After losing South African treasure Elsa Joubert last week, we said goodbye to two more literary legends, including the father of Chicano literature Rudolfo Anaya, and Charles Webb, the man who gave us The Graduate.
Queenie author Candice Carty-Williams became the first Black author to win Book of the Year at the British Book Awards, and Girl, Woman, Other author Bernadine Evaristo also scored an award. Here’s what Carty-Williams had to say about her win.
On that note, The New York Times published a collection of interviews with Black authors, agents, editors and booksellers on what it means to Black in publishing. A collaborative research report on the industry, titled “Rethinking ‘Diversity’ in Publishing,” (PDF) was also released this week, featuring a foreword by Evaristo.
John Bolton’s hotly debated memoir sold over 780,000 copies in its first week, and another Trump book is on the way: a New York court gave Simon & Schuster the green light to publish President Trump’s niece Mary L. Trump’s tell-all book, set to release this month.
A previously unpublished, unfinished story from Little Women author Louisa May Alcott was released this week, and it looks like we may not have to wait much longer for the next Game of Thrones book. More good news: Lucasfilm just announced a huge publishing deal to produce a series of novels, storybooks, comics and more, based on the wildly popular Star Wars spin-off, The Mandalorian.
We have two new additions to our “Conversations with…” YouTube series, a series of conversations with Catalyst authors, friends, and partners. This week, our publisher Jessica Powers is in conversation with A Road Called Down on Both Sides author Caroline Kurtz and Bunmi Emenanjo, founder of Atlas Book Club. And ICYMI: check out my conversation with Small Mercies author Bridget Krone last week.
On LitHub, Meghan Cox Gurdon recounts the ancient skill of oral storytelling and argues why we should be reading aloud more often. Also featured on LitHub this week: 10 quotes from Ta Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me. Coates’ book is one of many we list on our “Where to Begin” blog post, a reading and resource list in response to the death of George Floyd.
Looking for some title inspo? Here’s seven pan-African book groups disrupting the traditional book club. Or check out these 30 LGBTQIA science fiction and fantasy books, because let’s be real: Pride Month should last all year.
In more Catalyst news, Shaka Rising and King Shaka: Zulu Legend author Luke Molver is featured in the National Arts Festival’s awesome Afropolitan Comics digital exhibit, celebrating the African continent’s thriving comics industry. Check out Luke’s mention in New Frame’s exhibit coverage.
Loved the character but hated the story? Us too. Buzzfeed has you covered.Did someone say covers? LitHub’s Emily Temple picks her twelve favorite book covers from June. If some aesthetically-pleasing reading is just what the doctor ordered, check out Charles Owens’ visual history of real and mythical serpents, or get aquatic with the Cephalopod Atlas, a weirdly satisfying encyclopedia about octopus.
Finally, Washington Post with the headline we can all agree on. [Ed. Note: And, though she’s too modest to share, for a follow-up to this, check out SarahBelle’s article at World Literature Today on how one bookstore is responding to these new, browser-less times]
