Joan Schweighardt

Authors dumped from New Zealand’s top book prize after AI used in cover designs Ockham Book Awards dropped two titles from contention after new guidelines introduced on artificial intelligence use

@booksky.club

Book World News. These books disqualified from New Zealand lit contest for having AI generated covers:

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

8 Poetry Books That Distort and Manipulate Time - Electric Literature These poets assert agency over the wobbly bounds of temporality

Poetry books to help us think about that elusive quantifier of all things physical and spiritual, time:

electricliterature.com/8-poetry-boo...

Memoirs, myths and Midnight’s Children: Salman Rushdie’s 10 best books – ranked! As the author publishes a new story collection, we rate the work that made his name – from his dazzling Booker winner to an account of the 2022 attack that nearly killed him

If you've always meant to read him but don't know where to start, The Guardian's put together a list of Salman Rushdie's best books.

www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...

Sarah Jessica Parker’s Year of Judging the Booker Prize

Judging the Booker, by Sarah Jessica Parker:

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/11/b...

The Cost of Creativity: Income Gaps and the Pressures of Self-Promotion in the Art World Artists and creatives often pour their hearts into their work, but the demands of creation and self-promotion can be overwhelming. At Occhi Arts & Entertainment, we understand how challenging it can b...

A message for creatives, from Occhi Arts Magazine.

www.linkedin.com/pulse/cost-c...

When We Devalue Art (Books!) We Devalue the Future When you’ve spent your whole adult life working in and around book publishing you get used to hearing that people don’t read anymore and that the industry is on its last legs. There is always a cri…

The dangers of AI, from LitHub:

lithub.com/when-we-deva...

‘It’s not just a book, it’s a window to my soul’: why we’re in love with literary angst Why did an obscure Dostoevsky novella sell 100,000 copies in the UK last year? And why are TikTokers raving about a 1943 Turkish novel? The way young people are discovering books is changing – and the...

Classics that deal with "existential dread" selling better than ever. Why?

www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n...

Joan Schweighardt Even before my first novel was published, someone knocked on my door to say he had recently survived a harrowing ordeal in a foreign country and needed a professional to ghostwrite his story. I exp…

Today my book news is about myself. My newest novel, In the Wonder, will be published by Regal House in 2027. I'm thrilled and most grateful. I will be in such excellent company. Check out their amazing book list... and my bio.

regalhousepublishing.com/joan-schweig...

Five Classic Books Every Basketball Lover Should Read In 1992, George Plimpton used the pages of the paper of record to share his theory on sportswriting: “The smaller the ball, the more formidable the literature,” he wrote. “There are superb books ab…

If you love basketball, you will want to know about these books, from Literary Hub:

lithub.com/five-classic...

Baek Se-hee, author of I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki, dies aged 35 The Korean author’s hit self-help memoir, which follows her conversations with her psychiatrist, sold more than a million copies worldwide

Korean author of self-help memoir dies very young. RIP Baek Se-hee.

www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...

Books We Loved, Oct. 25 Books we loved at Five Directions Press in October 2025, by Jeanine Cummins, CM Rawlins, and Katie Tietjen

New book review from Five Directions Press. Thanks to Jeanine Cummins, C.M. Rawlins, and Katie Tietjen for writing books we couldn't put down.

www.fivedirectionspress.com/post/books-w...

2025 National Book Awards Finalists Announced Twenty-five Finalists to contend for National Book Awards in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature

Finalists for the National Book Awards:

www.nationalbook.org/2025-nationa...

This is me walking into the gym yesterday. I am passing a window that is totally black. Photographer Michael Dooley, walking behind, sees a distorted reflection of the street in the glass that is invisible to me, so he waits for me to get there to snap his snazzy photo. Perspective is everything.

New Mexico, Land of Enchantment today for sure. Welcome to Albuquerque, ballooners.

If you own these 8 books, you’re more well-read than 95% of the population Most shelves are filled with trends; only a few hold the books that quietly rewire your perspective on life.

VegOut Magazine says these are the books to read to be well read. See if you agree, or if you have anything to add to the list.

vegoutmag.com/lifestyle/z-...

