In 2015, PW first interviewed Emily Knox for her then-new Book Banning in 21st-Century America, a fascinating exploration of how and why people challenge books and what those challenges tell us about the immense power of reading. Read more
Less than a year after an attempt on his life, author Salman Rushdie made a rare public appearance at an awards ceremony Thursday to warn of the dangers of banning books and of related movements in the US to roll back freedoms of expression.
The idea of editing Shakespeare to eliminate doubles entrendres and naughty words to fit in with 19th-century social mores now seems preposterous, although presumably his publishers-Messrs. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown-thought it was a pretty good idea at the time. Read more
In the fallout following the news that Roald Dahl's books have been sanitised, there has been a puzzling discussion around the meaning of censorship. More than one commentator has stated that Puffin Books and the Roald Dahl Story Company (now owned by Netflix) are not censors because this was a business decision.
Handing down beloved books to your children is one of the best things about being a parent. And so like countless others raised on Willy Wonka's golden ticket and the BFG's jars of dreams, of course I was thrilled to relive the Roald Dahl books with my son all over again. Read more
Book censorship in school libraries continues to rise. A Texas school district pulled 41 titles from the shelves, including the Bible, to put them under further review. Missouri passed a bill that makes any text with "visual depictions" of "graphic material" illegal to have available in schools. This has caused the removal of many graphic novels. Read more
‘My settings of Europe and English visitors weren't really doing it for them, so we decided Scotland would be good. I thought an island would be great, because it's a small community, and it's an opportunity for my main character to get away from it all. The team at HarperCollins have been so supportive and enthusiastic... Read more
For the past five years or so, I've read books on my phone. The practice started innocently enough. I write book reviews from time to time, and so publishers sometimes send me upcoming titles that fall roughly within my interests. Read more
The Guardian calls Irish-Indian poet Nikita Gill "Britain's most-followed poet on social media"-she has 780,000 Instagram followers and 180,000 TikTok followers, and her Instapoetry has been reshared by the likes of Khloe Kardashian, Alanis Morissette, and Sam Smith-and she has published seven volumes of poetry and two novels in the U.K. But she is far less known on this side of the pond. Read more
Nikkolas Smith knows a thing or two about book bans. The illustrator has created five picture books over the last three years-four of which have been yanked off library shelves. There's I am Ruby Bridges, about the civil rights icon; That Flag about the confederate flag; Born on the Water, which explores slavery; and The Artivist which features a child supporting trans kids.
Simon & Schuster has acquired the largest Dutch publishing group Veen Bosch & Keuning, including all of its publishers in the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as sister companies Thinium and Bookchoice.
The Publishers Association (PA) has criticised the government's response to a House of Lords report on AI, saying that it has failed to make "any tangible commitments to protect the creative industries against mass copyright infringement".
My publisher wife looks across at me reading a proof of one of her soon-to-be-released thrillers. 'The setting is great, isn't it?' she says. 'Really good,' I reply. 'Very generous.' Read more
'I'm very reassuringly honest'
‘My settings of Europe and English visitors weren't really doing it for them, so we decided Scotland would be good. I thought an island would be great, because it's a small community, and it's an opportunity for my main character to get away from it all. The team at HarperCollins have been so supportive and enthusiastic... Read more