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The Seattle Public Library; District of Columbia Public Library; and Fayette Public Library, Museum & Archives, La Grange, TX, in partnership with the University of Washington, have launched VRtality.org, a website that provides libraries and other institutions with a roadmap for co-designing virtual reality (VR) apps to support the mental health of teens. The roadmap and website were informed by three separate VR pilot programs developed by the three libraries. Librarians worked directly with teen patrons to create the VR programs, treating them as equal partners in the projects.

Joanna Chiu wins the 2022 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing for China Unbound: A New World Disorder. At the top of the best selling lists are In the Blood by Jack Carr, This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub, The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, and Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar by Alan Shipnuck. Interviews feature authors Dov Forman, Robert Samuels, Toluse Olorunnipa, and Simon Parkin. Adaptation news for Oliver Sacks’s book Awakenings.

The British Book Awards are announced with Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason, Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers, The Dark Remains by William McIlvanney and Ian Rankin, and Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson winning top fiction honors. You Are a Champion by Marcus Rashford and Carl Anka wins best overall book of the year. The 2022 Xingyun Awards finalists are announced along with the 2022 Kurd Laßwitz Preis winners. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for buzzy book Nightwork by Nora Roberts. Amanda Gorman writes a poem about the Texas school shooting. Plus, Margaret Atwood takes a flamethrower to an unburnable edition of The Handmaid's Tale. 

Alice Zeniter and translator Frank Wynne win the 2022 Dublin Literary Award for The Art of Losing. The 2022 Mythopoeic Awards finalists are announced. The 2022 Miles Franklin Literary Award longlist is announced. The 2022 Roswell Award and Prix Imaginales winners are announced. Sales spike for banned or challenged books. Interviews arrive with John Waters, Elif Batuman, Courtney Maum, and Emma Straub. Plus, The U.S. Book Show kicks off its first full day of programming including the Libraries are Essential Track.

As book banning and censorship continues to ramp up across the country, particularly of work aimed at teens and young adults, New York City public libraries are stepping up to help young readers connect with challenged books. 

The Aisle-by-Aisle Exhibitor Guide & Coupon Booklet is now available for download. Get an early look at the Exhibitors and what’s happening on the show floor: book signings, show specials, prize drawings, booth giveaways

The leak of the U.S. Supreme Court’s draft decision on abortion rights has sent people scrambling to understand the current state of abortion care in the United States. As tensions are at an all-time high, librarians have an opportunity to dispel some myths about abortion care and abortion access. Here is some background to help you answer patron questions that may arise.

The Nebula Awards winners are announced. Mohammed Alnaas wins the International Prize for Arabic Fiction. The 2022 Australian Book Industry Awards shortlist is announced. Fijian writer Mary Rokonadravu wins the 2022 Commonwealth Short Story Prize in the Pacific category. Nightwork by Nora Roberts leads holds this week. One LibraryReads and five Indie Next picks publish this week. People's book of the week is Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner. Plus, booklists start to arrive for summer reading. 

The 2022 Orwell Prizes finalists and Owned Voices Novel Award are announced. Page to Screen highlights adaptations arriving this weekend. Interviews abound with authors Marie Myung-Ok Lee, Christine Quinn, Naheed Phiroze Patel, Tom Daley, Cynthia Clampitt, Jenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey, Mesha Maren, and Fernando Flores.

The 2022 Firecracker Awards finalists are announced. There is a new banned book subscription service called Getting the Banned Back Together. At the top of the best sellers lists are The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner, The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian, A Sacred Oath: Memoirs of a Secretary of Defense During Extraordinary Times by Mark T. Esper, and How the World Really Works: The Science Behind How We Got Here and Where We're Going by Vaclav Smil. Author interviews feature Colton Haynes and Stephanie Foo. There is adaptation news for Margalit Fox’s The Confidence Men: How Two Prisoners of War Engineered the Most Remarkable Escape in History.

Wesley Morgan wins the 2022 William E. Colby Award for The Hardest Place: The American Military Adrift in Afghanistan's Pech Valley. NPR Books Editor Petra Mayer is honored with posthumous Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award. The 2022 Nommo Awards shortlist is announced. The 2022 Premios Kelvin finalists are announced. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for Christina Lauren's buzzy book, Something Wilder. Colin Kaepernick will publish a memoir. Margaret Atwood’s Stone Mattress adaptation casts leads. Alan Moore’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen gets a reboot and Spiderhead gets a trailer. 

