Whoops! A version of Today in Books from earlier today contained yesterday’s news items. Here’s the correct version below!
Game of Thrones Prequel House of the Dragon Adds to Its Cast
House of the Dragon, the HBO fantasy drama prequel to Game of Thrones, has announced seven more of its cast members. Among the announced cast is the previously-rumored Graham McTavish (Outlander and The Hobbit) as Ser Harrold Westerling. British actor Jefferson Hall (Vikings) will be playing identical Lannister twins Jason and Tyland. Other announced cast members are: David Horovitch (Miss Marple) as Grand Maester Mellos; Matthew Needham (Chernobyl) as Larys Strong; Bill Paterson (Fleabag) as Lord Lyman Beesbury; and Gavin Spokes (Hamilton) as Lord Lyonel Strong. The series is still slated for a 2022 release.
Chris Colfer Reveals A Character in His New Book is Openly Gay
Glee alum Chris Colfer wants everyone to know that the third installment of his bestselling A Tale of Magic series will include an openly gay character. Colfer told Entertainment Weekly, “When I first started writing, many people told me that I was making a mistake because the world wasn’t ready to let their kids read a book by an openly gay man, so I really shied away from including any openly LGBT characters in my first set of books because I thought I was already fighting an uphill battle as it was… So, I dropped hints along the way. I would describe their interests and their looks and their preferences, hoping that readers would pick up on it — and a lot of them did — but this is the first time I’ve been able to explore their orientation and be very open and honest about it.” You can read an excerpt of Colfer’s new novel on Entertainment Weekly‘s website. A Tale of Sorcery publishes on September 28th and will be followed by a virtual book tour.
Meghan Markle Reads Book to Harlem Schoolchildren
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry continued their visit to New York City on Friday with a trip to Mahalia Jackson School in Harlem to promote early literacy. Meghan Markle read to the Harlem schoolchildren from her book The Bench, and Harry sat with the kids as Meghan read to them. Markle told the kids, “I wrote this when we just had our little boy, and I haven’t read it to any other kids but you!” The children made handmade gifts for the couple, and Meghan and Harry also donated two garden boxes of vegetables and herbs to support the school’s ongoing community efforts for fresh food.
US Senate Finance Committee Presses Publishers on Library Ebook Contracts
The US Senate Finance Committee is pressing the Big Five publishers for transparency on ebook licensing. Here’s everything you need to know.