Reminder: I optimized this newsletter for subscription. If you’re reading this on Medium (via website or email) or on my blog, please subscribe at https://www.getrevue.co/profile/ksandler1 for the best user experience.
Important Items
Politics at the Pharmacy | How a Ga. woman says her privacy was violated
Georgia’s new abortion law is having some unintended consequences: Some medicines that treat cancer, arthritis, and ulcers can also be used to induce abortions, complicating access to essential drugs.
Forced Parenthood and Failing Safety Nets: This Is Life in Post-Roe America
www.motherjones.com
The states with the strictest abortion laws are doing the least to help poor families. What could possibly go wrong?
A Christian cell phone company plans to take over Texas school boards
Extremists funded by outfits like Patriot Mobil have taken over several large school bds. in North Texas.
Russia’s war on Wikipedia
restofworld.org
Russian Wikipedia editors are being doxxed, threatened, and arrested.
Google Says Trump’s Truth Social Must Scrub Violent Content to Join Play Store
Google said it would not distribute Truth Social, the social media platform founded by Donald Trump, on its Play store until the app removed content that incites violence.
Wear a mask — nothing has changed
MT @wsbgnl New CDC “community levels” are out. Under the pre-Feb 25th guidance, universal indoor masking would be recommended in 96% of counties. Under the new guidance, universal indoor masking is recommended in 30% of counties.
Investigators Seize 27 Antiquities From the Met, Citing Looting — www.nytimes.com
Investigators in New York have seized 27 ancient artifacts valued at more than $13 million from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, asserting that the objects, acquired to showcase the glories of ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt, had been looted. The museum said it is cooperating with the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which has executed several search warrants at the museum since February.
Innovation
Transparent solar panels could replace windows in the future. Here’s how— interestingengineering.com
Transparent solar panels are a real thing, and they’re not just on paper as they are already popping up around the world.
Technology
AI was made to turn David Bowie songs into surreal music videos — www.fastcompany.com
From Bowie to Snoop, AI creates lyrical images that are compelling — with the occasional happy accident. #AI
Ticketmaster selects Flow blockchain for minting NFT event tickets
Over 5 million NFTs have been minted on the Flow blockchain via Ticketmaster to date. #NFT
South Korea expands its efforts to regulate Metaverse
Severe TikTok exploit gives hackers 70 ways to steal your info
Testing by #Microsoft revealed a major vulnerability in the #Android version of #TikTok. The exploit could give attackers full access to a user’s account.
Instagram fined ~$403M in EU over children’s privacy
Under pressure, security firm Cloudflare drops Kiwi Farms website
www.washingtonpost.com
Cloudfare Chief Executive Matthew Prince told The Washington Post he would no longer protect the site becaause of a surge in credible violent threats stemming from the site.
Publishing & Media
Bookshop has registries!
MT @stephopitz ICYMI @Bookshop_Org now has REGISTRIES! You can create registries for weddings, baby showers, classrooms, libraries, lists of books people should get you if they’re going to buy you a gift…Individuals! Couples! Teachers! People who like presents!
Waterstones’ supply chain disrupted in Blue Yonder implementation
Gen Z is driving sales of romance books to the top of bestseller lists
www.npr.org
For months, Colleen Hoover and Emily Henry have occupied multiple spots on the New York Times paperback trade fiction bestsellers list. The success of these romance writers has been aided by Gen Z.
12 Publishing Industry Truths Readers & Writers Should Know
ICYMI Wisdom from @janefriedman
Two Bookstores, Two Iconic Black Women — blackbooksblackminds.substack.com
Harriet Tubman and Ida B. Wells — Say Their Names
Penguin Random House wants you to get off your phone and read a book for once — www.marketingbrew.com
Its latest campaign seeks to curb tech addictions, even if just a little. #teamPRH
23 Wonderful Short Books to Read Now
RT @mariskreizman Want a really good book that you can read in one weekend (or even one afternoon)? I’ve got you.
Beyoncé: a literary guide — www.penguin.co.uk
From feminist polemic to poetry and sci-fi, the themes of Beyoncé’s work can be unearthed in books. We compile the ultimate Bey reading list. From @PenguinUKBooks #teamPRH
Ellen Oh’s Picks for New ‘Required’ High School Reading
From @diversebooks’s @ElloEllenOh
Read Something, Do Something — www.slj.com
Inspired by books, Georgia students and school librarians take action to promote empathy, inclusion, and community engagement in this new initiative from @cicelythegreat.