The 2021 Bram Stoker Awards are announced, with My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones taking the top award. Burning Man: The Trials of D. H. Lawrence by Frances Wilson wins the Plutarch Award for best biography of the year. The 2022 Ohioana Book Award finalists are announced along with shortlists for the 2022 Indie Book Awards and the 2022 Seiun Awards. The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill tops the June Library Reads list. The Atlantic and Zando partner to launch the new imprint, Atlantic Editions. Plus, The Believer literary magazine returns to its original publisher, McSweeney’s. 

Christina Lauren’s Something Wilder leads holds this week. Three LibraryReads selections and four Indie Next picks publish this week. People’s book of the week is This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub. Entertainment Weekly releases its 2022 Summer Preview. The Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards 2022 are announced. The U.S. Book Show kicks off next week. The Atlantic expands its book section. Plus, Stephen King weighs in on the new Firestarter film.

Kazuo Ishiguro has won the Tähtivaeltaja Award for Klara and the Sun, and Patricia Lockwood wins the 2022 Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize with No One Is Talking About This. Interviews with authors feature Kennedy Ryan, Bud Smith, Norman Reedus, Chloe Caldwell, Jokha Alharthi, Jill Gutowitz, Viola Davis, Matt Sienkiewicz, Nick Marx, Lan Samantha Chang, and Omarion. There is adaptation news for Colleen Hoover’s Maybe Someday.

Celeste Mohammed wins the 2022 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature for Pleasantview. The 2022 Triangle Award winners are announced. Topping the best sellers lists are Book Lovers by Emily Henry, 22 Seconds by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro, Book of Night by Holly Black, Killing the Killers: The Secret War Against Terrorists by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, and This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future by Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns. Author interviews include conversations with Selma Blair, Jim Shepard, and Steve Almond.

“Freedom and the Press before Freedom of the Press,” a digital humanities project based at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), Pittsburgh, has received a $324,931 National Endowment for the Humanities Digital Humanities Advancement grant to develop a set of digital tools to analyze type and paper used in late 17th- and 18th-century English language works.

Bono’s long-awaited memoir, Surrender, will arrive in November from Knopf. The 2022 Locus Awards announces top ten finalists. The 2022 Amazon Canada First Novel Award shortlist is announced. The Women’s Prize Trust announces Discoveries longlist. The Canadian Leisure and Reading Study 2021 from Booknet Canada is released. Unite Against Book Bans, a coalition of librarians, teachers and publishers to fight book challenges across the U.S., gets coverage. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner. Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go is being adapted for television. 

The Doris S. Kirschner Cookbook Collection at the University of Minnesota–St. Paul provides an excellent window into the history of food, cooking, and technology—and some surprises—through cookbooks and other related ephemera.

The 2022 Pulitzer Prizes are awarded with The Netanyahus: An Account of a Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family by Joshua Cohen, winning the top prize for fiction. Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City by Andrea Eliott, Chasing Me to My Grave: An Artist’s Memoir of the Jim Crow South by Winfred Rembert & Erin I. Kelly, and Covered with Night: A Story of Murder and Indigenous Justice in Early America by Nicole Eustace are also winners. Shortlists arrive for the Canadian ReLit Awards, the Saskatchewan Book Awards, and the Trillium Book Awards. Plus, The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner and Star Wars: Brotherhood by Mike Chen are 4-star reads. 

From ALA: The American Library Association (ALA) and a coalition of more than 25 groups are banding together to empower individuals and communities to fight censorship and protect the freedom to read.

The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner leads holds this week. The 2022 Sheikh Zayed Book Award and the Christian Book Award winners are announced. U.S. Selfies announces shortlist. Puerto Rican writer Giannina Braschi is awarded the 2022 Enrique Anderson Imbert Award. Publishers Lunch and the American Booksellers Association are sponsoring a Fall/Winter Buzz Books Editors panel on May 18th. Three LibraryReads and four Indie Next selections publish this week. People's book of the week is Vigil Harbor by Julia Glass. Plus, Ncuti Gatwa becomes the first Black actor to play Doctor Who.

