As Congressional leaders are reported to have agreed on a funding bill that will keep the government operating through the end of September, some reports are prematurely celebrating it as a victory over the Trump administration’s plan to eliminate resources for the NEA, NEH, libraries and more. The comprise bill — which allocates $150 million for the NEA and another $150 million for the NEH, along with $231 million for the Institute of Museum and Library Services — funds those organizations through fiscal 2017. The aggressive effort to eliminate funding for the arts was, and remains, part of President Trump’s proposals […]
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Briefs: Talking Leaves to Close One Store, Norton Expands, and More
Bookselling Buffalo’s Talking Leaves Bookstore is closing their Main Street store after 42 years in the University Heights neighborhood and will consolidate inventory in their Elmwood location over the next three months. “Significant changes in book buying habits and in the University of Buffalo neighborhood are major factors in this decision,” they write on their Facebook page. With the consolidation will come “a renewed focus on a resurgent future that incorporates all that bookselling in the 21st century entails. We will continue our many partnerships with cultural organizations, schools and other community groups to sponsor readings, conversations, and other events, […]
As Feared, Trump Budget Proposes Eliminating NEA, NEH and More
As feared by many, President Donald Trump’s first federal budget plan for fiscal 2018 proposes eliminating at least 19 agencies, including the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and even the Institute of Museum and Library Services (which spreads grants to every state). The two endowments have had a combined budget of a mere $300 million. As the NYT notes, though: “Nothing will change for the endowments or other agencies immediately. Congress writes the federal budget, not the president, and White House budget plans are largely political documents that telegraph a president’s […]
Amazon, Pearson Push Back On Immigration Limits
Amazon made a declaration of support for a lawsuit filed by the Washington state attorney general in Federal Court looking to overturn President Trump’s recent executive order limiting immigration from seven countries as unconstitutional. The first state to file suit, Washington is also seeking a temporary restraining order against enforcement of the order. Amazon indicated it was aware of 49 US-based employees who are from one of the countries targeted by the president’s order. In an email to employees, ceo Jeff Bezos noted, “We are working other legal options as well.” Bezos told staff, “This executive order is one we do not […]
S&S Children’s Authors Protest Milo Deal, IDPF Dissidents Keep Trying
A group of over 160 children’s book authors and illustrators have signed on to a letter to Simon & Schuster ceo Carolyn Reidy objecting to the house’s book deal with Milo Yiannopoulos. The effort began as a conversation among Erin Murphy Literary Agency clients under contract with Simon & Schuster and “quickly became a national dialogue across agencies and genres.” They write, in part: “Threshold has placed Simon & Schuster’s considerable reputation and weight behind one of the most prominent faces of the newly repackaged white supremacist/white nationalist movement and financially supported a man who routinely denigrates, verbally attacks, and directs dangerous internet doxxing and hate campaigns against […]
Harper Withdraws Crowley’s Book Following Plagiarism Revelations
In the wake of CNN’s article showing that Monica Crowley’s 2012 book What the (Bleep) Just Happened copied material from numerous sources, HarperCollins was “looking into the matter” and announced on Tuesday to the NYT. “The book, which has reached the end of its natural sales cycle, will no longer be offered for purchase until such time as the author has the opportunity to source and revise the material,” Harper said in a statement. (Published by their Broadside Books imprint, the print version has sold only a handful of copies over the last three years at outlets tracked by Nielsen Bookscan.) Crowley […]