LibraryThing: State of the Thing - November

LibraryThing: State of the Thing Dear {NAME}, Welcome to the November State of the Thing. We’ve got an invitation to our annual SantaThing holiday book exchange, a sneak peak at our newly redesigned Early Reviewers program, lots of book world news, and 2,727 free books. If you'd rather receive a plain-text version, [edit your email preferences](. You can also read it [online](. You can like LibraryThing on [Facebook]( and follow [@LibraryThing]( on Twitter for up-to-the-minute site news and updates. SantaThing Returns! LibraryThing’s fifteenth annual [SantaThing](, our bookish "Secret Santa," is now live. The idea is simple: You sign up for a gift worth $15–$50, and you’ll receive a selection of books, picked out for you by another LibraryThing member. You also pick books—secretly!—for someone else. This year we're continuing with our emphasis on indie booksellers. In addition to our US-based stores, for the first time ever we have added local retailers in Australia and New Zealand. You can still order Kindle ebooks, regardless of your location, and we have Book Depository for members outside of the United States and the Antipodes. - [Longfellow Books]( in Portland, ME - [BookPeople]( in Austin, TX - [Powell’s Books]( in Portland, OR - [Readings]( in Victoria, Australia - [Time Out Bookstore]( in Auckland, New Zealand - [Book Depository]( - Worldwide - [Kindle]( - Ebooks Please be aware that global supply chain issues and specific postal service delays may affect the timely delivery of SantaThing gifts this year. Sign-ups close Monday, November 29th at 12pm EST. » [Sign up for SantaThing]( The Talk of LibraryThing What conversations are going on in our groups? - Members are discussing the beauty of [Andrew Moorhouse’s Fine Poetry Press]( volumes, over in the [Fine Press Forum](. - The pros and cons of [dust-jackets]( are being debated in the [Book Talk]( group. - The difficulty of tracking down [older Star Trek novels]( has been raised in the [Star Trek Books]( group. - The craftsmanship involved in the creation of the new limited edition of [Aurora Australis]( is being praised, amongst the [Folio Society Devotees](. Speaking of Groups, if you're new to LibraryThing, there's a group for that: [Welcome to LibraryThing](21)! Sneak Peak: Early Reviewers Redesigned It won’t be rolling out until the new year, but we wanted to offer you a sneak peak at our newly redesigned Early Reviewers program. With a far more navigable list of titles, and a more streamlined process for entering giveaways, our new Early Reviewers page will be a lot easier to use—and a lot more fun! List of the Month Come join LibraryThing’s List of the Month project, as we create a new thematic book list each month. Like all of our [Lists](, the List of the Month draws upon the knowledge of the LibraryThing community, while also aiming to provoke discussion around each theme. See our [wiki page]( for a complete List of the Month list, and join us over in our [Talk group](, for further discussion of the project. November List of the Month. In honor of Veterans Day / Remembrance Day, which falls on November 11th, and which marks the end of the First World War, our List of the Month for November is devoted to Stories of War and Revolution, both fictional and nonfictional. Head over to our list of [Stories of War and Revolution]( to add your top five choices. Check out other recent Lists of the Month: - October. [Scary Stories for the Season]( - September. [Native American / Indigenous Literature](25252F-Indigenous-Literature) - August. [The Cookbooks of Home]( - July. [Best Beach Reads]( - June. [Favorite Caribbean Books]( - May. [Must-Read Maine Books]( Free Books! Early Reviewers is our program where you can win free copies of new and forthcoming books to read and review. This month we’re pleased to feature new editions of Lakota author [Zitkála-Šá’s]( stories, as well as volumes from an intriguing new project undertaken by scholar [Anna Faktorovich](, in which she attempts to reassign authorship for some of the texts of the British Renaissance. Explore the full list and [sign up to request books](. Our November batch of Early Reviewers has 2,727 copies of 74 books. The deadline to request a book is November 29th, 6pm Eastern time. Did you win a book recently? When you receive your book, make sure you head over to your [Books You've Won]( page to mark it received. After you've read your book, add your review to LibraryThing. First, add the book to your LibraryThing catalog. Then click the pencil-shaped "edit" icon next to the book, or click "edit book" from the work page. Type your review into the Review box, and click "submit" to save it. Reviewing your books gives you a greater chance of winning books in the future, while neglecting to review lowers your odds. For more information, vist the [Early Reviewers Help Page](. Book World News: In Memoriam Following closely upon the news last month of the death of [Gary Paulsen](, we are sad to report that [Jerry Pinkney](, another celebrated children’s author and artist, [has also passed