Who is in charge of your library? In Kentucky, in 2023, the answer will change. Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of a state Senate bill was unexpectedly overridden in mid-April, enabling local politicians to take control of public library board appointments, and thus spending, and even the continued existence of facilities.

Jillian Rudes didn’t grow up reading manga. But when she discovered it in her first year as a school librarian, she realized that it is a critical format for teaching, cultivating a love of reading, and giving kids what they want, and took a deep dive in, reading everything she could get her hands on.  

During a job hunt while unemployed, Jessica Chaney learned about the opening of CLOUD901, Memphis Public Library’s social, creative, production, research, and performance technology lab. Chaney thought she might be able to contribute her film experience—but library leadership realized she had management potential.

Bill Smith’s love for community service and music led to him work with Dallas Public Library (DPL) staff and volunteers to create a schedule of classes in musical instruction and theory for underserved communities. 

With disinformation more prevalent than ever, teaching students how to analyze and understand what’s coming at them has never been more important.

The Outreach Department at High Plains Library District in Erie, CO, was a seven-person department when Brittany Raines became supervisor. Under her leadership, it grew to 25 staff spread out across the entire county and was retitled as MOVE (Mobile, Outreach, Virtual, and Experiences).  

As 2020 Maryland Library Association (MLA) Conference Director, rather than cancel the conference due to the pandemic, Naomi Keppler worked with staff to reenvision the event online, collaborating with MLA’s technology committee to build a virtual platform that other states replicated.

Barbara Alvarez, while teaching at three iSchools, focuses on building community partnerships for health. To investigate the pandemic’s impact on abortion services for Wisconsin residents, Alvarez conducted weekly mystery calls to 29 abortion clinics in Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, and upper Michigan..

A few years ago, Melissa Thom attended Nerd Camp for the first time. “I was hooked,” she says. “It’s such a high-energy day where educators, librarians, teachers, illustrators, and authors are all there to nerd out about books. And it’s such an amazing model—it’s a free event, and everybody is there because of the pure joy of books and reading and literacy.” 

The 2022 RBC Bronwen Wallace Award finalists are announced. There are many author interviews sharing the perspectives of Angela Garbes, Steve Almond, Jennifer Egan, Julia Quinn, Jennifer Grey, and Courtney Maum. Plus, page-to-screen.

Marquita Gooch-Voyd—who became the first person of color to receive the Georgia Public Librarian of the Year award in 2020—sees the impact that technology can have on patrons’ lives and careers. 

Babak Zarin has expanded Access Services at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library (CRRL) to include accessibility in all forms, developed and conducted an accessibility audit, and shared information and insight through presentations for other library systems and one-on-one conversations with library staff. The Deaf Culture Digital Library is the culmination of two years’ work reviewing and developing a program to meet the needs of the Deaf and hearing-impaired community, not just within CRRL, but throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Robin Davis knows that “accessibility isn’t one person’s domain, but everyone’s responsibility.” This shows in the work she does with her colleagues at North Carolina State University (NCSU) Libraries in the User Experience department and on the recently formed Accessibility Committee, as well as mentoring students. 

No matter how robust a library’s services, they can’t reach those who aren’t aware of them. St. Louis County Library (SLCL) Reference Manager Jennifer Gibson has been working to bridge the library’s outreach gap in several critical areas. 

Throughout his career, Elisandro Cabada has been closely involved with the creation of tech spaces in libraries, including the design and development of the IDEA Lab, and the Breakerspace digital scholarship and innovation center at the University of Minnesota’s Walter Library. In addition, he is currently developing library services for CI COM—described as the world’s first engineering-based college of medicine—with a focus on "innovative instructional support, scholarly productivity tools, and entrepreneurship."

Jessica Fitzpatrick meets student athletes on their turf as she grows the next generation of book enthusiasts. “I became aware that our athletes weren’t reading because of how many different responsibilities they handled,” she explains. “At a Title 1 school, our students are not only busy being athletes, students, and just teenagers but they are also working to put food on the table and support their families.”  

