Author: Emily Martin

100 Notable Books of 2021, According to the NEW YORK TIMES: Today in Books

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date November 23, 2021

New Book Spotlights All Original Goosebumps Covers

Goosebumps is a children’s horror book series in which the cover artwork is as memorable as the book itself. On November 30, Dynamite Entertainment will release Beware: The Art of Goosebumps, a new book spotlighting all of the original covers of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps novels. The hardcover book, written by Sarah Rodriguez, will feature Tim Jacobus’ artwork for the original run of Goosebumps, and “tons of fun facts about the series alongside a walkthrough of all books and covers in the Goosebumps collections.”

100 Notable Books of 2021, According to the New York Times

2021 has been a great year for books! The New York Times has announced a list of 100 notable books of the year. Selected by the editors of The New York Times Book Review, the list includes several types of books, including fiction, memoir, nonfiction, poetry, and short stories.

5 Writers Make the 2021 CBC Poetry Prize Shortlist

Five Canadian poets have made the 2021 CBC Poetry Prize shortlist. Here are the finalists: Mia Anderson (Onion), Lise Gaston (James), Adriana Oniță (Untranslatable), Bola Opaleke (The Morgue in my Tears), and Alison Watt (Addendum —”Flora of a Small Island in the Salish Sea”). The winner of the CBC Poetry Prize will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and will have the opportunity to attend a two-week writing residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. The remaining four finalists will each receive $1,000. The winner will be announced this Wednesday on November 24th.

Texas Book Ban Would Cost School Districts Millions of Dollars in Staff Time

A Texas lawmaker’s anti-LGBTQ and anti-CRT book censorship attempt would cost the state tens of thousands of staff hours to implement.

Today In Books

Marie Lu’s YA Fantasy Novel LEGEND is Headed to TV: Today in Books

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date November 20, 2021

Sponsored by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster

Augustine Frizzell Will Be Directing The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue Film

Augustine Frizzell will direct the film adaptation of V.E. Schwab’s bestselling novel The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Frizzell, director of Never Goin’ Back and The Last Letter From Your Lover, will also pen the screenplay for the film along with David Lowery, her husband and the screenwriter of Pete’s Dragon and The Green Knight. Author V.E. Schwab, who will produce the film alongside Gerard Butler, Alan Siegel, and Danielle Robinson, asked her readers on Instagram not to say things like “They better not change/ruin/fuck up this thing I love.” She wrote, “Please remember, no one can change/ruin/fuck up my book. Because my book is my book. It is not undone. It is not erased. It is not a palimpsest, written over by a new iteration. The book will always be the book. The film will always be the film.”

Marie Lu’s YA Fantasy Novel Legend is Headed to TV

Marie Lu’s YA fantasy novel Legend is being adapted for television! The author posted the news on Instagram on Thursday, writing, “I am so, so, SO delighted to share that Legend has been optioned by Bound Entertainment—and that this time, I will be *writing* the series in collaboration with the brilliant Lindsay Sturnam (Daredevil, Supergirl, Teen Wolf)!! We’ve been hard at work on the pilot script all of this fall.” This will be Marie Lu’s first time working on a screenplay, which is something she’s said she’s wanted to do for quite some time.

Get A First Look at Riley Sager’s Upcoming Novel The House Across the Lake

Riley Sager just can’t stop writing page-turning thrillers, and his latest takes readers to rural Vermont. The House Across the Lake will follow widowed actress Casey Fletcher, who’s taking some time for herself at her family’s lake house in Vermont. Then she starts to get to know her neighbors, a tech innovator and his wife, a former model. And something about them seems off. When the wife disappears, Casey gets sucked into the mystery. The novel will hit shelves June 21, 2022, but you can get an exclusive look at the cover and an excerpt of the novel right now.

Describe the Perfect Cozy Afternoon and We’ll Tell You Which Holiday 2021 Romance to Read

It’s getting cold outside, so it’s the perfect time to plan a cozy afternoon to cuddle up with a book. Take this quiz to find out which holiday 2021 romance is perfect for your cozy winter afternoon.

Book Radar

Augustine Frizzell to Direct THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LA RUE and More Book Radar!

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date November 19, 2021

Book Deals & Reveals

Here’s the cover reveal of Lauren Ho’s new novel Lucie Yi is Not A Romantic. Out from G.P. Putnam’s Sons on June 21, 2022.

