- 2023 May 24
Riddle Wins Canadian First Book Prize
The Griffin Poetry Prize has announced that Emily Riddle, author of 'The Big Melt,' is the winner of the 2023 Canadian First Book Prize, worth $10,000.
- 2023 May 23
Caffè Nero Launches U.K. Book Awards
Replacing, in some sense, the Costa prizes, which ended in 2022, the Neros will have four categories—children’s books, debut fiction, fiction, and nonfiction—plus an overall award, the £30,000 Nero Gold Prize.
- 2023 May 22
From BBC Culture
The 100 greatest children's books of all time, according to BBC Culture.
From BBC Culture
The BBC names Where the Wild Things Are the greatest children's book ever.
From the New York Times
Georgia Book Removals May Have Violated Students' Rights, Education Department Says.
From the Guardian
Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit story originated in African folktales, expert argues.
From the Bookseller
TikTok announces its own book awards in U.K. and Ireland.
From Time
American Born Chinese Reflects a New Era of Storytelling.
From the New York Times
Hank Green, Novelist and YouTube Star, Shares His Cancer Diagnosis.
From the de Grummond
Ellen Ruffin, Curator of the University of Southern Mississippi's de Grummond Children's Literature Collection, Announces Retirement.
From Ebony
Tiffany Hammond's A Day with No Words Shines Light on Autistic Families.
From Bangor Daily News
Maine's iconic 102-year-old 'lobster lady' inspires children's book.
From Book Riot
Children's Books About the Moon.
TikTok Launches U.K. Book Awards Program
The TikTok Book Awards will launch this year in the U.K. and Ireland, with a longlist curated based on BookTok data and publisher contributions and reviewed by a panel of judges, and the final winners decided by the TikTok community.
South Arts' New Literary Initiatives
Applications are now open for the Southern Prize and State Fellowship for Literary Arts, supporting writers across the Southeast region.
A New Bemelmans-Themed Sweepstakes
Pushkin Press, the publisher of new reissues of author and illustrator Ludwig Bemelmans's memoirs 'Hotel Splendide' and 'To the One I Love the Best,' has partnered with Rhode Island luxury hotel Ocean House on a sweepstakes to win a two-night stay in the hotel's new two-bedroom Bemelmans Suite, along with copies of the books.
Indiana Has a New Bookstore
The Press Bookstore and Coffee Shop has opened in Valparaiso.
- 2023 May 19
Bookstore-Bar Coming to Oakland, Calif.
Clio’s Bookstore and Bar, owned by Oakland Book Festival founder and 'Lapham's Quarterly' art director Timothy Don, will open in the fall.
Lit Agent Vicky Bijur Wins Gailey Award
Bijur, the founder of the Vicky Bijur Literary Agency, will receive the 2023 Gailey Award, presented by the Associated of American Literary Agents, at the inaugural AALA Day at the U.S. Book Show on May 23.
2023 Chautauqua Prize Finalists
Geraldine Brooks, Hafizah Augustus Geter, Morgan Talty, and Javier Zamora are among the 11 finalists for the 12th annual Chautauqua Prize and its $7,500 purse.
Georgia Gets a New Bookstore
Reading Attic is opening next month in Marietta.
Fantasy Inspires New Store in Washington
Find the Path Books, named after a 'Dungeons & Dragons' spell, is opening soon in downtown Port Orchard.
California Store Features Curiosities
Recently opened Clio’s bookstore and bar in Oakland aims to entice people with an eclectic selection of books and goods.
New Black Bookstore Opening in Virginia
Steel Life Booksellers is opening in the Pentagon City mall in Arlington.
- 2023 May 18
North Texas Gets a New B&N
A new Barnes & Noble location will open in Flower Mound, Tex., just outside of Dallas.
Virginia Store Saved by Crowdfunding
One More Page Books in Arlington raised more than $36,000 through GoFund Me to pay staff and bills.
Queer South Carolina Store Raises Cash
Queer Haven Books, an LGBTQ store in Columbia, is raising money on Kickstarter to open an bricks-and-mortar location.
- 2023 May 17
From the Washington Post
At Kennedy Center, author Jacqueline Woodson brings inclusion and hope.
From El País
A Jewish couple dodged Nazi censorship to publish children's books in occupied Holland.
From Animation World
DreamWorks and Netflix Drop 'Not Quite Narwhal' Trailer and Art.
From NBC News
Chasten Buttigieg worries his new LGBTQ children's book could be banned.
From the Root
Vashti Harrison's New Children's Book Has a Grown-Up Lesson.
From MSNBC
Jonathan Capehart chats with debut author Marie Boyd about her new book, and how a little bit of storytime can go a long way.
From Powell's
Choosing the Right Magic School for You: A Book List.
Colorado Bookstore Is On the Move
The Bookies bookstore in Denver is moving to a new location.
