State-sponsored censorship week (This week in books)

This week! Books!

I’m back, and luckily nothing at all happened while I was away (okay everything happened while I was away). Lots and lots of links this week! Let’s get to it.

2026 We Need Diverse Books Mentorship Program Application – Applications are now open for We Need Diverse Books’ terrific mentorship program for creatives in four categories: Picture Books (text), Illustration, Middle Grade, and Young Adult! Winners will receive a year-long mentorship with an experienced children’s book author or illustrator.

Trump Sues Penguin Random House, ‘New York Times’ for $15 Billion – Ed Nawotka, Publishers Weekly – Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension after FCC pressure has dominated the headlines (and rightfully so), but it was not the only affront to free speech in the past few weeks. Donald Trump also sued Penguin Random House and the New York Times for $15 billion over Russ Buettner’s and Susanne Craig’s reporting and book Lucky Loser. This morning a judge threw out the case because a “complaint is not a public forum for vituperation and invective,” but gave his lawyers 28 days to file an amended complaint.

Texas A&M President to Step Down After Controversy Over ‘Gender Ideology’ – Pooja Salhotra, New York Times – In a less-noticed but very troubling development for the children’s book world, Texas A&M’s president, head of a public university it should be emphasized, resigned over a blowup over a children’s literature course that “recognized more than two genders” after a student filmed themselves arguing with the professor, who has already been fired.

Sally Rooney unable to collect award over Palestine Action arrest threat – Ella Creamer, The Guardian – And across the Atlantic, Irish author Sally Rooney has canceled all appearances in the U.K. because of the possibility of arrest due to her support for Palestine Action, which the U.K. labeled a terrorist group after they spray-painted some RDF planes (seriously).

Protecting Your Intellectual Property: What You Need to Know About Copyright – Victoria Strauss, Writer Beware – Copyright is an important to often misunderstood reality for authors, particularly with pending A.I. plagiarism lawsuits. Victoria Strauss has a helpful explainer.

Authors, Those Flattering Emails Filling Your Inbox—They’re All an AI Scam – Anne R. Allen, Anne R. Allen’s Blog… with Ruth Harris and Return of the Nigerian Prince Redux: Beware Book Club and Book Review Scams – Victoria Strauss, Writer Beware – Have you received a flattering email about your book(s)? Maybe it was even from someone impersonating me? Yeah. They’re A.I. scams. Don’t fall for it.

AI could never replace my authors. But, without regulation, it will ruin publishing as we know it – Jonny Geller, The Guardian – Agent and head of the Curtis Brown Group Jonny Gellar argues for A.I. regulation to secure proper permission and attribution for creators.

The Worst Part of Tiny Bookshop Is Also the Most Accurate – Fran Hoepfner, Vulture – Gamers are complaining about virtual customers rejecting good book recommendations in the game Tiny Bookshop. Actual booksellers say it’s probably its most accurate feature.

Middle Grade Is Down but Never Out – Shannon Maughan, Publishers Weekly – It’s tough sledding these days for middle grade authors (fun times for me personally), but various industry figures are hoping to revitalize the category.

You Don’t Have to be a Star to Promote a Memoir – Kathleen Schmidt, Publishing Confidential – Non-celebrity memoirs can be tricky to promote. But not impossible.

They Call us NPCs, Because That’s What they Want us To Be – Charlie Jane Anders, Happy Dancing – Why do right-leaning tech bros love calling marginalized groups NPCs (non-player characters)? Because that’s what they want them to be.

The Power of Developmental Editing – Elaine R. Frieman, Inside an Editor’s Brain – Editor Kristen Weber has a cool post from author Elaine R. Frieman about what it’s like to work with a developmental editor.

11 Successful Query Letter Examples for Writers in Various Genres – Robert Lee Brewer, Writers Digest – Take a gander at some query letters that helped authors land agents. And yes, many of these break my “rules,” which I’ll address in a future post!

Lee Child: ‘I’d rather be a multi-millionaire than a credible author’ – Dorian Lynskey, The iPaper – An entertaining interview with author Lee Child, who seems quite comfortable with where he landed in life.

Curtis Brown Changes Hands – Sophia Stewart, Publishers Weekly – Congrats to my former colleague Elizabeth Harding, who is taking the reins at Curtis Brown Ltd. after many years being stewarded by the Knowlton family. Current CEO Tim Knowlton will assume an emeritus role, and Ginger Knowlton will remain at Curtis Brown as VP and an agent.

Q&A Thursday: Sandwich Edition – Kate McKean, Agents + Books – Agent Kate McKean considers the perils of “sandwich advice” when authors lean too hard into the “say something nice” part. (This is one reason my feedback has gotten more direct).

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. The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown
2. Wild Card by Elsie Silver
3. Clown Town by Mick Herron
4. The Surrogate Mother by Freida McFadden
5. Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

Adult print and e-book nonfiction:

1. Confronting Evil by Bill O’Reilly and Josh Hammer
2. All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert
3. Listening to the Law by Amy Coney Barrett
4. The Book of Sheen by Charlie Sheen
5. The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

Young adult hardcover:

1. Blood Moon by Britney S. Lewis
2. Thorn Season by Kiera Azar
3. Hour of the Pumpkin Queen by Megan Shepherd
4. A Theory of Dreaming by Ava Reid
5. Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft

Middle grade hardcover:

1. The Poisoned King by Katherine Rundell
2. Troubling Tonsils by Aaron Reynolds
3. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
4. Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate
5. Refugee by Alan Gratz

This week on the blog

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

• N/A

And keep up with the discussion in all the places!

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• Check out the Bransforums

And finally:

Let’s talk about ‘political violence’ – Taylor Lorenz, User Mag – In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s disturbing assassination and amid a devastating ongoing U.S.-backed genocide, it’s worth taking a step back and considering what is–and isn’t–considered “political violence” by elites and which deaths are recognized.

Have a great weekend!

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