Samantha Harvey (photo: Matt Lincoln)

British author Samantha Harvey won the £50,000 (about $63,750) 2024 Booker Prize for her novel Orbital, becoming the first woman to win the award since 2019, when Margaret Atwood and Bernadine Evaristo were joint winners. Harvey's novel was published in the U.S. in hardcover by Atlantic Monthly Press in 2023 and was just released in a paperback edition by Grove Press. 

Orbital is the first Booker Prize-winning book set in space. At 136 pages, it is the second-shortest book to win the prize and covers the briefest time frame of any book on the shortlist, taking place over just 24 hours 

Harvey said of writing her novel: "I thought of it as space pastoral--a kind of nature writing about the beauty of space."

Chair of the judges Edmund de Waal commented: "In an unforgettable year for fiction, a book about a wounded world. Sometimes you encounter a book and cannot work out how this miraculous event has happened. As judges we were determined to find a book that moved us, a book that had capaciousness and resonance, that we are compelled to share. We wanted everything. 

"Orbital is our book. Samantha Harvey has written a novel propelled by the beauty of sixteen sunrises and sixteen sunsets. Everyone and no one is the subject, as six astronauts in the International Space Station circle the Earth observing the passages of weather across the fragility of borders and time zones. With her language of lyricism and acuity Harvey makes our world strange and new for us.... Our unanimity about Orbital recognizes its beauty and ambition. It reflects Harvey's extraordinary intensity of attention to the precious and precarious world we share."

Gaby Wood, Booker Prize Foundation CEO, added: "Orbital wins the prize in a year of geopolitical crisis, likely to be the warmest year in recorded history. A book about a planet 'shaped by the sheer amazing force of human want,' about an 'unbounded place' with no wall or barrier visible from space, with all politics 'an assault on its gentleness,' it is hopeful, timely and timeless."

Harvey has been longlisted for the Booker Prize twice, for The Wilderness in 2009 and then for Orbital. She is also the author of the novels All Is Song, Dear Thief, and The Western Wind, as well as a work of nonfiction, The Shapeless Unease: A Year of Not Sleeping. She has been shortlisted for the James Tait Black Award, the Women's Prize, the Guardian First Book Award and the Walter Scott Prize. The Wilderness was awarded the Betty Trask Prize. 

Jhanteigh Kupihea has resigned as president and publisher of Quirk Books and will be leaving the company on December 31. She will take a sabbatical from publishing but can be reached at jhanteigh.kupihea@gmail.com.

David Borgenicht is returning to his role as president effective immediately and serves as interim publisher. Nicole De Jackmo continues in her role as executive v-p, deputy publisher.

Kupihea joined Quirk in 2018 as editorial director, with a focus on building Quirk's fiction and children's lists. In March of this year, she was promoted to president and publisher. With that change, Borgenicht, who founded the company in 2002 after creating the bestselling survival manual, The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, became chairman and founder.

Columbus Bound Bookshop will host a grand opening celebration, with a ribbon cutting and prizes, this Saturday, November 16, at 1328 13th St., Suite 3, in Columbus, Ga. WRBL reported that the new shop "aims to meet the communities' reading needs and host events that stimulate the city."

The bookstore, which will feature a selection of new books along with variety of gifts and stationery, had its soft opening yesterday, November 12.

"We are excited to bring a new bookstore to Columbus," said owner Khristian Gallagher. "Our goal is to create a welcoming space where people can discover new books, connect with other readers, and participate in a variety of literary events."

On the bookshop's website, Gallagher noted: "I'm beyond excited to bring this space to our community and can't wait to see what we build together as we grow in the years to come."

Applications are now being accepted for the 2025 McCoy Grant for Bookseller Writers, which is offered by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance in partnership with author Sarah McCoy (Mustique Island) "for any unpublished southern women or nonbinary booksellers who harbor ambitions to be published writers." Full eligibility criteria and grant application are available here.

Two grants of $1,500 each will be awarded to be used toward craft development (writing classes, retreats, conferences, travel), work-related materials (notebooks, laptops, software, research, etc.), childcare, bills, or any other financial obstacle.

"It is a great honor to have been chosen.... I am truly grateful for this grant and have been inspired to work more diligently as a creative," said 2024 grant recipient Maya Martin of Square Books, Oxford, Miss.

Ally Kirkpatrick, a 2024 grant recipient and owner of Old Town Books, Alexandria, Va., commented: "I've been holding my writing close for the past year, not quite ready to share it with the world and wondering if there would ever be a right time. Winning this award gives me the confidence boost to continue finding my voice and sharing my story about maternal mental health."

Applications close March 21, 2025, with recipients announced in July. To be eligible, the applicant must be an unpublished southern woman or nonbinary bookseller living in one of the states in SIBA territory, and must have a novel, memoir, essay collection, or poetry collection in progress. 

Melissa Orilia has been appointed chief financial officer of Abrams, effective November 18. In an expanded role that reflects the company's integrated approach to operations, she will oversee finance, IT, and data operations.