One in five children do not own any books of their own, according to latest NLT research
Almost one in five children between the ages of five and eight do not have a book of their own at home, according to the latest literacy survey by the National Literacy Trust (NLT), the highest figure since 2019. The charity said the issue is “considerably greater” in young boys, with 21% without a book, compared with 16% of girls.
Romance Novelist Donates $50,000 to Embattled Michigan Library
Romance novelist Nora Roberts donated $50,000 to Patmos Library in Jamestown Township, Michigan, after the library was defunded by the community in early August over LGBTQ-themed books.
Virginia Judge Rules Against Book-Banning Attempt
#FreedomToPublish #FreedomToRead
Austin City Council unanimously adopted a resolution Thursday promoting ALA’s Freedom to Read declaration and opposing book banning
#ATXCouncil @austintexasgov #UniteAgainstBookBans
New Missouri law bans ‘sexually explicit’ books from schools
Serious concerns as almost a third of librarians asked to censor material
www.thebookseller.com
Following a recent surge in protests outside libraries, censorship and challenges to intellectual freedom are growing concerns, a CILIP survey reports.
Libraries step up to provide aid to hard-up visitors but fear for their financial future
“I think everybody in the library world is bracing for a very challenging October through to Christmas in terms of closures and new announcements.”
Pearson Pairs E-Textbooks with Free Curated Video Library
HT @paulkbiba Pearson has added Channels, a curated library of educational videos, to its Pearson+ e-textbook subscription service.
Indian publishing after the pandemic — “print books have comfortably adapted to digital”
India is only at 54% internet penetration, so the reluctance of some publishers to embrace digital is understandable — but sorely misjudged. That 54% equates to 755 million people online. That’s already 443 million more than the USA, which has very little room to grow.
Books & Boba — booksandboba.com
An Asian American Book Club & Podcast
Podcasters test offering more bonus content and additional features to grow subscriptions — digiday.com
QCode, Tenderfoot TV, NPR and Acast are beefing up their subscription podcast offerings with more bonus content and additional features.
BuzzFeed airport stores launch at LaGuardia as part of growing licensing strategy — www.axios.com
“You’re going to see a lot more physical activations from us,” BuzzFeed’s Melanie Summers says. #BrandExtensions
“Content is king, but product is queen”: How publishers are engaging audiences in the era of personal news cycles
Strategies publishers are using to build and manage effective product teams.
‘Allure’ to Discontinue Print Edition — fashionista.com
The Condé Nast-owned beauty title is going digital-only for 2023.
Resources & Opportunities
#PitBLK Practice
RT @_Pitch_Blaque On 9/9 join us for #PrePitBLK a practice event b4 our official pitch party! Tweet your pitch up to 3x between 4–8pm EST & get helpful feedback from our author volunteers. Gas each other up and get excited for the real deal on 9/21 & 22. Visit http://PitBLK.com for rules!
Toolkit — Unite Against Book Bans — uniteagainstbookbans.org
How can you and your community unite against book bans? We’ve put together this action toolkit to help you get started. #UniteAgainstBookBans
Request a Banned Books Week Kit
MT @PenguinClass Get your community ready to make #BannedBooksWeek a week of action. Order this FREE kit and get postcards for writing representatives, resources, booklists, and more! Read. Resist. Act. Order your kit. #teamPRH
Library Card Sign-up Month — www.ala.org
September is Library Card Sign-up Month. Check out this page for resources, including the chance to win $100. #LibraryCardSignUpMonth
Writing for the Deaf Community and Our Allies
RT @NovicSara Hey all! On 12 September @Randomhouse will be hosting a writing workshop for the Deaf community. I’m planning to do a Q&A about my writing/publishing process, maybe a writing exercise. In ASL with terps for English. Price includes a copy of TRUE BIZ. #teamPRH
Book-Loving Texan’s Guide to the November School Board Elections
HT @frankstrong This is a mobilization tool. Use it to volunteer, donate, and organize in your community. Please use this to fight pro-censorship/anti-diversity candidates at the polls.
60+ pitching guides for Vox, NatGeo, Wired, BBC, WaPo, Wirecutter, Slate, and more — freelancingwithtim.substack.com
RT @TimHerrera Freelance journalists! Here are 60+ pitch guides for Vox, NatGeo, Wired, BBC, WaPo, Wirecutter, Slate, and so, so many more
I Will Vote — iwillvote.com
Be a voter. Find everything you need to vote in your state’s next election.
Airline Customer Service Dashboard
The U.S. Department of Transportation has created a dashboard to ensure the traveling public has easy access to information about services that U.S. airlines provide to mitigate passenger inconveniences when the cause of a cancellation or delay was due to circumstances within the airline’s control.