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Parent Gets School Library To Remove All Its Graphic Novels

All graphic novels in the school library’s collection were recalled after parent Tim Reiland took issue with the school letting his teenage daughter borrow Blankets, an autobiographical coming-of-age story by Craig Thompson about questioning blind faith in a fundamentalist Christian household. - Vice

Why Do People Keep Willingly Humiliating Themselves In Interviews With The New Yorker’s Isaac Chotiner?

Many have seen how the foolish and unwary "intellectually self-immolate under the pressure of his polite prodding. ... This raises a question that many ask on social media: Why does anyone ever agree to be interviewed by Chotiner in the first place? I can speculate on some possible answers." - Drezner's World

Controversy: Did Bob Dylan Actually Sign The Copies Of His Book Fans Paid For?

Justin Steffman, a professional authenticator who runs a Facebook group for collectors, said the autograph was most likely created by an autopen. The machine, which recreates signatures, is used by universities, celebrities and, most notably, the White House. - The New York Times

Simon & Schuster Abandons The Merger With Penguin Random House

In the wake of a judge's decision to block the union of the two giants on anti-trust grounds, Paramount Global, the conglomerate which owns Simon & Schuster, is simply allowing the $2.2 billion sale of the publisher to Penguin Random House to collapse. - Reuters

Authorities Bust Russians Running The World’s Largest Pirated Books Library

“The defendants are alleged to have operated a website for over a decade whose central purpose was providing stolen intellectual property, in violation of copyright laws.” - The Verge

How An Original Copy Of The US Constitution Ended Up In A Drawer In New Jersey

Stored in a drawer in the vault is the original, ink-blotched, handwritten state constitution signed on July 2, 1776, declaring New Jersey’s independence from Great Britain and rejecting the authority of Governor Franklin, who had already been arrested. - The New York Times

Even Jane Austen Almost Gave Up

"Money is the problem. It usually is, in Austen’s world." - LitHub

The Ways Language Can’t Be Divided From Activism

Writer Ryan Lee Wong: " This is a metaphor for the writer’s dilemma: this desire to transform everything in your life, especially the painful things, into our way of making meaning of it, making it legible to yourself and others." - The Millions

How The FBI Got Involved In Shutting Down TikTok’s Favorite Free Book Site

Well, it's like this: The so-called Z-Library had an unsavory underpinning."Two Russian nationals, Anton Napolsky and Valeriia Ermakova, have been charged with criminal copyright infringement, wire fraud and money laundering for operating Z-Library." - Washington Post

The Secrets Of The Dick Francis Family Fiction Workshop

The books were always "a true team effort" of Dick, a former jockey, and his writer wife Mary - and, for many years now, their son Felix. - Salon

Oh Great, BookTok Is Becoming Book Selling Tok

To be honest, why didn't this happen earlier? It's a perfect marriage of social media and sales. - LitHub

Twitter Gave Many Writers A Path Into Publishing’s Walled Garden

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

Why We Should Read Old Books

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

Condé Nast’s CEO Talks About How He Wants To Make The Venerable Magazine Publisher Into A Hollywood Power

"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

2022 National Book Awards To Imani Perry, Tess Gunty, Sabaa Tahir, John Keene, Samanta Schweblin

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

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