Welsh Bookstore Wins Top U.K. Prize
Griffin Books in Penarth, Wales, won Independent Bookshop of the Year at the British Book Awards.
Connecticut Is Getting a New Bookstore
Black Rock Books is opening soon at 3030 Fairfield Ave., in Bridgeport.
America's Oldest Bookstore Lives On
The Moravian Book Shop in Bethlehem has been in continuous operation since 1745.
Korea's Ex-President Opens Bookstore
Moon Jae-in, former president of Korea, has opened a bookstore in Pyeongsan Village in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang.
- 2023 May 16
B&N Children's, YA Book Award Winners
Barnes & Noble has announced the winners of its Children's and Young Adult Book Awards, crowning 'The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels,' written by Beth Lincoln and illustrated by Claire Powell, as the Overall Winner.
British Book Award Winners
The winners of the British Book Awards were announced at a ceremony last night, with R.F. Kuang's 'Babel' named the Fiction Book of the Year and 'Lessons in Chemistry' author Bonnie Garmus crowned Author of the Year.
Rushdie Wins Award for Anti-Censorship
Salman Rushdie has won the second-ever British Book Award for the Freedom to Publish, supported by the U.K. anti-censorship organization Index on Censorship.
CLMP Firecracker Awards Finalists
The Community of Literary Magazines & Presses (CLMP) has announced the finalist for the ninth annual Firecracker Awards, recognizing outstanding books and literary magazines.
Women in Comics Collective
The Women in Comics Collective has scheduled its annual WinC Creative Conference 2023 for July 29-30 at Flushing Town Hall in Queens. The conference offers panels, programming, and workshops on the comics industry. Aspiring professionals are welcome to attend. WinC serves to highlight the merit and craft of marginalized voices, in particular those of women and queer people of color working in the pop culture industries.
Unreality Shows
Over on the ‘Millions,’ Jeanette Lestina interviews novelist Julia Argy about her new novel, ‘The One,’ a book that “skewers popular culture’s twin obsessions with reality television and romantic love.”
- 2023 May 15
From the Los Angeles Times
Two mothers are at the center of the fight against book banning in America: 'It's exhausting.'
From the Conversation
Mem Fox's 1988 picture book Guess What? banned in Duval County, Fla., over allegations of 'pornography' because one illustration depicts the main character taking a bath.
From the Guardian
U.K. illustrator and Kate Greenaway Medalist Gerard Rose has died at age 87.
From Variety
Lockwood & Co. Canceled at Netflix After One Season.
SZBA Honors Omar Khairat
The Sheikh Zayed Book Award has named the Egyptian musician and composer Omar Khairat as the Cultural Personality of the Year.
2023 Nebula Award Winners Announced
The winners of the 58th annual Nebula Awards, presented by the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association, include R.F. Kuang, George R.R. Martin, and C.L. Polk.
- 2023 May 12
Ifeakandu Wins U.K.'s Dylan Thomas Prize
Arinze Ifeakandu is the recipient of the U.K.'s £20,000 Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize for his debut short story collection 'God’s Children Are Little Broken Things.'
Stanley Jr. Wins Norwich U's Colby Prize
Charles E. Stanley Jr. is the winner of the 23rd annual William E. Colby Military Writers’ Award, presented by Norwich University, for his book 'Lost Airmen: The Epic Rescue of WWII U.S. Bomber Crews Stranded Behind Enemy Lines.'
- 2023 May 11
Illinois Bookstore Has New Owners, Logo
Booked in Evanston has new owners, who have given the store a new logo and operating hours.
Upstate New York Gets a New Bookstore
Spellbound in Oswego, a new store focused on fairy tales and folk stories, has opened.
- 2023 May 10
From NPR
Florida rejects some social studies textbooks and pushes publishers to change others.
From the Hill
In an era of book bans, sci-fi and fantasy offer an LGBTQ refuge for young readers.
From Deadline
A Nancy Drew Stage Musical Is in Development.
From Deadline
A sequel to Freaky Friday, which was based on the 1972 Mary Rodgers novel, is in the works at Disney, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan expected to reprise their roles.
From Harper's Bazaar
"Trans Kids Deserve to See Themselves in Children's Books" by Kyle Lukoff.
From Brightly
Nic Stone Shares Her Personal Struggles with Mental Illness.
From Book Riot
12 Found Family Young Adult Books in Space.
From Romper
28 Children's Books About Anxiety.
From Book Riot
10 Books About Disability for Kids and Teens.
- 2023 May 08
From Pretty OK Maggie
Maggie Tokuda-Hall on why she ended up saying no to Scholastic.
From the Concord Monitor
USPS unveiled a Strega Nona stamp, now on sale, honoring author-illustrator Tomie dePaola.
From the Guardian
Illustrated children’s biography of King Charles hits No. 1 on U.K. book chart.
