New Voices New Rooms began yesterday morning in Atlanta, Ga., with a keynote breakfast featuring a cross-section of some of the people most affected by book banning. The speakers included three authors, two booksellers, and two student activists, while Philomena Polefrone, associate director of American Booksellers for Free Expression, served as master of ceremonies. 

In her opening remarks, Polefrone noted that independent booksellers have two superpowers: they "put books in people's hands, and they are small businesses." As private businesses, indie bookstores are not subject to the same restrictions affecting public schools and public libraries, and they can often be "the best lifeline some folks have" to banned books. And as small businesses, Polefrone said, "your voices are powerful," and indies have been instrumental in defeating book banning laws in multiple states already.

Philomena Polefrone

Silas House, author of Parchment of Leaves, pointed out that there are many ways to ban books. Sometimes it "doesn't look like banning," and in his experience, the banning of his books was "quietly done." His first three books, which delved into issues of gender, race, and the environment, were well received in his home region of Appalachia, at least until he joined other writers in a protest against mountaintop removal. As a result he was labeled "anti-coal and anti-work." Around the same time he came out, which, he remarked drily, "sure didn't help things."

"They did not ban my books with trumpets and declarations," House said. Rather they were simply made unavailable, removed from school libraries and not included in programs that give free books to students and teachers. In the face of the vast, orchestrated efforts to ban books and erase marginalized groups, House acknowledged, he can sometimes feel "hopeless and weary." But those efforts would not be happening if books and education and empathy weren't so powerful. "We are on the front lines because we truck in important work," he said. "If it wasn't, they wouldn't be attacking us so hard and so often and in so many ways."

Angie Thomas (l.) and Nic Stone

Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give, and Nic Stone, author of Dear Martin, took the stage together. Stone recalled that she and Thomas debuted the same year and have been "thick as thieves since 2016." They've written about similar topics, including racism and police brutality, and have both been dealing with their books being banned for some seven years. 

When The Hate U Give was banned in Katy, Tex., Thomas recalled, she received an outpouring of e-mails and messages from students and young people in Katy saying they vehemently disagreed with the decision and planned to do something about it. In talking with her editor and agent, Thomas realized that as an author, she couldn't "march into a school board meeting" or do much on the ground the way librarians and booksellers could. Instead, she came to the realization that "all I can do is write." She encouraged booksellers to be the people on the ground, to do the "hard work" of going to school board meetings and talking to parents. And she asked them to make sure that when a young person enters the store, "they feel safe."

Stone, a Georgia native, said the first ban of one of her books occurred in Columbia County, Ga., and when she traveled there for an event at a library, people approached her to "unload stories" of racism in their daily lives. The experience opened her eyes to the fact that "we live in a world where we need language, we need connection, we need community." She emphasized that the best way booksellers can "combat the nastiness" going on in society is to thrive, and to make their stores spaces that are "full of joy" and respites from the ugliness in the world. "The world's on fire," she said. "What do we actually have to lose by pursuing good things?"

Thomas added that her biggest hope for her work is that one day, young people will read The Hate U Give and wonder if the past was really like that. But that will only happen, she said, if "we talk to young people about the world we currently have" and tell them the truth. Stone said that while Thomas wants to inspire young people to make a better world, she wants to inspire young people "to look at the world as it is and find the beauty in it," and to "shed some light on the humanity of all people."

Cristina Nosti, events and marketing director for Books & Books in South Florida, said the book banning in Florida has reached a scale "we haven't seen before," with thousands of incidents reported in the 2023-2024 school year alone. In response to the surge of censorship and book bans in Florida and across the country, "the role of the bookstore as a civic gathering place has grown." Books & Books created the nonprofit Books & Books Literary Foundation in 2023; to date it has given away 35,000 banned books.

"Those who would ban our books cannot ban our minds or our imaginations," Nosti continued. "They cannot ban the creativity and friendships that are formed when we come together in a tribe of people who love books and storytelling." Nosti said she finds comfort in "daily small actions" like reading books, exchanging books, recommending books, hosting authors, and "living books and stories day in and day out." She stressed that "centralized power dislikes communities" because their goal is to force conformity, and that is why they fear pluralism and diversity, "and why they fear our stories." The present moment, she said, "demands we show up for each other" and "become the heroes of our own lives and heroes for one another."

