If you do look closely at the history, biography, memoir, and general-nonfiction honors, a noticeable pattern emerges. The picks typically share a particular quality. - The Atlantic
The Wellcome Collection is ceding ownership of more than 2,000 documents, dating from the 15th to 19th centuries, bought from a Jain temple in present-day Pakistan in 1919. Now deeming the purchase of the manuscripts “unethical,” the museum is turning them over to the UK-based Institute of Jainology. - The Telegraph (UK) (Yahoo!)
“Roots” is a multi-generational story following the descendants of a man sold into slavery in the United States. It won the Pulitzer Prize and was adapted into a mini-series. There is a statue of Haley in East Knoxville. - WATE
“A once-stolen collection of letters written by the poet John Keats to his fiancée Fanny Brawne will be sold at Sotheby’s New York this June with an estimate of $1.5 million to $2.5 million. The group of eight letters … date from 1819 to 1820, a period when Keats was suffering from tuberculosis.” - Artnet
“In the UK, ‘sorry’ is not simply an apology, it's a cultural reflex – a five-letter pressure valve used to soften requests, smooth over awkwardness, fill conversational gaps and avoid the national horror of seeming rude. … For visitors, the puzzle is ... working out what ‘sorry’ actually means.” - BBC
One study found that the best predictor of whether someone could imitate a new accent was being able to execute a tongue-twister. A good ear for music and openness to new experiences also correlate with skill at accents. - BBC
“Some communities are lucky enough to have the political or cultural autonomy to protect their languages – think of Welsh or Māori – but many aren’t so fortunate. Some rue and rally; others resign themselves to decline.” - The Guardian (UK)
Uh, yes. "This feels a little bit like a you-problem. And by that, I mean you need to start treating yourself (and your writing) more carefully, and with a great deal more empathy and respect.” - LitHub
“Does having a novelist for a parent make it likely that a child will be inspired to follow? Or is it easier for children of writers to get published? I spoke to some novelists who have kept it in the family to find out.” - The Guardian (UK)
“While there are library bookmobiles and other bookstores housed in trucks, … Collins believes hers is the rare traveling bookstore. She wishes there were more, pointing out that there is little overhead and a lot of freedom to open and close at will.” - The New York Times
Some experts say Substack’s rise fits into a longer arc in publishing, one shaped by the early wave of self-publishing tools like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and Smashwords in the late aughts. Those platforms opened the door for self-published authors, but didn’t solve the marketing problem. - Fast Company
PEN America’s report released Thursday called “Facts & Fiction: Stories Stripped Away by Book Bans” found that 3,743 unique titles were removed from school libraries and classrooms between July 2024 and June 2025. This included 1,102 nonfiction titles. - The Hill
“PEN America analysed the 3,743 unique titles removed from school libraries and classrooms in the (2024-25) July to June period and found that over 1,100 or 29% were non-fiction, more than double the year prior. The most common theme in the banned non-fiction books was activism and social movements.” - The Guardian
“A publishing house is not meant to be a propaganda machine. It is a place where conflict, doubt and nuance can, and should, coexist. ... Grasset’s authors rarely agreed on much, but as the letter of protest we signed said, we have had — and still have — a common enemy: authoritarianism.” - The New York Times
