A Wattpad Imprint, Emily Bronte Poetry, and a Steinbeck Werewolf Novel: This Week in Book News

Happy weekend writers! We hope you’ve had a wonderful four-day work-week if you’re in Canada, or are gearing up for a long weekend if you’re in the US. We had a great live Q&A this week with Damon Courtney from Book Funnel. If you didn’t get a chance to tune in live, you can check it out here:

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Now onto this week’s publishing news:

Booktopia has acquired Brio Books.

Booktopia Expands Publishing Division

Booktopia Group., which runs Australia’s largest independent online bookstore, has acquired Brio Books. Brio Books began as a publishing services company in 2006 and has evolved into publishing mainstream fiction and nonfiction trade lists, as well as self-published books. Booktopia launched its publishing division in 2020 and has since published 50 titles under its book club and trade imprints.

Wattpad is launching a new adult commercial fiction imprint.

Wattpad Books Expands Publishing Portfolio with New Adult Commercial Fiction Imprint “W by Wattpad Books” – wattpad

Launching in Winter 2022, “W by Wattpad Books” will cater to contemporary fiction fans, debuting with five titles from some of the most exciting romance authors on Wattpad The first title from “W by Wattpad Books” will be Lockdown on London Lane, from The Kissing Booth author and Wattpad superstar Beth Reekles TORONTO – May 20, 2021 – After taking the publishing world by storm with some of the most exciting titles in YA, Wattpad Books today announced “W by Wattpad Books,” a new adult imprint to bring more internationally beloved Wattpad stories to bookshelves.

Roxanne Gay is launching her own imprint at Grove Atlantic.

Roxane Gay Starts Publishing Imprint With Grove Atlantic

Roxane Gay Books will focus on underrepresented fiction, nonfiction and memoir writers, with or without agents. Roxane Gay wears many hats – professor, editor, social commentator, advice columnist – but she is perhaps most widely known as a best-selling writer, whose books include the essay collection ” Bad Feminist” and a memoir, ” Hunger.”

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Eric Carle, the author of beloved children’s book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has died at 91.

Eric Carle, author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and other children’s favourites, dead at 91 | CBC News

Eric Carle, the beloved children’s author and illustrator whose classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar and other works gave millions of kids some of their earliest and most cherished literary memories, has died at age 91. Carle’s family says he died Sunday at his summer studio in Northampton, Mass., with family members at his side.

Dan Frank, the editor who worked with award winning authors Cormac McCarthy and Jill Lepore, passed away this week.

Dan Frank, revered editor at Pantheon Books, dead at 67

NEW YORK (AP) – Dan Frank, a revered and longtime editor at Pantheon Books who worked with such prize-winning authors as Cormac McCarthy, Oliver Sacks and Jill Lepore, died Monday at age 67. Frank had been Pantheon’s editorial director since…

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The booksellers at LA’s indie bookstore Skylight Books have unionized.

Booksellers at Skylight Books have unionized.

Booksellers at Los Angeles’s indie bookstore Skylight Books announced today that they have unionized. The Skylight Bookseller Union will be affiliated with the over-700,000-member Communications Workers of America Union. Wrote the Skylight Bookseller Union on Instagram, “The booksellers of Skylight Books have unionized!

The largest bookstore in Gaza was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike.

Gaza’s largest bookstore has been destroyed.

The largest bookstore in Gaza, the beloved Samir Mansour Bookshop, was destroyed on Tuesday by an Israeli airstrike. The shop, which was established in 2008, had thousands of books, including the largest collection of English literature in Gaza, and was also part of a publishing house that focused on Palestinian writers.

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Hugh Howley’s Self-Published Sci-Fi Competition is accepting submissions starting June 30.

The SPSFC begins! – Hugh Howey

Welcome to the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition! Or the spussfic, as we like to call it around here. What in the world is the SPSFC? It’s an opportunity to shine a great big laser beam on wonderful works of self-pubbed science fiction.

