LibraryThing: State of the Thing - April

LibraryThing: State of the Thing Dear {NAME}, Welcome to the April State of the Thing! In this issue we celebrate TinyCat’s eighth birthday, invite members to participate in our cat-centric treasure hunt, highlight our Library of the Month, announce some improvements to our Early Reviewers program, present our interview with author Chad Corrie, reveal our List of the Month, and give a shout out to all of our wonderful helpers. We also serve up lots and lots of book world news, all of our regular columns, and 3,599 free Early Reviewer books! You can like LibraryThing on [Facebook]( and follow [@LibraryThing]( on Twitter, [librarythingofficial]( on Instagram, and [librarythingofficial](librarythingofficial) on Threads for news and updates. TinyCat Turns Eight! [HuntBirds]Happy Birthday! [TinyCat](—our catalog for tiny libraries—debuted eight years ago, and we’re in the mood to celebrate! We are so pleased to be able to offer smaller libraries a sleek, user-friendly, affordable way to manage and share their collections online, and we have taken great pleasure in building relationships with thousands of participating libraries over the years. Come take a look at some of the amazing TinyCat libraries we have recently highlighted through our [Library of the Month]( blog column, and be sure to check out our interview with the latest Library of the Month, excerpted below. Store Sale. In honor of the occasion, we are putting all TinyCat merchandise, library supplies, and holiday bundles (while supplies last) on major discount in the [LibraryThing Store](. As this is TinyCat’s eighth birthday, the sale will run until Wednesday, May 8th, so take advantage of the bargains and stock up now. Be sure to check out our [blog post]( for more information about our TinyCat birthday celebration, and [join the conversation]( over in Talk. Treasure Hunt. In honor of TinyCat’s birthday we are also running our first ever catcentric treasure hunt. See below for details on how you can solve this clowder of kitty cat clues. A Feline Treasure Hunt [HuntBirds]Come herd some cats! TinyCat’s eighth birthday has just arrived, and we are pleased to announce the debut of our celebratory catcentric [TinyCat Birthday Treasure Hunt](, which features all sorts of feline clues, and which will be running from April 19th through the 30th! Come search through our website, reading and solving the fifteen clues, and finding the pages on LibraryThing that match your solutions. When you find each right page, you’ll see a banner at the top of your screen announcing that you’ve found a TinyCat. Everyone who finds at least two TinyCats receives a [profile badge](, while those who find all fifteen will be entered into a drawing for a LibraryThing [prize](. You have until Tuesday April 30th at 11.59 pm Eastern Time to find all the TinyCats hidden around the site and gather them all together into one big clowder. Come brag about your clowder of TinyCats (and get hints) on [Talk](. Early Reviewer Improvements We are excited to announce some changes to the Early Reviewer program that will streamline the process of adding books of interest, and improve the delivery of digital books to winners. Adding Books. Participants in the program now have the ability to add books to their catalog directly from the main [Early Reviewers]( page, as well as from their own [ER wins page](. Going forward, every giveaway will include a blue "Add" button that can be used to quickly add any Early Reviewers book to the member’s catalog. This tool uses our existing Add Books Express feature to search for the title, but in the absence of any information from our standard book search sources will create a copy using data from the Early Reviewers giveaway itself. Many thanks to Lucy (AKA [knerd.knitter]() for her hard work on this! Come read more about it, and tell us what you think over [in Talk](. Digital Delivery Period. Digital giveaways will now have a one week delivery period (rather than four weeks). This will improve delivery and review rates, as the books will arrive closer to the time members are notified of their win, and the shorter period will highlight issues sooner, allowing us to more quickly resolve any instance of non delivery. Download Links. Going forward, all download links except for Kindle editions (which must be sent through Amazon) will be sent to winners by on-site LibraryThing message, rather than by email. These messages will be sent automatically by LibraryThing after members are notified of their win. We will be testing out download links beforehand, which