Author: Sharifah Williams

Fantastic Beasts Director Defends Johnny Depp

David Yates, The Crimes of Grindelwald director, made a statement in defense of keeping Johnny Depp on the cast. Fans have been criticizing the studio producing the Fantastic Beasts sequel, and J.K. Rowling, for the decision to keep Johnny Depp on the cast in light of allegations of domestic abuse made by his ex-wife Amber Heard. “With Johnny, it seems to me there was one person who took a pop at him and claimed something,” said Yates. ScreenCrush noted the problematic nature of Yates’ defense. Rowling has yet to comment on the controversial casting.

Cassandra Clare To Write Adult Fantasy Series

The best-selling author of the YA series The Mortal Instruments announced that she will write a new adult fantasy series. A publication date for the first book in the series, Sword Catcher, hasn’t been released, but the book is currently in progress. Featuring criminals, princes, magicians, and warriors, this will be her first high fantasy work.

Gender Disparity In Book Awards

VITA addressed gender disparity in book awards, pulling up a 2015 study looking at 15 years worth of data from top literary prizes. The study showed that fiction written by women about women won few prizes, fiction by women about men performed only slightly better in literary awards, and books by men about men far exceeded both in wins. The author of the piece conducted independent research and found that “women still have a long way to go for equality within literary prize culture.”

Today in Books is sponsored by Simon & Schuster, publisher of The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak.

It’s May 1987. Fourteen-year-old Billy Marvin of Wetbridge, New Jersey, is a nerd, but a decidedly happy nerd. Afternoons are spent with his buddies, watching copious amounts of television, gorging on Pop-Tarts, debating who would win in a brawl (Rocky Balboa or Freddy Krueger? Bruce Springsteen or Billy Joel? Magnum P.I. or T.J. Hooker?), and programming video games on his Commodore 64 late into the night. Then Playboy magazine publishes photos of their idol, Wheel of Fortune hostess Vanna White, Billy meets expert computer programmer Mary Zelinsky, and everything changes.

Dictionary.com Chooses Complicit As Word Of The Year

Here’s one for the word nerds. Dictionary.com chose complicit as its Word of the Year–“a symbol of the year’s most meaningful events and lookup trends.” The site noted that the first spike in searches for complicit occurred the day after Saturday Night Live aired a skit where Scarlett Johansson played Ivanka Trump. In the satirical ad, Johansson was selling a perfume called Complicit. A second and larger spike occurred after an interview where Ivanka Trump stated: “If being complicit is wanting to be a force for good and to make a positive impact, then I’m complicit.” Dictionary.com chose the word, in part, because of noteworthy stories of people who refused to be complicit in the face of oppression and wrongdoing.

Baltimore Cops Are Studying James Baldwin And Plato

In Baltimore, Detective Ed Gillespie is incorporating the Humanities into officer training. In his classes at the city police department’s in-service training facility, Gillespie teaches officers Plato, Steinbeck, Dostoevsky, and Baldwin. The detective’s methods include having his students discuss real stories of police misconduct in Platonic terms. Amidst calls for officer training on de-escalation and implicit bias following the death of Freddie Gray who suffered a fatal injury in the back of a Baltimore police van, Gillespie is trying to offer his students a way to ask questions about the human condition, themselves, and policing.

Rare 16th-Century Mesoamerican Codex Goes Online

The Library of Congress has made an extremely rare Mesoamerican manuscript available online. The Codex Quetzalecatzin (or the Aztec Codex) is one of the few surviving illustrated Mesoamerican manuscripts dating before 1600. Over at the Library of Congress site, you can take a look at the manuscript’s native Aztec and Nahuatl maps, hieroglyphs, illustrations, and more.

Negative Assumptions Trigger Poor Reading

According to new research published in Scientific Study of Literature, negative assumptions about science fiction trigger poor reading. Washington and Lee University professors Chris Gavaler and Dan Johnson measured how an automatic assumption that science fiction texts are less worthwhile predisposes readers “to a less effortful and comprehending mode of reading – or what we might term non-literary reading.” “We can now show objectively that the weakness is with the reader, not the story itself,” said professor Gavaler.

Bad Sex In Fiction Award 2017 Nominees

The Literary Review announced its 2017 nominations for the Bad Sex in Fiction Award. The award recognizes “outstandingly bad” scenes of sexual description in good novels. The nominees are: Seventh Function of Language by Laurent Binet, The Destroyers by Christopher Bollen, Mother of Darkness by Venetia Welby, As a God Might Be by Neil Griffiths, The Future Won’t Be Long by Jarett Kobek, War Cry by Wilbur Smith (with David Churchill), and Here Comes Trouble by Simon Wroe. You can read the cringe-worthy excerpts in the linked piece. Previous winners of the award include Erri De Luca and Morrisey.

