Jill Lepore, who gave the opening keynote at the New England Independent Booksellers Association's Fall Conference last week, spoke about her sadly timely new book, The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State (Liveright). As she put it in her continually cheerful style, "It's a very grim topic but a very fun read." And she emphasized repeatedly that she believes humans and humanity will prevail in the conflict with machines and the growing prevalence of tech in people's lives, helped in large part by the work that booksellers do bringing people together, creating community, and promoting reading--a key foundation for true democracy.

Jill Lepore

"It's a fraught moment," she said, marked by "the building of data centers that will house machinery instead of offering housing for people." By contrast, she said to the booksellers, "I think about the work that you all do as a data center but in the best possible sense, in the sense of gathering people together to seek out knowledge and community. It's more precious than ever, and I thank you for that."

In her book, Lepore said, she wanted to try to answer the question: "how did living together as mammals come to seem so precarious?" In so many areas of their lives--basic social, familial, civil society, and community commitments--people have substituted "interactions with machines" instead of human connections. This kind of artificial state, she argued, "risks becoming the successor to the liberal, democratic nation state.... Being in a democracy requires your participation, your representation, your deliberation over issues. It makes you into a citizen. The artificial state makes you into a troll. It does not make citizens; it unmakes citizens." 

The public sphere, she continued, is no longer public. Every platform from social media sites to websites has more bots than humans on it, and they're all privately owned. "Our public discourse is controlled essentially by the three richest people on the planet." And this is "all separate from the risk that the robots are about to kill us all."

The first half of The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State is a long history of the rise of machines, including the personal computer, the internet, social media companies, right up to generative AI. The growing shift from "democratic self-government--government by consent--to government by machine happened largely by accident," she observed, but now is being led by the people Lepore calls "the merchant princes of Silicon Valley."

Lepore said the second half of the book is "a history of science fiction" and how it has been twisted by those merchant princes--including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Peter Thiel--who have called early science fiction tales from the '30s and '40s "hugely influential on their worldview." But those books had futures that were dystopian and "those books were not instruction manuals!" Also, many science fiction writers were anti-imperialist, anti-racist, anti-authoritarian, whose lessons the merchant princes have ignored. Happily, "in science fiction, all the artificial states collapse," Lepore added.

"I think we can't survive as people who live freely, in a world where we choose our governments and elect our leaders if we give up on reading, on reading physical actual books," she added. "I think it's important to resist the idea that the AI takeover is an inevitability because I think the inevitability is the resistance of human beings." --John Mutter

Our Roots & Stories, "celebrating the voices, experiences, and creativity of Black authors," will host its grand opening this coming Saturday, September 26, at 3601 N. State Line Ave., Suite 1, in Texarkana, Tex. Owner Angela Murphy posted on social media: "It's time!!! Join me next Saturday at @ourrootsandstories for our Grand Opening!! The Black book community has meant so much to me and I’m excited to introduce it to my city. Shout out to all those who have encouraged me along the way, I appreciate you more than you know."

The bookshop features books from traditionally published authors, independent writers, and local authors, the Texarkana Gazette reported, adding that the store also sells bookmarks, stickers, planners, pens, and other items made by Black creators. Book club discussions, author events, book signings, and yoga are being planned as well.

"I was inspired to open this bookstore by the lack of places to get these books [by Black authors]," Murphy said. "I wanted to create a space where people could come in and see themselves represented.... I want young readers to come in and see books with themselves on the cover. Then hopefully that will foster a love of reading for them.... Community means everything to me. Everyone is welcome. There are authors right here in Texarkana, and I must support them."

She added that she wants the bookstore's events to give residents opportunities to learn, fellowship and discover new interests: "Our voices matter. I feel like there are so many Black creators with things to say, with beautiful stories." Murphy also hopes the bookstore will leave a lasting impression on the community: "I hope they take away that I can do this too. I want them to know there is a place in Texarkana that's for me, sees me, and my culture is not frowned upon in this place."

Hidden Worlds Books, a fantasy-focused bookstore in Hillsboro, Ore., held a grand opening celebration this past weekend in its new bricks-and-mortar space, reported Hoodline.

Located at 6370 N.E. Cherry Dr., Hidden Worlds carries a wide assortment of fantasy titles. The store is divided into two spaces: the Gothic Library, which is the main sales area and is decorated with paintings, LED panels, golden mirrors, and a fireplace; and the Reading Room, which functions as an events and gathering space. Owner Hayley Klarich's event plans include Dungeons & Dragons nights, book clubs, art workshops, and book release parties.

