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NBCC Names Temporary President, Will Delay Awards Deliberations
At a meeting yesterday, the remaining members of the National Book Critics Circle's board of directors named a new temporary president and decided to put deliberations for its annual awards on hold as the organization regroups following a week of infighting and the exodus of more than half of its board members.
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Graywolf Press Gives Back to Twin Cities Community
Graywolf Press, located five miles from where George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, is donating $25,000 from the sales of its books that address racism to five local organizations selected by junior staff.
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In Escalation, DoJ Is Now Seeking to Block Bolton Memoir
Citing irreparable injury, the Department of Justice on Wednesday filed an emergency motion in federal court seeking a temporary restraining order to block publication of former national security adviser John Bolton's memoir 'The Room Where It Happened.'
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Six Publishers Plan Indie Shindig
The new program is aimed at promoting new books to independent booksellers in the absence of the numerous trade shows that have been postponed because of the coronavirus.
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DoJ Sues John Bolton Over Forthcoming Memoir
In a statement, Bolton's publisher, Simon & Schuster, said the suit was "the latest in a long-running series of efforts by the Administration to quash publication of a book it deems unflattering to the President."
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NBCC Board Gutted as Fallout Over Leaked Emails, Race Issues Widens
The turmoil that roiled the National Book Critics Circle last week continued throughout the weekend and into Monday morning as concerns over matters of race and privacy continue to split the organization's board of directors. As of press time, at least 13 members have resigned from the typically 24-member board.
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Poetry Foundation Responds to Criticism, Pledges Action
The staff and board of the Poetry Foundation said in an open letter that they are committed to "ongoing action in response to the call to dismantle white supremacy." The pledge came after an open letter highly critical of the Foundation's past treatment of marginalized poets was released and led to the resignations of the organization's president and board chair.
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Amistad Launches #BlackoutBestsellerList on Social Media
Looking to showcase the popularity of Black literature, Amistad Press has launched the hashtag campaign #BlackoutBestsellerList and #BlackPublishingPower in an effort to support the work of Black authors and Black book professionals.
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Have Race Issues in Publishing Reached a Tipping Point?
A day of solidarity could lead to more diversity throughout the book world.
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Independent Publishing in a Post-Covid World
The IBPA speculates about what changes caused by the virus may be permanent.
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Turmoil Rocks NBCC Board
A handful of members of the National Book Critics Circle's board of directors have resigned following the publication of an internal email sent by one of its members, former NBCC president Carlin Romano. The email was sent in response to the board's efforts to draft a statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and pledging to support writers and critics of color.
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Race, Social Justice Titles Sparked Rise in Sales Last Week
'So You Want to Talk About Race' saw its sales jump by 848% last week over the previous week as a number of other social justice–related titles also saw big sales bumps, helping to drive up total unit sales of print books by 6.8% over the week ended May 30.
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BIHIP Partners with Lighthouse Insurance Group on Healthcare
The Book Industry Health Insurance Partnership announced an agreement with Lighthouse Insurance Group Solutions to provide its membership with information on health insurance options.
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Glasstown Entertainment Under Fire from Former Employees, Authors
Book packager Glasstown Entertainment is being accused by former employees and authors of creating and perpetuating a hostile environment for people of color.
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Publishers Promise More Action to Diversify Industry
In response to Monday's Day of Solidarity, which saw more than 1,100 publishing workers demanding that the industry take action to diversity its workforce and to publish more black authors, three of the Big Five publishers issued statements pledging to do just that.
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Social Justice Resources for the Book Business
As protests against police violence and in support of marginalized communities continue nationwide, PW has put together a list of social justice resources to aid members of the book business and others in their efforts.
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Vesuvian Media Group Launches Romance Book Line
Vesuvian Media Group announced plans to launch Rosewind Books, a romance media division focused on contemporary, historical, fantasy and holiday romance titles.
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Workers Across Book Business Take Collective Action Against Racism
On June 8, a group of more than 1,100 workers across book and media industries, most of them junior staffers, will take a day off from work, donate a day's pay to one of a number of fundraisers, and use their time to engage in acts of service in an effort to protest the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and "the many other Black lives lost to racist violence in America."
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Authors Push for Transparency with #PublishingPaidMe
A new hashtag campaign aims to highlight the disparity in book advances between white and black authors and has garnered well over 1,000 submissions.
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Poets Call for Change at Poetry Foundation
An open letter to the Poetry Foundation signed by more than 1,800 individuals issued in response to the organization's recent statement on the killing of George Floyd and other current events calls for significant change at the organization, including the resignations of its president and board of trustees chair.