ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

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Preserving Nigeria’s History by Digitizing Its Newspapers

"A nonprofit startup called Archivi.ng is attempting to digitise every edition of every newspaper – 50 in all – published in Nigeria since 1 January 1960, the year of independence from Britain. The archive will launch its first tranche of documents in September." - The Guardian

When Pro Hockey, Romance Novels, And BookTok Collide

"The niche world of hockey romance novels is getting mainstream attention after the wife of an N.H.L. player criticized book fans who she said had made comments and videos on social media about her husband that were 'predatory and exploiting.'" - The New York Times

A Johnny Appleseed For Prison Libraries?

"Reginald Dwayne Betts is the founder of Freedom Reads, a nonprofit with a mission to 'transform access to literature in prisons' by opening handcrafted micro-libraries in as many carceral facilities as possible. … With its 13-person team, it aim to open upwards of 1,000 libraries in the next three years." - Fast Company

This Little Publisher In A Stone House In Yorkshire Issues Only Ten Books A Year — And Those Books Win Prizes

"The green front door leads straight into Kevin Duffy's living room, the nerve centre of Bluemoose books, his independent literary hit factory. It is at a cluttered table in the corner that Duffy has built a business with a success rate that billion-pound publishers regard with envy." - The Guardian

Is There A Literary Canon Today?

Despite all the claims made for it, the literary canon does not make you morally better, nor does it provide any special insight into non-literary academic fields, nor is it of any help in most practical matters. - 3 Quarks Daily

How To Determine Which/Whether Words Are Harmful?

When confronted with claims that term X causes harm to people with a given characteristic, or that term Y is the only way to describe them respectfully, a fair-minded person can reasonably respond, “What evidence suggests that this is true?” - The Atlantic

Book Statistics Site Shuts Down After Revelations It Used AI Trained On Copyrighted Work

The site, which analyzed word usage and provided statistics, did not have consent to use copyrighted works within its program. - Gizmodo

In This Rural Town, If Conservatives Can’t Ban Books From The Library, They’ll Shut It Down Altogether

In Dayton, WA, about halfway between Seattle and Boise, when the public library's board refused a demand to remove or sequester a list of books that's now grown past 100 titles, right-wing activists began working on a ballot measure to dissolve the public library system. - The Nation

It’s Official: Simon & Schuster Has Been Acquired By Capital Firm KKR

"In a move that some in the industry will welcome as putting at least a temporary stop to industry consolidation, the private investment firm KKR has reached an agreement with Paramount Global to acquire Simon & Schuster for $1.62 billion in an all-cash transaction." - Publishers Weekly

The Many Ways AI Will Upend Publishing

In publishing, too, the technology has the potential to reshape nearly every aspect of the work that goes into producing a book — even the act of writing itself. - The New York Times

The Republicans’ War On Libraries

Attempted book bans in libraries and public schools have proliferated in Republican states, complaints made on grounds of history, race, gender, LGBTQ+ rights and more. Attempts to ban titles by high-profile authors (Maya Angelou, Amanda Gorman, Art Spiegelman) have attracted national headlines. - The Guardian

Global Investment Firm KKR May Buy Simon And Schuster From Paramount

"The possibility that a private equity firm could buy Simon & Schuster has made some publishing executives nervous over the past three years, concerned it could lead to staff cuts and fewer book titles." - The New York Times

Asian American Writers Have A Conference Despite The Smithsonian’s Weaseling Out At The Last Minute

The Asian American Literary Collective got their "Ghosted World" conference together quickly after the Smithsonian canceled its huge and popular event. One organizer: "This is a healing. It is bittersweet. It is empowering." - NPR

What Joyce Carol Oates Owes To Oprah

We can't really say "feminism," but if it's feminist to start thinking of your mom as a person when she's 84 years old, then that's what Oprah did for JCO. - LitHub

The Existential Crisis Of Being A Writer And Parent To Kids Who Don’t Love Reading

A writer parent, tasked with teaching her kids in the early days of the pandemic, realizes it's not just that they don't love it - they're dyslexic. And so: "To try and salvage their enjoyment of literature, I divorced the notion of story from the printed word." - LitHub

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