Spotlight Interview with J.S. Burke Spotlight Interview with J.S. Burke, author of the Dragon Dreamer series and other works, aimed at readers of all ages

Octopuses, dragons, crystals, minerals and more. Meet Jenny S. Burke, author of numerous books you and your loved ones will want to know about, here in my Five Directions Press interview with her.

www.fivedirectionspress.com/post/spotlig...

My colleague Faye Rapoport DesPres
has worked with an East European artist to create a magnificent kids' book called Toys at Night. If in Europe, it's available at www.goldfishbooksuk.com and Waterstone’s. Here in the US at this time you can only get it through Faye, www.fayerapoportdespres.com.

This month's Five Directions Press "Books We Loved" features reviews of books by Liana De La Rosa, Katie Kitamura, and Chrystal Schleyer.

www.fivedirectionspress.com/post/books-w...

The Books Maslow Never Lived to Write Maslow's unwritten books remain relevant for contemporary psychology.

We know about the books that Abraham Maslow wrote, but his early death kept him from writing several others. Here's the rundown on what they would have been about.

www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-...

2025 National Book Awards Longlist for Poetry The ten contenders for the National Book Award for Poetry

National Book Awards long list for poetry:

Congrats to all!

www.nationalbook.org/2025-nationa...

8 Books About Wild Animal Companions - Electric Literature From hawks to snails to octopuses, we can learn a lot from these creatures and the people who bond with them

From Electric Literature, books about friendships between humans and wild animals:

electricliterature.com/8-books-abou...

James Patterson offers new writers up to $50,000 to finish their books The bestselling novelist and true crime writer launched a "Go Finish Your Book" initiative to support emerging authors.

Here's a deal for newbie writers:

www.cbsnews.com/news/james-p...

The Nautilus Reading List About the Brain The Nautilus Reading List About the Brain: Poet Emily Dickinson’s famous line that the brain is wider than the sky captures these 10 books

Books about the brain, and for the brain, from Nautilus magazine:

nautil.us/the-nautilus...

Telling the Bees – Emily Polk Bees have long been witness to human grief, carrying messages between the living and the dead. Finding solace in the company of bees, Emily Polk opens to the widening circles of loss around her and an...

This is an amazing and beautiful essay, to read or listen to. This made my day. That's why I'm sharing it.

emergencemagazine.org/essay/tellin...

Always interesting to see what Obama is reading:

www.usatoday.com/story/entert...

What books shaped you in high school? Here's what you said More than 1,100 of you wrote to tell us about the books that broadened your horizons, that you kept through every move, that inspired you to become English majors, librarians, writers and teachers.

NPR listeners reveal the books they read in high school that helped to shape their lives. See if any of your life-shapers is on the list.

www.npr.org/2025/08/28/n...

Can picture books change the world? Sikh American scholar and historian Simran Jeet Singh on helping kids imagine — and create — a more empathetic world.

History and religion scholar Simran Jeet Singh writes children's books to inspire empathy:

"I began writing children’s books as a way to share my Sikh traditions so they could be seen and accepted for what they are."

bigthink.com/the-well/can...

For Iris Murdoch, morality is about love, not duties and rules | Aeon Essays For Iris Murdoch, morality is not about duties and rules but stopping our ego fantasies and attending to others with love

What's love got to do with it (it being morality)? From Aeon magazine, an essay based on the philosophies of the great Iris Murdoch:

aeon.co/essays/for-i...

Books We Loved, Aug. 2025 Books We Loved in August 2025, by Carys Davies, R.F. Kuang, and Lucy Pick

Historical fiction fans: This month's Five Directions Press "Books We Loved" feature is for you!, featuring reviews of novels by Carys Davis, R.F. Kuang and Lucky Pick

www.fivedirectionspress.com/post/books-w...

British Children’s Author Allan Ahlberg Dies at 87 British children's author Allan Ahlberg has died at age 87. The writer was best known for his celebrated collaborations with his wife, the late illustrator Janet Ahlberg.

Allan Ahlberg, RIP:

"I'm far from being the best writer in the world, and Janet was very good but she wasn't the greatest illustrator in the world either. But the pair of us were twins in the sense that we both really wanted our books to be good."

people.com/british-chil...