“Although the tongue called Proto-Indo-European hasn’t been used in 4,000 years, about half Earth’s inhabitants speak its more than 400 descendant languages. … The explosion of Proto-Indo-European from its origins in Eastern Ukraine … is, according to Spinney, ‘easily the most important event of the last five millennia in the Old World.’” - Slate (MSN)
While the authors may be real, the books don't actually exist. And the Chicago Sun-Times is being roasted online for publishing the AI-generated list. The paper initially couldn't explain how the piece was published. - CBC
I have about the same chance of publishing my work in The Paris Review as getting struck by lightning while being inaugurated as the Pope. But according to one Substack user Rhi, I should devote more time and energy to forcing my way into legacy print publications. - Metropolitan Review
I got this job the way I’ve gotten most of my jobs: through an acquaintance who heard I was looking for work. This is key to success in freelancing. You just need to build a roster of industry connections who know how desperate you are. - The Walrus
“Rural libraries in red states … know how to work with very little and maximize what they’ve got. But it’s that very resourcefulness that is making the cuts or freezes — depending on whom you ask — at the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services so challenging for these communities.” - Publishers Weekly
It’s also the first time the prize has gone to a book never published in its particular form in the original language. Translator Deepa Bhasthi selected 12 Kannada-language short stories written by Indian author Banu Mushtaq between 1990 and 2023 and published them as the collection Heart Lamp, this year's winner. - BBC
The language-app company Babbel commissioned research which found that use of the semicolon in books published in the UK fell by almost half during the last 20 years. However, Google Books Ngram Viewer indicates that semicolon usage fell by 45% between 2006 and 2017 and has since begun a notable rebound. - The Guardian
A democracy can’t function without a healthy publishing ecosystem. That means publishers of all sizes and stripes should be able to keep the lights on and pay their authors and staffs, libraries should be adequately funded and free of nefarious interference, copyright is respected, and publishers can publish without fear of reprisal. - Publishers Weekly
Shakespeare & Co. will transfer ownership of its last New York storefront, located on the Upper West Side, to Strand Book Store on June 1, marking the end of an era for the beloved bookseller. The Strand aims to reopen the space in early July as the Strand at Lincoln Center. - Publishers Weekly
Without the NEA, today’s most treasured literary organizations might not have survived their infancy as far back as the 1960s. Without these endowments, what holes will be torn in the fabric of American culture? - LA Review of Books
“We’re only reading one page at a time,” said Peter Quadrino, founder and organizer of the Finnegans Wake Reading Group of Austin, TX. Every other week, Quadrino hosts a Zoom call where people from around the world gather and attempt to understand one of the most infamous books in English literature. - Texas Standard
The organizers say that even before the votes are counted, “they’ve already noticed more camaraderie at Abrams, which is a rare medium-sized publisher with around 150 employees.” - LitHub
This might be a difference in purpose, but “whatever you think of the advent of romantasy onto the SFF scene, be assured that it isn’t a problem to be solved.” - Reactor
“Hadi Matar, the man who severely injured novelist Salman Rushdie in a 2022 stabbing attack, was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison — the maximum for attempted murder.” - NPR