Hidden Worlds debuted as a pop-up bookstore prior to opening a bricks-and-mortar store. Klarich started with hosting a silent book club at a local brewery before going on to host pop-up book fairs and other events. 

Before she became a bookseller, Klarich owned a children's entertainment company, and she first had the idea of a fantasy-focused bookstore after attending the Forever Twilight Festival in Forks, Wash. She decided to take the plunge once she moved to the Orenco Station neighborhood in Hillsboro and felt the area needed a third space that was not a bar or restaurant.

Per Hoodline, a line of almost 100 customers stretched outside the store before it opened Saturday, and the grand opening festivities were very well attended.

HarperCollins UK is giving £21,000 (about $28,100) to independent bookshops "after 21 of its authors and illustrators nominated stores that have supported their work," the Bookseller reported. Through the publisher's "The Bookshop I'd Like to Thank" initiative, launched as part of the National Year of Reading, each nominated independent bookshop receives £1,000 (about $1,340) to be used according to their needs. Participants include Tracy Chevalier, Alexander Armstrong, Hannah Gold, and Imani Thompson. 

"Independent bookshops take risks on books, build relationships with readers and champion authors in ways that simply can't be replicated elsewhere," said Tom Dunstan, group sales director at HarperCollins UK. "The Bookshop I'd Like to Thank is HarperCollins' way of showing we appreciate and value what they do, and what better time to do it than in the National Year of Reading." 

Chevalier, who nominated Funny Weather in Kentish Town, north London, which opened shortly before Christmas 2025, said, "I thought they were both brave and crazy, as there aren't any other shops nearby and not a lot of footfall. I was so delighted to be proved wrong! Every time I go in there it's full of people perusing books and drinking coffee."

Armstrong chose the Accidental Bookshop in Alnwick, noting that independent bookshops are powered by "passion, expertise and an almost supernatural ability to place exactly the right book into the right hands." Thompson nominated Afrori Books in Brighton, which she described as "a haven for black authors," while Parks chose Drake the Bookshop in Stockton-on-Tees.

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Passa Porta

In Belgium, Brussels bookshops "are adapting to changing reading habits, stronger demand for English-language titles, and growing interest in specialist stores, with several significant developments reshaping the capital's bookselling sector," the Brussels Morning Newspaper reported.

Passa Porta opened a dedicated English-language bookshop next to its existing Rue Dansaert store in April. Manager Ludovic Bekaert said earlier this year that English-language books had grown to account for about one-third of Passa Porta's sales, leading the bookstore to triple the space available for its English-language collection.

Le Refuge, which recently opened at 11 Rue du Lombard, focuses on outdoor activities and nature. Founder Camille Quintin had originally considered opening a general bookshop, but decided the city already had many and identified outdoor literature as a specialist niche that was not being fully served.

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Singapore's government has launched an initiative "promising actual cash to citizens as a reward for logging reading time on a government website," the Guardian reported. "It's unlikely to make you megabucks--you have to rack up 50 reading sessions of at least 15 minutes to earn one Singapore dollar [79 U.S. cents], with only one logged session allowed per day. But behavioral scientists and psychologists told the Guardian such a scheme could still help boost a habit in precipitous decline."

While the earning potential is low, this doesn't mean it won't be effective, said Ivo Vlaev, a professor of behavioral psychology at the National University of Singapore. "One of the interesting findings from behavioral science is that incentives do not always work in proportion to their monetary value."

David Martin, the award-winning author and originator of Candlewick Press's Brand New Readers series, died on September 12. Calling Martin an "extraordinary creator," Andrew Smith, senior v-p and publisher of Candlewick Press, said: "David's remarkable imagination and commitment to encouraging literacy amongst beginning readers inspired countless children to discover the magic of books. While we mourn this tremendous loss, we celebrate a legacy that will continue to resonate through every story shared, every page turned, and every child whose life was touched by his work."

David Martin

Belinda Ioni Rasmussen, CEO of Walker Books Group, added: "Candlewick Press was extraordinarily fortunate to work with David and to count his books among the treasures of the Candlewick list. His stories reached generations of young readers and will leave an enduring mark on children's literature. While we mourn David's passing, we are profoundly grateful for the trust he placed in us as his publishing home. His books remain a lasting part of who we are."

A resident of northeast Vermont since 1970, Martin grew up in New York City, where he dreamed of being a dairy farmer. "I never thought I was going to be a writer," he once said. "I thought that I was going to be an engineer or a scientist because I was always dragging home broken televisions and trying to fix them." 

