School districts nationwide banned more than 4,000 books last year, according to the American Library Association. Nearly half of those dealt with racial or LGBTQ topics. California’s Temecula Unified School District tried to censor a textbook that included a lesson on Harvey Milk, the gay San Francisco Supervisor and activist who was assassinated in 1978.…

When an illustrated edition of Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” was released in 2019, educators in Clayton, Missouri needed little debate before deciding to keep copies in high school libraries. The book is widely regarded as a classic work of dystopian literature about the oppression of women, and a graphic novel would help it reach…

Korean writer Hwang Sok-yong and German author Jenny Erpenbeck appear on this year’s International Booker shortlist, which features books exploring “divided families and divided societies”, according to prize administrator Fiammetta Rocco. Hwang is shortlisted for his ninth novel translated into English, Mater 2-10, translated by Sora Kim-Russell and Youngjae Josephine Bae. The nearly 500-page novel…

I first heard the term “smart women adrift” from my graduate school professor, Sigrid Nunez—herself a master of writing incisive female characters. At the time, the term made me laugh, because it opened an umbrella over a type of literary woman who had long existed, unclassified, in my literary consciousness, and there is something funny…

Nova Scotia illustrator Sydney Smith has won the 2024 Hans Christian Andersen Award for illustration, making him the first ever Canadian winner.  The biannual award, presented by the International Board of Books for Young People (IBBY) is the highest international recognition for authors and illustrators of children’s books.  Out of 12 shortlisted creators, two winners are chosen…

The upcoming 15th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF) is set to showcase literary talent and creativity, uniting 45 renowned authors and experts from 14 Arab countries who contributed valuable works in the children’s literature domain. The 12-day cultural extravaganza will spotlight the creative prowess in children’s and young adult literature, spanning an…

PEN Award for Poetry in Translation ($3,000) For a book-length translation of poetry from any language into English. Judges: Nancy Naomi Carlson, Matthias Göritz, Dorothy Bonett Dreaming the Mountain, Tuệ Sỹ (Milkweed Editions)Translated from the Vietnamese by Nguyen Ba Chung and Martha CollinsBookshop The Blue House: Collected Works of Tomas Tranströmer, Tomas Tranströmer (Copper Canyon…

Dulux Heritage today unveils a new campaign by Ogilvy UK that reimagines the covers of 12 literary classics to create an entirely new way to choose colour. Dulux Heritage Editions are a collection of luxury paint hues that have been paired with 12 iconic novels ranging from War of the Worlds, Dracula and Moby Dick…

Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival will be held from May 1 to 12. Gulf Today, Staff Reporter The upcoming 15th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF) is set to showcase literary talent and creativity, uniting 45 renowned authors and experts from 14 Arab countries who contributed valuable works in the children’s literature domain. The…

The Virginia Department of Education has approved a draft of new English Language Arts standards. They make for a dreary read. If you care about novels and poems, if you think Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson are essential voices that every young American should hear, if you feel, as W. E. B. Du Bois did,…