Ali Rudolph

Ali Rudolph, former educator and co-founder of Rudolph Girls Books in Westminster, Md., discussed the times her store has come into conflict with her county's public school system over things like book bans and banning the Pride flag. She reflected that while she has certainly "poked the bear" a few times, she has found she feels better when she shares her opinion a more "measured and honest way." She attempted to do just that during last year's Banned Book Week, when she published a social media post defining a book ban as, essentially, when a school administrator or government official overrides the content choices made by professionals such as public school teachers and librarians.

Though she felt the post was "straightforward" and "non-confrontational," a member of the local board of education shared the post later the same day and accused Rudolph and like-minded people of promoting sexual material to children. The board member "doubled down," and soon the store's social media and Google reviews were flooded with people "calling us pedophiles."

Customers rallied around the store and helped get offensive posts taken down, while Rudolph contacted an attorney and had that board member served with a cease-and-desist letter and filed a formal complaint with the Maryland state board of education. Despite how awful the experience was, she plans to continue using her voice and her platform to fight against censorship and book bans. Other small business owners in her community, she added, have told Rudolph they love how she speaks out on social issues but they can't afford to lose business. "If that business comes with a side of racism or homophobia or censorship, I don't want it," Rudolph said.

Last to take the stage were Brea Parker and Kate Selvitelli, high school students and members of Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization. They talked about the ways that book bans have affected students, describing how banning books leads inevitably to banning curriculum. Selvitelli said that in South Carolina, an AP African American Studies course was banned, and while students at her school were able to take the course as an honors class and take the AP test on their own, "not every school has that option."

Parker said students have lost access to classic titles like To Kill a Mockingbird and Catch-22, and history textbooks get censored and rewritten, with the experiences and contributions of minority groups minimized or entirely removed. And on an individual level, Selvitelli said, book bans tell students they're not important, that they "just have to fit into the mold that's been built for us." --Alex Mutter

Julia and Jared Drake, co-founders of the boutique literary firm Wildbound PR, have acquired IndieReader, one of the first U.S. platforms to champion professionally reviewed and marketed indie books.

Founded by author and publicist Amy Edelman in 2009, IndieReader has become a resource for self-published, hybrid, and small press authors seeking professional book reviews, awards recognition, and marketing support. Under her leadership, the site built a reputation for high standards, editorial integrity, and unwavering support for the indie author community. (Shelf Awareness runs IndieReader's bestseller list weekly; see below.)

Edelman said, "When I launched IndieReader, self-published authors were considered lesser than those who were traditionally published. Today, they're leading some of the most creative and disruptive work in publishing. I'm thrilled to pass the baton to Julia and Jared, who share my respect for independent authors and will continue to provide them with the ecosystem in which to thrive."

Julia Drake said, "We're honored to carry Amy's vision forward, preserving the site's integrity while expanding IndieReader's reach in a rapidly growing publishing landscape."

Jared Drake said, "Julia and I come to this not just as lovers of all things books, but as storytellers who believe in the power of independent voices. Amy built something rare: a place where quality and creativity are recognized without gatekeeping. That spirit will remain our North Star."

The Drakes have, they said, spent their careers championing independent voices and storytellers. As co-founders of Wildbound PR, a boutique literary publicity and marketing firm, they've partnered with authors, publishers, and literary organizations around the world. They've also spoken at meeting of Writer's Digest, the San Francisco Writers Conference, IWOSC, and the Women's National Book Association, and have contributed to Publishers Weekly and other industry outlets. In addition to producing major literary events such as the Kirkus Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Awards, they also work in independent film. Jared Drake recently produced the Netflix documentary Buried: The 1982 Alpine Meadows Avalanche and is currently producing Wall of White alongside Martin Scorsese.

Under the new owners, IndieReader will expand beyond reviews and awards to become a hub for editorial curation, community-building, and innovative discovery tools for authors and readers alike. "Our hope is to reshape 'indie' as a vital and necessary force within the publishing ecosystem," Jared Drake said.

IndieReader is offering a 20% discount on all IndieReader services until August 12 (use coupon code GoIndie).