Anansi Boys Adapted As Radio Drama

BBC Radio 4 is adapting Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys as a six-part radio drama. The story follows Mr. Nancy, an incarnation of the West African trickster god Anansi, from American Gods. British comedian and actor Lenny Henry will play Mr. Nancy in the radio adaptation; Jacob Anderson (Game of Thrones) and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Misfits) will play Nancy’s sons. Anansi Boys will begin airing on Christmas Day.

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The Next Agatha Christie Adaptation

Is Death on the Nile. Twentieth Century Fox is currently working on the Murder on the Orient Express follow-up. The Orient Express screenwriter will return to work on Death on the Nile, and while Kenneth Branagh has yet to be signed he’s expected to return as director and starring as detective Hercule Poirot. Murder on the Orient Express made $50 million domestically and $100 million internationally.

Anthony Scaramucci Couldn’t Sell White House Memoir

After shopping versions of his book to major publishers over the summer, former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci has given up on plans for a political memoir. An anonymous source at a major publishing house told Business Insider that the 35-page proposal draft they saw was “not good.” Scaramucci’s titles included “Inside Out” and “I Did It My Way.”

LeVar Burton And LaVar Ball Are Not The Same Person

Some Twitter users mistook LeVar Burton for LaVar Ball and sent the Reading Rainbow host angry tweets about “his son.” Ball is the father of UCLA basketball player LiAngelo Ball who was caught shoplifting with teammates in China. LaVar Ball is under fire for saying some stuff about Trump’s involvement in his son’s release from police custody. This has nothing to do with bookish icon LeVar Burton, but here we are. Burton pointed to a tweet calling him “a has been actor with a thief for a son.” “One of many sleights I am having to endure these days,” Burton tweeted. “Thanks!”

Sponsored by Wednesday Books, publishers of Not Now, Not Ever by Lily Anderson.

Jennifer E. Smith meets The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy in this deliciously nerdy sequel to The Only Thing Worse than Me Is You, inspired this time by The Importance of Being Earnest.

Elliot Gabaroche is packing up her determination, her favorite Octavia Butler novels, and her Jordans, and going to summer camp. Specifically, a cutthroat academic competition for a full scholarship to Rayevich College, the only college with a Science Fiction Literature program. It’s going to be an epic summer.

Not Now, Not Ever is a “witty, romantic, and exuberantly geeky.” —Jenn Bennett, author of The Anatomical Shape of a Heart

Zinzi Clemmons Leaves Lenny Letter, Citing Lena Dunham’s Racism

The What We Lose author left Lena Dunham’s online publication Lenny Letter after Dunham issued a statement in support of Murray Miller who was accused of sexual assault by actress Aurora Perrineau. In a statement of her own, Clemmons wrote, “For all you writers who are outraged about what she did, I encourage you to do the same. Especially women of color.” Clemmons, who has known Dunham since their college days, announced her exit on Twitter, where she discussed the “hipster racism” and gaslighting she witnessed from Dunham and her circle. The full statement is worth a read.

Watership Down Author’s Amazing Library, Up For Auction

The personal library of Watership Down author Richard Adams is going up for auction. And it turns out his collection includes some incredible treasures. Among the thousands of books crowding his shelves, you can find a rare copy of the Shakespeare Second Folio of 1632 (valued around $53,000 to $80,000), Boswell’s Life of Johnson, a Bible that once belonged to Charles II, and a bunch of first editions by 19th-century English novelists including Jane Austen, George Eliot, and Charles Dickens. The library goes up for auction on December 14, so if you have tons of money you don’t know what to do with here’s your chance to walk away with some seriously valuable books.

New A Wrinkle In Time Trailer

We were just talking about how great the poster for the new A Wrinkle in Time adaptation looks, and now we get a good, long look at the film thanks to a new trailer. Ava DuVernay, the film’s director, released the trailer on her Twitter feed yesterday, and fans have been low-key screaming about how epic it looks ever since.

Thank you to ECW Press for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

Delve into the scientific terms and theories at the core of the Peabody-winning, cult favourite show. With exclusive insights from the show’s co-creator Graeme Manson and science consultant Cosima Herter, The Science of Orphan Black takes you behind the scenes of the Dyad Institute and inside Neolution. Casey Griffin and Nina Nesseth decode the mysteries of Orphan Black — from the history of cloning, epigenetics, synthetic biology, chimerism, the real diseases on which the clone disease is based, and the transhumanist philosophies of Neolution, to what happens when a projectile pencil is shot through a person’s eye and into their brain.

