Publishers Lunch Automat
- Netflix and Hachette Livre to Make Asterix Animated Series
- Parul Sehgal Reviews the NYT Book Review Over the Years
- For Food Writers, Newsletters, YouTube, Patreon and Books Provide Self-Publishing "Haven for Escapees of Traditional Media"
- Easy Question: "Is It Time to Kill the Book Blurb?"
- Amor Towles' The Lincoln Highway to Publish October 5
Publishers Weekly
- 2021 WonderCon, San Diego Comic-Con Stay Virtual; CCI Plans November In-Person Event
- Apple Books Bestsellers: 'Four Winds' Blows Hannah Back to Top of the List
- Columbia, Howard University to Launch Black Studies Book Series, Diversity Program
- Diversity in Romance Books Still Lags
- Rights Report: Week of March 1, 2021
Publishing Perspectives
- UK Author Unions Launch Investigation Into ‘Partner Publishing’
- Releasing a Book Into the Pandemic: ‘A Time of Anti-Science’
- Germany’s ContentShift Accelerator Opens Its 2021 Program
- Richard Charkin: On the Long Walk to Audiobooks
- A Digital Jerusalem International Book Forum Opens for 2021 Registration
Publishers Lunch (paid)
UK’s The Bookseller (paid)
Canada’s Quill & Quire (paid)
Australia’s Books and Publishing (paid)
Financial Support for Writers
- A guide to economic relief for authors and freelancers, from the Authors Guild. Also, search for funds by state.
- The Carnegie Fund for Authors offers emergency grants for traditionally-published writers
- Poets & Writers maintains a list of financial resources (grants, funds, and more)
- PEN America offers the Writers’ Emergency Fund to all types of writers. You don’t have to be a member to apply.
- Kickstarter has a running list of artist resources
- For UK writers, The Society of Authors has an Authors’ Emergency Fund. Also, there’s a useful roundup of grants and funds at Spread The Word.
- The National Endowment for the Arts will distribute $75 million in relief to arts organizations
- Artist Relief, a US-based initiative organized by national arts grantmakers, will distribute $5,000 grants to artists (including writers)
- The Writers’ Trust of Canada and The Writers’ Union of Canada have launched a relief fund
- Australia’s Copyright Agency offers support grants for artists of all kinds
- Publishers Weekly is keeping a list of special offers and discounts of all kinds to help readers, booksellers, publishers, and authors
- Written Word Media’s email newsletters offer free ad placement to authors
How to Support Bookstores and Authors
- Shop for digital audiobooks at Libro.fm or print books at Bookshop.org
- The independent booksellers of New York City have created a Bookshop storefront with recommendations.
Resources for Educating and Entertaining Your Kids at Home
- SCBWI offers a digital directory of remote learning resources
- Audible offers a collection of children’s stories for free
- Publishers Weekly maintains a running list of free materials for children during the crisis
- Publishers Lunch also has a similar list of free digital book access for students from a variety of resources
- Scholastic offers free Learn at Home materials
- Coronavirus: A Book for Children—with artwork by The Gruffalo’s Axel Scheffler—is available for free
- Magic Tree House Home Adventures will keep young readers engaged
- Rachel Renee Russel’s first Dork Diaries book is now a podcast series
- A treat for Harry Potter fans: a cast of celebrity narrators will read the first Potter book in a series of free online videos (or audio files on Spotify)
Take Advantage of Your Library
- OverDrive is helping libraries identify low-cost and no-cost digital materials for circulation to library patrons
- ProQuest has partnered with 100 publishers to support libraries in making ebook holdings available to patrons at no extra charge
Virtual Book Events
- The Big List of Children’s Book Authors Doing Online Read Alouds and Activities
- LitHub’s Virtual Book Channel
- Quarantine Book Club
- A Mighty Blaze: a social media initiative for authors whose tours have been canceled
Other Resources
- The American Booksellers Association has collected coronavirus resources for booksellers
- The American Publishers Association has collected information about publisher response
Poets & Writers News
- Los Angeles Times Book Prize and PEN/Faulkner Finalists, Historic London Library Faces Closure, and More
- Bookshop U.K. Surpasses £1 Million in Profits, Dr. Seuss Enterprises Pulls Six Books From Publication, and More
- Most-Anticipated Books Coming Out in March, Astra Publishing House Announces New Literary Quarterly, and More
- Most-Anticipated Books Coming Out in March, Yuka Igarashi to Join Graywolf Press, and More
- Lynne Thompson Named Poet Laureate of L.A., Books About Anti-Asian Racism, and More
Writer Beware
- Publisher Cautions: Riverdale Avenue Books, Breaking Rules Publishing, Adelaide Publishing
- Pique Literary: Unmasking a Fake Literary Agency
- Vanity Press Storm Warning: Waldorf Publishing
- Pay-to-Play as Pedagogy? The Creator Institute and New Degree Press
- Writer Beware: 2020 in Review (Not That Anyone Really Wants to Review 2020)
Janet Reid, Literary Agent
The Passive Voice
- Does Your Novel Have a Problem? (It Should)
- UK Author Unions Launch Investigation Into ‘Partner Publishing’
- The Challenge of Writing Humor in Dark Times
- We might not like the idea that we lie to ourselves every day. But our penchant for self-deception may have hidden benefits.
