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
- $3.2 million worth of rare stolen books have been found under a house in rural Romania. (Literary Hub) The books were stolen back in 2017 by thieves who abseiled (rappelled) into a warehouse, according to The Guardian‘s report at the time of the theft.
- Author Rachel Caine has entered hospice, according to a statement on her Facebook page. Caine, the bestselling author of the Great Library and Stillhouse Lake series, has been battling cancer.
- The National Book Award longlists for Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry were announced. (National Book Foundation)
- Women Authors Cope with the Pandemic. (Publishers Weekly) Childcare responsibilities often fall more heavily on mothers, leaving them less time to write.
- Penguin Random House (PRH) Releases Workforce Report on Diversity. (Publishers Weekly) It’s not great, but it’s improving. A little.
Worth Reading/Viewing/Checking Out
(not all book-related)
- Surprising secrets of writers’ first book drafts (Hephzibah Anderson, BBC Culture)
- Moving Through Books and Books That Move Us: Caryl Pagel on Essays That Invite Reader Participation. (Literary Hub)
- How Bookstore Unions Are Stepping Up (Publishers Weekly)
- Fundraiser for Blackstone Audio Staff Who’ve Lost Everything in Fires. Blackstone’s headquarters in Ashland, Oregon, survived the Almeda Fire, but 10 employees lost their homes. Shelf Awareness has a link to Blackstone’s GoFundMe campaign to help their employees.
Bookish Quote
Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits
That’s a great quote! I love it.
I don’t even know what to think about the stolen rare books. I mean, I’m glad they were found, though I don’t understand why someone would steal them just to hide them. They seem like something you’d want to have a buyer for before committing to the theft.
I’d heard about Rachel Caine battling cancer on Twitter, but I hadn’t yet heard that she had decided to enter hospice. That’s sad news. I wish her all the best in these trying times. I’ve enjoyed her books a lot.