will improve the process for members. Come read more about it and share your thoughts over [in Talk](. Free Books from Early Reviewers Our Early Reviewers program pairs publishers and authors looking for reviews and book buzz with readers looking for their next great read. This month, in anticipation of our upcoming June interview with author [Joyce Maynard](, we’re pleased to feature [How the Light Gets In](, offered by [William Morrow](. We’re also featuring [The Book Censor’s Library]( by [Bothayna Al-Essa](, a “fantastical satire of banned books, secret archives, and the looming eye of an all-powerful government” offered by [Restless Books](; and [The Hypnotic Tales of Rafael Sabatini](, our very first giveaway from [Themes & Settings in Fiction Press](. Explore the full list and [sign up to request books](. [How the Light Gets In]( [Until Our Time Comes]( [The Book Censor's Library]( [And Then There Was Us]( [The Hypnotic Tales of Rafael Sabatini]( [To & Fro]( [Buster: A Dog]( [A Book Club's Guide to Murder & Mayhem]( [The Other Side of the Mirror]( [All Who Believed: A Memoir of Life in the Twelve Tribes]( [A Kingdom of Souls and Shadows]( [The Prince of Oregon]( [Red Pines]( [Rain Breaks No Bones]( [An Orphan of the Light]( [Hearts on Thin Ice]( [The Last Leviathan]( [Fair Shake: Women and the Fight to Build a Just Economy]( [The Hudson Collection]( [The Fast: The History, Science, Philosophy, and Promise of Doing Without]( Our April batch of Early Reviewers has 3,599 copies of 174 books. The deadline to request a book is April 25th, 6pm Eastern time. Did you win a book recently? When you receive your book, make sure you head over to your [Books You've Won]( page to mark it received. After you've read your book, add your review to LibraryThing. First, add the book to your LibraryThing catalog. Then click the pencil-shaped "edit" icon next to the book, or click "edit book" from the work page. Type your review into the Review box, and click "submit" to save it. Reviewing your books gives you a greater chance of winning books in the future, while neglecting to review lowers your odds. For more information, visit the [Early Reviewers Help Page](. Author Interview: Chad Corrie LibraryThing is pleased to sit down this month with author [Chad Corrie](, whose published work ranges across a variety of genres and forms, from comic books and graphic novels to fantasy fiction. His epic fantasy series for adults, [The Wizard King Trilogy](, was published in 2020 and 2021 by Dark Horse Comics, which also published [The Shadow Regent]( in 2023, as well as his recent graphic novel, [Sons of Ashgard: Ill Met in Elmgard](, a 2023 [Foreword Indie Award finalist]( in the Graphic Novel & Comics category. [As the Sparrow Flies](, the first in Corrie’s new young adult dystopian series, [Sojourners’ Saga](, is due out from Dark Horse in May. See an excerpt below, and the full interview [here](. Q. Set in a dying world, [As the Sparrow Flies]( is a dystopian fantasy with a twist, featuring two young protagonists who must find a way to survive or escape their world, rather than save it. Is this important? Were you simply interested in writing a survival story, or was there a deeper message there, about how the individual might respond to harsh circumstances and apocalyptic events? Chad. A major impetus for [Sojourners’ Saga]( was the desire to do something new. At the time I started writing the series I was working on finishing up more epic fantasy tales with these massive story universes and there was an appeal to actually having a series where the world was dying and things were bleak—a near complete opposite of what I was doing with this other work at the time. Person vs. nature also wasn’t a story type I’d yet explored, further sweetening the pot. And it would be fair to say I was intrigued with the idea of seeing how I’d be able to write something more survival-based in general. It wasn’t so much an initial theme or concept that drove me to it, just the idea of exploring something different. The idea of fleeing the danger rather than trying to correct it was also something different and a bit of a challenge to myself, I guess, to see what was possible. Visit the blog to [read the whole conversation](. TinyCat Library of the Month [Toowong Bridge Club](Library of the Month. TinyCat’s featured library this past month was the [Toowong Bridge Club](. Based out of Brisbane, Australia, they have been using TinyCat since 2021 to make sure their members can always access the library to advance their skills. The Club Librarian Jill Duffield sat down with Kristi this past