The Book of Concern
Seth Godin’s new essay, “The Book of Concern,” proposes a simple paper‑based exercise to manage daily urgencies. Readers are instructed to write down any immediate emergency that pulls focus from long‑term goals, then revisit it after two days. If the issue persists, it warrants attention; otherwise it typically resolves on its own. The technique aims to declutter mental bandwidth and protect strategic work from constant interruption.
Book Review: ‘How to Be a Dissident,’ by Gal Beckerman
Gal Beckerman’s new book *How to Be a Dissident* weaves biographical sketches of activists—from the 1963 Birmingham Children’s Crusade to the recent fate of Alexei Navalny—into a ten‑chapter guide on the temperament of dissent. Each chapter spotlights a trait such...
Phantom Pass by André M Louw
South African lawyer‑turned‑author André M Louw launches his crime‑fiction debut, *Phantom Pass*, set in the Knysna‑George region. The novel follows rookie detective Josh Holland as he investigates the murder of retired lawyer Mark Whitcombe, whose ties to a controversial environmental project...
Winners and Judges Out of Pocket as £20,000 Writing Awards Appear to Have Closed
The Plaza Prizes, a UK writing competition that pledged a $25,000 (£20,000) prize fund, appears to have collapsed, leaving judges and winners unpaid or disqualified. Booker‑winner Damon Galgut and poet Anthony Joseph say they never received the promised £1,500 ($1,905)...
L.A. Times Book Prize Honorees Toast to Writing's Political Power: 'When People Rise, Empires Always Fall'
The 46th Los Angeles Times Book Prizes ceremony in Los Angeles honored Amy Tan, We Need Diverse Books, and a slate of authors across 13 categories. Highlights included Bench Ansfield’s award‑winning history of arson‑driven urban redevelopment and Karen Hao’s investigative look at OpenAI’s rise. Speakers framed literature...
Portraits of the Artist: Künstlerromane in an Age of Uncertainty
The piece surveys three recent novels—Anika Jade Levy’s Flat Earth, Brandon Taylor’s Minor Black Figures, and Stephanie Wambugu’s Lonely Crowds—as contemporary künstlerromane. It shows how these works transplant the 19th‑century self‑invention narrative into today’s precarious art market, foregrounding financial instability, identity politics, and the performative pressure of...
Triple Murderer Erin Patterson's Estranged Husband Writing His Memoir
Simon Patterson, the estranged husband of convicted triple‑murderer Erin Patterson, is preparing a memoir about his experience. Prosecutors dropped his own poisoning allegations, so they were excluded from her 2023 murder trial that resulted in a minimum 33‑year sentence. Patterson’s...
Science Fiction Books That Imagine the Future Space Economy
A new roundup highlights science‑fiction titles that anticipate the economics of a burgeoning space economy. The list spans classics like *The Expanse* and *The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress* to recent works such as *Delta‑v*, each illustrating how resource scarcity,...
‘Blueprint’: Meritocracy, Pressure and the Making of Indonesian Engineers
Blueprint, a narrative nonfiction by Sylvie Tanaga, chronicles the careers of twenty Indonesian engineers employed by SLB (formerly Schlumberger) across more than 120 countries. The book emphasizes meritocracy as the central force that enables these professionals to earn trust in highly...
Gwendoline Riley Would Prefer You Resist Assuming Her Life Is Like Her Books
British novelist Gwendoline Riley, known for stark domestic tales, has seen a surge in U.S. readership since New York Review Books Classics reissued *First Love* and *My Phantoms* in 2022. The two books, praised for precise dialogue and unflinching portrayals...
Lena Dunham Takes to Her Bed to Promote Her Memoir, “Famesick.”
Lena Dunham launched her second memoir, “Famesick,” with an unconventional bed‑stage event at Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Howard Gilman Opera House. The intimate setting featured co‑star Andrew Rannells and drew about 2,000 attendees, primarily women from Gen X and Gen Z. Dunham...
BookCon Returns After Six-Year Break: Event Organizer on Reservation Rush, Boycott Response and Romantasy Reader Demand
BookCon is back after a six‑year hiatus, with tickets and author‑signing reservations selling out within seconds of release. ReedPop’s Kristina Rogers highlighted the event’s new focus on diversity, inclusivity, and the booming #BookTok community. The convention faces a boycott after...
Did London’s Dirty Money Really Kill a Teenage Fantasist?
