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 a week, 291,600 users generated more than 122,000 active loans, highlighting strong demand in a country where 53% do not read regularly. The rollout follows São Paulo's BibliON service and raises questions about platform stability and bibliodiversity.
The Hardy Men
In 2022 Jonathan Keeperman, a former UC‑Irvine lecturer and right‑wing provocateur, launched Passage Press to build a reactionary cultural apparatus that counters the left’s dominance in arts and media. The boutique publisher quickly gained notoriety, hosting a “Coronation Ball” attended...
Exclusive Cover Reveal of “Blow Yourself Up” By Ankur Thakkar
Electric Literature unveiled the cover of Ankur Thakkar’s debut novel Blow Yourself Up, slated for publication on September 15, 2026 by Triquarterly Books. The story follows high‑school sweethearts Arjun and Payal as their lives diverge across New York’s influencer economy and Chicago’s content‑moderation trenches,...
Book Review: Sauúti Terrors Eugen Bacon, Stephen Embleton, and Cheryl S. Ntumy, Eds.
Sauúti Terrors, a 416‑page hardcover anthology edited by Eugen Bacon, Stephen Embleton and Cheryl S. Ntumy, launched in February 2026 as part of the Sauútiverse shared‑world project. The collection features ten stories from emerging African and diaspora writers, blending mythic poetry,...
10 Years of Dog Man
This year marks the 10‑year anniversary of Dav Pilkey’s debut Dog Man graphic novel, a series that has grown to 14 titles and sold over 70 million copies in 50 languages. The twelfth book, Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder, topped global bestseller lists in...
I Was One of Lena Dunham’s Haters. I Want to Say I’m Sorry | Dave Schilling
Dave Schilling, a Los Angeles writer, publicly apologizes for his past hostility toward Lena Dunham, acknowledging that jealousy and cultural envy fueled his criticism. Dunham, now releasing a memoir, reflects on the intense backlash she endured after HBO’s *Girls* made her...
“Beef,” “The Drama,” And the New Marriage Plot
Marriage rates in the United States hit a 140‑year low in 2019 and have not recovered, prompting cultural reflection. On the latest Critics at Large episode, hosts discuss Netflix’s anthology “Beef” and A24’s film “The Drama,” both depicting strained couples...
Your Orient Express Reading List: From Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet’s new "Journey Orient Express" compiles a literary tour of the famed train, spotlighting classics from Graham Greene to Agatha Christie. The book highlights how authors from the 1920s‑1930s used the Express to explore decadence, intrigue, and pre‑war anxieties....
Luke Goebel on Weaponized Fatigue and the Necessity of Violence in His New Novel
Luke Goebel’s new novel *Kill Dick* confronts what he calls "shock fatigue," the desensitization caused by relentless media overload. The book uses graphic violence, sex, and scandal to force readers out of complacency, arguing that only heightened intensity can break the...
Book Review: ‘Dear Monica Lewinsky,’ by Julia Langbein
Julia Langbein’s second novel, *Dear Monica Lewinsky*, uses the former White House intern as a symbolic patron saint for women scarred by public shaming. The story follows Jean Dornan, a 40‑year‑old court translator in New York, who wrestles with lingering...
Interview: Arthur Sze on Translating Poetry and His Favorite Books
Arthur Sze, the U.S. poet laureate, reveals his ideal reading ritual—coffee at his desk overlooking desert flora—and shares the eclectic titles that line his nightstand, from Emily Wilson’s Iliad translation to Kevin Young’s Night Watch. He recently praised Simon Armitage’s...
Book Review: ‘The Violence,’ by Adriana E. Ramírez
Adriana E. Ramírez’s new book *The Violence* revisits Colombia’s decade‑long civil war known as La Violencia (1948‑1958), a period when partisan militias turned neighbors against each other and thousands were killed. The memoir blends her grandparents’ survival story with a broader social‑history analysis,...