Queens Public Library’s (QPL) Immediate Access: Technology Reentry program helps new parolees overcome the many barriers to restarting their lives outside of prison. Program Manager Jill Anderson is an expert in removing roadblocks. This includes listening to program participants and community partners about what they need or can offer, and to funders about what opportunities are available.

When life gives you honeybees, make honey. That could be the motto of Amy Thatcher, manager of the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Richmond Branch. “I believe pushing against boundaries yields opportunity,” she says. “Be adventurous. Try implementing what appears to be impossible. Most of the time, it’s possible.”  

Ninety-one percent of academic librarians believe that analytics improve their understanding of how students, faculty, and researchers engage with their library, and 85 percent believe analytics can help show the library’s value to administrators and help libraries justify budget decisions, according to a recent national survey of 196 academic librarians conducted by LJ in conjunction with EBSCO.

Lea Ypi wins the 2022 RSL Ondaajte Prize for Free: A Child and a Country at the End of History. Musician and author Dolly Parton has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The best seller lists are topped by City on Fire by Don Winslow, The Good Left Undone by Adriana Trigiani, Shadow Fire by Christine Feehan, Finding Me by Viola Davis, and The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor--the Truth and the Turmoil by Tina Brown. Interviews feature the thoughts of actor/writer Nyle DiMarco and Minnie Driver. There is adaptation news for The Blue Castle by Lucy Maud Montgomery and On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong.

When Nicole Bryan took on the position of Neighborhood Library Supervisor for the Macon Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) in January 2020, she could not have imagined guiding her branch through a pandemic. In those two years, however, Bryan developed outdoor community programming, a systemwide special edition library card, and programs to reinforce community connections.

When Amy Hermon transitioned from being a history teacher to a school librarian, she found that her on-campus support network drastically dwindled. Teachers and staff were great, but there was no one with the same job available to talk to and draw inspiration from. This inspired Hermon “to create something that has the potential to help people all around the world, and then commit to creating that connection week in and week out.” In 2018, she created School Librarians United.

Jane Gov believes that “to really understand what teens want, they must be involved in the planning.” This is the foundation for the Teen Volunteer and Teen Advisory Board (TAB) programs. The programs’ goal is to be strategic in how the library utilizes the skills of volunteers, and to support a team that doesn’t only give advice and assist with library activities, but creates ideas and makes them happen. 

Among Katie DiSalvo-Thronson projects is building a portal for students and families in need with information about finding food, housing and rental assistance, unemployment, and mental health resources. Knowing that many students didn’t have access to the internet, she worked to produce a print version included with free lunches distributed by local schools. 

Ady Huertas grew up in the library, first while learning English as a preteen and then at 16 serving as library aide at the San Diego Public Library. She celebrates 25 years with the system this year. 

“It’s been the most rewarding career move I never anticipated,” Luke Kirkland says of becoming a librarian. Kirkland initially set out to be a musician, but found his stride leading the teen department at Waltham Public Library. “I’m incredibly honored to receive this recognition. The credit should really go to the teens who made the Teen Room and Real Talk the space that it is.”  

Perry joined Mid-Continent Public Library in 2013 in the new role of business specialist. She spent four years working on a plan to provide business information education in Spanish with two community partners, hosted a support group during quarantine about virtual programming, and helped develop a small business support team that was active in the community.

Shortly before Gregory Stall completed his MLIS, two simultaneous internships—at the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress—introduced him to the excitement of public programming with formidable collections. At New York Public Library (NYPL), he has tapped into his own curiosity to stoke interest and bring the community to the library, both in person and virtually.  

Raemona Little Taylor is not satisfied with libraries’ success as spaces of inclusion. “I feel like the first step is acknowledging the long history of libraries as segregated spaces,” she says. “Until libraries and librarians grapple with their history as gatekeepers for white-dominant culture, they will struggle to create welcoming and inclusive workplaces where diverse workers feel like they truly belong.” 

