobook and Margaret Josephs, one of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, has written a memoir. Learn even more about buzzy books during several virtual events at the ALA Midwinter Meeting. The 2020/21 finalists for The Story Prize are Likes by Sarah Shun-lien Bynum, The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans, and The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw. Powell's Books closed early following protests surrounding a controversial upcoming book. Plus, Ben Affleck is set to direct the Disney adaptation of Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger.

Rosemarie and Vince Keenan (aka Renee Patrick) are back with their fourth Edith Head/Lillian Frost mystery set in Hollywood’s Golden Age.

The February Indie Next list is out, and The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles is the top pick. The American Library Association announces the winners of the I Love My Librarian Awards. A Promised Land by Barack Obama led book sales in 2020. The Millions, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, BuzzFeed, and others preview the best forthcoming books of the year. David E. Kelley is working on the TV adaptation of Michael Connelly’s The Lincoln Lawyer series for Netflix.

Following the demise of BookExpo, new book fairs from Publishers Weekly and Edelweiss are launching later this year to fill the void. The Scorpion's Tail by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child leads holds this week. The People "Picks" book of the week is Walking with Ghosts by Gabriel Byrne. Senator Amy Klobuchar's new book, Antitrust: Taking on Monopoly Power From the Gilded Age to the Digital Age, will be out in April. Plus, in adaptation news, BCDF Pictures purchases the rights to adapt The Girl at Midnight series by Melissa Grey for TV, and there's a trailer for Cherry, based on the book by Nico Walker.

Simon & Schuster will no longer publish Senator Josh Hawley's forthcoming book, The Tyranny of Big Tech, which was due out June 22. U.S. print book sales were up 8.2 percent in 2020, according to the NPD Group, with A Promised Land by Barack Obama leading the sales numbers. New adaptations out this week include All Creatures Great and Small and the new season of American Gods. The English translation of Ask Iwata: Words of Wisdom from Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's Legendary CEO will be released on April 13. Merriam-Webster reports the top words searched for on its site on Wednesday included sedition, coup d'état, and fascism, and the NYT speaks with historians about the evolution of some terms.

Vulture previews 46 top reads for 2021, including The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins, My Year Abroad by Chang-rae Lee, and The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen. Wiley has acquired open access publisher Hindawi for $298 million. Danez Smith reviews The Prophets by Robert Jones, Jr. for the NYT. Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters is getting buzz, with a review in the L.A. Times and interviews in Vulture and Kirkus. Plus, Shelf Awareness has a look at how the chaos in Washington, D.C. impacted bookstores there.

January book club picks are out: The Read With Jenna selection is Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour, the GMA book club title is The Push by Ashley Audrain, and for Reese Witherspoon's book club, it's Outlawed by Anna North. Lit Hub, Electric Lit, Book Marks, Entertainment Weekly, and others preview some of the most anticipated books of 2021. Read memorials for author Eric Jerome Dickey, who has died at age 59. His final book, The Son of Mr. Suleman, is due out April 20. Plus, Vulture has an in-depth feature on the pre- and post-publication controversies of American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins.

Lots of cozies for beach reading, but don’t miss Icelandic star Arnaldur Indridason’s The Darkness Knows and debuter Greg Buchanan’s Sixteen Horses.

Big-name authors—and mostly women—fill the thriller list for July.

Eight wide-ranging history titles for July.

LJ Horror columnist Becky Spratford interviews Usman T. Malik, author of Midnight Doorways: Fables from Pakistan. She writes “his talent is blinding and his trajectory reminds me of Stephen Graham Jones, who I also found, like Usman, in Ellen Datlow collections first.” They discuss his work, influences, and the current landscape of horror fiction.

Better Luck Next Time by Julia Claiborne Johnson is the January Barnes & Noble book club pick. Recommendations for upcoming new releases come from The Millions, CrimeReads, Entertainment Weekly, Shondaland, Essence, and others. Buzzy reviews for The Prophets by Robert Jones, Jr., Nick by Michael Farris Smith, Exercised by Daniel Lieberman, and more. Love After Love by Ingrid Persaud and other winners of the 2020 Costa Book Award winners are announced. Plus, Tiffany Haddish will star in an upcoming adaptation of Landscape with Invisible Hand by M.T. Anderson.