Ann Harris, a legendary figure in the publishing industry as an editor for Rinehart & Company, Harper & Brothers, Harper & Row, Bantam Dell and Random House over a career that spanned more than 60 years, died June 1. She was 99. A "fierce and meticulous editor," Harris shaped many notable books, including the novels The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty and Colleen McCullough's The Thorn Birds; memoirs by Betty Ford and Dmitri Shostakovich; and the nonfiction books A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking and The Book of Bread by Evan Jones. 

Two of her books won Pulitzer Prizes: Robert Butler's Why Survive?: Being Old in America and Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation by Dan Fagin.

During the 1960s, she "was among a group of women to gain recognition for their burnishing skills at Manhattan's publishing houses," the New York Times wrote, noting that, in 1969, "after a career writing comedic novels and screenplays, William Peter Blatty wrangled a $10,000 advance to write a decidedly unfunny book, The Exorcist.... Before the novel could be published, though, the finer points of plot, character and demonic possession had to be shaped by an editor. The job went to the fastidious Ann Schakne Harris."

For six weeks, Blatty and Harris "bivouacked in a hotel in New York to sculpt the novel," which went on to sell 13 million copies in the U.S. and was her "breakthrough after she was in and out of the book business for 20 years, assisting other editors and working part time while raising two children. She was happy in that role, she said, but acknowledged that it 'was a heady thing to have a great big bestseller,' " the Times noted. 

Harris had acquired McCullough's first novel, Tim (1974). For The Thorn Birds, she immersed herself in the editing process. McCullough traveled to Manhattan from New Haven, Conn., where she was a professor and researcher at Yale, sometimes staying at the Harris family's apartment. By 2015, when McCullough died, The Thorn Birds had sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.

"She was a classic, old-style editor," Frances McCullough, who worked with Harris as an editor at Harper & Row, said. "She took time and pains with authors."

Harris graduated from Hunter College in New York in 1946 with a bachelor's degree in English and received a master's degree from Radcliffe College in 1948. She began her career in publishing in 1952 as a "reader," and had become an editor by the mid-1960s. She left Harper & Row in 1980 and later that decade joined Bantam, where she edited Hawking's A Brief History of Time, which sold 10 million copies.

She was so captivated by Butler's Why Survive? that she left publishing briefly to work at a longevity clinic he established in 1990 at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. Katherine Harris, her daughter, said that when Ann Harris was in her 40s, she scrubbed every public reference to her age that she could find: "Her only plan for retirement was not to retire."

Harris's second Pulitzer-winning book, Toms River, was one she acquired, but she retired before it was published by Bantam in 2013, the Times noted. Author Dan Fagin said she helped define the book: "She believed in the power of books to tell big stories and make a big difference." 

In a tribute posted on social media, author Stephen Fried described Harris as "one of the greatest, kindest, smartest, most fastidious and most fascinating editors in American publishing, during a career spanning six decades.... It was my incredible good fortune to be edited by Ann on four books in a row, every one of which she made so much better, before her retirement in 2008 from her final position at Bantam. It was also my incredible luck to have her as a friend....

"I would have to guess that when she retired, the stock of the company that made post-its must have nearly crashed, because nobody edited with as many yellow post-its as Ann Harris.... As I wrote in the acknowledgements of our first book together, 'I have never met a book editor with her level of intellectual and emotional engagement. I'd say she's the last of a breed, except I'm simply not sure there ever was anyone else like her before.' "

For a special issue later this month about Halloween books and retailing, Shelf Awareness is seeking information from publishers about their most important current and backlist Halloween titles and from booksellers about Halloween trends, how they merchandise and promote for Halloween, big Halloween titles, and more. Please send information to news@shelf-awareness.com. Thank you!

Author Allie Pleiter visited The Poisoned Pen Bookstore, Scottsdale, Ariz., for an event called "Knits and Kits with One Sharp Stitch"--the first title in her Nimble Needle mystery series. The event was also a fundraiser for Scottsdale's Newborn Kitten Rescue, and the author made a donation for every book sold. Local needlepoint shop BeStitched created an exclusive canvas available at the event, and readers were invited to bring their needlework to the event, and stitch while they listened to Pleiter's talk. (photo: Christopher Pleiter)

Congratulations to Oblong Books, Millerton and Rhinebeck, N.Y., which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this coming Saturday, August 9, with a block party from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on South Center Street in Millerton.

