Is it just me, or do Sal Stewart and Spencer Steer sound like a pair of private eyes in a film noir?

American Library Association releases 2025 Most Challenged Books List as National Library Week Begins State of America’s Libraries Report reveals 4,235 unique titles challenged in 2025, marking the second-highest total on record

Just remember, whatever stats ALA drops, the reality is even worse. A not insignificant number of schools don't report to ALA, and ALA doesn't have the staff in OIF to go out and track down this information. This looks bad, but it's likely worse.
www.ala.org/news/2026/04...

The 11 most challenged books of 2025, according to the American Library Association The ALA says 4,235 titles were challenged at U.S. libraries — the second-highest year on record. Forty percent of the challenged works involved LGBTQ+ subjects or the experiences of people of color.

As the editor of a book on this list, allow me to say again that book banning is a catastrophe for freedom of speech in America. There is no silver lining. It's all harm.

You can fight back by calling your reps to demand they vote against HR 7661, which is effectively a national book banning bill.

Writing lessons from The Pitt What I learned from this series

When The Wire was on, I used to blog all the time about the things I was learning about writing. Today is The Pitt's turn. saraharonson.substack.com/p/writing-le...

Anthropic Settlement Update: 91.3 Percent of Books Claimed in Settlement - The Authors Guild Yesterday, class counsel in the Bartz v. Anthropic lawsuit filed papers apprising the court that 440,490 of the 482,460 eligible works had been claimed—a remarkable 91.3 percent rate (the typical clas...

New on the Anthropic settlement from the @authorsguild.org : over 91% (!!) of eligible books were claimed as of the claims deadline (I would not have predicted such a high number!)

Looks like the payout will be close to the $3000 originally estimated authorsguild.org/news/anthrop...

I finally did this week and now I can't stop. 7 episodes in the past three days. pretty sure i'll be caught up by the end of next week. it's phenomenal -- most captivating TV i've watched in ages, and I watch a not-small amount of TV

I went and checked my email newsletter to see what I did, because I was pretty sure I didn't use my home address. Mailchimp seems to have accepted this:

Ah, I see. I think I misunderstood your first post.

I feel like someone suggested using one of your publishers' addresses? Which seems like it would solve both issues. It's already a known quantity and in the US.

Schools across America are quietly admitting that screens in classrooms made students worse off and are reversing years of tech-first policies | Fortune Millions were spent putting laptops in every student’s hands. Now schools want them back as technology in the classroom is turning out not to be the miracle solution it was sold as.

It’s almost like WE ALL SAID THIS WOULD HAPPEN fortune.com/2026/04/10/a...

Image of a book on fire. Below, the text "book censorship news" is in white.

Where and How Book Censorship Is Impacting Children’s Publishing Right Now.

Publishing imprints for young readers are shuttering thanks to a softening school and library market. That's a result of book censorship, and it impacts you wherever you live.

bookriot.com/book-bans-an...

so, he should still be removed from office as soon as humanly possible

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” -Trump
Article III
The following acts shall be punishable:
(a) Genocide;
(b) Conspiracy to commit genocide;
(c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide;
(d) Attempt to commit genocide;
(e) Complicity in genocide.

when someone says "a whole civilization will die tonight" usually you lock them up in some facility. anyway, great job, media.

Just to be clear: the President of the United States is threatening genocide. It is unambiguous. What can we do? How can we put a stop to this madness once and for all?

extremely bad time for an astronaut to find out he's a werewolf

The receipts. A complete timeline of the shifting rhetoric. More: www.meidasplus.com/p/today-in-p...

"What you feel in your heart towards the series is almost entirely irrelevant. What matters is what you do, because J. K. Rowling is out there doing a lot of things...Nothing is adequate to the situation except the truth. There is no way to watch the new Harry Potter show subversively"

A favorite NCAA Tournament pastime for players? Reading Reading for leisure is a way some players escape some of the pressures of March Madness.

A favorite NCAA Tournament pastime for players? Reading | The New York Times buff.ly/8AJfTSX

Tenn. library director fired over refusal to move LGBTQ+ books to adult section A county board near Nashville voted to dismiss Luanne James, who said she stands by her decision, in the latest clash in a national debate over access to books.

“‘All I’m going to say is that I stand by my decision,’ she said…

“Much of the audience at the board meeting broke into cheers and applause after her statement.

Chants of ‘shame’ were heard as board members voted to fire her...”

www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/...

It looks like it was made in a Sims expansion pack.

Authors Against Book Bans Our Mission Statement We are Authors Against Book Bans. We, a coalition of writers, illustrators, anthology editors and contributors, and other book creators, stand united against the deeply…

Just like how it's never to late to start your book, it's never too late to join Authors Against Book Bans. The more of us there are, the more we win and we're adding new members every day. So be a part of something bigger & join AABB today

I love how I can hear the Reds fireworks from my house. Clearly the TV feed lags about 30 seconds behind reality. GENO!!!

Rutherford County Library Board fires director after she refuses to relocate 132 children's books Dr. Lu-anne James called the board's order to move books with LGBTQ+ themes to the adult section an unlawful act of viewpoint discrimination.

This is a verified GoFundMe for librarian Luanne James from the Rutherford County Library Alliance.
gofund.me/f7704eb98
Read what happened to this hero: www.newschannel5.com/news/rutherf...

The uncomfortable truth about immigration. Charles Barkley had the guts to say what everybody's thinking, on live TV. If he can do that in front of millions, you can absolutely have that conversation with your family and friends.

Hello! Today is THE LAST DAY to file a claim in Bartz v. Anthropic.

GET YOUR MONEY!

Check the works list to see if you are on it here: secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup/

File a claim here: www.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/claim-form

I regularly see people wondering how it's possible that there are so many musicians and writers and film makers and artists from a tiny nation like Iceland.

And the answer is really simple: State funding for art education and artists. I literally get a salary from the government to write books.

Red flare for Trump: 'No Kings' rallies a show of political force With a Revolutionary-era slogan, the protests had an historic geographical reach across the country. What does that mean for November?

"The third No Kings protests were an unmistakable display of political force..."

"Two-thirds of participants live in suburban, small town or rural areas, a 40% increase over last time in protesters from outside big cities..."

www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

“Rowling has made it abundantly clear that she thinks attacking transgender people via the legal system is a worthwhile cause and a good use of her vast personal fortune…there’s no way to watch this show without supporting Rowling’s bigotry and the structural violence she’s inflicting…”

Is it a good sign or a bad sign for a president when a popular sports figure is denouncing your immigration policies on a widely watched March Madness broadcast?