Patrick Radden Keefe’s new book *London Falling* expands a 2024 *New Yorker* piece into a tragic true‑crime narrative. It follows the 2019 suicide of 19‑year‑old Zac Brettler, a London teenager who fabricated ties to Russian oligarchs and a £850,000 (≈$1.09 M) bank balance that...
A Genocide Scholar Asks “What Went Wrong” In Israel
Genocide scholar Omer Bartov, a Brown University professor, released his new book *Israel: What Went Wrong?* arguing that Zionism has evolved into an extremist ideology that enabled a genocide in Gaza after the October 7 Hamas attacks. He contends that Israel’s...
Patrick Radden Keefe on “London Falling,” His Book About a Teen-Ager’s Mysterious Life and Death
Patrick Radden Keefe’s latest book, *London Falling*, expands a New Yorker feature about the mysterious death of teenager Zac Brettler. While in London filming the TV adaptation of *Say Nothing*, Keefe learned Brettler had assumed the identity of a Russian oligarch’s...
4 Great New Fantasy Books to Transport You to Bold New Worlds
The New York Times Book Review spotlights Heba Al‑Wasity’s debut fantasy, Weavingshaw, published by Del Rey. The 452‑page novel follows Leena, a refugee who can see ghosts, as she bargains with a supernatural mafioso to save her brother. Set in the gothic...
These Eight Design History Books Will Teach You All You Need to Know About Modernism and Beyond
Wallpaper curates eight essential design‑history books that span from the 17th century to contemporary modernism. The list includes titles highlighting women designers, mid‑century modern pioneers, colour theory, and comprehensive A‑Z surveys of 1,000 classics and five‑century design objects. Each volume...
If You Can’t Wait for Rivals Season 2, You Need to Watch These 5 Addictive TV Shows
Disney+ is expanding its prestige drama slate with *Rivals* season 2, a twelve‑episode continuation of the Jilly Cooper adaptation that earned a 93 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating. The first three episodes drop on May 15, 2026, after the original eight‑part series premiered in...
The First Draft of Cultural History
The Atlantic’s Books Briefing spotlights Lena Dunham’s new memoir *Famesick*, arguing that gossip‑laden memoirs serve as the rough draft of cultural history. The review praises Dunham’s candid, humor‑filled recounting of her privileged Manhattan upbringing, early filmmaking struggles, and Hollywood’s transactional...
Garcelle Beauvais Sets New Memoir ‘Protecting My Peace… at All Costs’ at Audible (EXCLUSIVE)
Actress and author Garcelle Beauvais will release her second memoir, “Protecting My Peace…at All Costs,” as an Audible Original on May 7. The 2024‑2025 release, written and narrated by Beauvais, delves into her decision to leave “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”...
When I Hear an Australian Politician Announce a Tough New Immigration Policy, I Think Dystopia | Yumna Kassab
Yumna Kassab, a Lebanese‑Australian novelist, reflects on Australia’s contrasting national and migrant narratives. She argues that the country’s self‑portrait of mateship and fairness masks a conditional belonging for migrants, who are expected to assimilate and stay invisible. Recent tough immigration...
Rhode Island Bill Would Mandate More School Librarians
Rhode Island lawmakers are advancing a bill that would require every public school with 250 or more students to employ a full‑time librarian, and schools with fewer than 250 students to have a half‑time librarian. The measure estimates a statewide...
One Great Poem to Read Today: Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays”
Literary Hub marks the 30th anniversary of National Poetry Month by featuring a daily poem series, beginning with Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays.” The piece, a quietly tender elegy to the poet’s foster‑father, examines unspoken parental love and late‑life regret....
A Prominent French Publisher Is Dismissed, Alarming Authors and Media Watchers
Olivier Nora, who led Éditions Grasset for 26 years, was abruptly dismissed by parent company Hachette on April 14. Hachette, now owned by Vivendi and controlled by billionaire Vincent Bolloré, installed longtime Bolloré associate Jean‑Christophe Thiery as his replacement. More than 130 Grasset authors...
Hachette Turns In a Solid First Quarter 2026
Hachette parent Lagardère Publishing reported first‑quarter 2026 revenue of €615 million (about $670 million), a 1.1% year‑on‑year decline, primarily due to a 4% drop in the United Kingdom after a record‑setting 2025. In the United States revenue rose 2% on new James...
