ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

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One-Quarter Of Young-Adult-Lit Readers Are More Than 28 Years Old

"According to the report (commissioned by HarperCollins), 74% of YA readers were adults, and 28% were over the age of 28. The research suggests this is due to behavioural changes described as 'emerging adulthood': young people growing up more slowly and delaying 'adult' life." - The Guardian

Why Was Penguin Books Named After A Flightless Antarctic Waterfowl?

"Inspired by the existing Albatross Books, (Allen) Lane’s nascent company wanted an animal for (a) mascot. Many years (later), designer Edward Young explained that after a couple hours of fruitless brainstorming, 'we were in despair. Then suddenly the secretary’s voice piped up from behind the partition. ‘What about penguins?''" - JSTOR Daily

Now PEN America Has Canceled Its World Voices Festival, Too

"Less than a week after canceling its 2024 Literary Awards ceremony following months of mounting criticism over the organization's response to the crisis in Gaza, PEN America has also canceled what would have been the 20th edition of its World Voices Festival" after the withdrawal of many participants. - Publishers Weekly

The Weird History Of Not Letting Writers Take Credit For Their Work

Did you know Ernest Hemingway came up with the word for byline (though he spelled it by-line). "Signed articles could occasionally be found before 1926, but they were not the standard practice they would become a century later." - The Smart Set

How Catcher In The Rye Inspired Britain’s Young Hawthornden Prize Winner

In Moses McKenzie's new book, the main character isn’t self-reflective at all. "It’s difficult to write in the first person and create empathy for a character like that.” Salinger’s famous coming-of-age novel helped him figure it all out. - The Guardian (UK)

Science Fiction Can Be Great, But Boy Howdy Did It Screw Up On Conspiracy Theories

The man who invented the deep state "wasn’t just a writer and soldier. He was an anti-communist intelligence operative who helped define U.S. psychological operations, or psyops, during World War II and the Cold War. His essential insight was that the most effective psychological warfare is storytelling.” - The Atlantic

If New York Bookstores Were People

In honor of yesterday’s Independent Bookstore Day (which, of course, we could all celebrate every day), here’s a visual analysis of some of the bookstores of New York. - The New York Times

The Challenges Of Translation In Shogun

"Court etiquette of the Sengoku era, as well as the gender politics of the time, mean a lot of things cannot be said explicitly. Even if you speak the same language as someone, you can never fully know them, and yet you all have to work together." - Vulture

Why Reading Was Intended To Be Done Out Loud

Until approximately the tenth century, when the practice of silent reading expanded thanks to the invention of punctuation, reading was synonymous with reading aloud. Silent reading was terribly strange, and, frankly, missed the point of sharing words to entertain, educate, and bond. - The Atlantic

No One Is Going To Buy Your Book

The DOJ’s lawyer collected data on 58,000 titles published in a year and discovered that 90 percent of them sold fewer than 2,000 copies and 50 percent sold less than a dozen copies. - The Elysian

The Onion Has Been Sold To A Very Apt Buyer

"Chicago-based firm Global Tetrahedron — which shares a name with a mock corporation that served as a long-running gag on the satirical news site and was featured in its staffers’ 1999 book Our Dumb Century — has purchased The Onion (from) G/O Media." - HuffPost

The Recycle Wars: When Literature Begets Literature

The rewriting of old books is hardly a new practice, though it’s one that critics often like to complain about. Doesn’t anyone have an original idea? Can’t we just leave the classics alone? - The New York Times

How Dallas Turned Into A Literary Hot Spot

"Today Dallas is home to one of the most dynamic, international literary scenes in the country, inspired in many ways by the infectious, D.I.Y. energy of Deep Vellum, now one of the country’s largest publishers of translated literature, and (independent bookstore) Wild Detectives." - The New York Times

As Florida And Texas Ban Books From Schools And Libraries, Minnesota And Maryland Are Banning Book Bans

"Minnesota is one of several Democratic-leaning states where lawmakers are now pursuing bans on book bans. The Washington and Maryland legislatures have passed them this year; Illinois did so last year. It was a major flashpoint of Oregon’s short session, where legislation passed the Senate but died without a House vote." - AP

Denver Art Museum Is Refusing To Return Alaskan Native Artifacts To Alaskan Natives

"Delegates from the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska sought the return of five items, including a 170-year-old clan house partition. … One Tlingit and Haida cultural resource officer (said) that the Denver Art Museum was 'probably the worst museum' they had dealt with." - Alaska Public Media

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