month to answer her questions about the organization and [their library](. Q. Who are you, and what is your mission—your “raison d’être”?: The Mission of the Toowong Bridge Club, by implementing TinyCat, was to make the library more accessible to the 800+ members so they could improve their game of Bridge. You can find the [full interview on our blog](. TinyCat Webinars. To learn more about TinyCat, join Kristi for a live demo Wednesdays at 1pm Eastern. Webinars are now on Zoom, so make sure to use our new [link to attend](. You can also check out our playlists of Tiny Tutorials on LibraryThing’s [YouTube channel](, where Kristi walks you through various features of TinyCat in 30 seconds or less. If you'd like to schedule a webinar at another time or if you have other questions about TinyCat, you can reach Kristi at tinycat@librarything.com. You can also follow [@TinyCat_Lib]( on Twitter and [tinycat_lib](tinycat_lib) on Threads for the latest TinyCat news. List of the Month Come join LibraryThing’s List of the Month project, as we create a new thematic book list each month. Like all of our [Lists](, the List of the Month draws upon the knowledge of the LibraryThing community, while also aiming to provoke discussion around each theme. See our [wiki page]( for a complete List of the Month list, and join us over in [our latest Talk thread](, where we announced this month’s list. April List of the Month. In honor of Arab American Heritage Month, our List of the Month this April is devoted to the [Arab and Arab Diaspora Literature We Recommend](. For the purpose of this list, "literature" is defined to include fiction, poetry and plays. It does not include history, sociology, or other non-fiction works. Each participant may vote on ten titles. Head over to our [Arab and Arab Diaspora Literature We Recommend]( list of to add your top ten choices Check out other recent Lists of the Month: - March [Best Biographies of Notable Women]( - February [Favorite Animal Non-Fiction]( - December [Top Five Books of 2023]( - November [Great Films Based on Books]( - October [Witchy Fiction]( The Talk of LibraryThing What conversations are going on in our groups? - [Witches, Evil Spirits and Black Magic]( has been selected as the “April ScaredyKit” theme over in the [2024 Category Challenge]( group. - Members are discussing [Books Featuring Characters With Disabilities]( over in [Reading Through Time](. - A discussion of [Books Bought by Members in April 2024]( is ongoing in the [What did You buy today?]( group. - Members are documenting what they are [Reading and Reviewing]( this month in the [Read it, Track it!](21) group.. Speaking of Groups, if you’re new to LibraryThing, there’s a group for that: [Welcome to LibraryThing](21)! Helpers What is LibraryThing without its members? LibraryThing has some of the best people around, helping to improve the site for themselves and for the larger community—making us the best bookish site out there. From dedicated helper groups like [Combiners!]( and [Spam Fighters!](, to the guidance provided by long-time members when newcomers have questions in [Talk About LibraryThing](, [Frequently Asked Questions]( or [Bug Collectors](, our members are always helping out. They add an enormous amount of valuable information to the site, filling out Common Knowledge fields on author and book work pages, adding cover images and author photographs, and improving features such as [Series](Nseries_controller), [Recommendations]( and [Awards](. Roll of Honor. Each month we call out some of the top contributors from the last month. So… special thanks this time go to [leselotte]( (work combiners and edition separators), [pjlambert]( (work combiners), [sneuper]( (work combiners), [SimoneA]( (work combiners and edition separators), [r.orrison]( (work combiners), [smithli]( (work combiners, work author edits and Common Knowledge contributors), [surly]( (work combiners), [Nicole_VanK]( (work combiners and and all helper voting), [ptimes]( (edition separators), [kleh]( (edition separators, work author edits and publisher series edits), [SarahEJenkins]( (cover uploading), [Elaineasaur]( (cover uploading and series edits), [TJAries]( (cover uploading), [Themis-Athena]( (work author edits and Common Knowledge contributors), [Jazz1987]( (work author edits and Common Knowledge contributors), [GwynethM]( (work author edits, work relationships and Common Knowledge contributors), [cinaedus]( (work author edits and publisher series edits), [geophile]( (tag combiners and all helper voting), [BeeDubs8]( (series edits and Common Knowledge contributors), [starbookworm]( (series