Reese Witherspoon picks The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams for her May book club. Recently reviewed books on the topic of legal abortion are highlighted. The 2022 Omega Sci-Fi Awards finalists and 2022 Branford Boase Award shortlist are announced. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for Emily Henry’s buzzy Book Lovers. Chris Bohjalian’s forthcoming historical thriller, The Lioness, will be adapted for television. LJ's Spring Virtual Day of Dialog is set for tomorrow, May 5th. Plus, Disney+ teases a new Obi-wan Kenobi trailer for Star Wars Day. 

Library Journal’s recent survey on College Student Library Usage, sponsored by ProQuest, looks at how students in American colleges and universities use their institutions’ libraries, and whether those libraries are meeting students' needs. Most are pleased with the quality of resources provided, and more than three quarters feel the library contributes to their academic success. However, the number of visits, whether in-person or virtual, are hit-and-miss—as many students use the library more than 10 times a semester as never use it at all.

Dieter Cantu knows the power of education. And after having spent three years incarcerated in Texas’s juvenile justice system, he also knows the difficulties teens face getting an education in those systems.

Xenia Yolanda Hernández has collaborated with agencies and nonprofits to help families and businesses in Saint Paul, MN, most impacted by the economic fallout of the pandemic.

After George Floyd’s murder in May 2020, Cindy Khatri advocated for Downers Grove Public Library (DGPL) to issue its first anti-hate statement. She was then tasked with writing the next, following the March 2021 murder of eight people at three Atlanta spas, six of whom were Asian women. She recruited Van McGary as coauthor because “I don’t know if I can do this on my own, and I want to share my platform of power,” she remembers thinking. “We’ve been a dynamic duo ever since.” 

In late 2020, Sophie Kenney founded the Reaching Across Illinois System (RAILS) BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) Library Workers group. At the first meeting, Kenney opened the floor to anyone who wanted to be a co-leader, paying forward the leadership opportunities she’d received. Heidi Estrada stepped up. “The rest is amazing history,” says Estrada. 

Librarians face problems ranging from budgets to book challenges, and it takes time, effort, and dedication to battle them. Elissa Malespina was galvanized to act when the South Orange–Maplewood  district, where she lived and formerly worked, wanted to reduce the number of librarians in the middle and high schools. It didn’t happen overnight, but eventually the positions were restored. 

May book club picks are announced, including Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (Read with Jenna), Elektra by Jennifer Saint (B&N), and The Change by Kirsten Miller (GMA). Audiofile announces the May 2022 Earphones Awards. The 2022 ReLit Awards shortlist is out. May book lists arrive. Plus, Lauren Groff publishes a new standalone story about literary privilege.

From a Macmillan Publishers Statement: Don Weisberg announced today that he will be stepping aside as CEO, Macmillan Publishers at the end of the year. Jon Yaged has been appointed his successor as CEO, Macmillan Publishers US. Weisberg will continue in an advisory capacity to Stefan von Holtzbrinck starting in January 2023.

Jessica Alvarado was drawn to library work after seeing how involved the Dallas Public Library (DPL) was within the city and local communities and loves being able to provide diverse, inclusive, and engaging programming. Recently Alvarado has become one of the lead creators of the city’s first Poet Laureate, created to encourage greater literacy awareness and advocacy for the literary arts in the Dallas community.

Jeanie Austin is a champion of information for people experiencing incarceration and returning from it. Previously a juvenile detention center librarian, they not only provide direct service to local facilities, but broadened San Francisco Public Library’s (SFPL) JARS letter-writing reference service program to incarcerated patrons throughout the country.

Virginia Cononie is a tireless advocate for libraries. She conceived, compiled, published, and promoted the book Share Your Story, a collection of more than 100 testimonials and photos from library supporters to be sent to lawmakers in the state of South Carolina, illustrating the value of libraries in their communities.

Initially hesitant to pursue librarianship, Lorisia MacLeod realized early in her career that the field would allow her to combine her interests in leadership, information, people, and advocacy—and has found ample opportunity to incorporate them all.

While working at Norfolk Public Library during the pandemic, Patricia Kendalls observed an increase in the public’s needs around mental health. During programs, patrons would talk “about how stressed and fearful [they] were," she recalls. "I gleaned from these conversations that the community needed avenues to deal with the many stresses that society was facing.”

