It has been a big week for book news as the effects of the Coronavirus continue to hit the publishing industry. There were also some big moves in publishing house leadership and ownership, and an acquisition stirred so much controversy it caused a walk out. Don’t worry, though, it’s not all bad news.
The biggest news this week has been the cancellation of the London Book Fair. Reed Exhibitions announced on Wednesday that due to the escalation of the virus it would be cancelling the 2020 event.
After standing firm all week that the con would go on (despite vendors and fans alike bailing on the event), ReedPop has officially postponed Emerald City Comic Con due to coronavirus.
Not all conventions, fairs, and conferences are being cancelled, however. BookExpo and BookCon are both expected to proceed as planned; and the AWP is still moving forward with their event, although both writers and publishers are bailing on the event and the Execultive Co-director Diane Zinna resigned due to the decision to proceed.
Simon and Schuster’s parent company, Viacom, announced this week that they would be selling the publishing house, stating it is not a “core asset” for the video-based business.
The president and publisher of House of Anansi, Sarah MacLachan, will be leaving the press after sixteen years.
After it was announced that Grand Central Publishing had acquired Woody Allen’s memoir, employees of Hachette Book Group staged a walk-out both in protest of the acquisition, and in support of Allen’s son, Ronan Farrow, whose book Catch and Kill was published by GCP imprint Little, Brown last year. Farrow has since cut ties with the publisher.
UPDATE: Hachette has dropped Allen’s memoir
While many of us feel like the controversy surrounding the new novel My Dark Vanessa has settled,the situation is still too hot for Oprah, who is still reeling from the controversy of her last book club pick – My Dark Vanessa has officially been dropped as Oprah Book Club’s March pick.
A new Missouri bill aims to hold libraries and librarians responsible for children acquiring age-inappropriate material. If passed, librarians who defy the proposed “review board” could face misdemeanor charges, fines and even jail time.
That’s all of the bad news out of the way, let’s move onto some happier stories, shall we?
The break-out star of Disney’s Aladdin, Mena Massoud, will be publishing a vegan cookbook this fall.
A couple of big screen adaptations of childhood classics were announced this week!
First, Taika Waititi, fresh off his Oscar win for adapting Jojo Rabbit, will be at the helm for TWO adaptations of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I’m starting my vision board for Janelle Monae as Willy Wonka now.
Second, Lionsgate won what I can only imagine was a very competitive auction for the film rights to Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. No details about the adaptation have been released but I’m already excited.
The Audie Awards, which celebrate excellence in Audio Books, were this week with The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 taking home the big prize. You can find the full list of winners here:
The Longlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction has been announced, just in time for International Women’s Day this Sunday.
Finally, as a huge fan of procedural dramas I thoroughly enjoyed this list ranking the best 19 fictional writers turned detectives. For our crime/thriller writers out there, where would you fall on this list?
Have a great weekend everyone, and Happy International Women’s Day!
Staff Reads and Recommendations:
Rachel Wharton: Author Engagement Intern
“Becky Chambers’ newest novella, To Be Taught, If Fortunate follows four explorers on their mission to find a hospitable planet as a dying Earth becomes more and more inhabitable. I could not put it down. The amount of world building and character development that Chambers manages to fit into 161 pages is astounding, and is one of the many reasons why she’s my favourite science fiction author at the moment. “
Potential Book Bingo Squares: A Book with a Five-Word Title, A Work of Fiction by an LGBTQ+ author