Augustine Frizzell will be directing the film adaptation of V.E. Schwab’s bestselling novel The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

Remember how I said last week that I was so excited about Beck Albertalli and Adam Silvera’s new novel Here’s to Us? Well you can read an excerpt from the first chapter of the novel right now.

Entertainment Weekly has also got a first look at the new Riley Sager novel, The House Across the Lake.

The final trailer of Spider-Man: No Way Home is now out, and it features villains from past Spider-Man films: Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), Electro (Jamie Foxx), and the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe).

Oprah Daily has got an exclusive cover reveal of Douglas Stuart’s Young Mungo, which Grove Press is publishing in April 2022.

Jesse Eisenberg and Lizzy Caplan have signed on to star in the FX on Hulu limited series based on Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s best-selling novel Fleishman is in Trouble.

Maureen Goo’s next YA novel Throwback will be published by independent publisher Zando Projects in 2023.

Emerging filmmaker Nick Brooks has sold his first young adult thriller in a seven-figure book deal. Henry Holt Books for Young Readers expects to publish the book in 2023.

Libro.fm announces their top-selling audiobooks of 2021.

Barnes & Noble’s Book of the Year is The Lyrics by Paul McCartney.

Here are the 2021 winners of the National Book Awards.

Book Riot Recommends

I’m a Contributing Editor at Book Riot, I write the Today in Books newsletter, and I’m a Bibliologist for Book Riot’s Tailored Book Recommendations subscription service. I also have a PhD in English, so I’m basically a doctor of books. Books are my life, in other words, so in this section of the newsletter, let me share with you some upcoming books I’m super excited about. And I think you will be too!

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

Prepare Your Shelves!

The Maid by Nita Prose (Ballantine Books, January 4, 2022)

We love a quirky mystery/thriller, don’t we? The Maid is a new thriller that comes out early in 2022 and really kicks off what I hope will be a promising year in mystery fiction. This is the story of Molly Gray, who is not like everyone else (although who is like everyone else, really?). She has trouble with social skills and difficulty reading social cues. When she was feeling unsure of the world around her, she used to have her gran to lean on. But now Gran is dead, and Molly has been left to navigate the world all on her own.

Unsure of what else to do with herself, Molly throws herself fully into her work as a maid at a hotel. After all, it’s the perfect job for her. She loves cleaning, and returning each and every room in the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection fills Molly with joy. That is… until she discovers a dead body in one of the rooms. And suddenly the hotel becomes the scene of a serious murder investigation. And Molly becomes a primary suspect.

I think readers are going to love reading Molly’s story. She’s an enjoyable character not because she’s 100% likable all the times but because she’s unique and fun to read about, even when she makes some frustrating decisions. Yes, the mystery and the story here are compelling, but it’s the main character that really pushes this into must-read territory.

What I’m Reading This Week

Will by Will Smith

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling

Those Who Prey by Jennifer Moffett

The Collective by Alison Gaylon

There, There by Tommy Orange

Monday Memes

This one is about to be me on my Thanksgiving trip this week. It’s too bad I can’t get into eReaders, because the amount of space books take up in my luggage? Not good.

Other Things That Make Me Happy

Insecure Season 5 is in full swing, and it is soooooo good! Please watch this show if you haven’t already. There’s a scene in episode 1 of season 5 that I’m still laughing about every time I think about it.

And since we always want more cats, here’s a century-old children’s book that features cats in costumes.

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

It’s been a while since little Cersei let me share a picture of her, and now she’s finally gracing us with her presence with this stunning close up. Just look at her sweet little pink nose. One of these days, I’m going to show you a full close up of her face so you can see the cute little spot under her mouth that I call her “drool spot.” I know you can’t wait.

And there you have it. The final book Radar before Thanksgiving Day here in the US. I hope you have a safe, happy holiday if you celebrate! Talk soon!

❤️ Emily

Today In Books

George M. Johnson Speaks Out About His Book Being Banned: Today in Books

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date November 19, 2021

Lauren Groff to Speak at Miami Book Fair this Saturday

Lauren Groff, author of The Matrix and finalist for the National Book Award, will be speaking at the Miami Book Fair this Saturday, November 20th, at 2:00pm. You can get tickets to attend the event in person at 300 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami, FL 33132, United States. If you can’t be there in person, the event will also be livestreamed via MiamiBookFairOnline.com.

