News & Notes is a weekly Saturday post featuring book- and publishing-related news, links to interesting articles and opinion pieces, and other cool stuff
Book News
- Foyles’ flagship building ‘sold for £45m’ (The Bookseller) The iconic flagship bookstore, located at 107 Charing Cross Road (where it moved in 2014, after 111 years at 84 Charing Cross Road), will continue to operate in the current location, paying rent to the building’s new owners.
- Publishers Win $34 Million in Counterfeit Textbook Suit (Publishers Weekly)
- Head Of Swedish Academy Steps Down Over Handling Of Sex Abuse Allegations (NPR) The Academy awards the Nobel Prize in Literature. Sara Danius’s resignation comes on the heels of several other members’ withdrawal from participation in the Academy, in protest over the same issue. Since membership in the Academy is for life, the recent moves may leave that body in a difficult position regarding future Nobel Prize nominations.
- The Man Booker International Prize Shortlist was announced this week. (Man Booker Prize)
Literary Losses
Jean Marzollo, children’s author best known for the I Spy series, died Tuesday, April 10, 2018, at the age of 75. In addition to penning over 150 children’s books, Marzollo eventually began illustrating her own books. She died at home of natural causes.
Obituaries and tributes: The Putnam County News; NPR; School Library Journal
Bibliography and Biography: Goodreads; Wikipedia; author’s website
Worth Reading/Viewing
- The Strange Magic of Libraries (Stuart Kells, The Paris Review)
- Nikki Giovanni’s Wonderful Poems Celebrating Libraries and Librarians (Brain Pickings)
- Beverly Cleary Writes the Books About Us (in honor of Cleary’s 102nd birthday!) (Katherine Willoughby, Book Riot)
- Neil Gaiman on Why We Read and What Books Do for the Human Experience (Brain Pickings) With loads of additional links to other authors’ thoughts on reading, books, and creativity.
- From Circe to Clinton: why powerful women are cast as witches (The Guardian) While this article is not really about books, it is chock-full of examples from books and movies.
- How to Prune Your Book Collection, According to Professional Book People (Lifehacker)
Upcoming Books, Movies, & TV
- The Harry Potter series is getting a 20th-anniversary makeover. Brian Selznick created the cover art for the 20th-anniversary paperback release. When placed side-by-side, the black-and-white covers create a single, long image. (The Leaky Cauldron; stories also on Pottermore and USA Today.)
- The Fall of Gondolin, ‘new’ JRR Tolkien book, to be published in 2018 — with cover art by Alan Lee. (The Guardian)
Detail from Alan Lee’s cover illustration for The Fall of Gondolin. Photograph: HarperCollins
Awesome Lists
- 11 Ridiculously Overdue Library Books (That Were Finally Returned) (Mental Floss)
- The Hands-Down Funniest Books for Kids, According to Authors (Brightly)
- Feline Good with Our Favorite Literary Cats (Gwen Glazer, New York Public Library
Just For Fun
Nottingham Post, 1930
In honor of National Library Week: These were the rules adopted by an English library in 1930. Remember, don’t lie to your librarian!
Bookish Quote
RO
As a person who practically lives at the Library, I love your focus. Mental Floss always has these really cool lists, and the overdue one is just as fun. The library sure has changed since 1930. Kids are in there sharing pictures via the computer, listening to music and doing very little reading these days. I shudder to think about the lies that librarians are told these days. (lol) Hugs…RO
RO recently posted…STREAKING AND SOME OTHER STUFF
Lark_Bookwyrm
It seemed appropriate to focus on libraries in this News & Notes, since National Library Week was just finishing up! I don’t know… I think kids are reading more than we think, though you’re right that they also use the library for other things.
Nicole
Interesting new take on the Harry Potter covers. I can’t decide if I like them or not…
Nicole recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday ~ Books Everyone I Expect Everyone To Have Read
Lark_Bookwyrm
I like them, but I’m not buying yet another set of HP books, especially in paperback. If I did get another set, it would probably be the Hufflepuff colors set, or the Ravenclaw set… but I already have the hardcovers with the Mary GrandPré jackets, and I’m buying the Jim Kay illustrated versions as they become available, and that’s probably enough shelf space to dedicate to them. 🙂