BookCourt to Close After Thirty-Five Years, NPR’s Book Concierge, and More

by
Staff
12.7.16

Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—from publishing reports to academic announcements to literary dispatches—for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today’s stories:

Looking for a new book to read? NPR has released its 2016 Book Concierge, an interactive online guide to help you find a new book from a selection of more than three hundred titles curated by NPR’s editorial staff.

Fiction writers Mat Johnson and Samuel Sattin discuss their experiences writing both novels and comics, how to write post-apocalyptic work after the presidential election. (Paste)

Speaking of comics, DC Entertainment’s Rebirth program was launched earlier this year, and features a lineup of classic superheroes in brand new stories. Shelf Awareness lists the Rebirth titles arriving in January, including Superman Vol. 1: Son of Superman, written by Peter J. Tomasi, and Green Arrow Vol. 1: The Death and Life of Oliver Queen, written by frequent Poets & Writers contributor Benjamin Percy. 

BookCourt, a beloved independent bookshop in the Cobble Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, will close after thirty-five years. Though its many patrons are saddened by the news, fiction writer and Brooklyn resident Emma Straub announced in a blog post that she and her husband have secured initial funding to set up a new bookstore in the neighborhood. (Gothamist)

Fiction writer Porochista Khakpour, poet Keith S. Wilson, and other writers are starting a new feminist literary magazine, ROAR, as a “direct response to the women hating, racist, homophobic, xenophobic, environement savaging, bigoted-in-every-wau kakistocracy of a presidency and administration we face."

As more publishers turn to audio to supplement their books, Macmillan has launched a new podcast network for authors to deepen and sustain their relationships with readers. If literary podcasts are your thing, check out Ampersand: The Poets & Writers Podcast

At Esquire, Diana Spechler addresses the fear that artists, writers, and entertainers are feeling as they struggle to create art in Trump’s America, and offers ideas for reconnecting with creativity.

On a lighter note, Flavorwire offers ideas for bookish inspired vacations, from a Tokyo hostel where you can sleep in a bookcase, to a Lord of the Rings–esque hotel in New Zealand.