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.
For the fifth year running, James Patterson has partnered with the American Booksellers Association to give holiday bonuses to independent booksellers across the country. This year a record 333 booksellers—who are nominated by customers, fellow booksellers, and publishing industry professionals and then selected by Patterson—received grants of $750 each, totaling $250,000.
“It’s never been an easy time to be a bookseller, and we put our hearts and souls into it. We are grateful for what we’re able to accomplish in the community, and getting a reward for it once in a while is pretty special.” Hear from one bookseller in Lititz, Pennsylvania, who received a grant from Patterson. (Lancaster Online)
New York–based children’s media studio Literary Safari has launched the #ArmMeWithBooks campaign, which seeks to address issues of gun violence in the United States through children’s books. Launched on December 14, the sixth anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the initiative offers a free, downloadable list of recommended children’s, middle-grade, and young-adult titles that respond to the question, “What is a must-read for children growing up in these challenging times of mass school shootings and lockdown drills?” (Publishers Weekly)
Boston writing center GrubStreet has been chosen to open a new civic-cultural space in the city’s Seaport District. The proposed 13,000-square-foot space will include a bookstore, cafe, podcast studio, classrooms, and an area for readings and storytelling events. (Boston Globe)
“That’s the whole point of enjoyably puffy bits of content like book lists—you can devote as little attention to reading them as did their editors to publishing them.” At Slate, Laura Miller weighs in on the controversy surrounding Alice Walker’s recent interview in the New York Times’ By the Book column.
And speaking of lists, nine writers including Clint Smith and Elizabeth Acevedo recommend the absolute best thing they read on the Internet in 2018. (Elle)
Hitting the road for the holidays? The Washington Post highlights three audiobooks for your holiday drive.
