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
- Author J.D Barker Apologizes, Dropped by Agent After ‘Creepy’ BookTok Request (Publishers Weekly) I read this and my jaw dropped. How on earth could he and his PR firm (or maybe just the PR firm?) have thought this was acceptable behavior? Barker says he didn’t approve the PR firm’s request (but failed to mention he cofounded the firm.)
- In Major Win, Appeals Court Upholds Block on Texas Book Rating Law (Publishers Weekly)
- American Bookseller Association will close its headquarters and become a completely remote workplace. (ABA press release) They will donate their bookselling archives to Columbia University. (Shelf Awareness.)
- American Library Association announces 2024 Youth Media Award winners, including the Newbery, Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, and Prinz awards.
- Big Five Domination of Adult Bestseller Lists Slipped in 2023 (Publishers Weekly) Entangled’s release of Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing and Iron Flame had a lot to do with that, as did Sourcebook’s domination of the trade paperback bestseller lists.
- Spotify Reports “Exponential” Audiobook Growth (Publishers Weekly)
Hugo Awards controversy
Several prominent works were left off the 2023 Hugo Awards finalists lists due to “ineligibility” despite receiving enough votes to be included, most prominently Babel by R. F. Kuang, but also works by Xiran Jay Zhao, Neil Gaiman, and fan writer Paul Weimer. So far, the Hugo committee has not given a clear explanation. It’s worth noting that the Hugo winners are announced at WorldCon; 2023’s WorldCon was held in Chengdu, China, in 2023. Although the head of the Hugo committee denies they received any pressure, it seems likely that the affected authors (two of them born in China) may have been deemed unacceptable by the Chinese government for political reasons. For more, see the following articles and blog posts:
- Hugo Awards awards held in China under fire for excluding authors (The Guardian)
- What’s Up With Babel and the Hugos? (John Scalzi, on his blog) — well worth reading for his analysis and commentary on the implications
- Nothing About the Hugo Awards’ Inexplicable Exclusion of R. F. Kuang’s ‘Babel’ Makes Sense (The Mary Sue)
Worth Reading/Viewing
- Books and looks: gen Z is ‘rediscovering’ the public library (The Guardian)
- Do You Have ‘Bookshelf Wealth’? “A TikTok home-décor trend has irked some bibliophiles.” (New York Times; possible paywall)
- Re-evaluating Rabbie: the Scottish poets wrestling with Robert Burns’ legacy (The Guardian)
- How a reading list can shape — or hex — a year (Elisa Gabbert, Washington Post; possible paywall)
- A genre of swords and soulmates: the rise and rise of ‘romantasy’ novels (The Guardian)
Free Fiction Online
- “Shalom Aleichem” by Y. M. Resnik – I loved this one.
Book Lists
- 2024 Cozy Fantasy Books You Won’t Want To Miss (Book Riot) Just a heads-up, though: they are wrong about the date for A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping. It has slipped to September 10, 2024, rather than April as announced earlier.
- 24 Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books to Look Forward to in 2024 (Literary Hub)
- Lit Hub’s Most Anticipated Books of 2024 (Literary Hub) 230 books to keep your eye out for.
Bookish Quote
Sophia Rose
Always something going on. Thanks for keeping me in the know. 🙂
Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits
Some great bookish updates, as always! I’ve been really annoyed at the Hugo nonsense, but it does validate those who were worried in advance that it wouldn’t be possible to have an uncensored Hugo Awards in China. I also saw Mary Robinette Kowal’s recent post about it, and she, at least, is confident that this year’s Hugo (in Glasgow) will be more transparent.
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Lark_Bookwyrm
I certainly hope so. I hope we will see changes made to the rules/consitution governing the Hugo Awards process… at least to clarify that works may not be deemed ineligible without a clear and public accounting for why they are inevitable. At best, to clearly state that no work may be deemed ineligible that clearly meets the stated requirements. I also hope that the WSFS will think long and hard before allowing future WorldCons to take place in any country with a track record of squashing dissent or differing views. For instance, Kamapala is bidding for the 2028 WorldCon, but Uganda has has one of harshest anti-LGBTQ laws in the world. A number of authors and fans would probably refuse to attend on that account, either for their own safety or in solidarity with others who might be affected.