Chicago’s Newberry Library has received $4 million from the Mellon Foundation that will help widen access to Indigenous languages, some of which have been on the brink of disappearance. - WBEZ
Bindery Books, a startup founded by publishing veterans, uses social media book influencers as acquiring editors to champion underrepresented authors and build engaged reader communities. - Los Angeles Times
“So many children are now falling behind,” Dent said. “The vocabulary gap is getting bigger and there is a real perception that vocabulary development is suffering and that impacts on learning.” - The Guardian
“To begin with, a Book of the Dead is a misnomer, applied by 19th-century Western scholars. A more accurate translation of the title would be ‘Spells of Coming Forth by Day.’ Unlike obituaries, they aren’t biographies. They aren’t even books. And, they’re not of the dead. They’re for the dead.” - The New York Times
The Irish Times (like most outlets) always depended on advertising to fund its operations. This year, thanks to the strategy followed by its leaders (and the fact that it’s owned by a trust rather than an asset management firm), the paper’s 150,000 print and digital subscribers cover the newsroom’s expenses. - Press Gazette (UK)
Recent USPS service problems aren’t exclusive to newspapers. But for a business where timeliness is baked into the value proposition, they can be uniquely damaging, leading subscribers to cancel and even, in some cases, threatening advertising revenue. - NiemanLab
Here’s the problem: Those Big Five control over 80% of the trade publishing market. Indie publishers exist, but they need more support—a lot more support—than they’re getting. - The Honest Broker
Kamel Daoud's Goncourt-winning novel Houris is about a woman whose throat was slit at age 5 during a terrorist massacre and who can now barely speak. An Algerian woman — whose psychiatrist was Daoud’s wife — has brought legal cases accusing the author of using her life story for the book without permission. - The Guardian
When in 2010, Durham University got back the Folio which had been stolen in 1998, the book’s leather cover, boards and end papers were gone, as were an engraving, a eulogy by Ben Jonson, and the final page of Cymbeline. The volume has never been repaired, and there are good reasons why. - BBC (Yahoo!)
What seemed preposterous in a 1962 novel—story-writing machines—is now Silicon Valley gospel. As AI churns out narratives, we're left wondering: who's really telling the story, and does anyone care about the difference? — 3 Quarks Daily
Federal cultural funding now comes with ideological strings attached, as museums and libraries discover their grant applications must suddenly harmonize with presidential vision statements. Creative freedom, meet creative financing. — Artnet
We now live alongside AI systems that converse knowledgeably and persuasively—deploying claims about the world, explanations, advice, encouragement, apologies, and promises—while bearing no vulnerability for what they say. - The Atlantic
Winston Graham of Poldark, Virginia Woolf, Daphne du Maurier, and many other writers drew - and continue to draw - inspiration from the moors, cliffs, rugged coastline, and mines of the rural county. - BBC
At least three. “The Western Music Association describes the award as recognizing a person who writes ‘with imaginative power and beauty of thought, with the ability to enable audiences to develop a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the Western lifestyle through performance.’” - Oregon ArtsWatch
“As many as one-third of all Jewish victims of the Nazi genocide perished on Soviet territory. Yet … narratives of this experience remain largely unavailable to Western readers.” - LitHub