Neighbors by Danielle Steel tops library holds lists this week, and other popular titles include All the Colors of Night by Jayne Ann Krentz, The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins, and Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age by Sanjay Gupta. Future First Lady Dr. Jill Biden will address the ALA  Midwinter virtual meeting on Jan. 25. See previews for books coming out this year from Autostraddle, Kirkus, Electric Lit, and more.

Barnes & Noble lists forthcoming books already getting a lot of buzz, which include The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins, The Prophets by Robert Jones, Jr., and Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia. Adaptations out this week include Elizabeth Is Missing, based on the book by Emma Healey, and The Watch, based on the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. The Audacious Book Club from Roxane Gay launches in January, and will be accessible via a newsletter. Plus, following the success of the biopic Mank, the biography Competing with Idiots by Nick Davis about brothers Herman and Joseph Mankiewicz is coming next year.

Will the popularity of the new Shonda Rhimes's Bridgerton series eliminate some of the obstacles that have kept more mass-market romance books from being adapted into TV shows and movies? Lit Hub highlights some of the best but lesser-hyped books of 2020, while AARP and Bustle preview books that will be released in the months ahead. Nurturing Healing Love by Scarlett Lewis, a memoir about the loss of her son in the Sandy Hook massacre, is set to be adapted as a TV movie.

Hush-Hush by Stuart Woods tops library holds lists this week. More best-of 2020 books lists are out from The Atlantic, HuffPost, and Vogue. Time offers a look at what happens when copyright on The Great Gatsby expires Jan. 1. The Night Agent by Matthew Quirk will be adapted by the creator of The Shield, and a limited series of Sex and the City may be in the works. Plus, remembering author Barry Lopez, who died at age 75.

The longlists for the 2021 PEN America Literary Awards are out. Finalists will be announced in Feb. A film adaptation of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong is in the works. Adaptations being released this week include The Midnight Sky, News of the World, Wonder Woman 1984, and Bridgerton. Plus, The New Republic looks into ebook licensing at school libraries.

Roxane Gay is launching The Audacious Book Club in 2021. The first read for January is Black Futures edited by Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham. More best-of 2020 book lists are out from CrimeReads, BuzzFeed, the CBC, and others. Read excerpts of Serpentine by Jonathan Kellerman and Be Kind, Be Calm, Be Safe by Dr. Bonnie Henry and Lynn Henry. Plus, adaptation news about The School For Good And Evil series by Soman Chainani.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett leads 2020 checkouts at the New York Public Library. Toaster Oven Perfection by America's Test Kitchen tops library holds lists this week. The January issue of Entertainment Weekly is out, featuring reviews of The Push by Ashley Audrain and Girl A by Abigail Dean. Above the Ether by Eric Barnes wins the best novel category for the 2020 Darrell Awards. Sarah Polley will direct and Frances McDormand will produce and star in the film adaptation of Women Talking by Miriam Toews.

Barack Obama's 17 favorite books of the year include Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, Deacon King Kong by James McBride, and Jack by Marilynne Robinson. BOMB looks at new titles released by small and independent presses during 2020, plus other best-of lists from the L.A. Times, CrimeReads, Book Riot, and more. The audiobook version of A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders has a star-studded narration. Jennifer Lopez is producing and starring in a feature adaptation of The Cipher by Isabella Maldonado for Netflix.

Paul Farmer, Fevers, Feuds, and Diamonds: Ebola and the Ravages of History, wins the $1 million 2020 Berggruen Prize. Sen. Elizabeth Warren's new book, Persist, will be out April 20, 2021. More lists of the best books of the year arrive from Town & Country, CrimeReads, Entertainment Weekly, and more. Read excerpts of Godspeed by Nickolas Butler and This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron. Plus, adaptation news about His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy, and more.

