The awards in question are the UK’s Polari Prizes, and the issue is the presence on the longlist for Polari Book of the Year of the novella Earth by John Boyne, who supports J.K. Rowling's controversial views on trans people and has described himself as a “fellow TERF” (trans-exclusionary radical feminist). - The Guardian
With the rise of AI writing tools, Wikipedia editors have had to deal with an onslaught of AI-generated content filled with false information and phony citations. - The Verge
As Anthropic argued, it now "faces hundreds of billions of dollars in potential damages liability at trial in four months" based on a class certification rushed at "warp speed" that involves "up to seven million potential claimants, whose works span a century of publishing history," each possibly triggering a $150,000 fine. - Ars Technica
"Sound can tell you a lot, and Seattle’s fiction podcast scene is using that powerful storytelling tool to keep audiences on the edge of their metaphorical seats during stories full of tension, passion, mystery, intimacy and more.” - Seattle Times
“With a steely command of omniscience, selective disclosure, irony, and other narrative devices, Spark re-creates in the relationship between author and reader the sadomasochistic partnership between the Almighty and his hopelessly wayward flock.” - The Atlantic
“Only 1,500 first-edition copies were printed. Since it's a children's book, many copies are battered and worn, with few still possessing their dust cover.” - CBC
“Unfortunately, the audience for book reviews is relatively low and we can no longer sustain the time it takes to plan, coordinate, write and edit reviews.” - Media Nation
In English, that is (oh, and Spanish as well). “Could the now dominant mythological and scientific ‘Metamorphosis’ eventually give way to the aptly unadorned and existentially suggestive ‘Transformation?’” - LitHub
“The consolidation of the English-language publishing industry in the 1980s and 90s gave its most successful writers a worldwide reach and a critical impact that no authors from other countries could aspire to.” But that very success might have changed things. - The Guardian (UK)
The imperialistic premise in this idea of literature as an egalitarian conversation between national traditions is blatant: as Milan Kundera remarked, what it took for a country to be awarded its own national literature – instead of being grouped into an ill-assorted umbrella term such as “Mitteleuropa” – was a colonial past. - The Guardian
The ban threatens people with prison time for selling or owning 25 works by authors such as Arundhati Roy, constitutional expert A.G. Noorani, and noted academicians Sumantra Bose, Christopher Snedden and Victoria Schofield. The central government claims the books propagate “false narratives” and “secessionism.” - AP
For most publishers, the grants are not generous enough to sustain an entire catalog, especially when compared to how tedious and time-consuming the application process is. The money matters because it puts more gas in a small team’s tank, but also it waves a green flag. - LitHub
“The National Association of Black Bookstores, a member-based nonprofit organization which aims to support and promote Black booksellers, announced its launch on Friday. Its mission, NAB2 said in the announcement, includes ‘promoting literacy, amplifying Black voices, and preserving Black culture.’” - Publishers Weekly
That’s what you are when you go on a book tour: merchandise. A traveling salesperson selling a book. But not just any book — it’s your book. - Robert Reich
A study led by McGill University researchers challenges the theory that language change over time requires new generations to replace older generations of speakers. - Phys
