Bookbrowse News About Books, Authors, and Book-Related Topics

For the first time in its 50-year history, the National Book Critics Circle is announcing longlists for its annual awards in the autobiography, biography, criticism, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry categories, as well as for the Gregg Barrios Book in Translation Prize.

As the debates and discussions over all matters of rights pertaining to AI move forward, the Authors Guild has issued a lengthy statement that reiterated the organization's position that it is authors who control the rights to their work.

More than three years after she became a target of abuse from book banners, librarian Martha Hickson found herself in a place she could scarcely imagine back in the dark days of threats and intimidation: standing side by side with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy as he signed the state's Freedom to Read Act into law on December 9.

On November 27, 2024, a fragile ceasefire took effect in Lebanon following two months of intense Israeli bombardment mostly in southern Lebanon and Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburb. Dahiyeh, where Hezbollah's party headquarters is located, is composed of multiple neighborhoods with varied social, economic, and urban histories, and is also home to numerous warehouses, printers, and bookbinders on which the Lebanese book industry relies.

Last week, in a powerful address at the International Publishers Association Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk emphasized the critical role of documentation and publishing in preserving truth and human dignity during times of conflict. Matviichuk, who leads the Centre for Civil Liberties in Ukraine, has spent the past decade documenting Russian war crimes since shortly after Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, and has ramped up her efforts since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

The book criticizing the US healthcare insurance industry whose title resembles words etched on to shell casings found at the scene of the murder of the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week has soared towards the top of the Amazon bestseller list.

The Philosopher Fish: Sturgeon, Caviar, and the Geography of Desire has been crowned the winner of the Diagram prize for the oddest book title of the year.

The book, by Richard Adams Carey, traces how the caviar industry has changed. In a public vote on the shortlisted titles, The Philosopher Fish won 27%, representing the narrowest winning margin in the history of the prize, which is administered by the Bookseller.

The Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, has acquired Compendium, the publisher of illustrated books, journals, and notecards. At Crown, Compendium will become a standalone imprint under Ten Speed Press. "Compendium will retain its distinct editorial identity and continue to lead the creation and promotion of its portfolio, which includes more than forty new products set to publish in 2025," per a release. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Only 7% of authors aware that their work has been used to train AI have given permission for such usage, according to a survey of 13,574 members of the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society in the U.K. Furthermore, 77% of authors did not know whether their work had been exploited in this way. The findings, ALCS said, made clear "the need for licensing options that fairly compensate writers for the use of their work in training AI models."

Mubi, the film distributor, production company, and streaming service founded in 2007 by Efe Cakarel, will launch a publishing arm, Mubi Editions, next April, focusing on titles on cinema and the arts.

Based in London and New York and led by Daniel Kasman, VP of editorial content at Mubi, the imprint will publish two to three titles in its in inaugural year, with plans to expand its list in future years. Distributed Art Publishers will distribute for the imprint in the U.S. and Canada, with Thames & Hudson distributing to the rest of the global market, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Turkey.