There will be live music featuring Josh Driver as well as the Joint Chiefs; the Flavor Bandits and Hudson Valley Falafel food trucks; free popcorn and lemonade; raffles for totes with summer reads for kids and adults; stilt dancing; children's games; face painting; and drawings done by New Yorker cartoonists Liza Donnelly and Michael Maslin. At noon, there will be a presentation and remarks, featuring New York State Assembly member Didi Barrett, and at 2:45, a cake cutting ceremony and remarks. In addition, the Millerton Business Alliance will be hosting its Summer Stroll, adding to the festivities.

Oblong was founded in 1975 in Millerton by Dick Hermans and Holly Nelson and has been co-owned and operated by Dick and his daughter, Suzanna Hermans, for many years. The Millerton store now occupies three floors in two adjoining buildings, including Oblong Jr. with toys and children's books, on South Center Street. In 2001, Oblong opened its second location, at Montgomery Row in Rhinebeck. A vital community bookstore, Oblong partners with numerous local schools, libraries, and nonprofits, and presents and supports over 150 events each year. Oblong's stores serve as a safe and welcoming space for all people. Dick and Suzanna are both wonderful booksellers and people. Congratulations!

Indiebound.org profiles Queer Haven Books, Columbia, S.C., and its owner, Baker Rogers, a sociology professor who founded the store as a popup in 2023 and opened a bricks-and-mortar location last year. "I'm passionate about education and community building, so [a bookstore] seemed like a perfect blend," they explained.

Baker Rogers

The store is a designated safe space, and it has an expansive, timely definition of the term. Queer Haven's website states: "We define queer broadly to include all genders and sexualities that go against established norms, but also politically, as push back against all -phobias and -isms (homophobia, transphobia, heterosexism, racism, ableism, ageism, sexism, etc.), discrimination, and violence in our society."

Rogers added: "We want Queer Haven Books to be a space for the whole family and the whole community. Our staff is all queer, friendly, and knowledgeable about queer literature. We love to help people find the right book for them. From fantasy to non-fiction, there is something for everyone, queer or not. We also host a variety of events--readings and signings, queer comedy nights, live music, drag story hour and kids' craft time."

Barnes & Noble has chosen Songs for Other People's Weddings by David Levithan and Jens Lekman (‎‎Abrams) as its August national book club pick. In a live virtual event on Monday, September 8, at 3 p.m. Eastern, Levithan and Lekman will be in conversation with Mallory Rochester, store manager at the Calabasas, Calif., Barnes & Noble. 

B&N described the book this way: "David Levithan's unparalleled prose meets Jens Lekman's lyrical genius in a tender new novel about the unlucky in love. J, an accidental wedding singer, and V, his girlfriend whose career is taking off overseas, navigate the ebbs and flows of their long-term relationship as physical distance begins to mirror the growing separation between the two. In a world where love is often measured through comparison, J makes many discoveries about his own relationship through the personalized songs he writes for each couple at the ceremonies where he performs. Messy, complicated, relatable, witty, lyrical, and heartfelt--Songs for Other People's Weddings is a novel that will resonate deeply with readers and will stick in their heads--and hearts--right alongside all their favorite songs this summer."

For more information about the September 8 event, click here.

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Baker & Taylor Publisher Services will handle sales and distribution in the U.S. and Canada for Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, effective immediately.

Yad Vashem, located in Jerusalem, is dedicated to preserving the memory of the victims of the Holocaust as well as to Holocaust research, documentation, and education. Yad Vashem has an expanding book publishing program with more than 700 titles that includes research studies, memoirs, documents, albums, and diaries related to the Holocaust. About half of its titles are available in English.

"Books are at the heart of what we do at Yad Vashem--telling the stories of Holocaust victims, paying tribute to the survivors, and conveying the accurate history of this cataclysmic juncture in time," Yad Vashem marketing director Susan Weisberg said. "There is no question in my mind that we are beginning a mutually beneficial partnership that will provide Yad Vashem an outlet for expanding its audience and promoting our goal of disseminating accurate knowledge about the Holocaust."

Jeff Tegge, v-p of client services for BTPS, said, "We are honored to partner with Yad Vashem, who for more than 70 years has been dedicated to Holocaust research and preserving the accounts of individuals who perished and who survived. Our shared goal is to bring this knowledge to an even wider audience in North America."

Someone's Gotta Give by Alisha Fernandez Miranda (Zibby Books).

