Culture and Politics

Blake Bailey, the author of the newly released Roth biography, has been accused of rape and sexual misconduct by multiple women.

After claiming an inability to pick and choose which titles it distributes from other presses, Simon & Schuster has declined to distribute a controversial memoir from distribution client Post Hill Press.

Recently hired Simon & Schuster senior VP and publisher Dana Canedy made the acquisition, with the first book scheduled to release in 2023.

The Authors Guild recently tried to dispel fears that the PRO Act, if passed, would be unfavorable to freelancers.

As with other social media platforms, topical and even quirky content—not the hard sell—attracts followers.

Some worry that it could endanger the ability of freelancers to remain freelance or that it may chill the market for freelance work.

Literary agent Beth Phelan, who founded #DVpit, a Twitter pitch event for diverse authors, has established DiverseVoices, Inc.

Since 2016, The Ripped Bodice bookstore in Los Angeles has published an annual report on racial diversity in romance publishing.

The strict ABC employment test in the proposed PRO Act could erode freelancer rights and opportunities.

We Need Diverse Books, in partnership with Penguin Random House, is launching an annual initiative, Black Creatives Fund.

A range of librarians and publishing professionals have criticized the School Library Journal for its February 2021 cover.

Kate Hartson, an editor with Hachette’s conservative imprint Center Street, was recently fired, she says, for political reasons.

The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency fired one of its agents after it discovered she had accounts on right wing-associated social media sites.

Powell’s Books closed its doors for part of last week due to safety concerns after protesters gathered outside the store.

Regnery Publishing picked up the title soon after its cancellation; the conservative publisher has been distributed by Simon & Schuster since 2018.

The trade deal puts zero tariffs or quotas on goods, which includes books. That’s a relief for UK publishers, given that the UK is the world’s largest exporter of books.

The new system is designed to enable small-scale copyright claims by authors without lawyers, but anyone can opt out of the process—possibly undermining its benefits.

The question on everyone’s mind: Will any of the Big Five risk the backlash involved in publishing a post-presidency memoir authored by Donald Trump?

The imprint, housed under the Atria Books division, is headed up by radio presenter, television personality, and author Charlamagne tha God.

Accountability and sustained, industry-wide effort at all levels will be essential to promote equity and inclusion.

Now that the author’s latest novel has been released (under her pen name, Robert Galbraith), the issue is unlikely to go away anytime soon.

UK prize officials scrambled to formulate an eligibility policy when a novel by a nonbinary author was longlisted.

An agent at Talcott Notch Literary Services, Tia Mele, resigned over offensive tweets about Black people she posted in 2012 and 2014.

Aside from accounting for his time in office, Obama said it, “offers some of my broader thoughts on how we can heal the divisions in our country.”

Earlier this summer most of the organization’s board resigned after internal dissension over its anti-racism statement.