Kevin Feige Teases “Top Secret” Marvel Project with Scarlett Johansson

Thursday night at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Black Widow‘s Scarlett Johansson became the 35th recipient of the American Cinematheque Award. In attendance at the ceremony was Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, who teased an upcoming “top secret Marvel Studios project,” which would involve the two-time Oscar nominee Johansson. Feige noted that the new project would have nothing to do with Black Widow and that Johansson would also serve on the upcoming project as a producer. “Scarlett has lent her talent and star power to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for over a decade. That she’s chosen to play a key part in it for so many years, I am extremely grateful for,” Feige said. “Working with [her] has truly been one of the most memorable and rewarding collaborations of my career.”

George M. Johnson Speaks Out About His Book Being Banned

In a recent interview with CBS news, author George M. Johnson spoke out about the recent controversy surrounding his young adult memoir All Boys Aren’t Blue, specifically his feelings about school boards banning the book. “I knew it was going to rattle the nerves of people who have always suppressed stories like mine,” Johnson told CBS News. “The United States of America has always had an issue with anything that tells the truth. Had I been a White queer author this book would have been (perceived) in a much different way. I would have been the second coming of Ernest Hemingway or some other great American ‘writer.'” The critically-acclaimed 2020 memoir, which covers topics such as consent, agency, sexuality, and sexual abuse, has been removed from school libraries in 10 states, including Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Wake Up: The Censorship Has Been Alive Forever. It’s At Fever Pitch Today.

Here’s this week’s roundup of censorship news from across the country, including next targets, the groups behind these challenges, and more.

Today In Books

Maureen Goo Announces Next YA Novel THROWBACK: Today in Books

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date November 18, 2021

Sponsored by HarperPerennial, publisher of You Feel it Just Below the Ribs by Jeffrey Cranor and Janina Matthewson

Jesse Eisenberg and Lizzy Caplan to Star in Fleishman is in Trouble

Jesse Eisenberg and Lizzy Caplan have signed on to star in the FX on Hulu limited series based on Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s best-selling novel Fleishman is in Trouble. The story follows forty-something Toby Fleishman, who is recently separated and diving into the world of app-based dating. Meanwhile, his ex-wife, Rachel, has disappeared, leaves him with the kids. Eisenberg will play Toby, and Caplan has been cast to star as Libby, the narrator of the story and Toby’s friend whom he reconnects with after his separation. Author Brodesser-Akner will write the TV adaptation of her own novel. This marks the author’s television writing debut. A premiere date for the show has not yet been determined.

Maureen Goo Announces Next YA Novel Throwback

Earlier this week, author Maureen Goo tweeted some big news: her next YA novel Throwback will be published by independent publisher Zando Projects in 2023. Pitched as Back to the Future meets Ladybird, Goo’s new novel sees second-generation teen Sam Kang transported back to the 1990s, where she meets the teenaged version of her mother. Goo tweeted, “I’m working with the wonderful @Tiff_Liao, a perfect match made possible by Faye Bender at @thebookgrp Can’t wait for you all to meet Sam and Priscilla! (And…Jamie).”

Nick Brooks Receives 7-Figure Book Deal for YA Thriller

Emerging filmmaker Nick Brooks has sold his first young adult thriller in a seven-figure book deal. The novel Promise Boys is the story of three boys at a Washington, D.C. charter school who investigate the murder of their principal. The story in drawn in part by Brooks’ own experiences as a teacher working with high-risk kids. Henry Holt Books for Young Readers expects to publish the book in 2023.

Announcing the Winners of the 2021 National Book Awards

Here are the 2021 winners of the National Book Awards, across five different categories.

Book Radar

Phenomenal Book Club Launches and More Book Radar!

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date November 17, 2021

Book Deals and Reveals

the impossible destiny of cutie grackle cover

Hi fellow horror fans. Tor Nightfire has released its extensive list of horror novels they’re looking forward to in 2022. If your TBR for 2022 isn’t long enough yet, you’ll want to check this out.

I love the cover of this middle grade novel! Author Shawn K. Stout tweeted the cover reveal of her new novel The Impossible Destiny of Cutie Grackle, out on May 10, 2022.

Voting for the Goodreads Choice Awards for 2021 is officially open! Get your votes in now! You have until the 28th to vote in the opening round.

