Unhelpful incentives around academic publishing are blamed for record levels of retractions, the rise in predatory journals, which publish anything for a fee, and the emergence of AI-written studies and paper mills, which sell fake papers to unscrupulous researchers to submit to journals. - The Guardian
Does silence have its own language, I wonder? And if it does, what is it? Is it that of benumbed Russians, lost to resurrected, wooden Soviet propaganda – forever young, forever courageous, forever successful in replacing the grim realities of Dostoevsky’s world with a cheery ‘paradiZe’? - Eurozine
As for Dostoyevsky himself, there is something dark and dangerous, perhaps even depraved, about his work which makes him more relevant to contemporary readers than even Tolstoy, Gogol and Turgenev. - Unherd
Even when James was nominally assessing a particular work, he was in fact taking stock of its author’s more general bearing. In his determinedly novelistic hands, criticism becomes a human drama. His reviews are nothing so much as delightful character sketches. - Washington Post
What has been labeled the “bible of the racist right” has influenced American culture in a way only fiction can—by harnessing the force of storytelling to popularize ideas that have never been countenanced before. - The Atlantic
I’m currently in a WhatsApp group for ex-Unbound authors which is a bit like Alcoholics Anonymous: we introduce ourselves then tell our unique but familiar tale of missing money, obfuscating management and disgruntled readers. - The Critic
By claiming literary fiction to be trope-free, we can pretend that literary fiction is not a genre in its own right. If we admit that literary fiction is a genre subject to common devices and plots, then we start running out of legitimate reasons to keep popular fiction separate. - Commonweal
As a teacher of creative writing, I set out to understand what A.I. could do for students, but also what it might mean for writing itself. My conversations with A.I. showcased its seductive cocktail of affirmation, perceptiveness, solicitousness and duplicity — and brought home how complicated this new era will be. - The New York Times
The 30-hour limit won’t get you through titles like George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones or Brandon Sanderson’s The Way of Kings, for example. You could listen to two or three smaller novels instead, but if you want to re-listen to them in the future, you’ll have to sacrifice those hours again. - The Verge
“What has been labeled the ‘bible of the racist right’ has influenced American culture in a way only fiction can. … There is no exaggeration in saying that The Turner Diaries and books like it have played a part in spreading hateful ideas that now even influence government policy.” - The Atlantic (MSN)
“The annual $100,000 prize for fiction ended its 20-year partnership with lead sponsor Scotiabank earlier this year. At that time, Giller Foundation executive director Elana Rabinovitch did not comment on the financial effect the loss of the lead sponsor would have on the prize’s future.” - Quill & Quire
Since the 1970s, Allen has written several books of short stories and essays, as well as a memoir, Apropos of Nothing, published in 2020, but this is his first novel. What’s With Baum, to be released later this year by Swift Press, is about a middle-aged Jewish journalist-turned-novelist ‘consumed with anxiety about everything under the sun.” - The Guardian
It’s the latest outbreak of a recurring argument: the central government in Delhi (in Hindi-speaking north-central India) pushes for Hindi in place of the British colonizers’ tongue, while other states argue that with English, every region is on an equal footing and Hindi won’t crowd out their own languages. - Deutsche Welle
Because we’re social creatures, your recommendation page will pressure you to watch or participate in these trends, so you can feel caught up on the latest cultural references. - LitHub
“The law contains protections for school and local librarians and staff and is, notably, the first to guarantee writers and readers a right to sue for censorship, according to PEN America.” - Publishers Weekly
