“I was absolutely horrified. Wouldn’t have known if not for a Russian reader who read both editions. Publisher in total breach of contract.” The Guardian reports that author VE Schwab was “devastated” to learn scenes from her fantasy series Shades of Magic have been excised from Russian translations for featuring queer characters. See also: a consideration of the commercial viability of LGBTQ lit.
Shades of Censorship
‘Sweetbitter’ Comes to TV
Stephanie Danler’s best-selling, semi-autobiographical novel, Sweetbitter, has been given the green light by Starz network for a six-episode series. “As she learns the ropes of restaurant work, [Tess] falls for bad-boy bartender Jake, and makes her first forays into wine, drugs, lust, betrayal and adulthood,” writes the Los Angeles Times. Pair with Jason Arthur‘s essay on novels about work.
McGraw-Hill Split
Amid calls to change its strategy, McGraw-Hill Education is becoming a standalone business. The CEO has released a video explaining the move.
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When Good Doesn’t Win the Day
Recommended Listening: On NPR’s All Things Considered, Petra Mayer offers advice to “literature’s unpunished villains.”
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Telling a beautiful lie
Chris Jones’s latest feature for Esquire wraps a copyright infringement case up in a meditation on the power of magic, the will to believe and the essence of the delight we can find in art. Warning: may lead you down an endless Penn & Teller YouTube rabbit hole.
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“Nearly Useless”
What do Treasury secretary nominee Jack Lew and J. K. Rowling have in common? No one can read their signatures.