away](. Pinkney won the Caldecott Medal for his wordless picture book, [The Lion & The Mouse](, as well as five Caldecott Honors, and numerous other awards and prizes throughout his long and storied career. [NPR’s]( popular books editor, Petra Mayer, [has also recently passed away](, dying unexpectedly of what is believed to be a pulmonary embolism at the age of 46. Described by a colleague as “a proud nerd with a penchant for science fiction, comics and cats,” Mayer was a prolific reviewer of sci-fi, fantasy, romance, thrillers and comics, a well-known reporter from Comic-Con, and a contributor to [Book Concierge](covers&year=2020), NPR’s literary recommendation tool. In further bad news for book lovers, bestselling author [Wilbur Smith]( has [died in South Africa](, at the age of 88. Born in Zambia in 1933, Smith was the author of forty-nine books, many of them adventure stories set in Africa. His [River God](, and [other novels set in ancient Egypt](, are some of his most beloved. Censorship and School Libraries Conflicts over educational curriculum and school libraries have been in the news recently in multiple U.S. states, with Virginia’s recent governor’s race [centering around issues of education, race and school board oversight](. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has [ordered a criminal probe into “pornography” in school library books](—his third directive on the subject in recent days—while South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster [has called for an investigation]( of [Maia Kobabe’s]( [Gender Queer: A Memoir](, for potentially sexually explicit content. The debate about “obscene” material in school libraries [has also reached the Georgia House](, while Texas State Representative Matt Krause has [sent an extensive list of 850 titles to his state’s schools](, in an effort to investigate books whose racial or sexual content cause “discomfort” to students. Krause’s list—the complete list of titles [is available from the Texas Tribune]( prompted members of the [Texas Institute of Letters]( to [pen an open letter to Greg Abbott and the state’s schools](, condemning any potential book banning efforts, while the [American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom]( has been [tracking and discussing the issue]( as well as other censorship efforts around the country. Book World News: Awards Awards and Prizes. South African author [Damon Galgut]( has [been announced as the winner]( of the 2021 [Booker Prize](Prize) for his novel, [The Promise](, a depiction of a white South African family confronting the end of Apartheid. The committee described Galgut’s book as “a spectacular demonstration of how the novel can make us see and think afresh,” and compared it to the work of [William Faulkner]( and [Virginia Woolf](. The 2021 [Deutscher Buchpreis](Buchpreis) (German Book Prize), open to German-language authors from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, [has been awarded]( to German author [Antje Rávik Strubel]( for her [Blaue Frau]( (Blue Woman), described by the jury as a powerful and poetic exploration of a young woman’s memories of rape. Egyptian-Canadian novelist [Omar El Akkad]( has [recently won]( the 2021 [Giller Prize](20Giller%20Prize%20Winner), awarded annually to a Canadian author of a short story or novel in English, for his [What Strange Paradise](. A novel about a Syrian child refugee and the young woman who attempts to save him, it was praised by the jury as a work that "raises questions of indifference and powerlessness and, ultimately, offers clues as to how we might reach out empathetically in a divided world." The 2021 [Prix Goncourt](Goncourt), given annually in France to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year,” [has gone to Senegalese novelist]( [Mohammed Mbougar Sarr]( for his [La plus secrète mémoire des hommes]( (The Most Secret Memory of Men). Sarr is the first person of sub-Saharan African descent to win the prize, since its inception in 1903, and his novel has been praised by Le Monde as a work of “impressive ambition and stunning energy.” The winners of the 2021 New Zealand Prime Minister’s Awards for Literary Achievement [have been announced](, with poet, fiction writer and screenplay editor [Anne Kennedy]( honoured in the poetry category; historian [Claudia Josepha Orange]( in the nonfiction category; and teacher and young adult author [David Hill]( in the fiction category. In a surprise twist worthy of the mystery thrillers that “she” has penned, Spanish novelist [Carmen Mola]( was [revealed as three men](—screenwriters Agustín Martínez, Jorge Díaz and Antonio Mercero—when “her” novel [La bestia]( (The Beast) won the 2021 [Premio Planeta de Novela]( prize. The 2021 winners of the Forward Prizes for Poetry, given annually by the UK’s [Forward Arts Foundation]( in three categories, [have been announced](. The Forward Prize for Best Collection has gone to [Luke Kennard]( for his [Notes on the Sonnets](, an “anarchic” response to Shakespeare. The Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection has been awarded to [Caleb Femi]( for his [Poor](, and the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem has gone to [Nicole Sealey]( for her poem ‘[Pages 22-29, An excerpt from The Ferguson Report: An Erasure](,’ published in the [Poetry London]( magazine. Blackfeet author [Stephen Graham Jones]( has won the 2021 [Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award](20Twain%20American%20Voice%20in%20Literature%20Award) for his novel, [The Only Good Indians](. The MTAVL award is given annually by [The Mark Twain House & Museum](, with the help of benefactor [David Baldacci](, and recognizes the work “that best exemplifies or expresses a uniquely American voice, much in the way that Twain’s [The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]( does.” The 2021 [British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding](20Academy%20Book%20Prize%20for%20Global%20Cultural%20Understanding) has [been awarded]( to Cambridge historian and professor [Sujit Sivasundaram]( for his [Waves Across the South: A New History of Revolution and Empire](, which re-centers the age of revolutions around the southern seas. [Isabel Waidner]( has [been announced as the winner]( of the 2021 [Goldsmiths Prize](20Prize) for her [Sterling Karat Gold](. The prize is awarded annually by [Goldsmiths, University of London]( and [The New Statesman]( to a work of fiction that "opens up new possibilities for the novel form." The winners of the 2021 [World Fantasy Awards](20Fantasy%20Award), given annually to the best in fantasy fiction by the [World Fantasy Convention](, have [been announced](e2%84%a0-2021/). [Alaya Dawn Johnson]( has won in the Best Novel category for her [Trouble the Saints](, [Tochi Onyebuchi]( has won in the Best Novella category for his [Riot Baby](, and [Celeste Rita Baker]( has won in the Best Short Story category for her [Glass Bottle Dancer](, published in [Lightspeed Magazine](, 4/20. The award for Best Anthology has gone to editors [Ann]( and [Jeff VanderMeer]( for their [The Big Book of Modern Fantasy](, while [Aoka Matsuda]( has won the award for Best Collection for her [Where the Wild Ladies Are](, translated by [Polly Barton](. Lifetime Achievement Awards were given to [Megan Lindholm]( and [Howard Waldrop](. Melbourne-based novelist [Christos Tsiolkas]( has [won the 2021 Melbourne Prize for Literature](, given to an author whose body of work “has made an outstanding contribution to Australian literature and to cultural and intellectual life.” The inaugural Professional Development Award, also administered by the [Melbourne Prize Trust](, has gone to [Evelyn Araluen](, while [Eloise Grills]( has won the Writers Prize for her essay, [The Fat Bitch in Art](e2%80%a2-essay/the-fat-bitch-in-art/), published in [Meanjin Quarterly](. [Maxine Beneba Clarke]( was chosen as the winner of the public-voted Civic Choice Award. English biographer, short story author and playwright [Diana Souhami]( has been [announced as the winner]( of the 2021 [Polari Prize](20Prize) for her [No Modernism Without Lesbians](, a study of a group of women who helped to begin the modernist movement. [Mohsin Zaidi]( has won the [Polari First Book Prize](20First%20Book%20Prize) for his memoir, [A Dutiful Boy](. The Polari Prizes are awarded annually by the [Polari Literary Salon](, a UK organization dedicated to highlighting and promoting LGBTQ+ literature. The winners of the 2021 Kirkus Prizes, given out annually by the American [Kirkus Reviews]( magazine in three categories, have been announced. [Joy Williams]( has won in the [Fiction](20Prize%20for%20Fiction) category for her novel, [Harrow](; [Brian Broome]( has won in the [Nonfiction](20Prize%20for%20Nonfiction) category for his memoir, [Punch Me Up to the Gods](; and [Christina Soontornvat]( has won in the [Young People’s Literature](20Prize%20for%20Young%20People's%20Literature) category for her history, [All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team](. Australian author [Jock Serong]( has [been announced as the winner]( of the 2021 [ARA Historical Novel Prize](20Historical%20Novel%20Prize), for his [The Burning Island](, while [Katrina Nannestad]( has won in the CYA (Children and Young Adult) category for her [We Are Wolves](. Other Book World News COVID-19 Updates Changing Covid-19 conditions continue to impact the book world, from safety concerns surrounding public events, to supply chain disruptions that are affecting publishing schedules. The [China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair](, initially scheduled to open on November 19th, [has been postponed until the spring]( due to fresh outbreaks of Covid-19, and will now coincide with the [Bologna Children’s Book Fair](, with which it will be coordinating some joint events and activities. After a 2020 hiatus, the Guadalajara International Book Fair is [returning this year as a hybrid event](, running from November 27th through December 5th, while the joint annual meetings of the [American Academy of Religion]( and the [Society of Biblical Literature](, held exclusively online last year, [have also moved to a hybrid format]( for their upcoming gathering in