Publishing Company Blog: August 2022

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Works by Mexican writer Sister Juana Inés de la Cruz recovered from auction

Two books containing 17th-century works by pioneering feminist poet and nun saved from US auction and returned to Spain

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Unseen Charles Dickens letters to go on display for first time

Papers acquired by London museum offer insights into Oliver Twist author’s reading habits and writing projects

Monday, August 29, 2022

El Alto: graphic novel depicts Bolivia city’s future as Indigenous and robotic

Altopía imagines the bustling working-class city that overlooks neighbouring La Paz in 2053 – with coca-chewing cyborgs and minibuses with legs

Sunday, August 28, 2022

Leïla Slimani: ‘Attack on Salman Rushdie shows why we must not censor ourselves’

The bestselling author fears she too could be a target but says terrorists cannot be allowed to win

Thursday, August 25, 2022

Tess Gunty’s ‘fiercely original’ The Rabbit Hutch wins inaugural Waterstones debut fiction prize

Rust-belt novel set in a fictional Indiana town wins £5,000 cash prize and ‘ongoing commitment’ from the bookseller

First fiction work by Nobel prize-winning poet Louise Glück to be published in UK

The 64-page ‘prose narrative’ Marigold and Rose: A Fiction – about twins in the first year of life – will be published in October

Trump is reading my memoir, Kushner claims of famously book-shy boss

Son-in-law and former adviser says ex-president has ‘given me some compliments on’ critically panned 500-page tome

Spanish civil war book reveals hidden history of female journalists

Women less interested in ‘macho competitiveness of violence’ in conflict, says author

Wednesday, August 24, 2022

Idaho librarian resigns over ‘atmosphere of extremism’ and ‘intimidation tactics’

Library director resigns after a group of enraged parents pressured local school board members to ban books on LGBTQ themes

‘Donald kept our secret’: Mar-a-Lago stay saved Giuliani from drink and depression, book says

Former New York mayor’s ex-wife describes breakdown Trump helped hide, years before mutual White House drama

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

UK sales of The Satanic Verses surge after Rushdie stabbing

Publisher Vintage has ordered a reprint following rush to buy the 1988 novel in the wake of the attack on the author earlier this month

German publisher pulls Winnetou books amid racial stereotyping row

Ravensburger Verlag reacts as debate rages over depiction of Native American character in children’s books

Gary Gaines, coach at heart of Friday Night Lights, dies aged 73

Gaines was central figure in Buzz Bissinger’s bestselling book
Billy Bob Thornton played Gaines in 2004 movie adaptation

Texas school district pulls the Bible, The Bluest Eye and other books from library

School board in Dallas-Fort Worth area requires reviewing books facing challenges from parents

Monday, August 22, 2022

Arts minister demands Festival of Dangerous Ideas cancel bestiality talk by British historian Joanna Bourke

Bourke set to present The Last Taboo on history of ‘sex between humans and animals’ at Sydney festival but NSW minister wants it scrapped

Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame, one of Somalia’s greatest poets, dies aged 79

Somali social media has been flooded with tributes to the man better known as ‘Hadraawi’

Sunday, August 21, 2022

Game of Thrones effect fires up reissues of ‘lost’ fantasy fiction classics

With big-budget TV series about to hit streaming services, publishers hope a string of cult novels will find a new audience

Poison pens: leading writers call for overhaul of UK’s Society of Authors

Literary world riven by conflict as trade union is accused of inappropriately taking sides in culture war

Friday, August 19, 2022

Salman Rushdie: writers gather in New York to read author’s works in solidarity

Event organized by Pen America champions freedom to write after novelist survived assassination attempt last week

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Society of Authors responds to calls for Joanne Harris to step down as committee chair

The writers’ union has clarified its position on free speech following accusations that the Chocolat author made a ‘sideswipe’ at JK Rowling

Tuesday, August 16, 2022

Penguin cuts off Meal Prep King cook after misogynistic rant

Cookbook fans ‘heartbroken’ after John Clark’s derogatory outburst on social media

Monday, August 15, 2022

Reader, I followed them: TikTok expands its content to tap into the BookTok phenomenon

New retailer partnerships, live events and book clubs are all planned to capitalise on the platform’s vibrant community of literature lovers

Salman Rushdie’s grave fears for Indian democracy published in PEN anthology

Rushdie’s words, written before last week’s attack in New York, are aired in a new anthology alongside other leading authors

• Scroll down to read extracts from PEN’s India at 75 from Salman Rushdie, Jhumpa Lahiri and Geetanjali Shree

The Horse Whisperer author Nicholas Evans dies at 72

Novel by writer, who lived in Devon until fatal heart attack, was made into a film starring Robert Redford

Sunday, August 14, 2022

Police investigate threat to JK Rowling over Salman Rushdie tweet

Officers carrying out inquiries after message to author who voiced support for Rushdie following stabbing

Saturday, August 13, 2022

Salman Rushdie is off ventilator and able to talk, agent says

Author seriously injured in New York stabbing remains in hospital, as Joe Biden praises his courage and suspect denies attempted murder

Salman Rushdie had started to believe his ‘life was normal again’

Before he was stabbed, the author said ‘a lot of people today live with similar threats’ to those made against him

Salman Rushdie attack: details emerge about New Jersey suspect

Motive for violence at New York event remains unclear, with author in hospital

Salman Rushdie attack: suspect Hadi Matar charged with attempted murder

Suspect, 24, from Fairview, New Jersey remanded without bail over alleged attack on author in New York

Rushdie attack prompts questions over security at New York event

Suspect had a ticket for Chautauqua event but some say protections should have been enhanced given sensitivies

Writers and politicians condemn attack on Salman Rushdie

As author remains on a ventilator, messages of support champion free speech and talk of his ‘extraordinary resilience’

Friday, August 12, 2022

Police identify Salman Rushdie attack suspect as 24-year-old from New Jersey

Hadi Matar, 24, in custody after author of Satanic Verses was stabbed at literary event in western New York

A tsunami of outrage: Salman Rushdie and The Satanic Verses

The writer had no idea his novel would unleash such anger and become a litmus test of freedom of expression

Salman Rushdie attacked in New York – latest updates

Salman Rushdie: timeline of the novelist’s career

The critically acclaimed writer rose to fame in 1981 and later received death threats for The Satanic Verses

Salman Rushdie attacked in New York – latest updates

‘This is shocking’: writers and celebrities horrified by Salman Rushdie attack

Author, who has previously faced death threats, was stabbed as he was about to deliver a lecture in western New York

Salman Rushdie attacked at book event – latest updates

Salman Rushdie: New York police say author’s condition unknown after he was stabbed in neck – live

New York state police say suspect has been taken into custody after stabbing author as he prepared to give speech in Chautauqua near Erie

Full story: Salman Rushdie attacked onstage at New York event

Le Petit Nicolas illustrator Jean-Jacques Sempé dies aged 89

Sempé co-created much-loved French children’s books that have sold more than 15m copies worldwide

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Raymond Briggs, creator of The Snowman, dies aged 88 – video

The writer and illustrator Raymond Briggs has died aged 88. In his extraordinary, decades-long career he created staples of British culture such as The Snowman, for which he is best known globally, inseparably associating him with Christmas, when an animated adaptation of his book would often air.

Briggs was awarded a CBE for services to literature. Francesca Dow, the managing director of Penguin Random House children’s books, said: 'He leaves an extraordinary legacy, and a big hole'