Tomorrow:
Good Morning America: I.V. Marie, author of Immortal Consequences (Delacorte Press, $21.99, 9780593898802).

Today: Ana Huang, author of King of Envy (Bloom Books, $17.99, 9781728289762).

Novelist and former British politician Jeffrey Archer has signed a deal with India's Applause Entertainment that will have six of his works adapted for film and TV. Deadline reported that the "landmark agreement is the first global book acquisition that the Aditya Birla Group-owned Applause has struck."

The books included in the deal are the Clifton Chronicles series, comprising seven novellas, along with novels The Fourth Estate, First Among Equals, The Eleventh Commandment, Sons of Fortune, and Heads You Win.

Applause CEO Sameer Nair said work on the adaptations will begin immediately, while Archer joked that the production company should work quickly: "I'm 85 years old so please get on with it." 

The longlist has been chosen for the 2025 Crook's Corner Book Prize, honoring "the best debut novel set in the American South." The shortlist will be announced in September, and the $5,000 prize winner in January 2026. This year's judge is Clyde Edgerton.

The longlist:
Plum by Andy Anderegg (Hub City)
Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell (Simon & Schuster)
The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff (Simon & Schuster)
Junie by Erin Crosby Eckstine (Ballantine Books)
Red Clay by Charles B. Fancher (Blackstone)
Shield the Joyous by Chad Holley (Bull City Books)
Oye by Melissa Mogollon (Hogarth)
Bright and Tender Dark by Joanna Pearson (Bloomsbury)
Pearce Oysters by Joselyn Takacs (Zibby Publishers)
Like Happiness by Ursula Villarreal-Moura (Macmillan)

Elena Sheppard's poignant memoir, The Eternal Forest, explores her Cuban family's complicated history with the island they loved and (in some cases) left behind. Sheppard, the only daughter of a Cuban mother and a white American father, also examines her own fascination with her family's past, even as she tries to piece together the fragmented narrative from her grandmother's stories, her own visits to Cuba, and other family artifacts and stories.

Sheppard's narrative focuses often on her grandmother Rosita, the largest "nesting doll" in their female-dominated family. Born in Cuba in 1921, Rosita is the matriarch, and her stories of politics, immigration, and womanhood shape the family narratives. Sheppard recounts the details of Rosita's childhood and young womanhood, painting a picture of pre-Castro Cuba: a place of palm trees and rumba, but also great privilege for a few and staggering poverty for many. Sheppard traces the effects and aftermath of Castro's rise to power, the complicated feelings of Cuban immigrants toward the U.S., and her family's constant yearning for Cuba, even after decades away. "Cuba and the scar of exile are in all of our details," she writes. This longing, shot through with relief at having escaped, permeates the book. Sheppard investigates many Cubans' tendency toward mythmaking: the incidents in Castro's life that shaped his rise to power, the traits of her family members that sometimes render them one-dimensional, and her own inclination to elevate Cuba to mythical status.

The Eternal Forest also engages with mental illness: Sheppard's aunt, Mariana, died by suicide, and her presence haunts the family still. Sheppard shares her own experiences with anxiety; her aunt's dark periods, which eventually led to her death; and the ways her family (and Cubans at large) could not make sense of the darkness, even while it, too, has often shaped their lives. Sheppard connects her aunt's suicide to other deaths in their family and in Cuban history, and to the powerful trauma of losing one's home. However, her narrative also contains stubborn joy: reuniting with family members who never left the island; enjoying Cuban food and traditions in Miami and elsewhere; and the enduring belief in the possibility of return and redemption.

Sheppard's well-researched and haunting memoir is a tribute to a lost homeland and a moving reflection on what it means to live in one country and long for another. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

Shelf Talker: Elena Sheppard's haunting memoir recounts her Cuban family's history of immigration, love, and loss.

The bestselling self-published books last week as compiled by IndieReader.com:

1. The Happiness Experiment by Carl B. Barney
2. Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton
3. Frigid by Jennifer L. Armentrout
4. Scorched by Jennifer L. Armentrout
5. The Defender by Ana Huang
6. Hunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton
7. Don't Believe Everything You Think by Joseph Nguyen
8. Binding 13 by Chloe Walsh
9. The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden
10. Till Summer Do Us Part by Meghan Quinn

[Many thanks to IndieReader.com!]