Earlier this morning, more than 100 journalists from twenty news outlets and seven press freedom groups sent an open letter to United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, urging the U.S. “to immediately cease sending weapons to Israel amid the Read more >
The Dayton Literary Peace Prize, which “honors writers whose work demonstrates the power of the written word to foster peace,” has today announced its 2024 book award finalists. The winners in each category will receive a $10,000 cash prize, and Read more >
A Christmas Carol MARLEY WAS SWEATY, LIKE SO SWEATY, to begin with. The Secret History The snow in the mountains was melting and Bunny had been dead for several weeks before we came to understand the gravity of our situation. Read more >
Today, the National Book Foundation announced the 2024/25 recipients of the National Teacher Fellowship, a program, only in its second year, “that supports and celebrates 6th-12th grade teachers using innovative methods to make reading for pleasure a part of their Read more >
Is Barack Obama the best-read President to ever hold the title of commander-in-chief? Signs point to probably. A week before his party formally convenes in Chicago to elect nominees—and conspicuously, five weeks before the proper end-of-summer—the people’s overachiever has published Read more >
My king, Richard Brody, has released his semi-annual favorite films of the year list. Which means it’s as good a time as any for this reporter to do the same. Listing favorite movies inclined me to think in wine pairing Read more >
It’s another Tuesday, and I bring tidings of new books to consider! As we weather the start of a month of some extreme weather in America—wildfires on one coast, a hurricane and tropical storm on another—it may just be the Read more >
The winners of the 2024 Hugo Awards—one of science fiction and fantasy’s most prestigious awards, decided by the popular vote of WorldCon members—were presented this weekend at the 82nd WorldCon in Glasgow, Scotland. A hearty congratulations to all of the Read more >
It’s a bad time to be a spicy book in a school library in America, or at least in Republican-controlled states. Last week, government officials in Utah and Iowa, having learned no lessons from Tipper Gore’s crusade against explicit language Read more >
I’ve been a part of many book clubs. The most successful one was the brain fruit of my most energetic friend. We met weekly, and she’d cook lavish multi-course meals inspired by the novels we chose. But the group lost Book Club movies.">Read more >
Governor Tim Walz, the K-Hive’s lately anointed candidate for America’s first vice-uncle, has been charming optimistic electoralists all week with his pleasure-to-have-in-class energy. Walz’s blithe bona fides stand out in a party whose best-known leaders tend to be millionaires with Read more >
A group of poet laureates across the United States were awarded $50,000 each from The Academy of American Poets as part of The Academy’s Fellowship Prize. The group represents a diverse body, and the funding will go towards unique projects Read more >
Maybe you’ve experienced this before: you’re reading, and starting to realize that this book is not for you. Whether it’s the bad characters, the bad plotting, or the plain old bad writing, you’re getting ready to close this book for Read more >
August is upon us! It’s been quite a summer already, filled with heat waves, international political chaos, wildfires, and more. Still, as I always say, there’s one constant you can feel some comfort with: that there will be new books Read more >
The inaugural Inside Prize has named its first recipient—the author Imani Perry. The new book award is “a collaborative project of Freedom Reads, the National Book Foundation, Center for Justice Innovation and Dallas bookstore owner Lori Feathers.” And in a Read more >
James Baldwin would have turned a hundred years old today. There are far more than a hundred reasons to celebrate the man. A brilliant, complicated author and one of our most fearsome public intellectuals, he left cultural fingerprints everywhere. And Read more >
I knew the Olympics had begun when my phone started buzzing. Big events like the Games currently underway in Paris are like embers drifting on the wind, igniting thousands of group chats across the globe. Much as Ancient Roman oracles Read more >
Distinct among the literary prizes for its emphasis on debuts, the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize has been recognizing “exciting emerging voices in contemporary fiction” since 2006. This year, a panel of readers and judges selected a longlist of Read more >
August, astonishingly, approaches already. But if time feels like it’s moving too quickly, I have a bit of a blast from the past (and future) for you: twenty-seven books being released in paperback this August (and one from July, accidentally Read more >
Here it is: the 2024 Booker Prize longlist, heavy on previously nominated authors and featuring new voices, including the first Native American and Dutch authors. Edmund de Waal, the head of the judging committee, described the list of 13 novels Read more >
