Supply Chain Concerns, Literary Prizes, and a Record Breaking Spider-Man: This Week in Book News

by | Sep 17, 2021 | Publishing News | 1 comment

Happy Friday, Writers!

If memory serves, this is our first roundup of September, and while it still rings true, I promise to save you my monthly “time is flying so fast” schtick.

I hope all the parents and students out there have had a peaceful transition to back-to-school, and I hope everyone is enjoying the sweet return of pumpkin spice season. I’ve already consumed a sickeningly large amount of that delicious fall-flavoured syrup and I still haven’t had enough.

As I mentioned off the top, it’s been a minute since our last roundup so let’s jump right into the news!

The book industry is starting to get a bit worried about supply chain disruptions.

The Book Biz Tries to Avoid Supply Chain Disruptions

A BISG webinar held in early July sought to draw attention to the growing challenges in the book industry’s supply chain. Panelists pointed to shortages of truck drivers and trailers, congestion at the ports, and escalating transportation costs as factors that, in the words of David Hetherington, Book International’s v-p of global business development, were putting more pressure on the supply chain than at any time he could remember.

Amazon and the Big Five are moving to dismiss the price fixing lawsuit.

Publishers, Amazon Move to Dismiss Booksellers’ Antitrust Suit

In separate motions this week, Amazon and the Big Five publishers asked a federal court to dismiss the latest iteration of a potential class-action price-fixing claim filed against them on behalf of indie booksellers. According to court filings, the booksellers’ Amended Complaint, which was filed in July, accuses Amazon and the publishers of illegal price discrimination under the Robinson-Patman Act.

Pearson Education is suing textbook service Chegg for copyright infringement.

Pearson Education Sues Chegg, Alleging ‘Massive’ Copyright Infringement

Pearson Education this week filed suit against textbook service Chegg for copyright infringement, alleging that Chegg’s popular subscription study service illegally appropriates Pearson’s end-of-chapter textbook questions. In a complaint filed September 13 in federal court in New Jersey, lawyers for Pearson said the scale of Chegg’s infringement was “staggering.”

Senators Warren and Schiff are condemning Amazon for promoting books filled with Covid misinformation.

Senator and congressman condemn Amazon for promoting anti-vaxxer books

American senator Elizabeth Warren has accused Amazon of “peddling misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines and treatments” through its search and bestseller algorithms, after the online retail giant pushed a book by an author the New York Times called “the most influential spreader of coronavirus misinformation online”.

The first major comic convention since the before times is set to make a comeback this October.

New York Comic Con Is Back

New York Comic Con is coming back after the Covid-19 pandemic forced a year’s hiatus. But the show, known for the eager, chaotic crowds that attend, will look very different in 2021. A new surge in Covid cases driven by the spread of the delta variant has forced renewed attention to health and safety protocols.

The first appearance of Spider-Man has sold for a record $3.6 million.

Spider-Man’s First Comic Brings $3.6 Million, Likely a Record

Spider-Man has just reached a new level of amazing. A copy of the Marvel hero’s first comic book appearance sold at Heritage Auctions on Thursday for $3.6 million. The comic book – Amazing Fantasy No. 15 from 1962, when it sold for 12 cents – was in near perfect condition.

There has been a lot of literary prize news recently so let’s just have a quick rundown of all of the long/shortlists that have been announced:

The Booker Prize shortlist has been revealed.

American writers Patricia Lockwood, Richard Powers and Maggie Shipstead make $86K Booker Prize shortlist | CBC Books

Three Americans – Patricia Lockwood, Richard Powers and Maggie Shipstead – are among the six titles shortlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize. The £50,000 ($28,474.25 Cdn) award annually recognizes the best original novel written in the English language and published in the U.K. In 2014, the prize expanded its eligibility to include international writers.

The Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist has been announced.