Epic Trilogy Of Chinese Literature Gets A Translation

Though Louis Cha’s writing has been compared to J.R.R. Tolkien’s in scope and imagination, many English-speaking readers are unaware of his work because it hasn’t been translated. Writing under the pen name Jin Yong, Cha has published celebrated wuxia (martial-arts related) fiction, including the Condor Trilogy, a 1957 epic series that’s being compared to The Lord of the Rings. Translators have cited the difficulty of translating the work as the reason behind the lack of Cha translations, but now the trilogy will be translated into 12 books in English. The first volume of the first book, A Hero Born, is translated by Anna Holmwood and scheduled for a February 2018 publication date.

The New A Wrinkle In Time Poster Is Gorgeous

Have you seen it have you seen it? The movie poster for the upcoming A Wrinkle in Time adaption is out and gives us a look at the cast, including the celestials. It’s beautiful–check it out. Ava DuVernay‘s adaptation of Madeline L’Engle’s novel follows Meg Murry, played by Storm Reid, her brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin as they journey into alternate dimensions to bring home their father. Oprah Winfrey, Mindy Kaling, and Reese Witherspoon will star as the three celestials in the film, which hits movie theaters March 2018.

Liz Phair Signs Two-Book Deal

Did you used to rock out and/or get moody to Liz Phair in the 90s? Did you wonder about her life, and where she got inspiration for the lyrics that deftly spoke to your angst? You might have a chance to find out. Phair signed a two-book deal with Random house. The first is a memoir of Phair’s “experiences with fame, heartbreak, motherhood, and everything in between,” and will be entitled Horror Stories. Once it’s out, you can dig up those scratched CDs and tap into some 90s nostalgia.

Fantastic Beasts Sequel Cast Photo Reveal

We got a photo reveal! Warner Bros. also revealed the sequel’s official title–Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. The first cast photo gives us a look at Jude Law as young Dumbledore and Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald. See the full cast, a close-up of Law and Depp, and even a moving picture because why not? Unless you’d rather be surprised, you can find newly released plot details after the photos in the Entertainment Weekly piece.

Google Doodle Honors Chinua Achebe

Google honored Chinua Achebe with a Google Doodle today, on what would have been the author’s 87th birthday. Achebe passed away in 2013, leaving behind an enduring literary legacy. Published in 50 languages, his 1958 novel Things Fall Apart follows a Nigerian village chief negatively impacted by British colonialism and Christian missionaries. Achebe won the 2007 Man Booker International Prize for fiction.

George Clooney Will Star In And Direct Catch-22 TV Series

George Clooney will star in and direct a six-episode series based on Joseph Heller’s Catch-22. The 1961 novel is set during World War II, and follows the life of Captain John Yossarian, a bombardier. Clooney will play Colonel Cathcart, Yossarian’s commander and enemy. The series will tentatively start shooting early 2018.

Thank you to The Nothing by Hanif Kureishi for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

From the author of The Buddha of Suburbia comes his new book, a novella of passion, revenge, and deception. Waldo, a fêted filmmaker, is confined by old age and ill health to his London apartment. Frail and frustrated, he is cared for by his lovely younger wife, Zee. But when he suspects that Zee is beginning an affair with Eddie, “more than an acquaintance and less than a friend for over thirty years,” Waldo is pressed to action: determined to expose the couple, he sets himself first to prove his suspicions correct – and then to enact his revenge.

And The National Book Awards Go To…

The National Book Foundation announced the National Book Award winners tonight. Without further ado, the winners are…

Fiction: Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Nonfiction: The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia by Masha Gessen

Poetry: Half-light: Collected Poems 1965-2016 by Frank Bidart

Young People’s Literature: Far from the Tree by Robin Benway

The Foundation also honored Richard Robinson, Chairman, President & CEO of Scholastic, who was introduced onstage by President Bill Clinton, and Annie Proulx, introduced by Anne Hathaway.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s Son Resigns As Director Of Tolkien Estate

On the cusp of Amazon and Warner Bros.’ Lord of the Rings series adaptation news, we learned that J.R.R. Tolkien’s son resigned as director of the author’s estate. Christopher Tolkien, the 93-year-old scholar of his father’s work, kept a firm grip on the estate’s property rights and reportedly hated Warner Bros.’ Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films. Tolkien Estate recently settled a dispute over the use of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movie characters in slot machines and video games, but now that Christopher Tolkien is out of the picture we may be seeing more of those characters and Tolkien adaptation news.