From the New York Times
“My Book Is Horrifying. My Book Is a Lifeline. My Book Is Banned.” by Patricia McCormick.
From Literary Hub
Scholastic recognizes 100 years of teen writing.
From Electric Literature
“Seven Babysitters Club Books That Changed My Life” by Jennifer Chen.
Kentucky Gets a New Bookstore
A Kentucky book lover has opened her own bookstore, A Likely Story, in her hometown of Midway.
Joyride Bookshop @ NCM Opens in SoCal
The mobile bookshop Joyride will open a permanent retail location at the New Children's Museum in San Diego on May 10.
IPBA’s Ben Franklin Award Winners
The Independent Book Publishers Association has announced the 168 Gold and Silver award-winning titles in its 35th annual IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award program.
SoCal's Cellar Door Loses Lease
The beloved Inland Empire indie bookstore Cellar Door is searching for a new home after its month-to-month lease was terminated.
- 2023 May 03
From NPR
Library funding becomes the 'nuclear option' as the battle over books escalates.
From Book Riot
Illinois to Become First State to Ban Book Bans.
Jamaica Kincaid Wins St. Louis Lit Prize
Jamaica Kincaid will receive the 2024 St. Louis Literary Award from the Saint Louis University Libraries. Previous winners include Margaret Atwood, Salmon Rushdie, Eudora Welty, John Updike, Saul Bellow, August Wilson, Stephen Sondheim, Zadie Smith and Tom Wolfe.
From Publishing Perspectives
In Germany: Younger Consumers Are Buying More Books.
From Billboard
This Taylor Swift Kids' Book Is Topping the Charts on Amazon.
From Crime Reads
"Stop Acting Like YA Writers Aren’t Real Authors" by Kara Thomas.
From NPR
Author-illustrator Vashti Harrison wants her book and the word 'big' to affirm kids.
From Daily Wire
Frog and Toad Showrunner Discusses Queer Undertones in New Children's Series.
From Deadline
Christopher Robin R-Rated Comedy Series in the Works.
From McSweeney's
A Typical Day for a Protagonist in a Young Adult Fantasy Book.
From Book Riot
What Are the Actual Reading Trends for Gen Z?
From Brightly
Asian-Inspired Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books for Teens.
From Book Riot
The Most Read YA Books in College and University Classes.
'Jerusalem Beach' Wins Sami Rohr Prize
Author Iddo Gefen and translator Daniella Zamir are the winners of the 2023 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature for fiction.
al-Allaq Wins Sheikh Zayed Book Award
Iraqi poet and literary critic Ali Ja’far al-Allaq has won the UAE's Sheikh Zayed Book Award for Literature for his book 'Whereto, O Poem?'
- 2023 May 02
Tilghman Win's Temple UP's Miller Award
John Tilghman has been named the inaugural recipient of the Temple University Press Zane L. Miller Book Development Award for his proposed book, currently titled 'Jim Crow from the Harbor: Black Freedom Struggle and Downtown Baltimore.'
Banned Black Books Matter!
The Black news and opinion (and attitude) site ‘The Root’ has compiled a slideshow of 22 beloved books by African American authors that have been targeted for book bans by conservative groups around the country. Among the titles listed in the slideshow are Ernest Gaines’s ‘A Lesson Before Dying’, ‘Richard Wright’s ‘Native Son’, and Jerry Craft’s graphic novel, ‘New Kid.’
K-Pop Dance Dazzles at Lincoln Center
To mark Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, DJ Chen has curated a show featuring student dancers from the New York City AAPI community to perform and showcase K-pop music and choreography.
Sammy Harkham’s New Graphic Novel
Over on The ‘Millions,’ Martin Dolan interviews acclaimed comics artist Sammy Harkham about his new graphic novel, ‘Blood of the Virgin,’ out now from Pantheon. Dolan writes: “Following an Iraqi-Jewish film editor in the transformative era of 1970s Hollywood, Harkham digs deep into questions of identity, artistic integrity, and a marriage falling apart.”
- 2023 May 01
From NPR
Author Jason Reynolds on book bans, racism, and Spiderman.
From Politico
Are You There God? Reminds Us Why Books Are Still Banned, Even in the Digital Age.
From Variety
Hunger Games Prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Debuts Trailer at CinemaCon.
From Literary Hub
The Untold History of the "Asian American" Identity: Cathy Linh Che and Kyle Lucia Wu Reflect on Their Children's Book.
From Metro Parent
AAPI Books for Kids of All Ages.
NYC B&N Employees Move to Unionize
Workers at Barnes & Noble’s flagship store in Union Square have filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board.
- 2023 Apr 28
Publishing Triangle Award Winners
The Publishing Triangle has announced the winners of its 35th annual literary awards, including Raquel Gutierrez and James Hannaham.