edits), [labfs39]( (publisher series edits), [karenb]( (Awards and Honors), [JMK2020]( (Common Knowledge contributors and work author edits), [MrKusabi]( (Common Knowledge contributors and Awards and Honors), [zombiecat]( (all helper voting), [kirstenlund]( (all helper voting), [Heather39]( (all helper voting), [xaagmabag]( (all helper voting), [Hagelstein]( (all helper voting), [lynnaj]( (all helper voting), and [cipeciop]( (translation). Hot on LibraryThing Here are some titles that have been particularly hot on LibraryThing in the last month: - [Just for the Summer]( by [Abby Jimenez]( - [Table for Two: Fictions]( by [Amor Towles]( - [James]( by [Percival Everett]( - [The Familiar]( by [Leigh Bardugo]( - [The Husbands]( by [Holly Gramazio]( - [The Women]( by [Kristin Hannah]( - [The Truth about the Devlins]( by [Lisa Scottoline]( - [Toxic Prey]( by [John Sandford]( - [How to Solve Your Own Murder]( by [Kristen Perrin]( - [The Hunter]( by [Tana French]( - [The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness]( by [Jonathan Haidt]( - [The Reappearance of Rachel Price]( by [Holly Jackson]( - [Still See You Everywhere]( by [Lisa Gardner]( - [Expiration Dates]( by [Rebecca Serle]( - [Darling Girls]( by [Sally Hepworth]( - [After Annie]( by [Anna Quindlen]( - [Daughter of Mine]( by [Megan Miranda]( - [How to End a Love Story]( by [Yulin Kuang]( - [The #1 Lawyer]( by [James Patterson]( - [City in Ruins]( by [Don Winslow]( Book World News: In Memoriam Celebrated American mathematician and science fiction author [Vernor Vinge](, whose work anticipated and described what would come to be called cyberspace, [has died at 79](. A professor of mathematics and computer science at San Diego State University, Vinge published his first short story, [Apartness](, in 1965, in the British magazine New Worlds, going on to become a fairly prolific contributor to science fiction magazines in the 1960s and 70s. He published his first novel, [Grimm’s World](, which was based upon a short story of the same name, in 1969, expanding it in 1987 as [Tatja Grimm’s World](. His second novel, [The Witling](, was published in 1976, but it was with his 1981 [True Names](, which introduced the influential idea of cyberspace, that he came to widespread public attention. Vinge won the [Hugo Award]( for his 1993 novel, [A Fire Upon the Deep](, going on to win additional Hugos in the novel category for his [A Deepness in the Sky]( (2000) and [Rainbows End]( (2007), as well as in the novella category for [Fast Times at Fairmont High]( (2002) and [The Cookie Monster]( (2004). His body of work was recognized in 2020, when he received the [Robert A. Heinlein Award](. Acclaimed Guadeloupean French novelist [Maryse Condé](, winner of the one-time 2018 New Academy Prize in Literature, given out the year the Nobel Prize was suspended, [has died at 90](. Educated on her home island and in Paris, she taught in a number of west African nations for more than a decade before returning to France to earn her masters and PhD in comparative literature from Paris-Sorbonne. Condé published a number of works of criticism before her 1976 debut as a novelist, publishing [Heremakhonon]( at the age of 40. It was with her third novel however, the 1984 [Segu](, that she came to prominence, going on to publish a sequel, [The Children of Segu]( in 1985, as well as numerous other novels, children’s books, plays and essays. Condé was the recipient of many honors, including a Fullbright scholarship (1985-86), the French Legion of Honour (2004) and the New Academy Prize in Literature (2018). Influential Dutch-American primatologist and ethologist [Frans de Waal](, known for his arguments about the emotional and moral lives of animals, [has died at 75](. Born and educated in the Netherlands, de Waal earned a PhD from Utrecht University, writing his dissertation on aggression and alliance formation amongst macaques. He published his first book, [Chimpanzee Politics: Power and Sex Among Apes](, in 1982, after completing a six-year study of the species at Arnhem Zoo, offering the first examination of primate behavior focusing on social strategies. He encountered resistance to the publication of his 1997 [Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape](, because his frank depiction of bonobo sexuality was considered controversial, and his argument for empathy being a commonly-held quality between humans and apes, as expressed in his 2009 [The Age of Empathy: Nature’s Lessons for a Kinder Society](, was initially contested. Two of his later books, [Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?]