Pamela M

it makes me so happy that a column I once managed at Publishing Trends could be a source for such cool data.

A photo of an ice cream machine with a sign reading, "Anything is possible with ice cream." Beneath that is a hand lettered sign reading, "No ice cream".

2026 basically

sold!

Charlotte Wood's THE NATURAL WAY OF THINGS was described by a bookseller at Fort Collins' Old Firehouse Books as being about "feral rabbit women", which is wonderful.

For ICE to build concentration camps quickly, they're leaning on this Dept. of War program WEXMAC TITUS helps contractors bypass the traditionally lengthy government contract bidding process

The Worldwide Expeditionary Multiple Award Contract (WEXMAC) program was created so the Navy could quickly respond in the wake of international natural disasters, pandemics, etc.

There were 26 designated regions—until last year when they added #27: TITUS (Territorial Integrity of the United States)

Brightly colored folkloric horse drawing in red pink and brown with colorful flowered and striped saddle. Red plum blossoms. Words: 2026 year of the fire horse

Happy New Year of the Fire Horse, Everyone! Gong Xi Fa Cai! Kung Hay Fat Choy! 恭喜发财！春节快乐！🎆🎆🐴🐴🎇🎇🧧🧧

While I plot my next move, just want to make it crystal clear that I'm open to offers involving bookstores in Ireland.

Thank you! As far as I can tell, the publishing industry and the press that covers it have said almost nothing about its Epstein connections through Epstein's bespoke literary agent John Brockman. The silence is giving off its own special stink. This was an important part of the Epstein "mystique."

Oxford World’s Classics

This story about Laurence Sterne (told here by Ian Campbell Ross) is new to me

cool, cool. so we are sort of like citizens, but not really?

Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin

Beyond the various forms of fraud and misappropriation, this is shamelessly predatory behavior. It's extremely difficult to make a living as a writer. Reach is everything. Swindling hardworking, audience-hungry authors with a false promise of expanded readership is so odiously low.

Same image of AI-generated headshots as in previous post.

What appear to be AI-generated headshots of a "team" of individuals that do not seem to exist.

AI-generated headshot purporting to be author Colson Whitehead. The real Whitehead is African American.

Screenshot of 404 error message from dead link on Inklight website.

The unctuous emails, while still recognizable as AI, are increasingly cogent & sophisticated. The purported clubs often have glossy sham websites w/ dead links & fake, AI-generated headshots of famous authors & "teams" of people that almost certainly do not exist. This one, "Inklight," is egregious

Screenshot of so-called "Inklight Book Club" featuring what appear to be fake, generic, AI-generated headshots paired with the names of famous authors, including Margaret Atwood, Haruki Murakami, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

🧵 AI-assisted book promotion scams are completely out of control. Every week I get fawning emails from supposed book clubs offering to "showcase" my book to a "passionate community of readers" or some such. The catch? They want me to *pay* them. Oh, and the club (example below) is a charade.

Everyone in the book business just read this post twice.

Read this

The Conversation named 6 of the best Australian #literarypodcasts, and we're thrilled to have made the list! Thanks Caitlin Macdonald for the incredible review, published in @aunz.theconversation.com #BookSky

And coming in March, on @literaryhub.bsky.social's most anticipated list, and a Book of the Month Club selection, this beautiful new edition of THE NATURAL WAY OF THINGS. Ten years after its first publication, chillingly more timely than ever.

STONE YARD DEVOTIONAL by Charlotte Wood is called "exquisite" and one of the 10 Best Books of 2025 by the New York Times

The @riverheadbooks.bsky.social paperback of STONE YARD DEVOTIONAL by Charlotte Wood is in bookstores (US/Canada) starting today.

I did not think I could like Ian Mckellan more, but editing these speeches from a relatively obscure text into a monstrous subtweet is just perfect

This is the stranger’s case,
And this your mountainish inhumanity

The Chinese word for oxymoron, 矛盾語, means “spear and shield word.” It refers to a story of a weapons merchant who claimed he had both shields no spear could pierce and spears that could pierce anything.

Why we're sponsoring the Oakland Review of Books A word from East Bay Booksellers.

We’re excited to be sponsoring @oaklandreviewofbooks.org right out of the gate. In this short piece I try to explain why. They’re formally launching now, so do check them out.

www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/why-were-spo...

For those looking for freelance work in the wake of WaPo layoffs: I'm an editor at large overseeing Ideas & Culture at Bloomberg, including our Books coverage. Find me at skillingswo2@bloomberg.net

I'm sorry, the Washington Post hopes *I* will reconsider the value of their journalists?

Essex locals baffled by £7k duck sign because they have 'no ducks' Six workman were needed to install the sign in the village, despite residents saying they've never seen a duck in the area

If you build it, they will come…

Listening to a podcast about books and the host says “I put this question into ChatGPT and I..” and then I was done.

So many people I've come across have been indifferent to books, and quite a few hate books, any books.

Your Voice Matters, It's Time to Take Action | Copyright Alliance Your Voice Matters, It's Time to Take Action. Email Congress today! Dear Creators and Friends of the Creative Community, Your voice matters now more than ever. Speak up today to ensure your creativity...

Creators: Speak up to ensure your creativity is respected, protected, and fairly compensated as Congress considers future legislation that would allow #AI companies to train on your work w/out your permission or compensation. We made it quick and easy! copyrightalliance.org/get-involved...