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Awards & Book News

Winners of the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Awards are announced, including best novel Flags on the Bayou by James Lee Burke (Grove Atlantic).

The winners of the League of Canadian Poets prizes are announced: Hannah Green’s Xanax Cowboy (House of Anansi), Sandra Ridley’s Vixen (Book*hug), and Bradley Peters’s Sonnets from a Cell (Brick Books). CBC has the news.

The finalists for the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing are revealed, CBC reports.

Shortlists have been selected for the Reading the West Book Awards.

The shortlist for the Leacock Medal for Canadian humor writing is announced; CBC has coverage.

A record number of writers were jailed globally in 2023, according to a report by PEN America; NYT has coverage.

New Title Bestsellers

Links for the week: NYT Hardcover Fiction Bestsellers | NYT Hardcover Nonfiction Bestsellers | USA Today Bestselling Books

Fiction

Funny Story by Emily Henry (Berkley; LJ starred review) tears up No. 1 on the NYT Hardcover Fiction Bestsellers list and on the USA Today Bestselling Books list.

Extinction by Douglas Preston (Forge) kills No. 9 on the NYT Hardcover Fiction Bestsellers list.

The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl (Random) travels to No. 10 on the NYT Hardcover Fiction Bestsellers list.

Lost Birds by Anne Hillerman (Harper) finds No. 15 on the NYT Hardcover Fiction Bestsellers list.

Nonfiction

Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench and Brendan O’Hea (St. Martin’s; LJ starred review) performs at No. 5 on the NYT Hardcover Nonfiction Bestsellers list.

The Algebra of Wealth: A Simple Formula for Financial Security by Scott Galloway (Portfolio) banks No. 5 on the USA Today Bestselling Books list.

Love Life: How To Raise Your Standards, Find Your Person, and Live Happily (No Matter What) by Matthew Hussey (Harper) reaches No. 12 on the USA Today Bestselling Books list.

The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing by Adam Moss (Penguin Pr.) hits No. 13 on the NYT Hardcover Nonfiction Bestsellers list.

Burnout Immunity: How Emotional Intelligence Can Help You Build Resilience and Heal Your Relationship with Work by Kandi Wiens (Harper Business) achieves No. 13 on the USA Today Bestselling Books list.

By the Time You Read This: The Space between Cheslie’s Smile and Mental Illness—Her Story in Her Own Words by Cheslie Kryst and April Simpkins (Forefront) comes out at No. 14 on the NYT Hardcover Nonfiction Bestsellers list, though some retailers report receiving bulk orders.

Reviews

Washington Post reviews The Birds That Audubon Missed: Discovery and Desire in the American Wilderness by Kenn Kaufman (Avid Reader/S. & S.): “His book is a must-read for birders curious about so much that lies hidden behind the names in our pastime; it illuminates the personalities, rivalries and shortcomings of the men (no women) of European ancestry (no others need apply) who set out to outdo one another and make a name for themselves by finding and naming birds—and why some birds were overlooked in the process.”

LitHub selects “5 Book Reviews You Need to Read This Week.”

Briefly Noted

“Normal Gossip podcast host Kelsey McKinney to publish new book on spilling the tea,” People reports. You Didn’t Hear This From Me: (Mostly) True Notes on Gossip is forthcoming from Grand Central in February 2025.

Publishers Weekly talks with Latasha Morrison, author of Brown Faces, White Spaces: Confronting Systemic Racism To Bring Healing and Restoration (WaterBrook).

Robert Kagan, author of Rebellion: How Antiliberalism Is Tearing America Apart—Again (Knopf), answers NYT’s “By the Book” questionnaire.

Washington Post highlights “10 noteworthy books for May.”

Time recommends “14 New Books You Should Read in May.”

The Guardian asks writers and readers about the books they enjoyed in April.

CrimeReads rounds up “crime novels with a sense of place and manners.”

NYT delves into the history of book challenges behind Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War.

CrimeReads has an appreciation of E.C.R. Lorac’s Golden Age mystery Death of an Author, which has just been reissued by Poisoned Pen.

Authors on Air

NPR’s Fresh Air interviews Erik Larson, author of The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War (Crown).

LitHub’s Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast talks to Leah Hunt-Hendrix and Astra Taylor, authors of Solidarity: The Past, Present, and Future of a World-Changing Idea (Pantheon; LJ starred review).

Shelf Awareness rounds up the schedule for this weekend’s Book TV on C-SPAN 2, featuring the National Black Writers Conference.

“The Colleen Hoover Cinematic Universe Is Expanding” with an adaptation of Verity, Vulture reports.

Shōgun director Jonathan Van Tulleken will adapt Andrew Michael Hurley’s 2016 novel The Loney for TV; Deadline has the news.

Timbaland will executive-produce a TV adaptation of Jared Gutstadt’s forthcoming graphic novel Neon Empire (Z2), according to Deadline.

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