The ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom released a new report on library censorship attempts in 2023, recording a 65% increase from 2022 in the number of titles targeted. A total of 4,240 unique book titles were targeted at schools and public libraries, up from 2,571 the previous year. These titles were distributed among 1,247 demands. The report notes that public libraries saw the biggest increase, with the number of censorship attempts rising 92%. At schools, demands were up 11%. The ALA writes, “Groups and individuals demanding the censorship of multiple titles, often dozens or hundreds at a time, drove this […]
NYT Responds to OpenAI’s “Hacking” Claims
The New York Times responded to OpenAI’s motion to dismiss the paper’s copyright lawsuit, which claimed that the Times “hacked” Chat-GPT in queries to get responses that support their case. According to the Times’ response, OpenAI’s claim is “as irrelevant as it is false.” “OpenAI’s true grievance is not about how The Times conducted its investigation, but instead what that investigation exposed: that Defendants built their products by copying The Times’s content on an unprecedented scale—a fact that OpenAI does not, and cannot, dispute,” lawyers for the paper state in their filing. That OpenAI used the Times’s copyrighted material to […]
Aspen Words Literary Prize Finalists
Aspen Words announced the finalists for the Aspen Words Literary Prize, "for a work of fiction that illuminates a vital contemporary issue and demonstrates the transformative power of literature on thought and culture."
People 3/14
Patrick Nielsen Hayden becomes editor-at-large at Tor Publishing Group.
UWS B&N Workers Vote Yes on Union
Yesterday, 85 percent of eligible employees at the Barnes & Noble on West 85th Street in Manhattan voted to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). The union represents approximately 50 workers, and contract negotiations “will commence swiftly,” according to a release. In a release, senior barista Gina Fowler said, “Winning our union election means my and my co-worker’s needs can finally be heard! We’re asking for fair pay, clear opportunities to progress in long-term careers with Barnes & Noble, and overall job security. I look forward to having our voices heard at the bargaining table.” This marks […]
Authors Pull Out of Pen World Voices Festival
A group of authors, including Naomi Klein, Lorrie Moore, Zaina Arafat, Michelle Alexander, Isabella Hammad, and others, have decided not to participate in the Pen World Voices Festival in protest of Pen America’s “inadequate response” over the war in Gaza, Lit Hub reports. The authors had been confirmed as speakers, moderators, and an honorary co-chair. Details for this year’s festival had not been announced; the event typically takes place in New York and Los Angeles in April or May. In a letter announcing their decision to withdraw from the Pen festival, the writers said, “In the context of Israel’s ongoing war […]