Reach out to me for editing! (This week in books)

This will be the last post for about a month, as I’m getting married to my lovely partner next week and taking a bit of time off.

But! I am still available for editing, and am currently booking full manuscript edits starting in mid-May. I typically book slots two to three months out, so I’d recommend reaching out as soon as you’re confident in your delivery date. Don’t hesitate to reach out!

Things have been a tad hectic, but here are some of the links that caught my eye this week.

Macmillan Children’s Dissolves Roaring Brook, Forms New Imprint – Emma Kantor, Publishers Weekly – Another longtime children’s imprint is dissolving, this time Roaring Brook, though Macmillan is also forming a new imprint under Connie Hsu for nonfiction and illustrated books.

What Memoir Scandals Tell Us about Two LLM Writing Scandals – Lincoln Michel, Counter Craft – Nothing is surer in life than death, taxes, and memoir scandals in publishing, but Lincoln Michel has some astute observations to make about the bleeding edges of authenticity and what it means for readers’ relationship with A.I.-generated writing.

What Bookstores Want From Traditional Publishers—and How the Bookstore Market Has Changed – Jane Friedman – What life on the ground for bookstores means for the direction of the publishing industry and what authors should take into account.

What Are the Routines of So-Called Super-Readers? – Kelsey Rexroat, Lit Hub – Who are the super readers plowing through hundreds of books a year, and how do they do 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. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
2. The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez
3. Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
4. The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
5. Judge Stone by Viola Davis and James Patterson

Adult print and e-book nonfiction:

1. Strangers by Belle Burden
2. Stripped Down by Bunnie XO
3. Stand by Cory Booker
4. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
5. A World Appears by Michael Pollan

Young adult hardcover:

1. The Sun and Starmaker by Rachel Griffin
2. Fake Skating by Lynn Painter
3. If Only I Had Told Her by Laura Nowlin
4. Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
5. A Stage Set for Villains by Shannon J. Spann

Middle grade hardcover:

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

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!

• Follow me on Bluesky and Threads
• Check out the Bransforums

And finally:

Transference in the Afternoon – Jesse Barron, Granta – I’m normally in the “we should all know less about each other” camp of caring about salacious stories, but this was a genuinely fascinating deep dive into an affair between therapist and patient that raises some profound questions about the nature of therapy, personal responsibility, and trauma.

Have a great weekend! See you next month!

Need help with your book? I’m available for manuscript edits, query critiques, and coaching!

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Photo: The Huntington, San Marino, CA