Jay-Z's Roc Nation is partnering with Random House on the new imprint Roc Lit 101, and the first releases will be memoirs by former Yankee CC Sabathia and music journalist Danyel Smith. The January Library Reads list is out, with The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins as the number one pick. More lists of the best books of 2020 arrive from the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, The A.V. Club, Slate, Vox, and more. MLA gives its 2020 First Book award to The Practice of Citizenship: Black Politics and Print Culture in the Early United States by Derrick R. Spires. Plus, news on adaptations of Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo, Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, Burn-In: A Novel of the Real Robotic Revolution by P. W. Singer and August Cole, and more.

Literary fiction for July launches with award-winning authors. 

Top pop fiction in July ranges from historicals to horror to bittersweet love.

July reading for an engaged political future. 

Lit Hub looked at 41 best-of lists that recommended 952 books to calculate "The Ultimate Best Books of 2020 List," and The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett takes the top spot. More best-of lists are in from Vulture, CrimeReads, and BookPage. There's forthcoming book news from DC about a Batman anthology series, and from Henry Holt on Gabriel Debenedetti's book about the relationship between Joe Biden and Barack Obama. Also, see new trailers for Nomadland and Bridgerton.

John le Carré, author of Cold War thrillers such as The Spy Who Came in From the Cold and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, died of pneumonia on Saturday at the age of 89. NYPD Red 6 by James Patterson and Marshall Karp leads holds this week. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett tops LibraryReads' Voter Favorites 2020 list, and more of the year's best-of lists are out from USA Today, BuzzFeed, Autostraddle, and others. The NYT examines fiction published between 1950 and 2018 to investigate just how white the book industry is. Plus, adaptation news about The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes by Elissa R. Sloan and Reagan at Reykjavik: Forty-Eight Hours That Ended the Cold War by Ken Adelman.

The books most in demand by thriller readers are by John Grisham, Michael Connelly, James Patterson, Lee Child & Andrew Child, and David Baldacci.

The Stand, based on the book by Stephen King, will be available next week on CBS All Access. Disney+ plans to release about 10 Marvel series and 10 Star Wars series in the next few years. More best-of 2020 book lists arrive from the L.A. Times, The Wall Street Journal, BuzzFeed, and CrimeReads. Current Deputy Director of the National Book Foundation Jordan Smith will serve as its Interim Executive Director. Anthony Veasna So, whose debut short story collection Afterparties is due out Aug. 2021, has died at age 28.

Kid Cudi is producing and will star in the adaptation of Real Life by Brandon Taylor. Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker tops People's best books of the year list, and The Undocumented Americans: A Homecoming by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio tops Vulture's list of 10 best books of the year. Cat Kid Comic Club: From the Creator of Dog Man by Dav Pilkey is the only new bestseller this week. "Muslim" by Zahia Rahmani, translated by Matt Reeck, wins the 2020 Albertine Prize. Vanity Fair hosts a conversation between Jesmyn Ward and Barack Obama. Kellyanne Conway has received a multi-million dollar deal for an upcoming memoir. Melville House's Dennis Johnson calls for the Department of Justice to stop the consolidation of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster.

Bill Gates shares the books that inspired him this year, including Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein and The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. More 2020 best-of lists are out from Audible, Wired, and the New York Public Library. See the PEN America annual gala, which took place virtually this year and honored Patti Smith and Barack Obama, among others. There's news of several adaptations in the works, including Ring Shout by P. Djéli Clark, The Poppy War series by Rebecca F. Kuang, Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, and Dying to Be Me: My Journey from Cancer, to Near Death, to True Healing by Anita Moorjani.

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel tops Entertainment Weekly's list of the 10 best books of the year. More 2020 best-of lists are out from Vanity Fair, Goodreads, Smithsonian magazine, and more. The 2020 Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant winners are announced. Bob Woodward is working on another book about the Trump presidency. Plus, the filmmaker behind The Queen's Gambit has several adaptations in the works, including Laughter in the Dark by Vladimir Nabokov.

Two leading figures in world history get a very different kind of treatment. 

Finding love, facing death, and getting rescued by dogs in town, in the country, and on the beach. 

Leading off with a thriller from Stacey Abrams that publishes in May, this list offers 13 recent fiction discoveries, publishing in April through June.