The Man Who Saw the Future: The Legacy of Cultural Theorist Mark Fisher
Mark Fisher’s 2009 manifesto Capitalist Realism, initially dismissed, has sold over 250,000 copies and been translated into ten languages, cementing his critique of neoliberal permanence. A new experimental documentary, We Are Making a Film About Mark Fisher, was self‑funded by...
The Best Recent Crime and Thrillers – Review Roundup
A new review roundup spotlights five recent crime and thriller titles released in the UK market. Tana French closes her Cal Hooper trilogy with “The Keeper” (≈$21), while debut novelist Emma Garman offers a post‑war London mystery in “The Kindness...
Book Review: An Impassioned Lament for Our Imperiled Wild Forests
Suzanne Simard’s new book, "When the Forest Breathes," expands on her earlier work by documenting how clearcutting devastates forest ecosystems and accelerates climate risks. Drawing on four decades of field experiments across British Columbia, she shows that preserving "mother trees"...
Hey Orwell: Thousands of AI‑written, Edited or ‘Polished’ Books Are Being Sold
A class‑action settlement will force Anthropic, the creator of Claude, to pay up to $1.5 billion for allegedly infringing thousands of authors' copyrights. The article shows how AI chatbots can not only regurgitate content but also imitate an author's distinctive voice,...
The Dog’s Gaze by Thomas Laqueur Review – the Art of the Canine, From Velázquez to Picasso
Thomas Laqueur’s new book, *The Dog’s Gaze*, argues that the canine’s look marks the boundary between nature and culture, giving dogs a unique symbolic role in Western art. He surveys paintings from Velázquez’s *Las Meninas* to Veronese’s *Wedding Feast at Cana*, showing how dogs anchor...
An Extraordinary Book About the Nuremberg Women Casts New Light on History’s Darkest Crimes
Natalie Livingstone’s new book, "The Nuremberg Women," spotlights eight previously overlooked women who played pivotal roles at the 1945‑46 Nuremberg war‑crimes trials. By weaving biography, courtroom testimony and post‑trial reporting, the work challenges the traditionally male‑centric narrative of the trials....
Authors Are Slamming Reese Witherspoon for Telling Followers 'It's Time to Learn A.I.'
Oscar‑winner Reese Witherspoon used an Instagram Reel to tell her followers that women need to start learning artificial intelligence, warning that their jobs are three times more likely to be automated. She cited a small book‑club sample where only three...
Contemporary Writing About Womanhood Is Full of Apologizing, Justifying, or Moralizing. Such Approaches Shed Little Light
Julia Cooke’s new biography, *Starry and Restless*, intertwines the lives of Rebecca West, Martha Gellhorn, and Emily (Mickey) Hahn, revealing how each repeatedly reinvented herself amid the tensions of motherhood, domesticity, and a restless creative drive. The book avoids the...
Ben Lerner: “Wherever I Am Now, I Am Not a Young Novelist. Heart Surgery Will Do that to You, in...
Ben Lerner’s latest work, *Transcription*, is a 130‑page hybrid that fuses memoir, interview, and fiction, centering on a botched phone interview with a 90‑year‑old artist. The book explores fatherhood, middle‑age anxiety, and the pervasive grip of smartphones, all filtered through...
Anna Poletti, Hello, World? Author: ‘Sexual Desire Is so Inconvenient and Ungovernable’
Anna Poletti’s debut novel hello, world? is positioned as a feminist erotic work that interrogates desire, power and the rise of fascism through the bodies of its protagonists. The story follows Seasonal, an Australian feminist, and László, a bisexual Hungarian exile, as...
Furtwängler in Wartime – Reflections on Ian Buruma’s “Stay Alive”
Ian Buruma’s new book *Stay Alive* uses a December 1944 concert conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler to illustrate how music sustained Berlin’s morale during World II. The article highlights surviving wartime broadcasts—Beethoven’s Ninth, Brahms’s First, and others—showing Furtwängler’s interpretive defiance amid bombed-out venues and...
Winnipeg-Born Author Jon Klassen Wins Nearly $750K Swedish Prize for Children's Literature
Winnipeg‑born author‑illustrator Jon Klassen has become the first Canadian to win the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, Sweden’s premier children’s literature prize worth roughly 5 million kronor (about $550,000 USD). The award, administered by the Swedish Arts Council, honors his body of work,...