Five Authors in the Running for Historical Fiction Prize
The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction has announced a five‑book shortlist, marking the first time all nominees are British authors. The contenders—Jo Harkin's "The Pretender," Alice Jolly's "The Matchbox Girl," Graeme Macrae Burnet's "Benbecula," Rachel Seiffert's "Once the Deed...
Polly Barton on Ryūnosuke Akutagawa’s Hell of Solitude
Polly Barton’s essay introduces Ryūnosuke Akutagawa’s new anthology Hell of Solitude, a curated mix of poems, obscure short pieces and experimental “un‑storylike” works translated by Ryan Choi. Barton notes Akutagawa’s towering status in Japan—father of the modern short story, creator of...
A Linguistic and Philosophical Tapestry: Suchitra Ramachandran on Jeyamohan’s The Abyss
Suchitra Ramachandran’s introduction frames Jeyamohan’s new novel *The Abyss* as a stark, multilingual exploration of humanism amid extreme marginalisation. The work follows his epic projects—*Vishnupuram*, *Venmurasu* (26 volumes, >25,000 pages), and recent Dalit reinterpretation *Kaviyam*—by placing beggars in a hyper‑realistic...
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke Review – the Downfall of an All‑American Tradwife
Caro Claire Burke’s debut novel *Yesteryear* imagines an Instagram‑obsessed tradwife who wakes up in a 1805 pioneer setting, only to discover that the romanticized past is far harsher than her curated feed suggests. The book generated massive buzz, prompting a high‑priced...
This Started as a Review and Turned Into Something Else…
The author, battling a recurrence of idiopathic subglottal stenosis, recounts a recent CT scan that confirmed tracheal narrowing and the prospect of major surgery. Amid the uncertainty, she turned to Sherry Thomas’s historical romance series, finding the narratives a lifeline...
A New Book Marks 75 Years of the Royal Festival Hall, London's Iconic ‘Egg in a Box’
Merrell has released a new book on the Royal Festival Hall to mark its 75th anniversary. The volume assembles 21 contributions from architects, musicians, historians and cultural programmers, accompanied by newly commissioned photographs from Edmund Sumner. It recounts the hall’s...
Suman Roy on The Zero Hunger Project: Why a Scarborough Food Bank Founder Wrote the Book on Ending Global Hunger
Suman Roy, founder of Toronto’s Feed Scarborough food bank, released *The Zero Hunger Project: A Journey to End Global Hunger* in April 2025. Drawing on his hands‑on experience scaling Canada’s most replicated grassroots food bank, the 381‑page volume argues that...
Whiting Foundation Names Its 10 Emerging Authors of 2026
The Whiting Foundation announced its 2026 cohort of ten emerging writers, each receiving a $50,000 award to support their next projects. The honorees represent nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and drama, reflecting a wide geographic and thematic range—from AI’s human cost to...
Cory Doctorow on the High Cost of Living with the Ultra-Rich
Cory Doctorow defines "billionaireism" as the moral vacuum created by ultra‑rich elites and the platform decay he calls "enshittification." In a recent interview he highlights three books that dissect this phenomenon: Sarah Wynn‑Williams’s "Careless People" reveals Facebook’s internal harassment and...
‘She Took Those Kids and Left Before He Got Home From Work.’
Jayne Anne Phillips’ new memoir, Small Town Girls, recollects her childhood trips to a women‑only beauty shop in rural West Virginia, using the salon as a lens to explore female community, secrecy, and the shaping of identity. The narrative intertwines vivid...
Who Is Black Comedy For?
Geoff Bennett’s new book *Black Out Loud* charts Black comedy from vaudeville to 1990s sitcoms, framing its evolution as a steady march toward mainstream acceptance. In a counter‑review for *The Atlantic*, Kam Collins argues that Bennett’s equation of progress with...
What to Read This Week: Emma Chapman's Mind-Expanding Radio Universe
Emma Chapman’s new book, *Radio Universe* (U.S. title *The Echoing Universe*), arrives on 19 May 2026. It explains how radio waves act as a cosmic messenger, allowing scientists to map galaxies, study black holes and hunt for alien technosignatures without leaving Earth....
