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Oklahoma Supreme Court Blocks State’s Attempt To Ban Books From School Libraries

"The (justices) in a unanimous decision said (state) superintendent Ryan Walters and the Department of Education overstepped their authority in trying to force Edmond schools to ban two novels. Local school boards retain the discretion to decide which books are in a school’s library based on their community’s standards." - Oklahoma Watch

Giant Publisher Wiley Shuts 19 Scientific Journals — They Were Paper Mills

The journals that were withdrawn were all owned by Hindawi, a company Wiley bought in January 2021, that was later discovered to have a paper mill problem at some titles. - Chemistry World

“Reading Dies In Complexity” — Research Shows Online News Consumers Want Headlines To Be Simple

"Over 30,000 field experiments with The Washington Post and Upworthy showed that readers prefer simpler headlines (e.g., more common words and more readable writing) over more complex ones. A follow-up experiment showed that (they) paid more attention to, and processed more deeply, the simpler headlines compared to the complex headlines." - Science Advances

In The Absence Of Support By Publishers, UK Authors Are Doing Their Own PR

According to independent events planners, publicists and marketers, more and more authors are seeking out their services to augment the efforts of their publishers’ in-house staff. - The Guardian

Florida School Board Bans Book About Banning Books

In a 3-2 vote, the Indian River County School Board in Vero Beach overruled its own book-review committee to remove "Ban This Book" by Alan Gratz. One member described the children's novel as "teaching rebellion of school board authority"; another called it "just a liberal Marxist propaganda piece." - Tallahassee Democrat

Survey: Most Canadians Got Their Audiobooks For Free In 2023

A recent survey about the reading habits of Canadians conducted by BookNet Canada, which collects and analyzes data about the Canadian book industry, found that a majority of book readers and audiobook listeners in Canada acquired their books for free in 2023. - Publishers Weekly

With Author Events Staff Now Fired, Free Library Of Philadelphia’s Author Events Are “A Hot Mess”

The Free Library Foundation's management insisted that none of this season's remaining events were cancelled — and then, as authors have withdrawn, has quietly cancelled them. A few have gone ahead, but not smoothly. - Publishers Weekly

Latin-American Literature Doesn’t Really Exist

What I’m trying to say is that, if one thinks about it for a moment, it becomes clear that “Latin America” does not exist as a material reality. Much like the utopia of transnational friendship envisioned by the Mexican architects of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the region exists only in the imagination. - The Millions

U.S. Appeals Court Panel Orders Some Banned Books Be Returned To Texas Town’s Library

"The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel said in a 2-1 ruling that partially upheld a lower court's injunction that the library in the small town of Llano had infringed on defendants' First Amendment rights to information by removing some of the books." - Reuters

How Do We Define Banning Books Today?

The practice of censoring books has been around for centuries. But what does it actually mean to ban a book today? - NPR

Why Are Today’s Debut Novels Failing To Launch?

Almost everyone mentioned that debut fiction has become harder to launch. For writers, the stakes are do or die: A debut sets the bar for each of their subsequent books, so their debut advance and sales performance can follow them for the rest of their career. - Esquire

Today’s Students Haven’t Learned To Read Cursive. Is This A Problem?

Who else can’t read cursive? I asked the class. The answer: about two-thirds. And who can’t write it? Even more. What did they do about signatures? They had invented them by combining vestiges of whatever cursive instruction they may have had with creative squiggles and flourishes. - The Atlantic

Ursula Le Guin’s Family Is Turning Her House Into A Writer’s Residency

Writing in the same room as Ursula K. Le Guin’s rock collection? Yes please! - Seattle Times (AP)

The Books That Inspire Emma Donoghue

Donoghue doesn’t know why one story “about a risk-loving boy thief and the scary/seductive witch whose island he repeatedly sneaks on to” gripper her. But she remembers “the implicit lesson I learned from my mother: give those you love what they crave.” - The Guardian (UK)

Author Lorrie Moore On Her Mentally Ill Characters

“Understanding someone 100% is probably an illusion. And madness can be seen as a stand-in term for the parts you don’t comprehend. I think those who suffer from madness know they are not completely known.” - The Guardian (UK)

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