News & Notes is a weekly Saturday post featuring book- and publishing-related news, links to interesting articles and opinion pieces, and other cool stuff
Literary Losses
Patricia A. McKillip, World Fantasy Award-winning author of The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, the Riddle-Master of Hed trilogy, and more than 15 other books, died May 6, 2022, at the age of 74. McKillip’s hauntingly beautiful stories and luminous prose won her both critical acclaim and devoted readers.
I first read The Forgotten Beasts of Eld in my teens, a few years after its publication, and have never forgotten it. The Riddle-Master of Hed trilogy, though its tone is somewhat different, has for me the same unforgettable quality. (The former feels more like a fairytale, the latter is more of a character-driven quest story; both are high fantasy.) To my sorrow, I rather neglected McKillip’s subsequent books over the years, for reasons I can’t explain even to myself. I suppose the silver lining is that I still have quite a few Patricia McKillip books to look forward to reading: a very appropriate way to honor her life and work.
Obituaries and tributes: Tor.com; Shelf Awareness; Tachyon; Locus. Bibliography: Goodreads
Bookish News
- The Edgar Awards were announced on April 28, 2022 (Crime Reads). Among the winners were Five Decembers by James Kestrel (novel), Deer Season by Erin Flanagan (first novel by an American author), and Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley (YA novel.) At the awards ceremony, Laurie R. King was named a Grand Master for her body of work, including one of my all-time favorite mystery series, the Mary Russell series (aka the Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes series.)
- The 2022 Pulitzer Prize winners have been announced. (For books and literature, scroll down past the journalism awards.)
- An author explained why she plagiarized parts of her debut novel… in an essay that appears to have also been plagiarized. (Gawker)
- IBD IRL Returns for the First Time in Three Years (Shelf Awareness) IBD is Independent Bookstore Day, celebrated this year on Saturday, April 30.
Worth Reading/Viewing
- Upset by book bans, teen starts forbidden book club in small Pa. town (Washington Post)
- ‘Everywhere I stop bookshops are thriving’: novelist Jon McGregor tours his latest book by bike (The Guardian)
- The Purpose of Book Bans Is to Make Queer Kids Scared: Lev AC Rosen on Having His Book Banned, and the Repetition of History (Literary Hub)
- Harry Potter and the missing sketches: JK Rowling’s first drawings of boy wizard (The Guardian) The images will be printed in the upcoming British 25th anniversary edition.
- How Did Shakespeare Kill (And Heal) His Characters?: Kathryn Harkup on the Many Ways To Live and Die on the Elizabethan Stage (Literary Hub)
For Writers & Bloggers
- 20 Famous Writers on Being Rejected (Literary Hub)
Books, Movies, and TV
- Book Riot’s YA Ebook Deals of the Day: May 14, 2022. (Some of these may be on sale longer than today.)
- Book Riot’s Daily Deals: May 14, 2022, including titles by Agatha Christie, James Patterson, Matthew Sullivan, Stephanie Meyer, and P. Djèlí Clark. (Some of these may be on sale longer than today.)
Book Lists
- Beyond the fog of war: books to help us understand the invasion of Ukraine (Oliver Bullough, The Guardian)
- Mix It Up! 20 Must-Read Genre-Blending Historical Fiction Books (Book Riot) Do you like your historical fiction mixed with mystery, romance, fantasy, or sci-fi? Book Riot has suggestions. (Boy, do they! Some of these are terrific. The rest I just haven’t read yet.)
- 20 Must-Read YA Historical Fiction Books (Book Riot) 20 years ago, a list like this one would have focused on straight white protagonists and European and American history. And those books would have been good, those stories worth telling…but so many stories (and so many readers) would have been absent. So I was delighted to see the breadth of experiences, cultures, and time periods in this recent list from Book Riot. From 1880s Korea to late-18th-century Africa and Brasil, from 1950s Hungary to 2011’s Syrian Revolution, from the Punjab in 1705 to Jerusalem during the Third Crusade. World War II is still well-represented; there’s Code Name: Verity and The Book Thief, but also books about a young Black woman passing as white to become a WASP and Japanese-American teens in US internment camps. Check out the list — but don’t blame me when you add a bunch more books to your TBR list!
Bookish Quote
Lark
I’m so sad to hear that Patricia A. McKillip died! Her Riddle-Master of Hed series is such a favorite of mine. All her books are so lyrical and good. There’s no one else like her.
Lark recently posted…The Suite Spot by Trish Doller
Wendy
I love this newsy post. I don’t keep up with literary news, so this helps me. So sad about Patricia A. McKillip.
Wendy recently posted…Stacking the Shelves #41!
Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits
I saw the news about Patricia McKillip as well, and I also haven’t been keeping up with her work the way I wanted to. Well, I guess that means there’s more for me to read and enjoy now, though I do still feel guilty for not reading it while she was alive.
Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits recently posted…#Wyrd&Wonder ~ Top 5 Mascot Books