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The Los Angeles Times Book Prize winners are announced, including Jiaming Tang, Laura Beers, Jesse Katz, Jennine Capó Crucet, Andrea Freeman, Danielle Trussoni, and Kelly Link. The Plutarch Award shortlist, is announced along with the finalists for the RBC Bronwen Wallace Awards for Emerging Writers and the Theakston Awards longlist. Globe Pequot is purchasing Square One Publishers, while Alliance has canceled an agreement to purchase the bankrupt Diamond Comics. Plus, Philip Pullman will publish The Rose Field, the third and final volume in “The Book of Dust” series, in October.

25 Alive by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro leads holds this week. Also in demand are titles by Danielle Steel, Kristen Perrin, Sarah Penner, and Liann Zhang. Five LibraryReads and eight Indie Next picks publish this week. People’s book of the week is Notes to John by Joan Didion. Plus, interviews arrive with Isabel Allende, Jason Bailey, Sarah Penner, Liann Zhang, Drew Harvell, and Bill Belichick.

Tommy Orange’s Wandering Stars wins the Aspen Words Literary Prize. Denene Millner’s One Blood wins Georgia’s top literary award, the Townsend Prize. A coalition of literary advocates are opposing Florida House Bill 1539, which would require schools to remove any book deemed harmful to minors within five days of a challenge. People explores how a Department of Education shutdown could impact book bans. Plus, Page to Screen and where to start with the works of Terry Pratchett.

Public libraries that are experiencing long wait times to get new books delivered from their book suppliers are often hesitant to look for other fulfillment options, because the technical services onboarding process for new vendors can be complex and unwieldy. But that isn’t always the case.

Shortlists for the Griffin Poetry Prize, the Jhalak Prize, and the Donner Prize are announced. The U.S. Supreme Court seems likely to rule that parents can opt out of LGBTQIA+ stories in their children’s classrooms. The state of Iowa has appealed a U.S. District Court judge’s injunction against the 2023 law that has removed hundreds of books from school libraries. Attorneys for IMLS acting director Keith Sonderling have responded to the lawsuit filed earlier this month by the ALA. Plus, new title bestsellers and an interview with sisters and coauthors Anne and Claire Berest.

The second Independent Publisher and Librarian Forum—IndieLib for short—was held on April 16 in downtown Manhattan, at New York University’s Engelberg Center on Innovation Law and Policy. The event brought together public and academic librarians, representatives from indie publishers and their distributors, and others across the field to learn more about one another’s work and concerns and imagine new ways to move forward.

While those in favor of book bans believe children should be protected from content perceived as inappropriate or abusive, those opposed worry about the societal consequences of censoring information and ideas, the infringement of First Amendment rights, and the negative impacts on authors and publishers. Researchers Uttara M. Ananthakrishnan, Naveen Basavaraj, Sabari Rajan Karmegam, Ananya Sen, and Michael D. Smith set out to examine how bans at the district level affect consumption at the national level.

This AM resource provides a variety of information originating from an assortment of formats that will surely satisfy anyone interested in 1980s culture and society. Universities and colleges alike will want to consider adding this helpful targeted resource, as most people look back on the decade with both fondness and disappointment.

BVA’s Art, Race and Gender Collection provides access to a niche selection of monographs with an intersectional approach to art studies. A valuable resource for institutions supporting research and scholarship in the areas of art, art history, women’s and gender studies, and visual culture.

Upcoming DVD and Blu-ray releases feature a Basquiat biopic, Lion King prequel, and a tribute to truly terrific Liza Minnelli.

This month’s can’t-miss documentaries include a deep dive into Transylvania, a portrait of beloved natural historian Sir David Attenborough, and an audacious interview with “Alfred Hitchcock.”

Can’t-miss movies for your queue include profanely funny and bittersweet Anora, an inspiring animated tale, and a docudrama about an unfolding hostage situation at the 1972 Summer Olympics.

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry is the top holds title of the week. LibraryReads and Library Journal offer read-alikes for patrons waiting to read this buzziest book.

Winners of the Minnesota Book Awards are announced; Kao Kalia Yang makes history by winning three awards for three different books. Poet and University of Iowa writing program director Christopher Merrill wins the Ottaway Award for the Promotion of International Literature. The shortlist for the Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize is announced. Oprah selects Matriarch by Tina Knowles for her book club. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for top holds title and Reese Witherspoon book club pick Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry. Cynthia Erivo will narrate a new audiobook edition of Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked. James Patterson and Duane Swierczynski’s forthcoming thriller, Billion-Dollar Ransom, heads to the big screen. Plus, Jeff Kinney will donate 20,000 books a month ahead of the publication of his 20th Diary of a Wimpy Kid book in October.

The British Science Fiction Association Awards winners are announced. Dorian McNamara wins the CBC Short Story Prize. Publishing Perspectives recaps Circana’s Q1 US Print Report, with romance and romantasy leading adult genres. Joan Didion’s Notes to John gets reviewed. Netflix’s Ransom Canyon, based on the novels by Jodi Thomas, gets buzz. Plus, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Mahmoud v. Taylor today, concerning LGBTQIA+ books in Maryland's largest school district.