“TikTok feels like a small city in the prairies,” says Jessie Loyer. She uses her @IndigenousLibrarian account to teach more than 28,000 followers about historical trauma, repatriation, and other Indigenous topics—significant in a field where Indigenous people and culture are underrepresented.

Lessa Kanani‘opua Pelayo-Lozada has become an effective champion of Asian American and Pacific Islander library workers and a strong voice in the American Library Association (ALA) and the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association, where she was the first Pacific Islander to serve as executive director. She is now ALA president-elect.

Calvin Battles’s work includes monthly meetings with a network of nonprofits and service agencies to determine the most efficient and cost-effective ways to use their resources. About four years ago, they began discussing the criminalization of poverty and the impact it was having on their community.

As chair of the Oklahoma Library Association’s Technical Services Roundtable, Elizabeth Szkirpan passionately advocates for the rapidly changing technical services profession.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry leads holds this week. Four Library Reads and ten Indie Next picks publish this week. People’s book of the week is The Good Left Undone by Adriana Trigiani. May’s Costco Connection is out, featuring two buyers’ picks: Lily's Promise: Holding On to Hope Through Auschwitz and Beyond—A Story for All Generations by Lily Ebert and Dov Forman and The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell, which comes out tomorrow in paperback. Walter Isaacson discusses the challenges of writing about Elon Musk. Plus, interviews arrive with Myron L. Rolle, Isabel Cañas, Douglas Wolk, John Waters, Tyrus, and Jennifer Egan.

When former Indianapolis Public Library (IndyPL) CEO Jackie Nytes stepped down in August 2021 amid allegations of systemic racism throughout the system, Nichelle M. Hayes was one of many employees advocating for change. On March 28, the IndyPL Board unanimously voted to appoint Hayes as the library’s next interim CEO, succeeding John Helling, who had served in the role following Nytes’s departure.

The Edgar Allan Poe Award winners are announced. A new book podcast, hosted by news anchor Charlie Gibson and his daughter, arrives. It starts with an Oprah Winfrey interview. There is adaptation news for Elizabeth McCracken’s The Giant’s House and Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire and Mayfair Witches.

Evelyn Araluen wins the 2022 Stella Prize for Dropbear. At the top of the best sellers lists are Dream Town by David Baldacci, Beautiful by Danielle Steel, and Playing With Myself by Randy Rainbow. Interviews abound with authors Soon Wiley, Terry Crews, Jessi Klein, Rachel McAdams, Jon Krakauer, and Jeff VanderMeer.

In 2021, the Annenberg School’s Library Archives accessioned the collection of Amy Siskind’s Weekly List website; however, the path to get there was complicated, and the final gift looked quite different from how it was conceived in the initial conversation. 

The Women’s Prize for Fiction announces its shortlist. The 2022 Oregon Book Award winners are announced. The Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) announces the 2022 Dagger Award longlist. Sonia Sanchez receives the 2022 Jackson Poetry Prize. Audrey Molloy wins the 2021 Anne Elder Award. The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) announced the shortlists for the 2022 Booksellers’ Choice Book of the Year Awards. Nobel Literature Prize winning poet Louise Glück will publish her first prose narrative in October. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for buzzy book City on Fire by Don Winslow.  

Don Winslow announced his current book tour will be his last as he retires from writing in order to focus on political matters. The 76th Edgar Awards will be held Thursday. The winners of the 2022-2023 Rome Prize in literature are announced. Shortlists for the 2022 Commonwealth Short Story Prize and The Atlantic Book Awards arrive. Tina Brown's new book, The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor--the Truth and the Turmoil, continues to buzz. Plus, Dave Eggers’s The Every will be adapted for television at HBO. 

Publishers Weekly’s second U.S. Book Show, held virtually May 23–26, will lead off with an all-day track on May 24 specifically for librarians. The Libraries Are Essential program will include a roster of library leaders, educators, and advocates, as well as representatives from the American Library Association (ALA) and PEN America, examining issues currently at the forefront of library work.

From the San Antonio Express-News: A group of local residents are suing Llano County in federal court, alleging that the removal of certain library books for “pornographic content” is really a censorship effort in violation of the first and fourteenth amendments.

