Iowa City is the place where contemporary English literature matters more than anywhere else on earth. The home of arguably the world’s most famous MFA program, Iowa City has authors’ plaques embedded in the sidewalk, over 100 literary readings per year, and roughly 1,000 writers in a community of 75,000. - Public Books
Says founder Jude Cook, “Excitement and energy around new and adventurous fiction is around female authors – and this is only right as a timely corrective. ... (Yet now) stories by new male authors are often overlooked, with a perception that the male voice is problematic.” - The Guardian
“Editor-in-chief and major shareholder James Harding set out his stall in the first issue under its new Tortoise ownership on Sunday, (saying) the paper was leaning into traditions of liberalism and editorial independence which date back to its foundation in 1791.” - Press Gazette (UK)
Independent bookstores and users on BookTok are expressing their frustration with Amazon while encouraging readers to stay off of the online shopping site and instead make the trek to their local bookstore for the day. - Fast Company
“Wikipedia is permitting information manipulation on its platform, including the rewriting of key, historical events and biographical information of current and previous American leaders, as well as other matters implicating the national security and the interests of the United States." - Washington Post
“The poems in Brontë’s Book of Rhymes were written in tiny script to fit on scraps of paper no larger than playing cards that were hand-stitched together with a carefully written contents page.” Now, everyone can read them. - The New York Times
Might it be time to reread The Masses? "2025 isn’t the first time our neighbors have delighted in violence against a minority, it’s not the first time censors have told us what we can and cannot read.” - LitHub
Zero humans believe that claim, of course. One bookstore owner: “I just rolled my eyes and thought, Of course they did. We can’t even have one day where it’s just us — Amazon has to swoop in.” - Vulture
No, she wasn’t “the first great woman novelist.” There were so many great ones before her - but somehow they’re missing in our general knowledge base. Hm, wonder why! - Happy Dancing
London printer John Dunton created the Athenian Gazette, or Casuistical Mercury as a broadsheet answering questions and providing topics for patrons to discuss at coffeehouses. The questions submitted were initially about science, law, or philosophy, but it took only a few weeks for readers to start asking about personal relationships. - Literary Hub
“Random House announced that it would publish a hardcover book in July combining the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, followed in November by a hardcover edition of the Federalist Papers. Both books include introductions by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham.” - AP
“According to the report, nearly half (46%) of U.K. adults say they struggle to focus on reading due to distractions around them. That figure rises to 55% among respondents ages 16-24 and 35-44, and to 52% for respondents ages 25-34. One in three adults revealed that they multitask while reading.” - Publishers Weekly
Beyond the masthead and issue date, no set typography has ever been allowed, maintaining a unique wordless space in magazine publishing where only an image connotes the idea. The absence of copy is arresting, the silent core of what the solely visual can communicate. - The Conversation
“What was until the 14th century the primary language of Scotland was, in the 2022 census, spoken by 2.5% of the population (up from 1.7% in 2011). Ever-greater numbers of people are learning the language in school or through apps …, but the shift to English is at an advanced stage.” - History Today
