RIP Lawrence Ferlinghetti (This week in books)

This week! Books!

Just want to say a quick thing that while the horizon seems to be brightening as many people receive vaccines, it’s also still a deeply strange and stressful time because we’re still in it and a lot of people are still struggling. Hang in there, keep reaching out to your loved ones, get your vaccine if you’re eligible and able, and let’s keep pulling through this together.

Now, a few links.

RIP to legendary poet and bookseller Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who passed away this week at 101. If only we could all have this interesting and long a life.

Lila Shapiro profiled the new wave of publishing executives and editors of color, who represent a hoped-for sea change in the industry.

After being accused of unethical conduct by current and former clients, literary agent Brooks Sherman departed Janklow & Nesbit Associates. Publishers Weekly also had to apologize for its original framing of this news, which grossly mischaracterized Sherman’s role in Angie Thomas’s rise to prominence.

Jonathan Dee at The New Yorker profiled author Viet Thanh Nguyen, who melds criticism and fiction, and whose style reflects his view that traditional notions of craft conceal cultural and political bias.

And how many of the 100 most famous passages in literature can you identify?

This week in bestsellers

Here are the top five NY Times bestsellers in a few key categories. (All links are affiliate links):

Adult print and e-book fiction:

1. A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
2. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
3. Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
4. Relentless by Mark Greaney
5. The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

Adult print and e-book nonfiction:

1. How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates
2. Just as I Am by Cicely Tyson with Michelle Buford
3. The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee
4. Walk in My Combat Boots by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann with Chris Mooney
5. Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

Young adult hardcover:

1. Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
2. One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus
3. Stamped by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
4. Lore by Alexandra Bracken
5. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Middle grade hardcover:

1. The Ickabog by J.K. Rowling
2. Little Leaders by Vashti Harrison
3. Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Adventure by Jeff Kinney
4. Ground Zero by Alan Gratz
5. The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate

This week on the blog

In case you missed them, here are this week’s posts:

• Describe characters and settings when they’re first introduced
• Make details vivid in a query letter (query critique)

Don’t forget that you can nominate your first page and query for a free critique on the blog:

• Nominate Your First Page for a Critique on the Blog
• Nominate Your Query for a Critique on the Blog

And keep up with the discussion in all the places!

• Follow me on Twitter
• Follow my page on Facebook
• Join the Facebook Group
• Check out the Bransforums

And finally, a new tulip/Beanie Baby/stonks craze has arrived and… it’s basketball highlights you can watch anywhere, which are selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Value is a social construct.

Have a great weekend!

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Art: Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Follow me on Instagram!