Happy Friday, y’all! I hope you don’t mind, but instead of sharing strictly news this week I’ve also included some book-related articles I absolutely loved; you can find them at the end of this post! There has been some wonderful reading on the internet this week – I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

The rumor mill started off with a bang this week as people in the comic book industry started speculating about a Marvel Comics takeover of DC Comics after DC let their CEO go. The crossover implications are incredible.

The week also started off with an exciting auction as the typewriters previously owned by Ernest Hemingway and Jack Kerouac were sold. I wonder who the lucky winners were (and how much they ended up spending for a piece of literary history)?

The former mayor of Baltimore, Catherine Pugh, has been sentenced to three years in prison for a children’s book scandal.

The literary world is starting to feel the impact of the coronavirus. The Bologna Book Fair has been pushed from March to May in an effort to avoid the virus.

Speaking of coronavirus, fans of Dean Koontz are starting to wonder if the author is psychic after he predicted a 2020 viral outbreak in a book written in 1981.

Edwidge Danticat became the first two-time winner of the Story Prize award for short fiction this week for her collection “Everything Inside” (she previously won in 2005 for “The Dew Breaker”).

The longlist for the International Booker Prize has been announced! The prize awards excellence in translated fiction from around the world.

The finalists for the Rathbones Folio Prize for the best literary work of the year have been announced

The 2020 Freedom to Read award will be presented to Ivan Coyote in celebration of their gifted storytelling and activism

Canadian icon Buffy Sainte Marie will be making her children’s book debut this year with a story that celebrates pet adoption.

Former Democratic Congresswoman Katie Hill has announced she will be writing a book that is “part memoir, part gender-equity battle plan” titled She Will Rise. It is set to be published this summer.

As someone who was raised on Beverly Cleary’s novels, I absolutely loved this essay celebrating Ramona Quimby.

In the week of Harvey Weinstein’s guilty verdict, I found this article on the emerging “post-traumatic novel” genre fascinating.

Clare Pooley, whose debut novel The Authenticity Project came out this month, wrote this wonderful essay on using writing to help treat addiction.

And finally, if you’re looking for cover inspiration or just need a splash of colour to help get you through this dreary, frozen winter, lithub presented their favourite covers of the month and they are beautiful

Staff Reads and Recommendations:
Joni Di Placido, Author Engagement Specialist

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