Two new publishing scams (This week in books)

This week! Books! A day late because Abolish ICE!!

Congrats to the ALA award winners! Among the honorees:

• Newbery: All the Blues in the Sky by Renee Watson
• Caldecott: Fireworks by Matthew Burgess
• Printz: Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories compiled by Cynthia Leitich Smith
• King Book Award: Will’s Race for Home by Jewell Parker Rhodes

The Margaret A. Edwards lifetime achievement and Children’s Literature Legacy awards went to Candace Fleming.

Two New Impersonation Scams to Watch For – Victoria Strauss, Writer Beware – Publishing scams were already rampant, and A.I. has only supercharged them. It’s insane. The indispensable Victoria Strauss has two new ones to look out for.

Industry Auction to Support Minnesota, Immigrants – Claire Kirch, Publishers Weekly – This auction has now concluded, but kudos to the organizers, who raised over $200,000 to support Minnesota and immigration defense.

There’s a New American TikTok. What Does That Mean for You? – Emmett Lindner, New York Times – Anticipating the effects of TikTok’s new Trump-friendly owners.

The world’s most powerful literary critic is on TikTok – George Monaghan, The New Statesman – Speaking of TikTok, a profile of influential BookTok influencer Jack Edwards.

Computers can’t surprise – Richard Beard, Aeon – A case against A.I. writing.

After Mamdani Nods to ‘Heated Rivalry,’ Library E-Book Downloads Surge – Liam Stack, New York Times – After NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani encouraged people to stay in during the recent blizzard and download hit romance Heated Rivalry from the library, thousands of people took heed.

Did Don DeLillo Invent the Racy Hockey Novel? – Alexandra Alter, New York Times – What if I told you Don DeLillo wrote a racy hockey novel under a pseudonym?

Amazon to Cut 16,000 Jobs in Latest Round of Layoffs – Karen Weise, New York Times – More corporate layoffs coming to Amazon.

Here to Make Friends (and Maybe Write a Novel) – Stephen Fishbach, Lit Hub – Survivor contestant (and debut novelist) Stephen Fishbach talks about what he learned about himself and writing from reality TV.

How to Survive When You’re Between Writing Projects – Leslie Cohen, Lit Hub – In some ways, the only thing harder than writing a book is being stuck between writing projects.

How to write an “I have a book coming” email – Cassie Mannes Murray, Pine State – Advice on crafting an all-important part of your book launch.

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. Twelve Months by Jim Butcher
2. Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid
3. The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
4. Woman Down by Colleen Hoover
5. Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy

Adult print and e-book nonfiction:

1. The Invisible Coup by Peter Schweizer
2. 1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin
3. Strangers by Belle Burden
4. Football by Chuck Klosterman
5. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk

Young adult hardcover:

1. Fake Skating by Lynn Painter
2. If Only I Had Told Her by Laura Nowlin
3. Dragon Cursed by Elise Kova
4. Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter
5. Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft

Middle grade hardcover:

1. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
2. Refugee by Alan Gratz
3. The Court of the Dead by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro
4. The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs by America’s Test Kitchen Kids
5. Growing Home by Beth Ferry

This week on the blog

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

• General Strike

And keep up with the discussion in all the places!

• Follow me on Bluesky
• Check out the Bransforums

And finally:

Minnesota Proved MAGA Wrong – Adam Serwer, The Atlantic (gift link) – A wonderfully written profile of the ordinary citizens who are bravely showing a world MAGA can’t fathom: “The secret fear of the morally depraved is that virtue is actually common, and that they’re the ones who are alone.”

Have a great weekend!

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