5 Low-Stress Ways to Set Your New Series Up for Success
Launching a new book series requires more than a strong manuscript; the weeks before release are critical for building momentum. The article outlines five low‑stress pre‑launch tactics—crafting a concise value proposition, generating anticipation, securing strategic partners, maintaining a unified cross‑platform...
Helen DeWitt Declined A Prestigious $175,000 Prize. Is She Principled Or Crazy?
Helen DeWitt turned down the $175,000 (≈£129,000) Windham‑Campbell prize because she could not meet the six‑to‑eight hours of mandatory filming and promotional work. The prize, awarded to eight writers for lifetime achievement, is meant to free authors from financial pressure,...
The Hardest Part Of History To Tell Is How It Felt
Craig Fehrman, while researching a Lewis and Clark book, was mauled by a dog, an event that shattered the academic distance between his life and his subjects. The trauma prompted him to abandon a purely factual recounting in favor of...
Book Review: ‘EXTRA SAUCE’ by Zahra Tangorra, ‘ON EATING' By Alicia Kennedy
Two new food memoirs hit shelves simultaneously: Zahra Tangorra’s *Extra Sauce* and Alicia Kennedy’s *On Eating*. Both authors, Long Island‑born Millennials, channel childhood appetites into distinct culinary careers—Tangorra as a Brooklyn chef, Kennedy as a food journalist. Their books are...
Making of a Poem: Jeffrey Angles on “Memory of a Three-Year-Old”
Jeffrey Angles discusses his English translation of Nakahara Chuya’s 1936 Modernist poem “Memory of a Three‑Year‑Old,” featured in the Paris Review’s Spring issue. The poem, originally published in Bungei hanron and later in Chuya’s 1938 collection, recalls a childhood episode involving parasitic...
THE READING ROOM: Joe McEwen’s ‘Tastykakes, Soul Songs and Shining Stars: Affections and Reflections, 1973-2025’
Joe McEwen, a Philadelphia‑born music journalist, DJ, and former record executive, has released his memoir‑style collection "Tastykakes, Soul Songs and Shining Stars: Affections and Reflections, 1973‑2025" on April 28 2026 via ZE Books. The volume assembles decades‑long profiles, short reviews, and personal essays originally...
Fortress Yellowstone
The piece "Fortress Yellowstone" exposes how the ultra‑rich profit from Amazonian soy and corn farms that decimate native forest, then funnel that wealth into buying vast Montana ranches marketed as private preserves. While the Brazilian plains become barren deserts feeding...
The Dark Side of Posting About Your Children Online
The article spotlights the surge of “sharenting” and the nascent “kidfluencing” industry, highlighted by a new book that reveals how parents turn their children’s online personas into revenue streams. It cites a striking statistic that one in four Western children...
Mary Beard Offers a Spirited Defence of Studying Classics
Mary Beard’s new book mounts a vigorous defence of classical studies, arguing that the discipline has been unfairly encumbered by modern criticism. She contends that learning Greek and Latin sharpens logical reasoning, eases acquisition of other languages, and offers timeless...
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One Great Poem to Read Today: Alejandra Pizarnik’s “[All Night I Hear the Noise of Water Sobbing.]”
Literary Hub is marking the 30th National Poetry Month by posting a free poem each workday in April. Today’s feature is Alejandra Pizarnik’s “All night I hear the noise of water sobbing,” translated by Patricio Ferrari and Forrest Gander and available on the...
A History of Erasures
Leyla Erbil, a pioneering Turkish modernist, gained posthumous global attention when her experimental novel *What Remains* (2011) was released in English translation. The work blends verse, unconventional punctuation called “Leyla signs,” and autobiographical autofiction to confront Istanbul’s layered histories of...
Helping Books Travel: Norway, Bologna’s 2026 Guest of Honor, Guarantees Translation Grants
Norway’s guest‑of‑honor program at the 2026 Bologna Children’s Book Fair announced that NORLA will cover 50% of translators’ fees, up to $10,500 per title, and offer production subsidies of up to $2,100 for illustrated books. Since 2022 the agency has...
Brazil Looks to Expand Access to Books with Free Digital Reading Platforms
Brazil's Ministry of Education unveiled two free digital platforms, MEC Books and MEC Languages, to broaden reading and language learning access nationwide. MEC Books launches with a library‑style model, 8,000 titles across 19 categories, allowing 14‑day loans and renewals. Within...