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.
Several high-profile members of the U.K. literary community have contributed auction items to Books for Vaccines, a fund-raiser to support Care International’s efforts to address COVID-19 vaccine inequity across the globe. Readers have until May 21 to bid on items, such as a consultation with agent Jonny Geller and a signed box set of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy. (Guardian)
Blake Bailey’s biography of Philip Roth, which was recently put out of print by W. W. Norton, has been picked up by Skyhorse Publishing. Bailey lost representation at the Story Factory and his contract with W. W. Norton in April, after multiple women came forward accusing him of sexual assault and misconduct. (New York Times)
After fourteen years in business, Family Books in Los Angeles will close its storefront due to loss in revenue triggered by the pandemic, deciding to pursue “new incarnations, as a publishing imprint and with roaming events.” (Los Angeles Times)
“Chichikov knew more of life’s truths than I did: No matter how poor, there is money to be made from the dead. The poor are worth more dead than alive.” Molly McGhee writes about losing her mother and how America profits off the dead. (Paris Review Daily)
“I realized, maybe for the first time, what it was like to see a trans woman present herself unencumbered by the anxiety of needing to pass.” Author Torrey Peters seeks to be “open to beauty’s true power.” (Harper’s Bazaar)
“An important part of my ritual is that I have a regular bar where I like to go read. I’m there almost every day. There’s a big backyard at my favorite bar which I refuse to name.” After spending most of the pandemic in Los Angeles, publisher Lisa Lucas describes the joy of returning to her favorite New York City eateries in her “Grub Street Diet.”
“The editor of the small, seemingly young literary magazine sends me an e-mail with a proof and many little edits, asking if I approve. I don’t open it at first, because the very thought brings rushing waves of panic.” Erica Jenks Henry writes about the emotional rollercoaster of publication. (Literary Hub)
“My obsession as a writer is the ways that we try and fail to love one another.” Lynn Steger Strong announces her next novel, Flight, which is forthcoming from Custom House in fall 2022. (Entertainment Weekly)
