News & Notes is a weekly Saturday post featuring book- and publishing-related news, links to interesting articles and opinion pieces, and other cool stuff
Bookish News
- Publishers Play the Pandemic Waiting Game when it comes to regional fairs and returning to their offices. (Publishers Weekly)
- Edinburgh book festival sets up online signings as it adapts to pandemic (The Guardian)
- Brooklyn Book Fest Goes Virtual for 2020 (Publishers Weekly)
- Back to life: literary museums [in Britain] are reopening amid uncertain future (The Guardian)
- Big Changes for [EPUB] Publishing in W3C (Publishers Weekly)
Worth Reading/Viewing/Checking Out
(not all book-related)
- The True Story of [Merriam-Webster’s] Backward Index. A short video on a pre-digital index of words spelled backwards. Why? Watch the video to find out!
- Robin Stevens: ‘We assume writing for adults is the pinnacle, but what book changed your life?’ (The Guardian) Stevens talks about her children’s mystery series, and inclusion and diversity in publishing and in books.
- The greatest literary groups in history (Matt Blake, Penguin) From the Bloomsbury Set to the Dill Pickle Club, the Inklings to the Algonquin Round Table, this list highlights literary groups and their famous members.
Movies, Shows, and Videos
- Rock Bottom Remainders released a music video in support of Binc. (Live Talks LA) The Rock Bottom Remainders is an all-author band whose members include well-known names like Stephen King, Amy Tan, Dave Barry, Mitch Albom, and Scott Turow. The song, “Don’t Stand By Me” is an adaptation of “Stand By Me” penned by Dave Barry, and features several guests appearances. You can view their video at the link. Binc is the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, which seeks to support booksellers through difficult times. I encourage you to donate.
Cool, Fun, and Awesome
- If pandemic stress is getting to you, Iceland has a solution: Scream into the wilderness at lookslikeyouneediceland.com. If you go to the site and wait long enough, you can hear other people scream, too. (Or sing nonsense songs. Or whatever.)
Lists
- 5 Contemporary Afro-Latinx Authors You Should Know (Book Riot)
- 8 Back-to-School Picture Books for Teaching Coronavirus Procedures (Book Riot) Two books about hand-washing, two about masks, and four you can use to illustrate the concept of social distancing. While the article’s author plans to use these in her in-person kindergarten class, online teachers and parents can adapt these lesson ideas as well. (NOTE: I am concerned about the safety of reopening schools at a time when case numbers in the US are soaring.)
- James Baldwin Books: A Reading Pathway of His Work (Book Riot)
- 28 J.R.R. Tolkien Quotes from his Books, Essays, and Letters (Book Riot) What I like about this quote collection is that it draws from the less-well-known books as well as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
- Black Excellence in Comics features three comics/graphic novels worth checking out. (Shelf Awareness)