( (2016) and [Mama’s Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us About Ourselves]( (2019) were bestsellers. French artist and children’s author [Laurent de Brunhoff](, who revived and continued his father [Jean de Bunhoff’s]( famous [Babar]( picture book series, [has died at 98](. Raised on the Babar stories, which began as bedtime tales told to him and his brother, de Brunhoff trained under the painter Othon Friesz at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, but eventually decided to reconnect with his father’s work by training himself to illustrate in his style. His first contribution to the Babar series was [Babar’s Cousin, That Rascal Arthur]( (Babar et ce coquin d’Arthur), published in 1946, when he was twenty-one. He would go on to publish almost fifty additional Babar books, as well as a number of picture books featuring his own original characters. Beloved British children’s author [Lynne Reid Banks](, who is particularly known for her [Indian in the Cupboard]( series, [has died at 94](. An actress and television journalist before she became a writer, she published her first book, the adult novel [The L-Shaped Room](, in 1960. Plays for television and radio followed, as did a second novel, [An End to Running](, after which Banks moved to Israel for nine years, teaching on a kibbutz and marrying the sculptor Chaim Stephenson. Banks and her family returned to the UK in 1971, and in 1980 she published the children’s fantasy novel, [The Indian in the Cupboard](, which was an immediate success, and which was made into a [film of the same name]( in 1995. Four sequels followed, as did more than twenty other books for children of various ages. In 2013, Banks was honored with the [J.M. Barrie Award]( for her contribution to children’s arts. Other recent losses in the book world: - [Lynne Barasch](, American children’s author and artist, [has died at 84](. - [John Barth](, American novelist and professor, [has died at 93](. - [Neeli Cherkovski](, American poet and biographer, [has died at 78](. - [Lyn Hejinian](, American poet, publisher and professor, [has died at 82](. - [Daniel Kahneman](, American psychologist and author, [has died at 90](. - [Robert MacNeil](, Canadian-American journalist and author, [has died at 93](. - [Sami Michael](, Iraqi-Israeli novelist and civil rights activist, [has died at 97](. - [Marjorie Perloff](, American poetry scholar and critic, has [died at 92](. - [Ed Piskor](, American cartoonist and Youtube vlogger, [has died at 41](. - [Faith Ringgold](, American artist, children’s author and illustrator, [has died at 93](. - [Trina Robbins](, American comic book creator and historian, [has died at 85](. - [Mike Thaler](, American children’s author and illustrator, [has died at 87](. Freedom of Expression The [American Library Association]( (ALA) opened National Library Week (April 7-13) by [releasing their annual list]( of top ten most-challenged books from the year before. The list was dominated by books with LGBTQ themes, with [Gender Queer: A Memoir]( by [Maia Kobabe](, [All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto]( by [George M. Johnson]( and [This Book Is Gay]( by [Juno Dawson]( taking the top three places. ALA’s annual [State of America's Libraries]( report was released at the same time, documenting both the high level of book challenges in the past year, and the many innovative ways libraries across the country have been serving their communities. In [last month’s issue]( of State of the Thing we reported that a new Georgia bill aiming to force all school and public libraries in the state to disaffiliate with the ALA [had passed the state Senate](, and was headed to the House. Now HB 777, a new Louisiana bill introduced in March, seeks to criminalize the use of public funds on the part of institutions and public employees “to or with” the ALA. According to [a report from PEN America](, “under the bill, were a Louisiana librarian to attend a conference cosponsored by the ALA, they could be fined $1,000 and/or incarcerated for up to two years.” PEN America also [recently released]( a new report, [Banned in the USA: Narrating the Crisis](, which found that school book bans during the first half of the 2023-24 school year were at record levels. From July to December 2023, the report found that 4,349 books had been banned by schools across 23 states and 52 school districts. In our [January issue]( of State of the Thing we reported on the [blocking of two portions]( of Iowa bill SF 496, a state law which prevents books with sexual content from being included in school