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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.
NYT Reveals Top 20 Books of the 21st Century
The New York Times concluded its week-long rollout of the 100 best books of the century this morning, and I need to know if anyone else is surprised by #1. The Times created the list by asking more than 500 “literary luminaries” to submit their top 10 books published since January 1, 2000, and a few of us here at Book Riot were honored to participate. So, how’d we do? Four of my picks made the list, and two authors that were in my top ten (Colson Whitehead and Percival Everett) appeared on the list but for different titles than the ones I nominated. Overall, it’s a diverse and eclectic list that ranges from Nobel-winning novels to pre-TikTok viral hits to socially important nonfiction and so much more. And yes, it’s a list on the internet, so of course it’s incomplete. IMHO, the most notable absences are James McBride (did the votes get split between The Good Lord Bird and The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store?) and Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky’s groundbreaking Thinking, Fast and Slow. Check out the list and tell me, folks, what would make your top ten?
Reagan Arthur to Return to Hachette
Reagan Arthur, who was laid off from her position as publisher of Alfred A. Knopf in a high-profile restructuring in May, is set to return to Hachette to run a new boutique imprint. Arthur, a renowned editor and publisher who previously ran an eponymous imprint at Hachette, will be responsible for shepherding four to six new novels from literary and commercial writers to publication each year. She will also oversee efforts to strengthen editorial ties between Hachette’s US and UK businesses under a program called Bridges.
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That Arthur, who enjoys one of the best reputations in the industry, has landed on her feet in a prestigious new role is wonderful and completely unsurprising news. I expect it probably won’t be long before we hear about next steps for Lisa Lucas, who was let go at the same time from her role as publisher of Pantheon. May both of their efforts succeed.
McBride to Receive 2024 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction
James McBride went under-celebrated for far too long, and man, are we ever making up for it now. It’s been less than a year since The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store hit shelves, and in that time, it has sold more than a million copies, appeared atop countless best-books-of-2023 lists (including in the #1 spot from both Amazon and Barnes & Noble, which typically does not happen), and won the Kirkus Prize for Fiction and the 2024 Jewish Fiction Award. And the wins keep coming! McBride will receive the 2024 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, which “seeks to commend strong, unique, enduring voices that — throughout consistently accomplished careers — have told us something essential about the American experience.”
McBride will appear at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. this August to discuss the book and his body of work.
New Zora Neale Hurston Novel Coming in 2025
When Zora Neale Hurston died in 1960, she was working on the manuscript for a book that “brings first-century BC Judea to vivid life, and portrays Herod the Great not as a villainous monster, but as a religious, philosophical, and adventurous man.” The Life of Herod the Great will come out on January 7, 2025, the result of an effort guided by scholar and literary critic Deborah Plant, who also ushered Hurston’s 2018 posthumous publication Barracoon into the world.
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