Gallery Books in launching the Books Like Us First Novel Contest.

Announcing the Books Like Us First Novel Contest from Gallery Books and Simon & Schuster

Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, is pleased to announce the launch of the BOOKS LIKE US First Novel Contest to facilitate accessibility to underrepresented writers and celebrate the diversity of readers across the United States.

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Last summer, Black owned book stores saw a surge in sales during the Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. NPR is checking in with several Black booksellers to see how things have changed a year later.

A Moment Or A Movement? Black Bookstore Owners On Business One Year Later

On the day George Floyd was murdered – Monday, May 25, 2020 – there weren’t any books exclusively tackling white privilege, anti-Blackness, or policing on the New York Times’ Best Sellers list. White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo was the only book to break through the week of May 31, but by June 21, almost 70% of the Times’ Best Seller list confronted race.

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A Canadian professor believes he’s discovered the first known book from Shakespeare’s library.

Canadian prof says he’s discovered the ‘1st known book from Shakespeare’s library’ | CBC Radio

A Canadian professor says he’s found the holy grail of Shakespeare scholarship – a book that belonged to the Bard himself. It’s generally agreed upon that William Shakespeare was well-read. The English playwright and poet’s works are rife with literary references and inspirations, many of which have been well documented by scholars.

Handwritten poems by Emily Bronte are heading to auction.

‘Priceless’ Brontë manuscripts could be lost to private buyer, warn experts

The Brontë Society is calling for immediate government intervention to prevent the “priceless” literary treasures of the Honresfield Library, which include a rare notebook of Emily Brontë’s poetry, from disappearing back into private hands at auction.

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John Steinbeck wrote a werewolf novel!?

Yes, Steinbeck Wrote a Werewolf Novel. Don’t Expect to Read It.

A scholar of American literature at Stanford says it’s worth publishing. The agents representing the Steinbeck estate strongly disagree. Nine years before John Steinbeck published his Pulitzer Prize-winning historical masterpiece, “The Grapes of Wrath,” he was working on a lighthearted detective novel featuring a werewolf.

Dan and Eugene Levy are publishing a Schitt’s Creek book.

Oh my god: A new Schitt’s Creek book from Dan and Eugene Levy is coming soon | CBC Comedy

Hot off their wins at the Canadian Screen Awards, the creators and stars of Schitt’s Creek have a big surprise for fans; a brand new tie-in coffee table book dedicated to the series. Coming this October from publisher Black Dog & Leventhal, the book is entitled Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: The Story of Schitt’s Creek.

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Billy Porter is releasing a memoir this fall.

Billy Porter Will Release Autobiography, UNPROTECTED, This Fall

Tony and Emmy winner Billy Porter made headlines last week when he revealed his HIV status. Now the star has announced that he will discuss it even more in a new autobiography. Unprotected will be released by Abrams Press on October 19, 2021.

Suzanne Simard’s new memoir is heading to the silver screen with Amy Adams attached to play the ecology professor.

Amy Adams to portray UBC forest researcher in movie based on memoir | CBC News

Hollywood actor Amy Adams is set to play a UBC ecology professor in an upcoming feature film based on the researcher’s new memoir. Suzanne Simard, a professor of forest ecology at the University of British Columbia, has dedicated her life work to her discovery that trees are indeed whispering to each other – communicating, not through the wind, but through the soil.

Have a wonderful weekend!

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Staff Pick

Rachel, Author Engagement Coordinator

“Jordan is a professional bridesmaid: part wedding planner, part confidante, all business. But when she meets her latest client, Abby, unexpected sparks fly. But nothing can happen, right? Abby is engaged to be married to Marcus. And Jordan’s professional reputation is on the line. Can Jordan get Abby to the alter? Or will their undeniable chemistry get in the way? If you are looking for an adorable romcom to kick off both your summer reading and Pride month, this is the book you’re looking for. It’s highly entertaining and filled with characters you’ll fall in love with.”