Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—publishing reports, literary dispatches, academic announcements, and more—for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today’s stories.
The Cleveland Foundation has announced the winners of this year’s Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, which honor “literature that confronts racism and explores diversity.” Eric Foner received the award for lifetime achievement, while Ilya Kaminsky’s Deaf Republic, Charles King’s Gods of the Upper Air, and Namwali Serpell’s The Old Drift won for poetry, nonfiction, and fiction, respectively.
Thanks to an increase in online orders, Powell’s Books in Portland, Oregon has rehired some of the more than 340 employees who were laid off earlier this month in an effort to limit costs in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. In an open letter, CEO Emily Powell announced, “We now have more than 100 folks working at Powell’s again—all full time with benefits.” While confirming some staff had indeed been rehired, a representative from the union that represents the store’s employees issued a press release criticizing Powell’s letter as misleading. “In fact, to date, only 49 frontline bookstore workers have been recalled to their former positions. The other 51+ are management staff, doing frontline bookseller, shelver, and shipping work, instead of the union workers who were trained to do this work and did that work everyday.” (Publishers Weekly)
Leslie Jamison, who recently became symptomatic of COVID-19, shares reflections from isolating in her apartment as a single parent. “The only way I can write any of this is to sit with her on the floor and give her a pen and notebook of her own, so she can scribble beside me.” (New York Review of Books)
As the coronavirus outbreak continues to shake up the literary community, some publishers are choosing to delay the publication of select titles. Alexandra Alter reports for the New York Times on the potential risks and rewards of these decisions.
Literary agents and editors are noticing an increase in queries and submissions as writers take advantage of their time in isolation. (Guardian)
“If you happen to be in a place with enough time and peace and quiet to learn that new skill, or write that book, or make that album, whatever, cool. Many of us with kids are not.” At the Root, Panama Jackson describes why enforced social isolation may not be a productivity boon for everyone.
Ed Nawotka takes stock of how the coronavirus outbreak has affected the book publishing industry and predicts the changes still in store. (Los Angeles Times)
“The more you write, the more you can sense those moments within yourself where you’re dodging something that maybe, subconsciously, you’re afraid to write because it might be hard.” Chelsea Bieker talks to the Rumpus about leaning into difficulty while writing her debut novel, Godshot.
And the Daily Shout-Out goes to Calamari Press for making digital copies of all its book titles, in addition to back issues of its literary magazine, Sleepingfish, available for free.