libraries, and which prohibits discussion of sexuality and gender identity in classrooms with students below the seventh grade. The lawsuit leading to the decision was brought by Penguin Random House, and it has recently been announced that five other publishers—Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, and Sourcebooks—[are joining the suit]( as additional plaintiffs. As reported in [our previous issue]( the conflict in Gaza continues to roil the book world. The nonprofit PEN America, devoted to protecting freedom of expression, has been accused in contract negotiations with their employees’ union of [stifling their own staff members’ free speech](, an accusation that comes on the heels of conflict over the organization’s response to the crisis in Gaza. A number of authors have [withdrawn from consideration]( for the PEN Literary Awards, as a gesture of protest at the organization’s perceived inaction on the topic, leading to questions as to whether their [Literary Awards]( ceremony, [World Voices Festival](, and [Literary Gala]( can go forward. In response, PEN America’s president, Jennifer Finney Boylan, [has announced]( that they will be conducting a review of their work, "going back a decade, to ensure we are aligned with our mission.” Book World News: Awards The winners of the 2023 [National Book Critics Circle Awards]( have [been announced]( in multiple categories. [Safiya Sinclair]( has won in the Autobiography category for her [How to Say Babylon: A Memoir](, while the winner in the Biography category was [Jonny Steinberg]( for his [Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage](. The winner in the Criticism category was [Tina Post]( for her [Deadpan: The Aesthetics of Black Inexpression](, and in the Poetry category it was [Hyesoon Kim]( for her [Phantom Pain Wings](. [Lorrie Moore]( has won in the Fiction category for [I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home](, while [Roxanna Asgarian]( has won in the Nonfiction category for [We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America](. The Gregg Barrios Prize for Book in Translation went to [Cold Nights of Childhood]( by [Tezer Özlü](, translated by [Maureen Freely](. The John Leonard Prize for debut book went to [Tahir Hamut Izgil]( for his [Waiting to Be Arrested at Night: A Uyghur Poet's Memoir of China's Genocide](, while the [Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing]( went to [Marion Winik](. The [Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award]( went to [Judy Blume](, and the [Toni Morrison Achievement Award]( to the [American Library Association](. The 2024 [PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction](25252FFaulkner-Award) has [been awarded]( to [Claire Jiménez]( for her [What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez](, described by the committee as “a visceral work of art full of nuance, humor, and humanity,” one that is characterized by “incisive and loving character work, the finely calibrated unspooling of narrative, and the exquisite deployment of language, ranging from poetic prose to Spanglish to the sociolect of working-class Staten Island.” The [Publishing Triangle](, an association of LGBTQ publishing professionals, [have announced the winners]( of the 2024 [Publishing Triangle Awards](. The Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBTQ Fiction has been given to [Helen Eileen Lee]( for [Pomegranate](, while the Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction has gone to [Ani Kayode]( for [And Then He Sang a Lullaby](. The Thom Gunn Award for Gay Poetry has gone to [Charif Shanahan]( for [Trace Evidence](, while the Audre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetry has been given to [Leslie Sainz]( for [Have You Been Long Enough At Table](. The Leslie Feinberg Award for Trans and Gender-Variant Literature was awarded to [Emily Zhou]( for [Girlfriends](, while The Joseph Hanson Award for LGBTQ Crime Writing has gone to [J. M. Redmann]( for [Transitory](. The Randy Shilts Award for Gay Nonfiction has gone to [Joseph Plaster]( for [Kids on the Street: Queer Kinship and Religion in San Francisco's Tenderloin](, while the The Judy Grahn Award for Lesbian Nonfiction has been awarded to [Barbara Jane Brickman]( for [Suffering Sappho!: Lesbian Camp in American Popular Culture](. The National Book Foundation [has announced]( its 2024 “5 Under 35” honorees, highlighting five young authors “whose debut work promises to leave a lasting impression on the literary landscape.” Each honoree is chosen by a past winner, finalist or longlister of the