Twitter has given writers access. "People of color, people who live anywhere other than New York City, people who work day jobs unrelated to media—they can build an audience, post links to their work, attract the attention of editors." - The Atlantic
The great books are great because they speak to us, generation after generation. They are things of beauty, joys forever — most of the time. Of course, some old books will make you angry at the prejudices they take for granted and occasionally endorse. No matter. Read them anyway. - Washington Post
"Roger Lynch ... inherited a company of fiefdoms (which) competed with one another for advertisers and cover stars. ... Three-and-a-half years into the job, Lynch has tried to unify the company ... and has shifted investment toward digital and video, turning a storied magazine-company brand into a leading multiplatform player." - The Hollywood Reporter
More specifically: Imani Perry's South to America (nonfiction), Tess Gunty's The Rabbit Hutch (fiction), Sabaa Tahir's All My Rage (young people's literature), John Keene's Punks: New and Selected Poems (poetry), and Argentine author Samanta Schweblin's Seven Empty Houses, translated by Megan McDowell (literature in translation). - AP
Most books don’t succeed either in terms of sales or critical unanimity. Most writers don’t earn a living wage from their writing. Tenure-track appointments (I teach college writing) are rare as unicorns. But being a writer is not a sentence handed down, it’s a choice I’ve made. - The New York Times
"Investigators in northern Spain said this week they discovered what they believe to be the oldest written record" — inscribed on a bronze hand — "of a precursor to modern Basque, pushing back its earliest evidence to the first century B.C." - AP
First published in book form in 1922 by a little-known novelist named Margery Williams Bianco, it has now been in print for a century, selling over a million copies in the U.S. alone. - New York Magazine
Which debut novel might hear its name called? Will nonfiction about viruses or chronic illness defeat Imani Perry's sweeping take on the history of the South? And in young people's literature, will a high school lesbian crush or a 12-year-old Chinese American in Minnesota prevail? - Vox
Summary Culture gone wild: "I was flattered that these folks, whoever they are, had bothered to rip off my book. But I was also pissed. I was angry on behalf of any and all unsuspecting readers who had ordered a workbook, only to receive these worthless word salads." - The Atlantic
Well, first of all, the romance author doesn't think that's quite enough: "I’m now writing my third book this year. I always aim for four. Four is like the magic number, but I don’t think it’s actually happened." - Slate
"It's been a long negotiation process for the approximately 250 union members. This includes people working in publicity, design, marketing and more - all the parts of putting out a book that you usually don't see." - NPR
Novelist and essayist Alexander Chee edited the 2022 version of Best American Essays. "Writers and publishers—and for that matter, readers—are increasingly embracing what he calls 'a very elastic art form … a form that can sustain a great deal of shape-changing and transformation.'" - LitHub
