Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
2024 Ignatz Awards Announced
The Ignatz Awards, the festival prize of the Small Press Expo recognizing “outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning,” announced its 2024 winners and reignited my passion for the form. The winners include Roaming by Jillian Tamaki & Mariko Tamaki (Outstanding Graphic Novel); My Body Unspooling by Leo Fox (Outstanding Comic); Buuza!! by Shazleen Khan (Outstanding Online Comic); and, Robyn Smith for “Night Fever” (from Gladiolus Magazine #1) (Outstanding Artist). You can find the full list here.
The 2024 Booker Prize Shortlist
Steady the Jenga towers you call your TBR stacks because you have six books to add! The shortlisted books for “the best sustained work of fiction written in English and published in the UK and Ireland” are: James by Percival Everett, Orbital by Samantha Harvey, Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner, Held by Anne Michaels, The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden, Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood. As you might have noticed, women dominate this list! As you also might have noticed, there’s only one author who isn’t white… I can’t even begin to predict who will win the Booker, but I’d love to see your guesses in the comments on the site!
Feed Your Fall Vibes With Books
Goodreads released a big ol’ list of 63 books for every fall vibe. You’ve got your witchy books (shoutout to deeply cozy The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna), your cozy reads (much love for A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers), dark and moody business (hello Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia), and so, so much more.
Publishers Weekly Talks Book Bans With Kelly Jensen
Book Riot editor and Literary Activism captain Kelly Jensen spoke with Publishers Weekly about book banning in schools and libraries. We at BR know how much work and thought Kelly puts into covering this critical issue, and invite you to learn more about why it’s important to pay attention to what’s happening with book challenges and where we’re at through her own words.