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S. Zainab would like to think she bleeds ink but the very idea makes her feel faint. She writes fantasy and horror, and is currently clutching a manuscript while groping in the dark. Find her on Twitter: @szainabwilliams.
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Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
The Best Books of the Year So Far lists are rolling in and I was personally thrilled to see Esquire place some of the books that have been on my radar. This includes Audition by Katie Kitamura, The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones, and Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age by Vauhini Vara, but there are so many more titles from new and notable authors to peruse and consider. I said it before and I’ll say it again, this is shaping up to be an excellent year in books–it’s hard to keep up in the best kind of way.
PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction Goes To…
A book I learned about today. No shade, but I hadn’t come across two books on the finalist list of five titles and the winner, Small Rain by Garth Greenwell, was one of them. That said, looking back at the list of winners of this award, which honors fiction by American permanent residents in a calendar year with a winner selected by three writer judges, this strikes me as one of the less predictable awards with a mix of big name/big publisher books and lesser known (or at least less buzzy) authors. The finalists vying for this year’s prize alongside the winning title were Ghostroots by Pemi Aguda, Behind You is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj (the other book I hadn’t heard of), James by Percival Everett, and Colored Television by Danzy Senna.
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Salman Rushdie’s Attacker Sentenced to 25 Years
In February, Hadi Matar was found guilty of attempted murder for trying to kill The Satanic Verses author during a speech. Matar stabbed Salman Rushdie multiple times before bystanders pulled him off, and Rushdie was left blind in one eye. The 25-year sentence was handed down this past Friday when Judge David W. Foley “told Mr. Matar that his assault had been against not only a man, but also the right to free expression.” Rushdie’s statements haven’t been made public, but his newest book, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, which was a National Book Award finalist, recounts the traumatic event and its aftermath. Truly terrifying stuff.
Trump Administration Appeals Decision in Attorneys General IMLS Lawsuit
The federal administration overseeing the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Minority Business Development Agency, and Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services, have filed an appeal over the decision made in the case of State of Rhode Island vs. Donald Trump. The decision, rendered May 13, would require the administration to undo the mass firings and dismantling of the three above-listed federal agencies.
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