Well Read Black Girl has a special cover reveal for you: It’s Ebony LaDelle’s upcoming novel Love Radio, available in May 2022.

Entertainment Weekly has got a special sneak peek at Sloane Crosley’s Cult Classic, which is, according to the author, “a romantic comedy set in a new age mind control cult on the Lower East Side.” This book will hit shelves on June 7, 2022.

Actress Kaitlyn Dever has posted a first-look image on Instagram of her character Rosaline in the upcoming Hulu film Rosaline, a comedic retelling of Romeo and Juliet, coming in 2022.

Author Chloe Gong has announced that in 2023, she will be making her adult fiction debut with Immortal Longings, the first in a new epic fantasy trilogy.

Disney+ Day last week included a lot of announcements for upcoming bookish material. Here’s a rundown of what’s coming!

Amazon has announced their picks for the best books of 2021!

Book Riot Recommends

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

Can’t Wait for This One

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill (Sourcebooks, June 7, 2022)

The Woman in the Library doesn’t come out for another seven months, and already I can’t stop thinking about it. A locked room set inside of a library? Four strangers forced together, all with their own secrets? I want it now.

Let’s set the scene. It’s the reading room at the Boston Public Library. Everything is quiet and serene. Everyone is minding their own business. Then, out of nowhere, a scream shatters the calm. Security guards rush to investigate straight away, and they ask everyone else to remain where they are until they can figure out what happened. While stuck inside the reading room, four strangers who just happened to be sitting at the same table strike up a conversation. Each of them has their own reason for being in the reading room that day. And each of them has a secret. One of those secrets? One of them is the murderer.

If you’re in the mood for a fast-paced, high-tension mystery, this one is going to check those boxes. And if June 7 seems like a long time from now, go back and check out her previous books while you wait. 2017’s After She Wrote Him is another mystery with lots of bookish content.

Words of Literary Wisdom

“Apologies didn’t exonerate the sinner, only compelled graciousness from its recipient.”

— Nothing But Blackened Teeth, Cassandra Khaw

What’s Up in the Book Community?

My iPhone is constantly telling me I spend too much time staring at my screen, which is honestly so rude. But this means I spend a lot of time scrolling around the online book community: BookTube, Bookstagram, BookTok, BookLinkedIn (JK. That’s not a thing… I don’t think). You get the idea. Don’t have the time, energy, or the will to do all of that yourself? No problem. I got you. In this weekly section of Book Radar, we’ll take a look at something cool, interesting, and/or newsy that’s going on in the book community.

If you love a good book club, I’ve got a new one for you that’s worth checking out. I’ve already purchased several shirts and sweatshirts from Phenomenal. You can check out their current campaigns here. But now, Phenomenal is branching out into book club territory!

Phenomenal is partnering with Penguin Random House and Pulitzer Prize-winner Nikole Hannah-Jones for the first official book club selections of The 1619 Project and the kids’ companion book Born On The Water. If you’re interested in participating in the book club, you can RSVP here for a special online event with author Nikole Hannah-Jones and illustrator Nikkolas Smith in conversation with Meena Harris.

Additionally, Phenomenal has exclusive book club merch! Some of the sweatshirts are in partnership with local bookshops. Additionally, you can buy the book clubs books on their website.

Your Weekend Reading Soundtack

Hey, did y’all hear Taylor Swift has a new album out? Well I’m sorry, but that’s all I’m listening to right now. And I’ll also be watching the video for “All too Well” starring Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien. I have to.

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

It’s Murray and Phantom on the cat tree yet again! And I love how Phantom is posing to show of his cute little white fluff.

If you’ve been around for a while, you probably know I have a third cat named Cersei. And you might be wondering where she’s been lately. Cersei is doing great. She’s just very camera shy. And especially as the weather gets colder, she’s been cuddling into her hiding places. I’ll try to get a new pic of the sweet girl soon!

And that’s all, book friends! I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and we’ll speak again soon!

❤️ Emily

Today In Books

Watch the Final Trailer for SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME: Today in Books

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date November 17, 2021

LeVar Burton to Host Trivial Pursuit Game Show

Former Reading Rainbow host and favorite of the book community LeVar Burton might not have landed Jeopardy, but he is now set to host a game show version of the classic trivia game Trivial Pursuit. Burton will also executive produce the game show with LBE’s Sangita Patel and Tara Long and Geno McDermott from Entertainment One (eOne), which is owned by Hasbro. “Trivial Pursuit is one of the best-known brands in the gaming universe,” Burton said. “I am thrilled to have partnered with Hasbro and eOne to bring this beloved game to market as a premium show for television.”

