North Carolina

Banned and challenged books get a lot of press during Banned Books Week, but I think it's important to discuss issues like censorship year round and not just for one week at the end of September.

Since most challenges involve material read in schools or marketed to young adults and librarians who serve teen patrons are often at the center of these issues, I thought an overview of books that were challenged in 2013 would be of interest to Hub readers. Of course, this isn't meant to be an exhaustive list,

Authors Karen Russell and Donald Antrim are among announced Wednesday morning (though the news leaked on Tuesday evening). The $625,000 grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation are awarded annually, with no strings attached, to "talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction." The foundation that Antrim's "fiction and nonfiction are marked by a contrast between elegant, concise language and the disorienting chaos in which his characters find themselves. 

It’s Banned Book Week. Libraries and book stores have celebrated the week by having promotions and educating readers on its history. However, Randolph County School Board in North Carolina voted 5-2 recently to ban ‘Invisible Man’ from school library shelves. Yet, about a week later, the same board voted 6-1 to re-instate Ralph Ellison’s book, [...]

The post North Carolina county school board puts Invisible Man back in schools appeared first on TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics.

Legendary author Stephen King’s decision not to released his new novel “Joyland” in e-book format is getting renewed attention as the book's June 4 publication date draws near.

“I have no plans for a digital version," King told the Wall Street Journal about his "Joyland." "Maybe at some point, but in the meantime, let people stir their sticks and go to an actual bookstore rather than a digital one.”

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) presented Edwards Brothers Malloy with its 2013 Business Leadership Award, which recognizes outstanding paper recycling programs. The award was presented to John Edwards, President and CEO, and Bill Upton, Vice President of Operations, at the Book Manufacturers’ Institute Spring Management Conference in Hilton Head, South Carolina on April 29th.

Wool is not Fifty Shades Of Grey,’ says Hugh Howey, an American self-published ebook author who’s being described by excited critics as the next EL James.

‘But I would gladly take her sales.’

The sleeper success of Wool, Howey’s series of bleak sci-fi novellas (it’s now been published in over 30 countries, while director Ridley Scott has bought the film rights) mirrors the remarkable rise of James’s series of erotic novels.

First released as an ebook before flowering into a publishing phenomenon, Fifty Shades Of Grey has sold more than 5.3 million copies…