National Book Award, or by a prior “5 Under 35” honoree, with the authors chosen coming from around the world. This year’s honorees are: [Antonia Angress]( for her [Sirens & Muses](, [Maya Binyam]( for her [Hangman](, [Zain Khalid]( for his [Brother Alive](, [Tyriek White]( for his [We Are Haunting](, and [Jenny Tinghui Zhang]( for her [Four Treasures of the Sky](. In Ireland it [has been announced]( that Canadian poet [Patrick James Errington]( has won the 2024 [John Pollard International Poetry Prize]( for his debut collection, [the swailing](, which judging chair Eoin McNamee praised as a “work of remarkable virtuosity which always grounds itself in emotion, in the hard-earned poetics of the heart.” First given in 2019, the prize is administered by the John Pollard Foundation and the [Trinity Oscar Wilde Centre]( at Trinity College Dublin, and is intended to recognize “an outstanding debut poetry book collection by a poet, in the English language.” [Tom Crewe]( has [been named the winner]( of the [Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Trust Young Writer of the Year Award]( for his [The New Life](. A debut novel set in 1894 during the trial of Oscar Wilde and the struggle for the legalization of homosexuality in the UK, the book was praised by one judge as “an immediate classic—a book that you suddenly can’t imagine not existing.” Also in the UK, the [Republic of Consciousness Prize](, awarded to the best work of fiction published by a small publisher with fewer than five employees, [has gone]( to Brazilian author [Ana Paula Maia]( and [Charco Press]( for [Of Cattle and Men](, translated by [Zoë Perry](. The book was described by judge Rebecca Abrams as “understated, mesmerising and unflinching…both a tightly focused, utterly gripping human story and a devastating universal parable for our times.” The [International Booker Prize Shortlist]( has [been announced](, with six of the thirteen books from the [Longlist]( still in the running for the prestigious literary award. These include: [Not a River]( by [Selva Almada](, translated by [Annie McDermott](; [Kairos]( by [Jenny Erpenbeck](, translated by [Michael Hofmann](; [The Details]( by [Ia Genberg](, translated by [Kira Josefsson](; [Crooked Plow]( by [Itamar Vieira Junior](, translated by [Johnny Lorenz](; [What I'd Rather Not Think About]( by [Jente Posthuma](, translated by [Sarah Timmer Harvey](; and [Mater 2-10]( by [Hwang Sok-Yong](, translated by [Youngjae Josephine Bae]( and [Sora Kim-Russell](. Danish author [Theis Ørntoft]( has [been announced as the winner]( of the 2024 [European Union Prize for Literature](20Union%20Prize%20for%20Literature) for his novel [Jordisk]( (“Earthly”), which was described by the publisher as “a far-reaching story about love and work, nature and capitalism, about gold, silver, oil, marble, and the slow demise of the West, but above all about three generations of a family connected across time and space in ways of which they’re unaware.” Special Mentions for the prize went to authors from Bulgaria, Germany, Iceland, The Netherlands, and Slovenia. The winner of this year’s [Austrian State Prize for European Literature](, also known as the European Literary Award, [has been announced](polish-writer-joanna-bator-wins-austrian-literary-award) as Polish author [Joanna Bator](. Bator, whose writing includes both fiction and nonfiction, was praised by the jury for work which “has transformed the traumatic experience of the 20th century into complex stories, most of which focus on female protagonists.” The 2024 [Story Prize](, given out annually to “the author of an outstanding collection of short fiction,” [has been awarded]( to [Paul Yoon]( for his [The Hive and the Honey: Stories](, which was described by the judges as “a collection of astonishing breadth, offering a panoramic portrait of Korean diaspora, of lives rescued from the margins of history.” This years’ winners of the [Windham-Campbell Prizes](, awarded in multiple categories by Yale University, and recognizing English-language writing globally, [have been announced](. The winners in the Fiction category are [Deirdre Madden]( (Ireland) and [Kathryn Scanlan]( (United States), while [Christina Sharpe]( (United States) and [Hanif Abdurraquib]( (United States) have won in the Nonfiction category. The Drama winners are [Christopher Chen]( (United States) and [Sonya Kelly]( (Ireland), while the winners in the Poetry category are [Jen Hadfield]( (Canada/UK) and [M. NourbeSe Philip]( (Canada/Trinidad and Tabago). The winner of the [The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award](, named