Here’s an Excerpt from Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli’s Upcoming Novel Here’s to Us

Best-selling YA authors Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli collaborated in 2018 with the YA romance novel What if It’s Us. Now, the authors are working together again for the sequel, entitled Here’s to Us, which hits shelves on December 28th. Can’t wait til the end of December to find out what everyone’s favorite on-again off-again couple Ben and Arthur have been up to for the past couple of years? You can read an excerpt from the first chapter of the novel right now.

Watch the Final Trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home

The final trailer of Spider-Man: No Way Home is now out, and the new trailer reveals just how closely connected the Spider-Man universe is. Tom Holland’s Peter Parker will be forced to face off against villain from past Spider-Man films: Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), Electro (Jamie Foxx), and the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe). Spider-Man: No Way Home, which is intended to be the final film in this Spider-Man trilogy, is directed once again by Jon Watts, and it stars Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, and Marisa Tomei. Catch this movie only in theaters starting on December 17th—a month from today!

Amazon Announces Their Picks for the Best Books of 2021

Amazon has just released its editors’ picks for the best books of 2021, including their top 100 and picks from every genre.

Today In Books

Goodreads Opens First Round of Voting for Goodreads Choice Awards: Today in Books

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date November 16, 2021

Kaitlyn Dever Shares First-Look Image from Upcoming Romeo & Juliet Retelling

Actress Kaitlyn Dever has posted a first-look image on Instagram of her character Rosaline in the upcoming Hulu film Rosaline, a comedic Romeo & Juliet retelling told from the perspective of Rosaline, Romeo’s ex. The actress, known for her starring role in 2019’s Booksmart, wrote in her caption that she’s “SO excited for this one:).” The 20th Century Studios film is set to release on Hulu in 2022 and will also star Minnie Driver, Christopher McDonald and Bradley Whitford, with Kyle Allen as Romeo and Isabela Merced as Juliet.

Goodreads Opens First Round of Voting for Goodreads Choice Awards

Goodreads has opened its first round of voting for its annual Goodreads Choice Awards. Goodreads users will be able to vote for their favorite books of 2021 across many categories: Fiction, Mystery & Thriller, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction, Horror, Humor, Nonfiction, Memoir & Autobiography, History & Biography, Graphic Novels & Comics, Poetry, Debut Novel, Young Adult Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy, and Middle Grade/Children’s. You can vote in the opening round from November 16th – 28th. The final round, which will allow users to vote from a narrowed down group of finalists, will run from November 30th – December 5th. The winners of the 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards will be announced on December 9th.

Semicolon Bookstore Launches Used Book Pop-Up Called Parenthesis

Semicolon Bookstore and Gallery is opening a pop-up store called Parenthesis, which will focus exclusively on affordable used books. The store will open on November 26th at Semicolon’s original location, 515 N. Halsted St. in Chicago, and it will operate until at least December 24th, and possibly into 2022. “As we get nearer to the holiday season, we recognize that people are coming in who want to get more books than they’re able to get, because of the cost of books,” owner Danielle Mullen said. “We wanted to not only make use of the nonprofit in a bigger and more effective way, but also just give a little more access, as much access as we can possibly have.” All books sold at Parenthesis will be priced at $10 or less, and proceeds will fund Semicolon’s larger literacy and book donation efforts for Chicago Public Schools students.

Where Are They Now? Whatever Happened to Some Well-Known Authors

These authors wrote some of the most successful books of our time. But where are they now? And what are they doing next?

Today In Books

Lebanese American Author and Artist Etel Adnan Dies at 96: Today in Books

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date November 15, 2021

Jennifer Garner to Replace Julia Roberts in The Last Thing He Told Me

Apple TV+ is adapting Laura Dave’s novel The Last Thing He Told Me into a limited series, but Julia Roberts is no longer attached to star in the project. Roberts had to drop the series due to scheduling conflicts, and now Jennifer Garner will be taking her place. Garner will also be an executive producer of the show, from Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and Disney’s 20th Television. The novel, which was a New York Times Bestseller last year, follows the story of a woman who develops a close relationship with her 16 year-old stepdaughter while trying to discover the truth about what happened to her husband and why he’s disappeared. No release date for the adaptation has been announced yet.

