Our season previews continue with the second half of Nonfiction. Several new titles take a historical and current look at our democracy, including Ibram X. Kendi’s Chain of Ideas and Jill Lepore’s We the People. Plus, NBC News reporter Char Adams discusses the political importance of Black-owned bookstores, economist Dr. Corinne Low unpacks the constraints in women’s lives (and how to fix them), and Gerta Keller tells the story of her shocking discovery of the real reason the dinosaurs went extinct. Titles with an asterisk are excerpted in our free ebook collection, Buzz Books 2025: Fall/Winter. Plus, bolded authors will […]
Quirk Books Joins Publishing Unionization Effort
A supermajority of eligible employees at Quirk Books, including more than a dozen in editorial, sales, marketing, publicity, design, managing editorial, operations, and production, have elected to form a union with the NewsGuild of Greater Philadelphia, Local 38010, according to a social media post. They are asking for voluntary recognition from management. “The union seeks to ensure that employees at the company have a voice in decisions that impact them directly, including those related to job security, equitable pay, and protection from generative AI,” a press release states. On social media, the union wrote, “We love the work we do, […]
Judge in Copyright Suit Opines that Anthropic Both Violated Copyright and Engaged in Fair Use
In a hearing yesterday for the California-based Federal case of authors Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, and Kirk Wallace Johnson versus Anthropic for the training of the tech company’s AI model, Judge William Alsup gave a balanced indication of his thoughts on the matter, Bloomberg Law reports. “I’m inclined to say they did violate the Copyright Act but the subsequent uses were fair use,” Alsup said. “That’s kind of the way I’m leaning right now.” Alsup noted that he still has to make his final decision. “Sometimes I say that and change my mind,” he said. That line of thinking could […]
Former Copyright Office Director Sues Trump Administration Over Firing
Former Register of Copyrights and Director at the U.S. Copyright Office Shira Perlmutter filed a lawsuit against the acting librarian of congress and the Trump Administration after the White House fired her his month. Defendants in the suit include “Claimed Acting Librarian of Congress Todd Blanche, Claimed Acting Register of Copyrights Paul Perkins,” Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office Sergio Gor, Deputy Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office Trent Morse, and President Trump. Perlmutter argues that only the Librarian of Congress has the power to appoint or remove the register of copyrights–not the president. She also […]
Dublin Literary Award; Stella Prize
Abrams Employees Vote to Unionize
Employees at Abrams won their union election with a majority of eligible staff members voting to unionize. According to the union’s social media, 43 employees vote for and six voted against. According to a union press release, “Fourteen employees’ eligibility was challenged and their ballots were set aside and remain unopened. Their status will be resolved at a later date.” The next step will be bargaining with management for a contract. “Abrams will begin the process of negotiating a contract in good faith,” the company stated. “We are now turning our attention to working through next steps. We look forward […]