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Awards & News

Scholastic reverses course on a controversial decision to separate books about race and gender at elementary book fairs. HuffPost reports. See Scholastic’s statement here. 

Tian Yi wins 4thWrite prize for her short story “The Good Son.” The Guardian has details. 

W. W. Norton will distribute Yale University Press and Harvard University Press books starting in 2025. Publishers Weekly reports. 

Reviews

NPR reviews Let Us Descend (Scribner; LJ starred review): “Ward’s writing about slavery doesn't add anything new to the discussion, but her unique mix of historical fiction, supernatural elements, and gorgeous prose helps her carve out a special place in literature that deals with the subject”; and The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year by Margaret Renkl (Spiegel & Grau): “Compared to the tone of her earlier collections of essays, Late Migrations and Graceland, there's an extra wistfulness in Renkl’s writing now. That’s not solely owing to what’s happening to the natural world.”

NYT reviews the audiobook for The Woman in Me by Britney Spears (Gallery): “By varying the rhythms of Spears’s staccato sentences, Williams telegraphs mirth, regret, pride and fear—all emotions that can be hard to breathe life into from print.” Plus, more reviews on the books page. 

Washington Post reviews Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind by Molly McGhee (Astra House): “Given its gripping plot and out-of-the-box conceit, it seems likely that a large readership—and hopefully Hollywood—will find its way to McGhee’s novel”; and A Memoir of My Former Self: A Life in Writing by Hilary Mantel (Holt; LJ starred review): “Whether engaging with RoboCop or the royal family, national identity or personal endeavor, Mantel impresses with her sharp wit, informed opinions and keen observations.”

Briefly Noted

Esquire talks with Tim O’Brien about his new book, America Fantastica (Mariner), for the Esquire Book Club. 

John Stamos talks about Bob Saget and his new memoir, If You Would Have Told Me (Holt), with USA Today. 

Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore talks about his memoir, Sonic Life (Doubleday), and what’s next, with Vogue. 

Laurent Bouzereau shares exclusive images and insight from his book, Spielberg: The First Ten Years, with USA Today.

T&C gives a progress update on George R.R. Martin’s forthcoming book, The Winds of Winter.

Claudia Acevedo-Quiñones, The Hurricane Book: A Lyric History (Rose Metal Pr.), answers ten questions at Poets&Writers. 

A clip of the audiobook for The Woman in Me by Britney Spears (Gallery), read by actor Michelle Williams, has gone viral, Buzzfeed writes.

The Verge highlights Junji Ito’s terrifying new short story collection, Mimi’s Tales of Terror, with Hirokatsu Kihara and Ichiro Nakayama (VIZ Media LLC). 

Michael Harriot, author of Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America (Dey Street), weighs in on whitewashing history, at Salon. 

Slate interviews Kristi Coulter, author of Exit Interview: The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career (MCD), about Amazon’s “deeply flawed” meritocracy. 

Ashley Herring Blake discusses her new book, Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date (Berkley), and sapphic representation, with Popsugar.

Popsugar has this year’s best new fantasy books and new historical fiction books. 

Tor has “5 Horror Books Featuring Ladies Who Kill.”

Authors on Air

NPR’s Fresh Air talks with Scott Eyman about his new book, Charlie Chaplin vs. America: When Art, Sex, and Politics Collided (S. & S.; LJ starred review).

NPR’s Main Character of the Day series spotlights Tan Twan Eng and his latest novel, The House of Doors (Bloomsbury).

A third Paddington film, based on the character created by Michael Bond, is in the works. T&C has the story.

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