When he had children and began teaching, however, he made up stories and this prompted him to learn the craft of writing. Candlewick noted that "often, when the 18-year veteran of teaching elementary and middle school visited schools or libraries, he would have a hard time sharing which of his many books was his favorite. He could, however, name his favorite sentence: 'I see a pin.' 

"Those four words were what made Balloons, his handmade easy-to-read book, so popular with the first graders he was teaching. 'When a pin shows up in a story about balloons, you know something mischievous is going to happen!' Published as Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop, that story was the spark that started the Candlewick Press Brand New Readers series, funny books for children with the philosophy that even the easiest books should be worth reading and should reward the child's efforts to read with appealing characters and humor."

Martin went on to create many more books, including We've All Got Bellybuttons!; the Piggy and Dad books, including Piggy and Dad and Piggy and Dad Play (two Brand New Readers titles); and their first full-length picture book, Piggy and Dad Go Fishing. He also contributed Monkey Business and Monkey Trouble to the series, drawing on his years of teaching experience. Early versions of the books were tested on his students.

"I got to see how much fun kids in my school had reading the funny but very simple and readable stories," he recalled. "And rereading them and rereading them!"

Candlewick added that readers of Martin's books "were not surprised when they met the author and found that he was just as entertaining as his books. He sang, played the guitar and the kazoo, or even juggled during his school visits. As David said, 'I have never minded particularly making a fool of myself,' so he was never at a loss to illustrate his points or to make a connection with the kids."

Memorial service details will be shared at a later date.

Author T. Alex Blum (l.) and Academy Award-nominated screenwriter John Gatins appeared at Zibby's Bookshop in Santa Monica, Calif., for a standing-room-only audience to discuss Blum's memoir, An Accident of Birth (UnCollected Press, May 2026), his story of discovering in his 60s that he's the oldest of four full brothers, born of a hidden affair and given up for adoption. 

City Lights Books in San Francisco, Calif., shared bookish thoughts on the seasonal change for readers: "Fall is upon us, which means we’re officially in Big Fiction Season. Check out all the new-new on the main floor in the room with the black-and-white tile!"

Noting that "it's like the Vanderpump Villa over here," Loganberry Books in Shaker Heights, Ohio, shared a video: "Editing a quiet day at the bookstore like a reality TV show."

Columbia University Press will distribute select Spanish-language titles from Ediciones Uniandes in North America, Europe, and Asia, effective immediately. At the same time, Ediciones Uniandes, the book publishing division of the University of the Andes in Bogotá, Colombia, will distribute select Columbia University Press books in Latin America.

Brad Hebel, interim director and chief operating officer of Columbia University Press, said, "Until now, Columbia University Press has only distributed English-language books. Ediciones Uniandes is our first Spanish-language publisher in our distribution portfolio, and we couldn't imagine a better partner for this new endeavor. This partnership is an important step in demonstrating to the academic publishing community that Spanish-language scholarship has an important role in bringing new ideas to the marketplace. We are glad to be at the forefront of this project."

Juan Camilo González Galvis, director of publications, Ediciones Uniandes, said, "Columbia University Press books demonstrate that a university press can compete for readers alongside the best books in the general market without sacrificing rigor, research, or the complexity of ideas. That is also what we aspire to at Ediciones Uniandes, and we look forward to finding new readers for their books in the Latin American market."

Columbia University Press titles and its distribution clients can be ordered in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, and East Asia through Ingram Academic; in Australia and New Zealand through Wiley Australia; and in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and South Africa through the University Press Group.

Mischief and Monsters by Adrianna Cuevas (Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers).

Tomorrow:
Good Morning America: Shay Spence, author of Meals You Can't Mess Up: 100+ Actually Easy Recipes for Big Flavor with Little Effort (DK, $38, 9780593968710).

CBS Mornings: Dana Bash, co-author of The Elections That Changed the World: Fifteen Pivotal Moments That Shaped How We Live (Hanover Square Press, $32, 9781335002174).

Drew Barrymore Show: Olivia Tiedemann, author of Eat (Like) the Rich: A Cookbook (Ten Speed Press, $40, 9780593837320). 

Tamron Hall: Penn and Kim Holderness, authors of Get It Done & Have Fun!: ADHD Hacks for Awesome Kids (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9780316597685).

