Bloomsbury on the rise (This week in books)

This week! Books!

Some things are bigger than books and writing, and this feels like one of those weeks.

The photos and videos out of the Los Angeles area are lurid and unsettling, no matter your political vantage point, and I guess that’s kind of the point in our eyeballs-are-money-and-power era.

Even a mile away from the protests you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve landed in paradise, but fear now shadows daily life, from families getting snatched up and divided by masked kidnappers, to unnecessary military escalations resembling the ones our forebears once fought a revolution to be rid of.

This country has enough resources to feed every mouth, to house every child, to afford everyone basic dignity, no matter where the human beings happened to have been born. The fact that we choose not to do those things shows how the few with power have successfully conspired to keep us divided so they might steal away with the spoils from everyone else’s labor. And here they are again, injecting fear into a place still reeling from natural disasters the very same powers-that-be are hastening to worsen.

I’m heartsick about it all, and all I can do is link again to the only thing I can say about the time we’re enduring:

• Candles in the dark

Now then, there were some book links, and I collected them…

U.S. Fuels Bloomsbury’s Global Growth – Sophia Stewart, Publishers Weekly – With a timely bet on romantasy, the U.S. branch of Bloomsbury has the U.K. independent publisher flying high.

Ellen Oh Reflects on 10 Years of We Need Diverse Books – Claire Kirch, Publishers Weekly – Congrats on ten years to a wonderful organization!

Frederick Forsyth, Master of the Geopolitical Thriller, Dies at 86 – Clay Risen, The New York Times

Ingredients for brilliance – Julia F Christensen, Aeon – Insights into flow states.

Successful Queries: Henry Dunow and “The Fire Concerto,” by Sarah Landenwich – Writers Digest -Overall this is a great example of utilizing specificity and crafting a clear overarching arc to intrigue an agent.

The Subversive Joy of BookTok – Yarimar Bonilla, The New York Times – If you’re into that kind of thing.

Today’s the Day – Kate McKean, Agents and Books – Congrats to agent Kate McKean on the publication of her book Write Through It!

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. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
2. The First Gentleman by Bill Clinton and James Patterson
3. Never Flinch by Stephen King
4. Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood
5. One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune

Adult print and e-book nonfiction:

1. How Countries Go Broke by Ray Dalio
2. Original Sin by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson
3. A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern
4. This Dog Will Change Your Life by Elias Weiss Friedman with Ben Greenman
5. Trump’s Triumph by Newt Gingrich

Young adult hardcover:

1. A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim
2. Never Thought I’d End Up Here by Ann Liang
3. Watch Me by Tahereh Mafi
4. Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft
5. Nothing Like the Movies by Lynn Painter

Middle grade hardcover:

1. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
2. Refugee by Alan Gratz
3. Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
4. Growing Home by Beth Ferry. Illustrated by Terry Fan and Eric Fan
5. The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs by America’s Test Kitchen Kids

This week on the blog

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

• Think more about whether you like a prospective agent than whether the agent will like you

And keep up with the discussion in all the places!

• Follow me on Bluesky
• Check out the Bransforums

And finally:

Brian Wilson, Pop Auteur and Leader of the Beach Boys, Dies at 82 – Ben Sisario, The New York Times – The Beach Boys’ music is almost in my DNA, RIP to a true genius.

Have a great weekend!

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Photo: Beijing, China. Photo by me