San Antonio, Texas. The Sharjah International Book Fair in the United Arab Emirates [went ahead as an in-person event]( in early November, with nearly 400,000 visitors, while the L.A. Times Festival of Books has announced that [it will be returning as a live event]( in April 2022, after a two-year hiatus. The Public Library Association (PLA) has also announced that their 2022 gathering, set for March 23-25 in Portland, Oregon, [will be an in-person event](, making it one of the first major library conferences, since the beginning of the pandemic, to be held in person. Many UK publishers have [continued to experiment with a hybrid work model]( for their employees, with Faber announcing that it will not transition back to office work until April 2022. In Australia, Hachette [has established “working hubs” for its employees]( in Melbourne and Brisbane. In [last month’s State of the Thing]( we reported on the decision by a number of publishers to [postpone the publication of many new titles](, due to global supply chain disruptions. Publishers Weekly is [now keeping an updated list of such titles](, for books published between October 1 and December 31 of this year. It has been reported that supply chain issues have [slowed growth for online retail giant Amazon](, but Indies have also been greatly impacted, and have [warned that these issues could continue well into 2022](, and lead to book price hikes. Book Sales & Publishing In our [December 2020 State of the Thing]( we reported on the proposed [purchase of Simon & Schuster](—the third largest publisher in the United States—by Penguin Random House, currently the largest publisher in the country. In early November it was announced that [the U.S. Department of Justice would be suing to block the acquisition]( specifically citing the impact the merger would have on authors and readers. [Book sales in Australia have risen](, following the easing of Covid restrictions in New South Wales, while [Canadian bookstore chain Indigo]( and [German chain Thalia]( have both reported a sales hike in recent months as well. A number of European governments have taken steps to aid their bookselling industries recently, with [France moving to enact legislation]( that will protect independent booksellers from being undercut on shipping rates by Amazon, and the Netherlands [offering aid to physical bookstores](. Switzerland, in the meantime, has [launched the Liber book vouchers program](, to encourage consumers to patronize local bookshops. In truly horrifying news for all biblophiles, the Canadian children’s publisher [Orca Books]( recently announced that [they may have lost as many as 15,000 volumes in a cargo ship fire]( off the coast of Victoria. Literary News In previous editions of State of the Thing we have reported on the migration of notable authors such as [Salman Rushdie](, [Chuck Palahniuk]( and [David Kushner]( to the Substack platform. [Jeanette Winterson]( has now joined their ranks, [named as Substack’s Writer in Residence]( for the month of November. Hot on LibraryThing - [State of Terror]( by [Hilary Rodham Clinton]( - [The Judge’s List]( by [John Grisham]( - [Silverview]( by [John le Carré]( - [The Lincoln Highway]( by [Amor Towles]( - [Better Off Dead]( by [Lee Child]( - [Crossroads]( by [Jonathan Franzen]( - [The Book of Magic]( by [Alice Hoffman]( - [The Ex Hex]( by [Erin Sterling]( - [Oh William!]( by [Elizabeth Strout]( - [A Line to Kill]( by [Anthony Horowitz]( - [The Death of Jane Lawrence]( by [Caitlin Starling]( - [Cloud Cuckoo Land]( by [Anthony Doerr]( - [The Wish]( by [Nicholas Sparks]( - [Once Upon a Broken Heart]( by [Stephanie Garber]( - [The Man Who Died Twice]( by [Richard Osman]( - [A Spindle Splintered]( by [Alix E. Harrow]( - [The Book of Form and Emptiness]( by [Ruth Ozeki]( - [Nothing But Blackened Teeth]( by [Cassandra Khaw]( - [Iron Widow]( by [Xiran Jay Zhao]( - [Apples Never Fall]( by [Liane Moriarity]( Hot in Libraries Here's what's hot in the last month across thousands of public libraries in the United States. This data was collected by Syndetics Unbound, a LibraryThing/ProQuest project to enrich the library catalog. The search data is fully anonymized the day it is collected. For more information about Syndetics Unbound, please visit [Syndetics.com](. TinyCat [TinyCat]( is the online catalog for small libraries, created by LibraryThing. It turns your existing LibraryThing account into a simple, professional, web-based catalog. Live Demo. To learn more about TinyCat, join Kristi for a live demo Wednesdays at 1pm Eastern. Webinars are now on Zoom, so make sure to use our new [link to attend](. You can also check out our playlists of Tiny Tutorials on [LibraryThing's YouTube channel](, where Kristi walks you through various features of TinyCat in 30 seconds or less. If you'd like to schedule a webinar at another time or if you have other questions about TinyCat, you can reach Kristi at tinycat@librarything.com. That's all for the Thing this month! Happy reading, Abigail This message was sent to {NAME}. Click to [edit your email preferences or unsubscribe from future emails](.