In this week’s edition: The literary community suffered two losses with the deaths of children’s author Charlotte Pomerantz and literary fiction writer Melissa Bank; Stephen King served as a star witness for the DOJ in its suit to stop the Penguin Random House/Simon & Schuster merger; a conservative activist group successfully campaigned to defund its local library rather than allow books featuring LGBTQ topics to remain in circulation; The Washington Post gets a new books editor; and more.

Charlotte Pomerantz, Inventive Children’s Book Author, Dies at 92
The New York Times
The author of 35 children’s books in verse and prose, Pomerantz wove subtle political or social themes into her stories to introduce young readers to topics like feminism and the value of nonconformity.

Stephen King in Books Merger Trial: “Consolidation Is Bad for Competition
The Hollywood Reporter
The legendary author explained why he volunteered to testify for the Department of Justice in its efforts to stop the proposed merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster.

Town Defunds Library After Fight Over LGBTQ Novel
Newsweek
Voters in Jamestown Township, Michigan, voted to defund their public library after a widespread campaign by a conservative Christian group that claimed the library was “grooming” and “indoctrinating” children to commit “sinful” acts because the Patmos Library Board refused to remove books with LGBTQ topics. The library is likely to run out of money and close sometime next year if a new budget isn’t approved before then.

Melissa Bank, Beloved Author of Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing, Dies at 61
Lit Hub
Melissa Bank, the author of two influential literary novels around the start of the millennium, has died after a long battle with breast cancer. Revered by both critics and readers alike, Bank’s career was derailed both by her cancer diagnosis and when she was hit by a car while riding her bike, resulting in the loss of some language.

We Need to Reckon with the Rot at the Core of Publishing
Lit Hub
Elaine Castillo, the acclaimed author of America Is Not the Heart, discusses how cultural white supremacy prevents people from reading and understanding books by writers of color.

If You Want to Ruin Bookstores for Yourself, Become a Writer
Lit Hub
Author Jana Casale writes how visiting a bookstore changed once she published her first novel.

John Williams Joins The Post as Books Editor
The Washington Post
Former New York Times books reporter John Williams will be joining The Washington Post as head of the books team effective September 6. Before becoming a book critic, he spent six years at HarperCollins.
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