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What NEA Cuts Mean To Small Book Publishers

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

This Book Group Has Been Reading The Same Book For 12 Years

“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

Gearing Up For A Publishing ‘Hot Labor Summer’ With Another Publisher Unionizing

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

Not All SFF Fans Are Dealing Well With The Sudden Success Of Romantasy

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

Advice For Writers From A Bird Observer

"You are a writer, and like a chicken, require certain conditions.” - LitHub

Man Who Attacked Rushdie Gets A Twenty-Five Year Prison Sentence

“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

If You Ignore A Friend’s Self-Published Book, Are You The Jerk?

Yes: “Friends do things for each other all the time without needing to put on our critic’s caps. We attend concerts, go to gallery showings, poetry readings, plays, dance recitals, performance art displays. We are not critics in these instances, we are comrades.” - LitHub

Harvard Law School Bought A Copy Of The Magna Carta For $27. Turns Out It’s Real

British historians were able to verify the document’s true authenticity after an academic stumbled across the item while looking through Harvard Law School’s online archives. - CNN

Texas Proposes Law To Punich Bookstores For Selling “Unsafe” Books

Specifically, the bill, HB 1375, authored by state Rep. Nate Schatzline, R-Fort Worth, would hold bookstores legally liable for the "distribution, transmission, or display of harmful material to a minor." - WFAA

Is It Ethical To Buy Used Books?

Used-book stores or vintage-record shops, where hidden gems lurk like geodes waiting to be split open, play a role, too. Such venues don’t just preserve art; they bring enthusiasts together, spark conversations and cultivate new audiences. - The New York Times

Why We All Need To Study History

When students, and school boards, ask, Why history? What are we supposed to be getting out of this? the best answer is still that one word: judgment. We demand it of all professionals: doctors, lawyers, chefs, and quarterbacks. And we need it most in the profession of citizen.

Unknown Ian Fleming Story Is Published, And It’s Not About James Bond

“’The Shameful Dream’ … is a short story about a Londoner named Caffery Bone. Fleming’s protagonist is the literary editor of Our World, a periodical designed to bring power and social advancement to Lord Ower,’ its owner. … (It) appears in this week’s Strand Magazine along with another obscure work, … Graham Greene’s ‘Reading at Night.’” - AP

It Is, After All, The Library Of <i>Congress</i>: Lawmakers Push Back Against Trump Takeover

On Capitol Hill, Democrats said Tuesday they did not believe that Blanche was the acting librarian — and Republicans, who have repeatedly deferred to Trump even as he has wrested control of federal spending from authorities, indicated that they wanted to maintain their power around the library. - Washington Post

Authors Guild Sues DOGE And NEH For Cancelling Grants

“A class action lawsuit was filed Monday by the Authors Guild, along with independent scholars and writers, against the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and officials within the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for terminating millions in committed grants from Congressional funds.” - ARTnews

Audible To Use AI For Narrating And Translating Audiobooks (But Not All of Them)

“Today, Audible announced it would begin offering AI-powered narration to select publishers. AI translation services will launch in beta later this year.” CEO Bob Carrigan pointed out that only between two and five percent of all books are available in audio and that the company’s goal is to expand the audio content available. - Publishers Weekly

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