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New Environmental Canon, An LGBT+ Picture Book, and Women in Horror: This Week in Book News

by | Aug 27, 2021 | Publishing News | 2 comments

Happy Friday, writers! I hope everyone has had a wonderful couple of weeks and are managing to stay nice and cool during this extra warm summer. The humidity has been next level here in Toronto and I am extremely jealous of anyone who lives somewhere with “dry heat”.

We celebrated Romance Awareness Month this week by testing our romance history knowledge. Be sure to take our quiz and let us know how well you do!

Now let’s take a quick look at what’s been happening in the publishing world:

Hachette Book Group is acquiring Workman Publishing.

Hachette Book Group Will Acquire Workman Publishing for $240 Million

The biggest trade publishers continue to get larger: Hachette Book Group has entered into a “binding commitment” to acquire one of the industry’s largest and most distinct independent publishers, Workman Publishing. HBG, backed by its parent company, Lagardère, is paying $240 million for Workman, which had sales of $134 million last year.

Penguin Classics is launching an environmental imprint.

Penguin Classics launches ‘new canon’ of environmental literature

From Greta Thunberg to James Lovelock, publisher Penguin Classics has come up with a “new canon” of the environmental literature, which it believes has “changed the way we think and talk about the living Earth”.

Jonathan Mattingly, one of the officers responsible for the murder of Breonna Taylor, has returned his book advance after the distributor dropped his book.

Police Officer in Breonna Taylor Shooting Seeks New Book Publisher

A former Louisville, Ky., police officer involved in last year’s fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor has returned his book advance and is exploring his options, his former publisher, Post Hill Press LLC, said Wednesday. Jonathan Mattingly’s book, “The Fight for Truth: The Inside Story Behind the Breonna Taylor Tragedy,” has a contentious history.

A sudden price change for Amanda Gorman’s book shocked booksellers.

Gorman Book’s Price Hike Startles Booksellers

Viking Books, a division of Penguin Random House, delivered a shock to booksellers on Wednesday by raising the price for one of the most anticipated books of the coming holiday season. In an August 25 e-mail, the publisher informed booksellers that the forthcoming Amanda Gorman poetry collection, Call Us What We Carry, would go up in price by $5 per book, from $19.99 to $24.99.

Two members of PEN International have been murdered in Afghanistan.

Two members of PEN International have been murdered by the Taliban.

In a statement on Tuesday, PEN America called for the United States to act swiftly to offer protection to writers, journalists, and cultural figures in Afghanistan-as they face immediate danger from the Taliban, which is quickly overtaking the country.

An LGBTQ+ picture book has been published in Russia in an attempt to combat the country’s LGBT propaganda laws.

The picture book fighting back against Russia’s LGBT+ propaganda law

A month after a Hungarian bookshop chain was fined for selling a children’s story about a day in the life of a child with same-sex parents, the same picture book has been published in Russia – but with an “18+” label on it in deference to the country’s so-called “gay propaganda” law.

Four authors are working to bring more Afro Latinx books to kids.

Afro Latinx children’s books are still too rare. These four authors are trying to change that

Written by CNN Style Staff This feature is part of CNN Style’s new series Hyphenated, which explores the complex issue of identity among minorities in the United States. The personal statements by the authors below were edited by a member of the CNN Style team.

ARCs of popular novels are selling for thousands online.

Stephen King, J.K. Rowling and Others Whose ‘Not-for-Sale’ Books Are Fetching Thousands

“Not for sale,” reads the fine print on the back of an advance reader copy (ARC) of Sally Rooney’s forthcoming novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You, which days ago sold on eBay for $79.99 (with tote bag). Another advance copy sold earlier this summer for around $200-roughly 10 times what it costs to preorder the hardcover.

A library in Hamilton, Ontario recently celebrated a book was that returned 27 years after it’s due back date.

‘Welcome back home, lost one!’ Hamilton library celebrates return of book after 27 years | CBC News

The last time The Perennial Philosophy was seen at the HPL Terryberry branch, Bryan Adams’ Please Forgive Me was at the top of the charts in Canada and Jean Chrétien had just been elected prime minister for the first time.

A record label in Scotland is working on creating soundtracks for novels.

Writers’ notes: the record labels remixing novels into music

ast year, Taylor Swift’s album Evermore featured two prominent nods to literature: the Rebecca-inspired Tolerate It, and Happiness, a breakup song which references F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. After the news that Dolly Parton’s debut novel is to be released alongside her new album, it seems that fiction-inspired music is having its moment.

Paul McCartney’s upcoming book will reveal never-before-seen Beatles lyrics.

Paul McCartney to reveal unseen Beatles lyrics in new book

Paul McCartney will include the previously unseen lyrics to an unrecorded Beatles song in his forthcoming book The Lyrics. On Monday, the former Beatle revealed the 154 songs to feature in the book, which will be based on conversations McCartney had with the poet Paul Muldoon.

Huge news for Judy Blume fans: Forever is finally becoming an audiobook!

After 46 years, Judy Blume’s ‘Forever’ is becoming an audiobook

Judy Blume has been publishing books since 1969 (when her debut The One in the Middle Is a Green Kangaroo hit shelves) and she’s still creating new ways to delight her oldest fans and reign in new readers. EW is exclusively announcing that her cult classic YA novel Forever is getting an audiobook for the very first time.

Now for some fun pieces I’ve loved recently. First, an essay that argues that middle grade novels aren’t just for kids.

Why Adults Should Read Middle Grade Books

The TV show Ted Lasso was not at all on my radar until I started to hear about it everywhere – from friends, on social media, and even on my professional Slack network. I am not a sports person, but I do succumb to peer pressure when it comes to certain media, and like many I devoured the AppleTV show in a single weekend.

I really enjoyed this piece on the rise of Instagram in fiction.

The Uncomfortable Rise of the Instagram Novel

If it’s now widely believed that life spent tethered to a smartphone is inherently suspect, performative, or false, the physicality of our devices is comparatively underdiscussed. Behind every digital avatar, after all, is not only posture and hyperbole but an infinite number of taps, swipes, pinches, and strokes.

Even though horror as a genre is not for me (I scare far too easy for spooky books), I did love this piece on the influence that female writers have had on the genre.

From Mary Shelley to Carmen Maria Machado, women have profoundly shaped horror | Danielle Binks

ou probably know the story of Lord Byron’s house party at Villa Diodati – the one in which he challenged his guests to see who could write the scariest ghost story. Teenage Mary Shelley won his challenge on infamy, if not technicality, when she wrote Frankenstein.

Have a great weekend!

Staff Pick

Vanessa, KWL/Originals Content Coordinator

“A super suspenseful read and gives an in depth look into the struggles of motherhood. The Push was a good thriller that kept me on my toes.”

The Push

2 Comments

  1. Tracey Devlyn
    Tracey Devlyn on August 27, 2021 at 6:33 PM

    Thanks so much for putting together the weekly book news for us. They’re so helpful!

    Reply
    • kobowritinglife
      kobowritinglife on August 31, 2021 at 11:58 AM

      We’re so happy you enjoy them, Tracey! Thanks for reading!

      Reply

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