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Awards & News

Blackstone inks a deal to publish Michael Crichton’s first series of novels written under the pseudonym John Lange. The eight books “comprise unconnected tales of fiction in numerous genres and will be shopped to studios and streamers for potential film/television adaptations.” Deadline has the story.

Farzana Doctor wins the 2023 Freedom to Read Award. CBC has coverage.

The Root launches the crowdsourced It’s Lit Awards, “a celebration of some of the most outstanding books by Black authors over the past year.” Vote for your favorites here. Winners will be announced February 28. 

The 2022 Zsoldos Péter Award finalists are announced. 

The publisher Clarkesworld halts pitches after being inundated with AI-generated stories. The Guardian reports. 

Publishers Weekly reports on developments in the closely watched Internet Archive copyright case.

"Unionized HarperCollins Employees Are Back to Work After a 3-Month Strike." NYT reports. 

Reviews

The Washington Post reviews The American Way: A True Story of Nazi Escape, Superman, and Marilyn Monroe by Helene Stapinski & Bonnie Siegler (S. & S.; LJ starred review): "Monroe worked miracles on-screen. It’s a uniquely American miracle, born of luck, grit, opportunity and coincidence, that Jules Schulback survived to witness for himself." And, Rikers: An Oral History by Reuven Blau and Graham Rayman (Random): "If you have any association with Rikers, you know not only the stories you’ve been told, but also the secrets of friends and family that you will never speak. This book is those secrets."

NYT pairs reviews of Win Every Argument: The Art of Debating, Persuading, and Public Speaking by Mehdi Hasan (Holt), and Say the Right Thing by Kenji Yoshino and David Glasgow (Atria), two books which "offer different approaches to talking to others."

LA Times reviews Every Man a King by Walter Mosley (Mulholland; LJ starred review): “is an entertaining but muddled extension of the themes that have inspired Mosley and delighted his legion of fans for years. There could be much to look forward to in future adventures as Joe King Oliver leads this engaging quintet of familiar and new players and side men.”

Datebook reviews Users by Colin Winnette (Soft Skull): “Silicon Valley, whose products and services offer consumers an almost oppressive amount of choice, is the aptly chosen backdrop for San Francisco author Colin Winnette’s Users, a perceptive, subtly moving novel about a frazzled tech worker facing a barely manageable set of problems.”

Briefly Noted

Library Reads and LJ offer read-alikes for I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai (Viking; LJ starred review), the top holds title of the week. Makkai talks to LA Times about her latest novel and going down the “true-crime rabbit hole.” Plus, Slate talks to Makkai about "how the #MeToo years impacted a large portion of her new book."

Vox talks with Renata Cherlise, Black Archives: A Photographic Celebration of Black Life (Ten Speed Pr.), about the "beauty, style, and magic of ordinary, everyday Black life."

Asale Angel-Ajani discusses her new novel, A Country You Can Leave (MCD), and “how race and class seep into the daily existence of this mother-daughter relationship,” with Shondaland. 

ElectricLit highlights Jac Jemc’s new novel, Empty Theatre: A Novel: or The Lives of King Ludwig II of Bavaria and Empress Sisi of Austria (Queen of Hungary), Cousins, in Their Pursuit of Connection and Beauty... (MCD), and has a Q&A with the author. Jemc also talks with Esquire about “Ludwig and Elisabeth’s queer credentials, the stranger-than-fiction absurdities of their lives, and the small mercies of an alternative ending.”

Erica Berry discusses her new essay collection, Wolfish: Wolf, Self, and the Stories We Tell About Fear (Flatiron; LJ starred review), with The Rumpus.

LJ's Barbara Hoffert has new prepub alerts for mystery and current interest nonfiction.  

BookRiot offers a reading pathway for author Sarah Beth Durst. Plus, suggestions for romance novels for fans of rom-com movies. 

Tor shares an excerpt from The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty (Harper Voyager), due out next week. 

The Atlantic argues: "Roald Dahl can never be made nice."

NYT highlights 8 newly published books. 

EW suggests 5 romance novels for winter. 

Vulture shares 6 new books to read in February and 6 audiobooks to listen to this month. 

NPR’s Picture Show highlights the shared experience of listening to audiobooks.

LitHub explores the cultural history of slime in books and film. 

CrimeReads suggests 5 cozy mysteries about characters starting over. 

Authors on Air

NPR’s Fresh Air speaks with physician Farzon A Nahvi, author of Code Gray: Death, Life, and Uncertainty in the ER (S. & S.), about life in the ER during the early months of the pandemic. 

NPR’s All Things Considered talks with Jean D'Amérique about his book, A Sun to Be Sewn, trans. by Thierry Kehou (Other Pr.), which is “his testimony to Port au Prince.” 

USA Today explains the controversy around J.K. Rowling’s new podcast. 

NPR’s It’s Been A Minute talks with Ross Gay, Inciting, Joy (Algonquin), about “complexity of joy, the beauty of grace and creating meaning in life.”

The Beyond the Page: The Best of the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference podcast talks with editor Louise Dennys about her legendary career.

Roger Cohen discusses his new book, An Affirming Flame: Meditations on Life and Politics, on the Keen On podcast. 

The Island by Adrian McKinty (Little, Brown) will be adapted as a TV series. Deadline reports. 

Senator Bernie Sanders, It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism, written with John Nichols (Crown), will be on with Drew Barrymore tomorrow. 

Goldie Taylor, The Love You Save: A Memoir (Hanover Square Press; LJ starred review), will appear on The View tomorrow. 

Isabel Wilkerson, author of Caste (Young Adult Edition) (Delacorte), will visit with Stephen Colbert tomorrow. 

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