The results from LJ’s Fall 2021 Public Library Fundraising Survey demonstrate how the COVID-19 pandemic changed the ways libraries conducted their fund­raising. Like so much else in the library field, the pandemic forced library staff, administrators, and Friends groups to reconsider the best ways both to raise funds and utilize them.

City on Fire by Don Winslow lights up holds lists this week. Two Library Reads and six Indie Next picks publish this week. The Los Angeles Times Book Prizes were announced at the LA Times Book Festival, including Paul Auster, Deborah Levy, Jackie Polzin, Adam Schiff, Megan Abbott, and more. Zen Cho wins the 2022 Ray Bradbury Prize for Science Fiction, Fantasy & Speculative Fiction. The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor--the Truth and the Turmoil by Tina Brown gets buzzy. People's book of the week is Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. Plus, The Library of Congress acquires Neil Simon’s papers.

Oprah picks Finding Me by Viola Davis for her book club. Dawnie Walton wins the Aspen Words Literary Prize for The Final Revival of Opal & Nev. Shortlists are out for the 2022 CBC Short Story Prize, Crime Writers of Canada Awards, and Kobo Emerging Writer Prize. New interviews with Janelle Monáe, Chloe Caldwell, and Gary Janetti arrive. Adaptations are in the works for George Saunders’s “Escape from Spiderhead” and Camila Russo’s Infinite Machine: How an Army of Crypto Hackers is Building the Next Internet with Ethereum.

The shortlists are announced for both the Ondaatje Prize and Wolfson History Prize. Topping the best sellers this week are The Investigator by John Sandford, Cat Kid Comic Club: On Purpose by Dav Pilkey, Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin's Wrath by Bill Browder, and Hello, Molly! by Molly Shannon, written with Sean Wilsey. Adaptation news arrives for Mockingbird by Walter Tevis, Rektok Ross’s Ski Weekend, and Sheila Bridges’s memoir, The Bald Mermaid.

Lauren Groff wins the 2022 Joyce Carol Oates Prize. The LA Times Festival of Books kicks off this weekend. Hillary Clinton will appear as a speaker at the Hay Festival, as part of the literary festival’s Women & Power series. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for the buzzy book Dream Town by David Baldacci. Adaptation news arrives for Mr. Malcolm's List, based on the book by Suzanne Allain. Plus, Martha Stewart Living magazine bids adieu with its May issue.

Andrea Elliott wins the Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism for Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City. The winners of the 2021 British Science Fiction Association Awards have been announced, with Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky winning best novel and Worlds Apart: Worldbuilding in Fantasy and Science Fiction, ed. by Francesca T. Barbini, winning best nonfiction. Finalists for the 2022 Ignyte Awards, Sir Julius Vogel Awards, and Australian Book Design Awards are announced. The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe and City on Fire by Don Winslow get reviewed. Jennifer Grey’s forthcoming memoir, Out of the Corner, continues to get buzz. 

Dream Town by David Baldacci leads holds this week. Dead Space by Kali Wallace wins the Philip K. Dick Award; The Escapement by Lavie Tidhar receives a special citation. Two LibraryReads and two Indie Next picks publish this week. People's book of the week is Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. Bad and Boujee by Jennifer Buck has been pulled by the publisher due to criticism. Janelle Monáe’s The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer gets coverage. HBO Max adds Neil Gaiman’s “Dead Boy Detectives” series to its lineup. Plus, Sherlock Holmes heads to Broadway.

The New York Public Library announces the 2022 Young Lions Fiction Award finalists. The CBC Short Story Prize longlist is out. The New York Public Library also announces a partnership with Hachette, Macmillan, and Scholastic to make some banned or challenged books available to everyone. Interviews arrive with Lucy Corin, Claire Messud, Kate Folk, Diane Keaton, Valerie Biden Owens, Chelsea Vowel, Rachel Rose, and Scott Sonenshein.

From WDRB: In a sudden about-face, the Kentucky House voted to override Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of Senate Bill 167, giving local political leaders control of public libraries.

Two years into the pandemic, only flat budgets and price increases seem predictable.

The National Book Foundation announces the 5 Under 35 honorees. Brandon Taylor wins the Story Prize for Filthy Animals. The Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards shortlist is announced. New best sellers include The Flames of Hope (Wings of Fire, Book 15) by Tui T. Sutherland, Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel, Chainsaw Man, Vol. 10 by Tatsuki Fujimoto, Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain, and Recessional: The Death of Free Speech and the Cost of a Free Lunch by David Mamet. 

