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
- The Hugo Awards were announced on August 1st, in an online ceremony because this year’s WorldCon, which was to be held in New Zealand, was held online instead. Arkady Martine’s debut novel, A Memory Called Empire, won Best Novel; Best Novella went to This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. The nominees in most categories were quite diverse, which is refreshing to see.
- ALA Announces 2021 Midwinter Meeting Will be Virtual Only (Publishers Weekly)
- [Penguin Random House] Won’t Return to Offices Until ‘It’s Safe and Practical’ (Publishers Weekly). Hachette Book Group employees will also continue to work from home.
- Sean Hannity removes ‘gobbledygook’ Latin motto from book cover (The Guardian) Moral: Don’t use Google Translate when accuracy matters.
- Sales, Earnings Down at HarperCollins in Fiscal 2020 (Publishers Weekly)
Worth Reading/Viewing/Checking Out
(not all book-related)
- The Covid novels are arriving. And they’ll be a warning to future generations. (Laura Spinney, The Guardian)
- Authors Don’t Owe You Books. (Book Riot) D. R. Baker discusses fandom and the entitled, toxic expectations some fans hold toward creators. It’s a nuanced article; neither fans nor authors are either demonized or lionized. But the important takeaway is embodied in the title: Authors don’t owe you books. (Nor, incidentally, do they owe you your favorite ship, or a promise that your favorite character will survive.)
- How Many Words Are There In The English Language? The answer is more complicated than you think. (Dictionary.com)
- Words we think we know, but can’t pronounce: the curse of the avid reader (Gabrielle Johnson, The Guardian)
- Robert Gray: You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Bookcase for this Summer’s Staycation (Shelf Awareness)
For Bloggers & Writers
- Three Tips To Help You Reach Your Writing Goal (Jessica Harden, the NaNoWriMo Blog)
- 5 Ways to Upcycle Your ARCs (Selina Falcon, Book Riot)
Lists
- 14 Books For a More Inclusive Look at American History (Book Riot)
- 23 Fun and Delightful Light Fantasy Novels (Book Riot)
Bookish Humor: 2020 as Nora Roberts Covers
Angela
Ha, love that bookish humor! It’s sad but true!
Loved the article on mispronouncing words – there are definitely words I don’t know how to pronounce but think I know how to in my head.
Lark
That 2020 as Nora Roberts Covers totally made me laugh! 😀
Lark recently posted…A little humor for the week…
Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits
LOL @ the 2020 as Nora Roberts covers! If only more people took that seriously… 🙁
I’m not ready for coronavirus fiction. I know this is important to document (as a warning for future generations if nothing else) but I’m not ready to read it.
And thanks for the writing & history links! I’m off to check those out.
Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits recently posted…Goodreads TBR Declutter #34