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Awards & Buzzy Book News

Kedrick Brown wins the 2021 Analog Award for Emerging Black Voices. Locus reports.

The 2022 Prometheus Hall of Fame Award Finalists are announced.

The National Coalition Against Censorship condemns political attacks against books in school. Publishers Weekly shares this story.

NYT covers a discussion of the self-censorship of writers during a PEN America event.

The Atlantic has a feature on book banning in Texas.

Page to Screen

December 10:

The Expanse, based on the book series by James S. A. Corey. Prime Video. Reviews | Trailer

The Hating Game, based on the book by Sally Thorne. Vertical Entertainment. No reviews | Trailer

Last and First Men, based on the book by Olaf Stapledon. VOM. Reviews | Trailer

December 13:

The Larkins, based on the book The Darling Buds of May by H. E. Bates. Acorn TV. No reviews | Trailer

December 15:

Minamata, based on the book by Aileen Mioko Smith and Eugene Smith. Samuel Goldwyn Films. Reviews | Trailer

December 16:

Aggretsuko, based on associated titles. Netflix. Reviews | Trailer

Close to Me, based on the book by Amanda Reynolds. Sundance Now/AMC+. No reviews | Trailer

Station Eleven, based on the book by Emily St. John Mandel. HBO Max. No reviews | Trailer

Reviews

The Washington Post reviews Say Their Names: How Black Lives Came to Matter in America by Curtis Bunn (Grand Central: Hachette): "And although it bills itself as recounting “How Black Lives Came to Matter in America,” it is much more than that, given its chapters on how the coronavirus wreaked havoc on Black communities, how the history of modern-day policing is inseparable from the history of slave patrols, Black organizing dating to the 1940s and broader issues such as income inequality. Perhaps that is the point. All of these things are connected to America’s summer of racial reckoning." Also, A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth by Henry Gee (St. Martin's): "Gee’s grand tour enthusiastically details the narrative underlying life’s erratic and often whimsical exploration of biological form and function. En route we encounter some of the oddities and peculiarities that this process — guided by a blend of chance and evolutionary election — has thrown up." Plus, Looking for the Good War: American Amnesia and the Violent Pursuit of Happiness by Elizabeth D Samet (Farrar): "Samet is a fine writer with a gift for powerful arguments articulated in elegant prose. Her mission is to confront her compatriots with painful truths about our capacity to romanticize the wars in our history, and especially the one often referred to as “the good war” — World War II." And, several more reviews posted this morning.

The Seattle Times reviews Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult (Ballantine): “Picoult abandons her usual stylistic tricks — except for one big one — and it makes for a satisfying and thought-provoking narrative of a woman whose entire ecosystem has shifted.”

Book Marks shares "The Best Reviewed Books of 2021: Essay Collections."

Briefly Noted

The Rumpus has an interview with Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, author of Between Certain Death and a Possible Future: Queer Writing on Growing Up with the AIDS Crisis (Arsenal Pulp: Consortium) about “a generational story not being told.”

Andy Cohen talks with his mother, who inspired his newest Glitter Every Day: 365 Quotes from Women I Love (Holt), about their close relationship and how his coming out made them even closer. 

Sharon Gless, Apparently There Were Complaints (S. & S), gives a “hilarious glimpse into Hollywood life” with Shondaland.

Lee Lai, author of Stone Fruit (W. W. Norton), discusses “the transformative joy of a good breakup” for Electric Lit. 

Charlie Jane Anders, Even Greater Mistakes (Tor: Macmillan), speaks about “trans speculative fiction and rethinking ‘hope’” in an interview with Autostraddle. 

Judith Butler will be publishing a new non-academic title Who's Afraid of Gender? with FSG, according to Lit Hub.

Design to Live: Everyday Inventions From a Refugee Camp by Azra Aksamiji (MIT) is featured by NPR’s Book of the Day as “a testament to the human spirit.”

The Millions features A Year in Reading with Claire Luchette, Agatha of Little Neon (FSG), and also, with Aja Gabel, The Ensemble (Riverhead).

Vanity Fair covers “The Second Coming of Octavia E. Butler.”

Fox News has “8 surprising revelations” from Karen Grassle’s Bright Lights, Prairie Dust: Reflections on Life, Loss, and Love from Little House’s Ma (She Writes: Ingram).

Early World releases the “GalleyChat Roundup for December 2021.”

Good Morning America has compiled their book club picks for the holiday season.

Tor.com gives “Six SFF Works to Brighten Gloomy Days” and alternately, “Five Extremely Pessimistic SF Classics.”

Book Riot provides “20 Must-Read Queer Holiday Romances for Hallmark Movie Lovers” and “10 of the Best Book About Kwanzaa to Read This Holiday Season.”

Bustle shares “The Best Enemies-To-Lovers Books to Read Now.”

NYPL blog has “39 Mental Wellness Must Reads.”

Vox lists “The books that made us think and act differently this year.”

CrimeReads has “7 authors who write wrongful convictions," "11 Unexpected Thrillers About Female Rage," and "The Best True Crime Books of 2021."

CBC provides “18 books for the crime and thriller lover on your holiday shopping list.”

NPR shares “5 favorite art books of 2021.”

Popsugar inspires readers with 13 coffee table books.

NYT lists “Best Art Books of 2021” and gives weekly recommendations with 12 titles.

Star Tribune gives “50 essential books for 2021.”

The Guardian provides “The best books of 2021.”

USA Today shares 17 books with four-star reviews for their best books of 2021.

Slate has “The Best Books of 2021.”

AARP shares “11 Top Authors Pick the Best Books of the Year.”

Chicago Tribune Biblioracle has 5 picks for best memoir and biography for 2021.

Vogue provides “13 Books for Every Hard-to-Please Person on Your List.”

Entertainment Weekly lists “The best comics from November,” a “guide to the biggest and buzziest books of 2021,” and “10 best books of the 2021.”

Authors on Air

Stephen Graham Jones, The Only Good Indians (Gallery/Saga: S. & S.; LJ starred review), talks about “the archetypes of a slasher narrative” on The Marvis Review podcast.

Jay Parini, author of Borges and Me: An Encounter (Doubleday: Random House; LJ starred review), speaks to Andrew Keen about “his encounter with Jorge Luis Borges” on the Keen On podcast.

Radio Open Source podcast interviews David Wengrow, co-author of The Dawn of Everything with David Graeber (Farrar; LJ starred review), about "imagining alternatives to our current systems."

Edgar Allan Poe’s "The Fall of the House of Usher" adaptation will star Mark Hamill, Mary McDonnell and other known names. Tor.com has more. The Hollywood Reporter also covers this story.

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