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

Edmund White, the American writer, playwright and essayist who attracted acclaim for his semi-autobiographical novels such as A Boy's Own Story – and literally wrote the book on gay sex, with the pioneering The Joy of Gay Sex – has died aged 85.

Last month the National Endowment for the Arts canceled grants already awarded to hundreds of nonprofits, including a total of $1.2 million promised to 51 independent presses and literary organizations.

The Book Manufacturers Institute, a trade association for book printers and their suppliers in North America, is joining the industry's fight against book bans. Through the "BMI Challenge," the association is encouraging its 110 members donate to We Are Stronger Than Censorship, an initiative cosponsored by the Independent Book Publishers Association and EveryLibrary Institute; if members raise $16,000, BMI will match that sum with its own $16,000 donation.

The Kenyan writer Ngugi wa, who was censored, imprisoned and forced into exile by the dictator Daniel arap Moi, a perennial contender for the Nobel prize for literature and one of few writers working in an indigenous African language, has died aged 87.

On May 14, Eksmo, Russia's largest publisher—accounting for approximately 20% of the market—sent a letter to "all interested organizations," which included booksellers and other partners of the publisher, with a list of 50 titles to be "disposed of on site or returned if unsold." The letter, PW has learned, was intended as a preemptive self-censorship move to shield the publishing house's bookselling partners and others from a government crackdown that came came a day later, resulting in the arrest of eleven current and former employees of Eksmo. All were interrogated, and three have been accused of disseminating "LGBT propaganda"—a criminal act under Russian law. The three accused remain under house arrest.

Dealing a blow to the freedom to read, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has reversed a district court's preliminary injunction and dismissed free speech claims in Little v. Llano County. The lawsuit, filed in April 2022 by seven Llano, Texas, library patrons, concerns the removal of 17 books from the Llano branch library. Plaintiffs have 90 days following the decision to decide whether to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Former register of copyrights Shira Perlmutter filed suit in federal court on May 22, challenging her removal from office and seeking reinstatement to her position at the U.S. Copyright Office.

Illinois' prominent Chicago Sun-Times newspaper has confirmed that a summer reading list, which included several recommendations for books that don't exist, was created using artificial intelligence by a freelancer who worked with one of their content partners.

Beth Anderson, director of the Burnsville Public Library in West Virginia, can throw a rock from the library's front door and just about hit the interstate. While the mountainous region has historically been sparsely settled farm and coal country, Burnsville's proximity to I-79 ensures that the library is a frequent stop for people just passing through.

A group of faith leaders in Ohio denounced a recent alleged hate crime in the state, in which a man burned books belonging to a public library. The destroyed books were on Jewish, African American and LGBTQ+ history.