Postcard From the Pandemic: Tolstoy Under Quarantine
Reading Tolstoy’s War and Peace as part of a virtual book club hosted by Yiyun Li and A Public Space has become a comforting ritual during the pandemic.
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Reading Tolstoy’s War and Peace as part of a virtual book club hosted by Yiyun Li and A Public Space has become a comforting ritual during the pandemic.
The author of The Nix struggles with the pressure to be productive during the pandemic and finds relief in celebrating the small victories.
Paisley Rekdal assembles a digital map of literary Utah; Niall McArdle reports on new online literary projects in Ireland; Ho Sok Fong describes having her work translated; and other stories.
Stephen King weighs in on the politics of the coronavirus pandemic; Stephanie Burt writes in praise of long poems; Caits Meissner offers a pep talk to writers; and other stories.
Megan Milks profiles Bruce Boone, a leading figure of the New Narrative movement; the Center for the Art of Translation raises funds for the Book Industry Charitable Foundation; Thea Lim reflects on her fictional pandemic versus the reality of COVID-19; and other stories.
Lambda Literary, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting LGBTQ literature and writers, has launched a fund-raiser to help it stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.
An early review of the BBC/Hulu adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People; Bookshop faces some pushback from booksellers; a new Twitter account calls attention to systemic issues in the publishing industry; and other stories.
To help writers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, we will be highlighting emergency funds available to writers. For more sources of support, read our running list of resources for writers in the time of coronavirus.
We Need Diverse Books is issuing grants of $500 to members of the children’s literature publishing community “who are experiencing dire financial need,” specifically diverse authors, illustrators, and publishing professionals whose incomes have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Writers and illustrators who have lost income due to canceled school or library visits, and who have published at least one book-length title for children or teens at a traditional publishing house, are eligible; children’s publishing professionals who have been furloughed or recently laid off from a publisher or literary agency are also eligible. All applicants must identify as people of color, as Native American, or as LGBTQIA+, or have a disability or belong to a marginalized religious or cultural minority; additionally, they must be U.S. residents and at least eighteen years of age.
Using online the online application system, submit information about personal finances, a statement of need, and a recent bank statement. Author and illustrator applicants must also list publication history and provide evidence of the cancellation of at least three school or library visits. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
We Need Diverse Books estimates that applications will be processed within two to three weeks. Applications will be capped at seventy but may be reopened after the judging committee has reviewed the first round.
We Need Diverse Books first emerged as a social media campaign and protest in 2014, which called out the publishing industry for the lack of diversity in children’s literature. We Need Diverse Books has since become a nonprofit organization with the vision to build “a world in which all children can see themselves in the pages of a book.”
A petition calls on the Poetry Foundation to establish relief fund; Naoise Dolan discusses her debut novel, Exciting Times; the New York Times profiles Dutch novelist Marieke Lucas Rijneveld; and other stories.
Rick and Becky Riordan announce matching gift challenge of $100,000 for the #SaveIndieBookstores campaign; Publishers Weekly talks to a South Carolina bookseller who has reopened her store; Mary Billard reflects on the magic of Three Lives & Company in New York City; and other stories.