In April 2015 I wrote the LJ article “We Are the Monuments Men” in response to the burning of the Mosul Public Library by ISIS. I asked, What can be done to protect libraries, cultural properties, and artifacts? Sadly, seven years later, the world is witnessing a new conflict, and I am again asking what can we do as librarians to protect, preserve, save information, special collections, cultural artifacts, and rare items in times of conflict?

Ransomware attacks are on the rise, and several libraries have been hit by opportunistic criminals.

The U.S. Book Show and LJ Day of Dialog open registrations and share speaker lineups. Carter Malkasian wins the 2022 Lionel Gelber Prize for The American War in Afghanistan. NYPL selects the Cullman Fellows, including fiction writers Claire Luchette, Daniel Saldaña París, Brandon Taylor, and C Pam Zhang. Emily Henry's Book Lovers tops the May Loan Stars list. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for the buzzy book, The Investigator by John Sandford. Viola Davis continues to get coverage for her forthcoming memoir, Finding Me. Hulu’s Conversations with Friends, based on the book by Sally Rooney, premieres on May 15. Plus, Blackstone Publishing ends its library embargo.

The 2022 Aurora Awards ballot is announced. The Walter Scott Prize shortlist for historical fiction is announced. The 2022 Deutsche Science Fiction Preis finalists are also announced. Oprah Winfrey will interview Viola Davis about her forthcoming memoir, Finding Me on Oprah + Viola: A Netflix Special Event. New buzzy memoirs by Delia Ephron, Robin Roberts, and Molly Shannon get widespread coverage. Interviews arrive with Susan Cain, Melissa Rivers, Melissa Chadburn, Reyna Grande, Andrey Kurkov, and Michael Meyer. The Velveteen Rabbit turns 100. Plus, BookRiot extols the virtues of taking an anti-burnout, reading vacation.

Big-name authors with (mostly) well-known characters.

Books for (and sometimes about) the holidays. 

Horror author and licensed counselor Mark Matthews writes about addiction horror and his three anthologies.

Graphic novelist Talia Dutton drew the cover art for our April issue and will release her debut this June. She talks with LJ about art, influences, and M Is for Monster.

The Investigator by John Sandford leads holds this week. Three LibraryReads and seven Indie Next selections publish this week. People’s book of the week is Left on Tenth: A Second Chance at Life by Delia Ephron. The May Indie Next picks are out, featuring #1 selection Book Lovers by Emily Henry, which arrives May 3rd. The 2022 Tolkien Society Award winners are announced. Interviews arrive with Delia Ephron, Jonathan Van Ness, Douglas Stuart, Devon Price, and Dan Chaon. And, Jack Higgins, author of The Eagle Has Landed, dies at 92.

Awards news abounds for the 2022 International Booker Prize shortlist, Whiting Award, Anisfield-Wolf Award, and Hugo Awards finalists. Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila Alves end up on best sellers lists together with two books. Interviews explore the thoughts of Jennifer Egan, Chelsea Bieker, Aamina Ahmed, Catherine Price, Chloé Cooper Jones, and Emmanuel Acho. There is adaptation news for Outside by Ragnar Jónasson, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter by Margareta Magnusson, and Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys.

The press freedom nongovernmental organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF, after its French title, Reporters Sans Frontières) has created a way for readers everywhere to access and read documents that have been banned or censored in the countries where they were published—through The Uncensored Library, a collection of articles and books housed in the virtual world of Minecraft.

Awards news announced for The Royal Society of Literature’s 2022 Ondaatje Prize longlist, the 2021 Aurealis Awards shortlist, and the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing finalists. This week’s best sellers include What Happened to the Bennetts by Lisa Scottoline, The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn, Half Baked Harvest Every Day: Recipes for Balanced, Flexible, Feel-Good Meals: A Cookbook by Tieghan Gerard, The Mothers and Daughters of the Bible Speak: Lessons on Faith from Nine Biblical Families by Shannon Bream, and Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation by Hannah Gadsby.