reviews

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.

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.

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.

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry leads holds this week. Also in demand are titles by James Patterson and Candice Fox, Marie Bostwick, Nancy Thayer, and Sarah Damoff. People’s book of the week is Atavists: Stories by Lydia Millet. Brenda Peynado wins the Philip K. Dick Award for her novel Time’s Agent; a special citation was given to Adrian Tchaikovsky for his novel Alien Clay. Infodocket shares details on OCLC’s lawsuit against Baker & Taylor. Isaac Marion is adapting his forthcoming novel The Overnoise as a feature film. Remembrances pour in for Pope Francis, who has died at the age of 88.

Winners of the Publishing Triangle Awards for LGBTQIA+ books are revealed. NYPL announces the finalists for the Young Lions Fiction Award. A lawsuit filed against the Rutherford County Board of Education by the ACLU of Tennessee aims to stop book bans in the county’s school libraries. Mystery writer Peter Lovesey has died at age 88. Plus, Page to Screen and new books from Dolly Parton and Scorsese collaborator Robbie Robertson.

Nominees for the Aurora Awards, for SFF and horror works by Canadian authors, are revealed. A number of authors are named to Time’s list of the 100 most influential people of 2025. The Libertarian Futurist Society announces the finalists for the Best Novel category of the Prometheus Awards. The 2025 Writers’ Trust of Canada Rising Stars are announced. Publishers Weekly talks to IMLS staffers who are worried about the cuts to the agency. Book subscription services are moving into publishing their own titles as well. Plus new title bestsellers and forthcoming books from Priscilla Presley and Zosia Mamet.