New Scientist Recommends Jamie Bartlett's Insightful How to Talk to AI
New Scientist’s weekly staff picks spotlight Jamie Bartlett’s new book, *How to Talk to AI*. The guide argues that most users lack formal training in prompting chatbots, leading to misinformation and emotional reliance. Bartlett emphasizes self‑awareness of one’s biases and...
The Publishing Mystery That No One Wants to Talk About
Woody Brown, a non‑speaking autistic author, released his debut novel *Upward Bound* to bestseller status after a Today show feature. The book was written using a letter board and Rapid Prompting, a communication method criticized by ASHA for facilitator influence....
Beyond Consent: How Power, Legal Ambiguities, and Attitudes Enable Abuse
Virginia Giuffre, a prominent survivor of the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell trafficking ring, died by suicide in March 2026. Her posthumous memoir, *Nobody’s Girl*, co‑written with Amy Wallace, provides a harrowing first‑person account of decades of abuse, financial exploitation,...
The Drowning Place by Sarah Hilary
Sarah Hilary returns to the police procedural with *The Drowning Place*, introducing DS Joe Ashe, the sole survivor of a tragic school‑bus crash in the Derbyshire Peak District. Ashe, haunted by the ghosts of his classmates, teams up with Manchester‑born...
Curiosity Is No Solo Act
In their new adaptation of *Curious Minds: The Power of Connection*, Perry Zurn and Dani S. Bassett trace how curiosity has been portrayed from harmless gossip‑seeker to biblical transgressor. The authors argue that the archetype of the curious individual has...
First Look: The Silent Appeal by Janice Hallett
Janice Hallett’s next epistolary crime novel, titled The Second Appeal (also referred to as The Silent Appeal), has arrived as a gold‑bound advance review copy. The book follows her award‑winning debut The Appeal (2021) and the 2023 novella The Christmas...
Nicholas George on Setting Mysteries in Dynamic Locations
Nicholas George highlights a niche within mystery fiction where the action moves beyond static villages to dynamic travel settings such as cruise ships, trains, planes, cars and buses. He cites classic and contemporary examples—from Agatha Christie’s “Death on the Nile”...
Review – End of Life #3: Chicken Guys
End of Life #3, the latest Vertigo title, earns a 9.5/10 rating for its deft mix of dark humor and genuine emotional moments. The story follows Eddie Stallion, a fugitive who reunites with his dying hit‑man father while navigating a...
Canadian Picture Book Artist Jon Klassen Wins the 2026 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award
Canadian author‑illustrator Jon Klassen was announced as the 2026 laureate of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the world’s best‑endowed children’s literature prize, receiving 5 million Swedish kronor (about $544,000). The award ceremony spanned Stockholm and the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, recognizing...
Review – Catwoman #86: The Killer’s Game
DC Comics’ Catwoman #86, written by Torunn Gronbekk and illustrated by Davide Gianfelice, shifts the series into a grim noir narrative as Black Mask returns to exact vengeance. Selina Kyle is framed for a murder, forcing her into a desperate...
Book Review: Chinese Global Environmentalism
Alex Wang’s concise 100‑page volume, Chinese Global Environmentalism, maps China’s evolution from a notorious polluter to a self‑styled climate leader. He frames the shift through four lenses—ideology, diplomacy, economic statecraft, and international cooperation—coined as “Chinese global environmentalism.” The book highlights...
Book of Potions by Lauren K. Watel
Lauren K. Watel’s *Book of Potions* is a debut collection of prose poems that meld surreal absurdity with raw emotional insight. The work interrogates the gap between outward façades and inner realities, using recurring motifs like the white‑room and portrait...
Vigilante Injustice
Two new 2026 releases revisit the 1984 Bernie Goetz subway shooting, a case that polarized the nation. Heather Ann Thompson’s *Fear and Fury* presents the attack as an attempted modern‑day lynching rooted in Reagan‑era racial capitalism, while Elliot Williams’s *Five Bullets* offers a more...