Author Chloe Gong Announces First Book in New Trilogy

A year ago, Chinese-born New Zealander Chloe Gong released her first novel These Violent Delights to much acclaim. Now, the sequel to the bestselling novel, Our Violent Ends, is coming out this week, but Gong has even more news. In 2023, Gong will be making her adult fiction debut with Immortal Longings, the first in a new epic fantasy trilogy. The official announcement for the upcoming book says that it’s “set in the dense, ruthless twin cities of San-Er, which recall the historic Kowloon Walled City of 1990s Hong Kong.” The story follows Calla Tuoleimi, a former princess who is looking to remove the king, her uncle from his throne. Gong explains, “At the start of Immortal Longings, she’s got a single-track mind for one task and one task alone: killing her uncle—the king—to finally bring down San-Er’s monarchy. To do this, she needs to win the games that he puts on each year because he won’t make a public appearance except to greet the victor.” The games involve a special power that some individuals in San-Er posses: the ability to take over others’ bodies. Intrigued? The novel will be out in summer 2023.

Lebanese American Author and Artist Etel Adnan Dies at 96

Lebanese American author and artist Etal Adnan has died at the age of 96. Her death in Paris was confirmed by her longtime partner, Simone Fattal, who did not specify the cause. Adnan has written several novels and books of poetry. Her most widely-read novel Sitt Marie Rose is based on a true story about a kidnapping during Lebanon’s civil war. Adnan’s latest poetry collection Shifting the Silence was published in October 2020. In her late 80s, Adnan also caught the attention of the international art world. Her artwork is currently on display at the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan in an exhibition entitled “Etel Adnan: Light’s New Measure.”

Every Bookish Announcement from Disney+ Day

On Friday, November 12, Disney celebrated the two-year anniversary of their streaming service with #DisneyPlusDay, announcing upcoming movies and series. Here is all of the bookish content coming to Disney+.

Today In Books

Jon M. Chu to Direct OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO! Animated Film: Today in Books

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date November 13, 2021

Isabel Waidner Wins Goldsmiths Prize for Sterling Karat Gold

Isabel Waidner has won the Goldsmiths prize for their third novel Sterling Karat Gold, a work that judges said combines “the real and the mythic, the beautiful and the grotesque, to mind-bending effect.” Waidner’s novel tells the story of a non-binary migrant cleaner who is arrested in London and then must face up against bullfighters, football players, and spaceships to be exonerated. The publisher Peninsula Press describes Sterling Karate Gold as “Kafka’s The Trial written for the era of gaslighting.” Waidner’s work beat out novels such as Claire-Louise Bennett’s Checkout 19, Leone Ross’s This One Sky Day, and Rebecca Watson’s Little Scratch to win the award.

Jon M. Chu to Direct Oh, The Places You’ll Go! Animated Film

Jon M. Chu has signed on to direct the animated film adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ Oh, The Places You’ll Go! for Dr. Seuss Enterprises and Warner Animation Group. This film will mark Bad Robot Productions’ first foray into the world of animated film. Both J.J. Abrams and Hannah Minghella will share producer credits. Jon Chu is perhaps best known for directing Crazy Rich Asians, and he is currently attached to direct the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked. Courtenay Valenti, president, production and development at Warner Bros. Pictures, said in a statement, “We are beyond thrilled to bring one of the most beloved Dr. Seuss books to life for so many generations of Seuss fans. The pairing of this classic title, with the creative excellence of Jon Chu and Bad Robot defines what we at WB try to achieve: marry great branded entertainment with singular creative talent.” Oh, The Places You’ll Go is expected to release in 2027.

Spotify is Getting into the Audiobook Business

Spotify, the Swedish audio streaming subscription service giant, is getting into the American audiobook business with an agreement to acquire Ohio-based digital audiobook distributor Findaway for an undisclosed price. “It is Spotify’s ambition to be the destination for all things audio both for listeners and creators. The acquisition of Findaway will accelerate Spotify’s presence in the audiobook space and will help us more quickly meet that ambition,” said Spotify’s chief research and development officer Gustav Söderström.

Nemo the Library Fish’s New Job and More Good Book News This Week

Not all news is bad news! This week, a library goldfish found a new job as a therapy fish. Here’s that story and more good book news from this week.