Miriam Toews, Omar El Akkad & Katherena Vermette among 12 authors longlisted for $100K Scotiabank Giller Prize | CBC Books

Miriam Toews, Omar El Akkad and Katherena Vermette are three of the 12 writers longlisted for the 2021 Scotiabank Giller Prize. The $100,000 award annually recognizes the best in Canadian fiction. Toews is being recognized for her novel Fight Night , El Akkad is nominated for his novel What Strange Paradise , while Vermette made the list for her novel The Strangers .

The National Book Awards longlist has been released.

2021 NBA Longlists Announced

The National Book Foundation has announced is announcing the 2021 National Book Award longlists. Five finalists in each of the five categories will be named on October 5, and the winner will be announced during the awards ceremony on November 17.

And last but not least, the finalists for the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction have been announced.

Jordan Abel & Ian Williams among five finalists for $60K Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction | CBC Books

Jordan Abel and Ian Williams are two of the five Canadian writers shortlisted for the 2021 Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction. The $60,000 prize is awarded annually to the best in Canadian nonfiction. It is the largest prize for nonfiction in Canada.

And speaking of literary prizes, here’s a helpful guide on literary prizes for our Canadian writers:

A guide to writing prizes for Canadians | CBC Books

A guide to writing prizes for Canadians | CBC Books Loaded Writing prizes and awards for unpublished fiction, nonfiction and poetry. CBC Books has rounded up a list of literary prizes Canadians are eligible to enter. Unless noted, prizes and entry fees are in Canadian dollars.

Author Salman Rushdie is the latest author to join Substack.

Salman Rushdie to Serialize New Novella on Substack

Salman Rushdie is the latest author to launch a newsletter on Substack, where he will publish fiction exclusive to the platform. Rushdie will serialize a new novella, The Seventh Wave, in his newsletter, Salman’s Sea of Stories -a nod to his 1990 novel Haroun and the Sea of Stories -in addition to releasing new short stories via the platform.

Top Chef’s Padma Lakshmi is releasing a children’s book.

Padma Lakshmi offers food for thought with her new children’s book

In Tomatoes for Neela, Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi teaches kids about the legacy we leave them, inside the kitchen and out. If Padma Lakshmi’s award-winning cookbooks are the main course, then her picture book Tomatoes for Neela is a perfect amuse-bouche to introduce little ones to the magic of cooking with seasonal ingredients.

New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard has started his own book club.

Why This Superstar Pitcher for the Mets Started a Book Club

‘I just think that’s what being a New Yorker is all about, being hungry for more,’ said Noah Syndergaard, an avid reader. At a private party this summer at Little Prince, a French restaurant in SoHo, New Yorkers danced under disco lights and lined up at the bar.

If you also devoured The Chair as soon as it was released on Netflix, you might also enjoy this close look at the books in the show.

Close Reading the Reads of The Chair

If, as Flannery O’Connor once said, a good story resists paraphrase, then The Chair is well on its way to earning such a distinction.

This is an interesting piece on why translators should be included on book covers.

Why translators should be named on book covers

ranslators are like ninjas. If you notice them, they’re no good.” This quote, attributed to Israeli author Etgar Keret, proliferates in memes, and who doesn’t love a pithy quote involving ninjas?

You know I love TikTok, and this article about how BookTok is selling backlist titles is fascinating.

How TikTok Makes Backlist Books into Bestsellers

In August 2016, Colleen Hoover’s It Ends with Us was published by Simon & Schuster’s Atria Books. By the end of its first month on the market, the novel had sold about 21,000 copies at outlets that report to NPD BookScan.

I really loved this piece on the benefits of using a real-life dictionary during the Online era.

Why Use a Dictionary in the Age of Internet Search?

Dictionaries reward you for paying attention, both to the things you consume and to your own curiosity. I can’t remember how old I was when I first learned the words denotation (the definition of a word) and connotation (the suggestion of a word).

Have a wonderful weekend!

Staff Pick

Why have just one staff pick, when you can have several! We recently asked the KWL Team what they were reading for Read A Book Day, and here’s what the team had to say.

1 Comment

  1. Ryan Petty
    Ryan Petty on September 18, 2021 at 9:32 AM

    This newsletter’s great. I look forward to receiving it.

    Reply

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