- The Nature of Conspiracy Theories
Alliance of Independent Authors
- Self-publishing News: Super Followers
- TwitterChat: Changing Genres with Alison Morton
- For Independent Authors: The Ultimate Guide to Publishing Wide
- Should You Sell Your Audiobook Rights? #Audiblegate
- The Art and Craft of Self-Publishing Poetry Books, with Orna Ross and Trish Hopkinson — Self-Publishing Poetry Podcast
The New Publishing Standard
- Denmark’s podcast app Podimo launches in 20 Latin American countries as cash pours in
- With bookstores closed much of 2020, more publishers inconsiderately report record sales and a “best ever year”
- Spotify rolls out across 80+ NEW countries as publishers continue to shun global subscription
- England’s bookstores will remain closed at least until 12 April, but will publishers really be that bothered?
- Storytel aims to own 20% of the global audiobook market by 2030
The Digital Reader
Teleread: Ebooks, Publishing, Libraries, Tech
- Black and Latinx people MORE ‘engaged’ with books than most Americans are: New report
- Big Fail for publishers? Just $92 per household spent on rec reading in 2019—and even that may decline long term
- Are publishers leaving billions on the table by fixating on well-heeled readers?
- Get 1925 lit classics for free: Fitzgerald, Dreiser, Hemingway, Woolf, Kafka, Huxley among authors
- How to read Kindle books, library books, free classics, and more on your TV via the $50 Chromecast
Good E-Reader
Idea Logical | Mike Shatzkin
- Remembering Jim Haynes, the man with more friends than anybody else
- Thoughts about what Covid and 2020 mean for book publishing
- Introducing ClimateChangeResources.org, organizing and contextualizing the challenge we all face
- The end of the general trade publishing concept
- What James Daunt did and did not say about Barnes & Noble’s future
Personanondata | Michael Cairns
- Media Report (Vol 14, No 2): Pell Grants, Black Literature, Cancelling Shakespeare, American Dirt
- Report: Open Access Policy may be Unsustainable for Publishers
- Raising Pell: How Industry Support and Federal Grants Improve Prison Education
- Reuters: Journalism, Media and Technology Predictions 2021
- MediaWeek Report (Vol 14, No 1): Book Prices, JK Rowling, African Comics, Digital Textbooks.
The Future of Publishing | Thad McIlroy
American Booksellers Association
American Library Association
Library Journal
- Reese Witherspoon Picks 'Infinite Country' by Patricia Engel for March Book Club | Book Pulse
- 'What's Mine and Yours' by Naima Coster Is the March 'Read With Jenna' Pick | Book Pulse
- 'Dark Sky' by C.J. Box Leads Holds Lists | Book Pulse
- Isabel Wilkerson, Les and Tamara Payne Shortlisted for 2021 Lukas Prizes | Book Pulse
- 'A Court of Silver Flames' by Sarah J. Maas Tops Bestseller Lists | Book Pulse
School Library Journal
New York Times | Books
NPR | Books
- 'Klara And The Sun' Is A Masterpiece About Life, Love And Mortality
- 'Moxie' Says Some Things, But Not Everything, About High-School Feminists
- There Are So Many Flavors Of Potato Chips; 'Hooked' Looks At Why
- Bunny Wailer, Iconic Reggae Singer And Wailers Co-Founder, Has Died At Age 73
- How Bellingcat's Online Sleuths Solve Global Crimes Using Open Source Info
The Guardian | Books (US)
LitHub
- A breakthrough technology allows researchers to see inside sealed centuries-old letters.
- Lit Hub Daily: March 3, 2021
- The Limits of Representation: Huda Awan Finds Herself in Portnoy’s Complaint
- Edward Carey Talks to Alexander Chee About Rewriting a Myth, and the Enduring Power of Pinocchio
- Anne Lamott on Writing a Book for Those Feeling Hopeless
The Guardian | Books (UK)
What’s New in Publishing
- Join the Independent Publisher Alliance!
- Facebook, here’s your chance to level the playing field
- Digital transformation: Why newsrooms transformed into editorial action centres
- Why journalism in the Global South needs open-source software
- “A vital handrail for us all to guide our priorities”: How AI powers editorial decision-making at The Globe and Mail
Mediagazer
- Four female athletes launch TOGETHXR, a media company to elevate women's voices, with a "mid-seven figure investment" by PE holding company Magnet Companies (New York Times)
- Facebook exec explains why the company didn't secure rights to extend live sports deals like NFL this year, promoting a free-to-air distribution model instead (Rob Shaw/Sportico.com)
- The Islamic State claims responsibility for an attack that killed three women who worked for local broadcaster Enikas TV in eastern Afghanistan (Reuters)
- Netflix launches Fast Laughs, a TikTok-like feed in its mobile apps that presents a string of comedy clips from its stand-up specials, TV series, and movies (Todd Spangler/Variety)
- Kings of Leon to be the first band to debut an album as part of an NFT package, with tokens unlocking perks like limited-edition vinyl, front row concert seats (Samantha Hissong/Rolling Stone)