A question that is turning us all into different kinds of readers—skeptical, antagonistic, and less willing to give our fellow humans the benefit of the doubt. Trying to figure out what AI writing looks like is turning writer and reader into adversaries. And I’m going to tell you why. - The Walrus
What if, like a thumb on the scales tipping debut novels toward more favourable outcomes, nonfiction’s bleaker fate was also a product of accumulated choices—choices about where the money goes and how the story of these books gets told? - The Walrus
“PEN recorded nearly 12,000 instances of book banning affecting 7,370 unique titles across 114 U.S. school districts during the 2025-26 academic year, a record high since PEN began tracking literary censorship in American public schools in 2021.” The “vast majority” of the bans were in Texas and Florida. - Publishers Weekly
A novel’s first line is saddled with an extraordinary responsibility: to not only establish a story’s start but also to impart with indelible effect the writer’s voice. - The Atlantic
"One crime bookshops have been getting away with for years is their blatant role in incentivising the creation of 'TBR' (to-be-read) piles." - Irish Times
"In an era when corporate publishers dominate a rapidly consolidating industry, New Directions has remained independent and continued its long tradition of seeking out and nurturing some of the world’s most seminal authors." - The New York Times
"In early scene in the new book involves a group of neo-Nazis at a house party. When she was writing it, few people believed the US would witness a resurgence of neo-nazism." - The Guardian (UK)
Simply generate "the raw fiber of old myths woven into new stories, processed through the internet, refined into audiobooks, ... which drive fans back to bookstores, where they can buy a keepsake hardcover" and, if they're lucky, "drink themed cocktails in ACOTAR-inspired ball gowns at midnight." - The Atlantic
"Publishers are now using LLMs like Claude and ChatGPT to email literary agents, write publicity and back-cover copy, design cover art, and generate marketing materials, often at the direction of their executives." - Wired
"While romance is basically keeping the whole publishing industry afloat at this point, the genre has historically been pitched to women and queer readers. Accordingly, some straight men feel shame about their interest." - LitHub
The font, called Michelangelus, is the result of a collaboration between Microsoft and the Fabbrica di San Pietro, the Vatican entity responsible for the preservation and upkeep of St. Peter’s Basilica. - Il Messagero (Italy) (in English)
Translation is Carson’s primary art form. One way to describe it is as the art of sustained metaphor: a word in one language is similar, but not identical, to a word in another language. - The New Yorker