for the great Swedish children’s author [Astrid Lindgren](, and administered by the Swedish government, has [been announced](, with the honor going to Australia’s [Indigenous Literacy Foundation](. Juror [Balsam Karam]( praised the organization, saying that “by spreading books and stimulating reading, storytelling, and creativity, Indigenous Literacy Foundation builds the desire to read and fosters pride, self-confidence, and a sense of belonging. Every child has the right to their language and their stories.” The award, announced in Stockholm on April 9th, and broadcast simultaneously at the [Bologna Children’s Book Fair](, will bring the Australian organization five million Swedish krona to continue their work. The Publishers of the Year [were also recently announced]( at the [Bologna Children’s Book Fair](, with winners from six global regions. For Africa, the winner was the Moroccan publisher [Yanbow Al Kitab](, while the Asian winner was the Japanese publisher [POPLAR Publishing Co., Ltd.]( In Europe, the winner was the Spanish publishing House [Mosquito Books Barcelona](, while the North American winner was the Canadian [Greystone Kids](, the children’s imprint of Greystone Books. For Central and South America the winner was the Colombia publisher [Cataplum Libros](, and finally, the winner for Oceana was [Huia Publishers](, a Māori-owned press from New Zealand. The [Bologna Children’s Book Fair]( is also the event at which the winners of [The Hans Christian Andersen Award]( are announced. Named for Denmark’s beloved fairy-tale spinner, [Hans Christian Andersen](, and awarded every other year by [IBBY]( (the International Board on Books for Young People), this medal is considered the most prestigious prize in the world of global children’s literature. Winners are chosen based upon their entire body of work, with the jury assessing “the aesthetic and literary quality as well as the freshness and innovation of each nominee’s work; the ability to see the child’s point of view and to stretch their curiosity; and the continuing relevance of the works to children and young people.” This year’s winners [have been named](, and they are Austria’s [Heinz Janisch]( for writing, and Canada’s [Sydney Smith]( for illustration. [Pari Thomson]( has [been named the winner]( of this year’s [Waterstones Children’s Book Prize]( for her [Greenwild: The World Behind the Door](, which won both the Younger Readers category and the overall prize. Bea Carvalho, head of books at Waterstones, praised the book as “a spellbinding triumph that will make children fall in love with the world they are reading about, and with reading itself.” The winner in the Older Readers category was [Kayvion Lewis]( for her [Thieves’ Gambit](, while the winner in the Illustrated Book category was [Chloe Savage]( for her [The Search for the Arctic Jellyfish](. Additional Award News This Month: Winners. [The AJL Judaica Reference & Bibliography Award]( | [The Barbara and David Zalaznick Book Prize in American History]( | [The Chowdhury Prize for Literature]( | [The Christopher Awards]( | [The Kobzar Book Award]( | [The Oregon Book Award]( | [The Penderyn Music Book Prize]( | [The Philip K. Dick Award]( | [The Sheikh Zayed Book Awards]( | [The Helen Anne Bell Poetry Bequest Award]( | [The Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize]( | [The Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature]( | [The Slightly Foxed Best Biography Prize]( | [The Whiting Awards]( | [The Winston Graham Historical Fiction Prize]( Shortlists / Finalists. [The Carol Shields Prize for Fiction]( | [The CrimeFest Awards]( | [The Donner Prize]( | [The Dublin Literary Award]( | [The Dylan Thomas Prize]( | [The Gotham Book Prize]( | [The Hugo Award]( | [The James Tait Black Prize]( | [The Jhalak Prize]( | [The Joyce Carol Oates Prize]( | [The Lambda Literary Awards]( | [The Plutarch Award]( | [The Pushkin House Russian Book Prize]( | [The Stella Prize]( | [The Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction](E2%80%99s-Prize-for-Nonfiction-Shortlist) | [The Young Lions Fiction Award]( Wait, That's It? That's all I have for the Thing this month! If you have any suggestions, or ideas for improving State of the Thing, please reach out to me at abigailadams@librarything.com. Past issues of State of the Thing are available in our [SOTT Archive](. Happy reading, Abigail PS: If you'd rather receive a plain-text version, [edit your email preferences](. You can also read it [online](. This message was sent to {NAME}. Click to [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from future emails](.