Review – Superman Unlimited #12: Seeing Double
Dan Slott’s one‑year mark on Superman Unlimited reshapes the DC universe with Kryptonite‑infused politics, a Latin American nation wielding a meteor‑derived power, and a cadre of Kryptonite super‑soldiers. Superman is absent, leaving his son Jon Kent to assume the mantle...
Ideas Podcast: On Pedantry
Arnoud Visser’s new book *On Pedantry: A Cultural History of the Know‑it‑All* examines how excessive learning has functioned as a vice in Western thought from ancient Greece to today’s culture wars. The work maps a line of irritable intellectuals—sophists, savants,...
Poetry Month Feature: Tupelo Press
Tupelo Press is spotlighting two new titles for National Poetry Month: the Arabic/English anthology "Other Paths for Shahrazad," featuring contemporary Arab women poets, and Carrie Olivia Adams' "The Book of Marys and Glaciers," a collection that weaves desert, consumerism and...
Why Are We So Obsessed With Dead Girls? These Books Explore if True Crime Is Ethical
Recent true‑crime titles are challenging the genre’s long‑standing voyeurism toward murdered women and girls. Alice Bolin’s Dead Girls argues that society repeatedly mythologizes victims without recognizing patterns, while Myriam Gurba’s Creep reclaims narrative agency for survivors. Sarah Weinman’s edited collection...
How Project Maven Put A.I. Into the Kill Chain
Project Maven, Palantir’s AI‑powered intelligence platform, has become the Pentagon’s central kill‑chain tool, now backed by a $1.3 billion contract and integrated large‑language models like Anthropic’s Claude. The system can process up to 5,000 targets per hour, enabling rapid strike decisions...
7 Inspiring Books that Motivate You to Take Action Today
The article curates seven bestselling titles that help readers move from ideas to action, ranging from James Clear’s *Atomic Habits* to Eckhart Tolle’s *The Power of Now*. Each book is presented with a brief rationale—small habits, early‑morning discipline, self‑confidence, singular...
Spotify Launches the Ability to Purchase Physical Books in the US and UK
Spotify has rolled out a new feature that lets users buy physical books through its app in the United States and United Kingdom. The service, powered by a partnership with Bookshop.org, is live on Android now, with iOS support slated...
My Mother Told Me Monsters Do Not Exist
The Granta essay "My Mother Told Me Monsters Do Not Exist" blends a night‑time horror vignette with the author’s struggle to finish a massive manuscript. A grotesque, ambiguous creature appears in the writer’s apartment, prompting a visceral mix of fear,...
Book Review: ‘Muskism,’ by Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff
The New York Times review of “Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed” argues that Elon Musk’s enterprises constitute a new economic system akin to Fordism, pairing mass production with a consumer‑dependency loop. The authors, historian Quinn Slobodian and writer Ben Tarnoff, describe how...
Book Review: ‘Rasputin’ by Antony Beevor
Antony Beevor’s new biography, Rasputin: The Downfall of the Romanovs, reexamines the mystic adviser’s role in the collapse of Russia’s last imperial family. Beevor argues that Rasputin’s influence was a catalyst, but situates it within a cascade of systemic failures, from...
Book Review: ‘Into the Wood Chipper,’ by Nicholas Enrich
Nicholas Enrich’s new book, *Into the Wood Chipper*, offers a first‑hand whistleblower account of how the Trump administration systematically dismantled the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Drawing on internal memos and congressional testimony, Enrich chronicles the agency’s decline...
Leo Tolstoy Calls Shakespeare an ‘Insignificant, Inartistic Writer.’ Then George Orwell Fires Back
In 1906 Leo Tolstoy published an essay denouncing Shakespeare as an “insignificant, inartistic” writer, arguing that the Bard’s universal acclaim was a cultural inoculation imposed by German academia. Forty‑one years later George Orwell responded in his 1947 piece “Lear, Tolstoy...
Andrew Martin (with Mary Gaitskill)
The New York State Writers Institute launched the new season of its podcast, The Writers Institute, on April 15, 2026. The opening episode features author Andrew Martin discussing his novel Down Time and Mary Gaitskill reading from her novel The...