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
Julie Garwood
Julie Garwood, best-selling author of historical romance and contemporary romantic suspense, died June 8, 2023 at the age of 78. She began her writing career after her youngest child started school, writing two young adult novels (one under a pseudonym) before turning to adult romance. Her first adult novel, Gentle Warrior, was published in 1985; her latest, Grace Under Fire, came out in July 2022. In all, Garwood wrote 27 adult novels, of which 24 made the New York Times bestseller list.
Tributes poured in from romance readers when the news became public on June 12. Many recalled their favorite Garwood novel, with The Bride, Ransom, and For the Roses often mentioned.
I am embarrassed to admit that despite being a romance reader for the last 20 years or more, I haven’t read any of Garwood’s books (at least that I can recall.) After seeing all the praise for her books, I plan to read at least one this summer. Any suggestions where I should start?
Obituaries and tributes: Sarah at Smart Bitches Trashy Books has a moving tribute. Dignity Memorial has the obituary posted by Garwood’s family. Bibliography and Biography: Julie Garwood’s website; Goodreads; Wikipedia
Cormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy, Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist, died June 13, 2023, at his home in Santa Fe, NM. He was 89. McCarthy is best known for his post-apocalyptic novel The Road, which tells the story of a father and son making their way through a land devastated by some cataclysmic event; the novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 2007. His other works include Blood Meridian; All the Pretty Horses, which won the National Book Award; and No Country for Old Men, which began as a screenplay before evolving into a novel and was eventually adapted for the big screen in 2007. All The Pretty Horses and The Road were also turned into films.
McCarthy’s books were dark, often violent, and seldom featured women, but he gained praise for his prose from critics and fellow writers. His latest novels, a pair of novels called The Passenger and Stella Maris, came out in the fall of 2022.
Obituaries and tributes: The Guardian; New York Times; NPR. Bibliography and Biography: Goodreads; Wikipedia
Worth Reading/Viewing
- More Than A Children’s Story: The Velveteen Rabbit At 100 (Literary Hub) “Lisa Rowe Fraustino [writes] on the Enduring Relevance of Margery Williams’s Most Famous Book.” Interesting fact I never knew: the book was illustrated by Williams’s daughter, Pamela Bianco, an artist who was perhaps more famous than her mother during Williams’s lifetime.
- European Book Fairs Want American Literature (Publishers Weekly)
For Writers & Bloggers
Books, Movies, and TV
- Previously Unpublished Maurice Sendak Book Coming Next February (Publishers Weekly) The book is titled Ten Little Rabbits. A counting book, it “was originally created in 1970…for a fundraiser for Philadelphia’s Rosenbach Museum… It was printed in a very limited quantity and has until now remained in collection of the Maurice Sendak Foundation.”
- Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert withdraws new Russia-set novel from publication (The Guardian)
Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits
Interesting that European book fairs still want American literature. I’m personally much more interested in finding non-American lit, though I’m also doing a pretty poor job of reading non-US stuff so far this year. Need to work on that.
Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday ~ Most Anticipated Books of 2023 (part 2)
Lark_Bookwyrm
I have the same problem, especially because for the most part, I read within my comfort zone. I wish I were better about stepping outside of that.