Authors Write Letters Of Solidarity To Imprisoned Colleagues

Neil Gaiman, Ai Weiwei, Kamila Shamsie, Madeleine Thien, and a whole host of international artists and writers have written letters of solidarity and hope to imprisoned writers around the world. The event marks PEN International’s Day of the Imprisoned Writer, which calls on governments around the world to stop silencing writers. On this day, PEN highlights the cases of five persecuted writers. You can read about the cases, and more about Day of the Imprisoned Writer here.

Thank you to The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

As a con woman in the streets of 18th-century Cairo, Nahri does not believe in magic. She relies on her wits and her healing talents to survive. But when she accidentally summons a sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior during one of her cons, she’s forced to question everything she believes. He tells her that across the hot, windswept sands of the Middle East lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass – home of six djinn tribes, and simmering with old resentments threatening Nahri’s ancestral home. There’s a reason they say to be careful what you wish for…

CA Will Be First To Use LGBT-inclusive Textbooks

California will become the first U.S. state to use LGBT-inclusive history textbooks in primary schools. The California State Board of Education approved 10 textbooks for kindergarten through eighth-grade, and rejected two. The two rejected books didn’t meet the state’s 2011 FAIR Education Act, which requires that schools teach about historical figures who were LGBT or who had disabilities. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, which published the two rejected textbooks, didn’t address the sexual orientations of historical figures who were, or were widely speculated to have been LGBT. The publisher told the commission that while LGBT people are “central to both United States history and culture,” they felt that “the terms lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer are contemporary terms that may not map well on past lives and experiences.”

The Handmaid’s Tale Returns To Hulu In April

Brace yourselves. Hulu announced that The Handmaid’s Tale will return for a second season in April, and Glamour gave us a first look at the season 2 teaser. The adaptation based on Margaret Atwood’s classic dystopian novel earned Hulu its first outstanding series Emmy. Also on the Hulu horizon, an adaption of Lawrence Wright’s Pulitzer-winning 9/11 exposé, The Looming Tower, will premiere as a 10-episode limited series on February 28.

The Most Popular Kindle Books Of All Time

Mashable published a list of the most popular Kindle books of all time, according to new data pulled from Amazon Charts. Kindle sales in fiction and nonfiction determined popularity. The chart toppers include E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey and Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games in fiction, and in nonfiction Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and Cheryl Strayed’s Wild are listed. Mashable noted that the top 10 in fiction star female protagonists, and nine out of 10 were written by women (John Green was the sole male author on that list).

Today’s newsletter is sponsored by Home Sweet Home by April Smith, new in paperback from Vintage Books.

This riveting epic drama follows the Kusek family from New York City to America’s heartland, where their dream life turns into a nightmare, as they are caught up in the panic of McCarthyism, a smear campaign, a sensational trial, and, ultimately, murder. From the widely praised author of the FBI Special Agent Ana Grey series and A Star for Mrs. Blake.

DC Comics Editor Fired Following Sexual Harassment Claims

DC Comics fired longtime editor Eddie Berganza after BuzzFeed News reported on years of sexual harassment allegations made against him. BuzzFeed published the accounts of female employees at DC Comics who alleged that Berganza tried to forcibly kiss or grope them, and wrote about how he was promoted despite multi-employee complaints about his behavior to Human Resources. He was later demoted to group editor after another woman said he kissed her without her consent. One day after the BuzzFeed News report was published, DC announced that the company was suspending Berganza and launching an investigation; he was fired two days later. Berganza’s DC Comics career spanned 25 years.

J.K. Rowling Bolsters Aspiring Writer

When a frustrated aspiring writer sent a sorrowful tweet into the void where one imagines tweets from random people to J.K. Rowling exist, something miraculous happened: the author responded. Not only did she respond, she did so with encouragement. “I want to write like @jk_rowling or @StephenKing but it’s too hard for me. I’m demotivated. I’ll never finish my book,” tweeted the writer. In response, Rowling advised, “Write like you,” and told her to finish the book. What a perfect story for NaNoWriMo season.

Wonder Woman 2 Gets Earlier Release Date

Happy news for Wonder Woman fans impatient for the second film: Wonder Woman 2 will be released November 1, 2019, a month and half earlier than originally announced. Patty Jenkins will direct and Gal Gadot will reprise her role as Wonder Woman. If that’s still too long a wait, you can catch Diana Prince at the theater in Justice League this weekend.

Thanks to Unbound Worlds for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

Build your library with a collection of classic science fiction and fantasy novels from Unbound Worlds! Fall is in full swing, and it’s the perfect time to cozy up with some classics. Unbound Worlds is giving away thirty-two books from timeless sci-fi and fantasy authors like Philip K. Dick, T.H. White, Anne McCaffrey, and Samuel R. Delaney, plus some bookish swag from Out of Print! Enter for a chance to win.