PBS MASTERPIECE has released an official trailer for the second season of Maigret, the first contemporary television adaptation of Georges Simenon's novels. Maigret season 2 airs beginning on Sunday, October 18.

Benjamin Wainwright (Belgravia: The Next Chapter, Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim) stars as Jules Maigret, with Stefanie Martini (The Gold, Last Kingdom, Emerald City) as Madame Louise Maigret. The cast also includes Blake Harrison (World on Fire, I Hate Suzie Too), Reda Elazouar (Sex Education, Pirates), Kerrie Hayes (The Responder, Criminal Record), Shaniqua Okwok (The Flatshare, It's a Sin) and Rob Kazinsky (Star Trek: Section 31, Eastenders), and Nathalie Armin (Showtrial, Juice).

In Season 2, Maigret "faces his greatest test yet. As crimes grip Paris, Maigret finds himself fighting on two fronts: hunting dangerous killers while defending his unorthodox methods against internal politics, betrayal, and a department waiting for his luck to run out," MASTERPIECE noted. 

The Fertile Earth by Ruthvika Rao won the £10,000 (about $13,370) Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize, sponsored by the Wilbur & Niso Smith Foundation. The book is only the second debut novel to win the award.

Judge Costanza Casati commented: "The Fertile Earth is an epic, ambitious story of adventure, class and family. Written in a language so beautiful that it tears at your heart, this book is fearless in the way in which it tackles the complexities of the human soul, and how our personal choices often affect the great political changes of our countries. A book that is hard to forget."

Prize founder Niso Smith said: "I am so impressed by the honesty of The Fertile Earth, with its cruel, proud and hopeful characters. But mostly I admire the story itself, which helps us to see a part of a country and its people at a time of transformation. Ruthvika's writing and the scale of this book make it soar. She takes us from village to city, letting us experience a rich and vivid southern India in both its magical and unforgiving forms. The voices of Krishna, Vijaya, Ranga and Sree are so real they will live on in readers' minds forever. Huge congratulations to Ruthvika!"

Five writers were selected as winners of this year's New Voices award, designed to unearth and support aspiring authors to take a fledgling idea from work-in-progress to complete first draft. Each winner receives a year of mentorship and one-to-one editorial guidance. The winners of the Author of Tomorrow short story award for young writers aged 21 and under were also named. 

Even the least self-aware person experiences an occasional moment of reflection on the meaning of life and what might happen when it ends. For those who want to dive more deeply into those topics, Alan Lightman's philosophical novel Preparing for Nothingness provides a stimulating roadmap for that sometimes-challenging journey.

The vehicle for Lightman's exploration is a fictional 2026 symposium at Sweden's Uppsala University, spearheaded by Ludvig Bergsson, a longtime professor of semiotics who's grieving the recent death of his father. The program features six speakers: an Argentine psychologist; an astronomy professor from the U.S.; a philosopher from the U.K.; a Catholic theologian from the Philippines; an Australian hospice worker; and a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Each, in turn, delivers a lecture on how an individual can live their life most meaningfully, and the implications of that decision as one considers the prospect of death and confronts the question of whether there is an afterlife.

In his 2014 essay collection, The Accidental Universe, Lightman wrote that "for me, there is room for both a spiritual universe and a physical universe, just as there is room for both science and religion." With a Ph.D. in physics and a long career as a professor of the practice of humanities at MIT, Lightman's eclectic background renders him singularly qualified to present his characters' diverse and sometimes sharply divergent viewpoints with intelligence and appropriate depth.

Straddling these worlds as he does, Lightman carefully avoids tipping the balance in favor of any of his imagined presenters. Similarly, he makes no effort to discredit opinions less sympathetic to his own, most notably those of the theologian--the scholar whose views seem most at variance with Lightman's--who makes a passionate argument for the existence of God and for a union of souls with that deity in an afterlife, or the monk, who offers a detailed description of the Buddhist belief in rebirth and reincarnation.

Lightman (Mr g: A Novel About Creation) intersperses the six talks with brief scenes in which Ludvig, serving as something of a surrogate for the reader, reflects on them as he recalls moments in his own life. Anyone approaching Preparing for Nothingness with firmly held ideas on its subject matter likely will find support for those beliefs somewhere here. At the same time, it won't be surprising if those with less fully formed convictions encounter material likely to spark some fruitful new thoughts. --Harvey Freedenberg, freelance reviewer

Shelf Talker: In this astute philosophical novel, Alan Lightman artfully relies on a sextet of experts for a thoughtful survey of perspectives on the meaning of life and the mystery of death.