Publisher Distances Herself from John Hughes Following Plagiarism Claims
Upswell publisher Terri-ann White says her trust has been breached by John Hughes, after his novel The Dogs was found to contain sections that were nearly identical to extracts from the Great Gatsby, Anna Karenina, and Belarusian Nobel prize laureate Svetlana Alexievich’s nonfiction work The Unwomanly Face of War. In a statement posted on the Upswell website Friday, White said while her “impulse is always to stand by my author,” she was “affronted” when John Hughes wrote an article for The Guardian defending his work, claiming, “I wanted the appropriated passages to be seen and recognised as in a collage.” The Dogs has also been withdrawn from the longlist of Australia’s most prestigious literary prize, the Miles Franklin.
Marvel Developing Wonder Man Series
Longtime Marvel character Wonder Man is getting a series treatment. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton is teaming up with writer-producer Andrew Guest (Brooklyn Nine Nine, Community) to create a live-action series featuring the Marvel character. Wonder Man is still in early development stages, but the project could start filming in 2023.
Stephen Graham Jones to Unleash Terrifying New Audiobook Experience with The Babysitter Lives
Stephen Graham Jones, the New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians and My Heart is a Chainsaw, has new terrors planned for fans in the form of a book released exclusively on audio. The Babysitter Lives is a book written with listening audiences in mind, and it will be available from Simon & Schuster on August 9th. Stephen Graham Jones said of his new audiobook, “Some stories work so well out loud. I think The Babysitter Lives is one of those stories. I couldn’t have dreamed of a better person to bring it to life than [audiobook narrator] Isabelle Star LeBlanc. I hope listeners enjoy it — I mean, I hope it makes them leave the lights on.”
“Once The Books Start Coming Off the Shelves, We’ll See You in Court”: This Week’s Book Censorship News
This week’s book censorship news, including white supremacists crashing a Drag Queen Story Hour and a wave of of lawsuits.