This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Dynamite Entertainment, publishers of Brandon Sanderson’s White Sand Volume 2.
George Washington’s Hair Found In Old Book
Here’s an odd story for you. Strands of George Washington’s hair have been found in an 18th century almanac at the Schaffer Library in New York. And a librarian who was inspecting the book found the hair in a yellow envelope with the following written on it: “Washington’s hair, L.S.S. & (scratched out) GBS from James A. Hamilton given him by his mother, Aug. 10, 1871.” They think the strands were given to the book’s owner by Alexander Hamilton (:breaks into song:) himself.
Orange City Takes Issue With LGBTQ Books
Some residents of Orange City, Iowa are arguing for separation, and community input on the acquisition of books with LGBTQ themes in their public library. The room seemed split equally between those for and against the petition during a meeting of the Orange City Public Library Board of Trustees. The board has not taken action, but plans to have its policy committee review the input and compare its current policy to other libraries before making a decision.
Booksellers Respond To #MeToo In Kid Lit
Publishers Weekly surveyed booksellers, asking whether or not they would remove children’s books by Jay Asher and James Dashner, both accused of sexual harassment by multiple people, from their shelves. The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators revoked the authors’ memberships and banned them from conferences, their agents dropped them, as did Dashner’s publisher. But in surveying several bookstores, PW encountered mixed responses. Read the results of the survey here.