In today’s news, read about the decade’s most influential YA authors, speculate on the latest Apple gadget, and ask yourself, “What the *$%# was Bloomsbury publishing thinking?” Details below.
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- Over the last ten years, young adult book sales have taken off while other areas of publishing have declined, and Omnivoracious gives us some reasons why. Noting that young readers hooked by the Harry Potter craze have grown up to become avid teen readers, the blog discusses eight YA authors that have helped the genre grow over the past decade. From Stephenie Meyer to John Green, today’s teen readers have a lot to be grateful for.
- For the past week or so, book blogs have been buzzing about what exactly Apple has up its sleeve and predicting something along the lines of a Kindle on steroids. The company is expected to announce a “tablet or notepad-sized media device” on Wednesday, which could give the Kindle a run for its money. At this point it’s all speculation, but NPR has the details on what experts are predicting and why the Apple device will have to be more than just another e-reader.
- ShelfLife does a good job summarizing Bloomsbury’s latest cover catastrophe by calling it “the FAIL news of the day.” Bloomsbury (the publisher that came under fire a few months ago for whitewashing the cover of Justine Larbalestier’s Liar) has again put a white woman on the cover of a book with an African-American protagonist. This time the book in question is Jaclyn Dolamore’s Magic Under Glass, and Bloomsbury has already asked for a do-over and apologized for the offensive cover. Larbelestier commented about the incident on her blog, writing, “Publishers don’t randomly pick white models. It happens within a context of racism.”
- The National Book Critics Circle has announced finalists for its 2009 book awards, with Man Booker-winner Wolf Hall making the list for fiction. Other fiction finalists include Bonnie Jo Campbell and Jayne Anne Phillips , and you can check out the full list of finalists at the National Book Critics Circle website.
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