Maria Orilia

Orilia has had a 25-year financial career at global media powerhouses. At GroupM and Cohn & Wolfe, she led financial strategies that optimized operations and catalyzed growth across multiple divisions. Her expertise in modernizing financial systems and implementing data-driven decision-making frameworks has consistently delivered exceptional results in complex, fast-moving environments, the company said.

Abrams president and CEO Mary McAveney commented: "Melissa's appointment comes at a pivotal moment for Abrams. Her proven ability to transform financial operations and drive strategic growth at leading media companies aligns perfectly with our vision for the future. Her sophisticated understanding of both traditional and emerging business models will be instrumental as we continue to innovate and expand our publishing portfolio."

Orilia said, "The publishing industry is at an exciting inflection point, and Abrams stands out for its commitment to excellence and innovation. I look forward to working with the talented team to enhance our financial capabilities, optimize operations, and create new opportunities for growth that will benefit our authors, artists, and readers worldwide."

Lerner Publishing Group is presenting "Bands for the Banned," a concert supporting the freedom to read diverse voices in schools and public libraries and to ensure free expression for all those silenced. Featuring four Minneapolis bands, the concert will be held Thursday, December 5, at 7th Street Entry at First Avenue in Minneapolis. Doors open at 7 p.m., with the show starting at 7:30 p.m. Presale tickets are $15, and day-of tickets are $20. Ages 18-plus are welcome.

Proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to organizations that help communities fight book bans and challenges, including EveryLibrary's Fight for the First campaign, We Are Stronger Than Censorship, and the American Library Association's Unite Against Book Bans initiative. Additional donations to these organizations will be accepted during the event.

The four bands are Dad Bod, WBS (Thomas Abban & L.A. Buckner), Chutes, and Yonder. Also appearing (and talking about the importance of defending the right to read): John Chrastka, executive director and founder of EveryLibrary, and Cindy Hohl, president of the ALA. For more information, click here.

"Books will save us." That was the sidewalk chalkboard message in front of Ghoulish Bookstore, Selma, Tex. 

Hopkins Fulfillment Services will provide distribution and fulfillment services for the State University of New York Press (SUNY Press), effective February 1, 2025.

Marlene McHugh Pratt, SUNY Press director, said, "HFS's commitment to and competency in managing and distributing scholarly works make it a perfect partner for us. We are thrilled to be joining their growing family."

Barbara Kline Pope, Johns Hopkins University Press's executive director, said, "We are excited to partner with SUNY Press, a publisher known for its commitment to advancing scholarship in the humanities and social sciences."

At Chronicle Books:

Stacy Wayne Durham

Annabelle Oh has been promoted to associate director, trade sales, and will oversee the company's U.S. independent trade sales and the educational and library sales teams. Prior to this, Oh was a senior distribution client manager at Chronicle, working with Hardie Grant, Quadrille, and Paperblanks,. She has also worked in client relations at Ingram Publisher Services and as a buyer at Follett Higher Education.

Stacy Wayne Durham joins Chronicle Books as Pacific Northwest trade sales rep after more than three years working as a buyer and bookseller at Powell's Books in Portland, Ore. He will continue to be based in Portland and will work with independent bookstores in Oregon, Washington, and Arizona.

Olivia Monical has been promoted to trade sales coordinator.

The Shiver Tree by Holly Searcy (Blackstone Publishing).

Tomorrow:
Today Show: Tue Nguyen, author of Di An: The Salty, Sour, Sweet and Spicy Flavors of Vietnamese Cooking with TwayDaBae (Simon Element, $35, 9781668003800).

Apple and A24 are in early development on a film adaptation of the Michael Lewis book Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon, with Lena Dunham (Girls) attached to write the script, Variety reported. The film explores the ascension and equally spectacular implosion of the cryptocurrency exchange and hedge fund FTX and its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried. 

In our mention yesterday about Grammy nominees in the category of Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording, we had the wrong publisher of All You Need Is Love: The Beatles in Their Own Words by various artists. The publisher is Macmillan Audio.

The Library of Congress has named Arthur Sze as the recipient of this year's $10,000 Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry, which honors the lifetime achievement of an American poet, based on the recommendation of an internal committee. Sze will receive his award on December 5, during an event in the Mumford Room of the Library's Madison Building.

In its citation, the committee wrote: "In 11 books and over more than 50 years, Arthur Sze has developed a signature lyricism of seeing. His poems focus on images and declarations--but they also move through breathtaking juxtapositions, create layers of fragments that open up rather than direct their readers. Sze's imaginative capaciousness pulls in languages, traditions and systems from both East and West, and it can speak to the cosmos then turn to the smallest natural detail. His latest collection, The Glass Constellation: New and Collected Poems, captures the range and the commitment of his life's work, to create 'points of connection, reflection, and refraction... part of an organic growing whole.' "

Sze is the author of 11 poetry collections, including Sight Lines (2019), which won the National Book Award for Poetry; Compass Rose (2014), a Pulitzer Prize finalist; The Ginkgo Light (2009), selected for the PEN Southwest Book Award and the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association Book Award; The Redshifting Web: Poems 1970–1998 (1998), selected for the Balcones Poetry Prize and the Asian American Literary Award; and Archipelago (1995), selected for an American Book Award. He has also published an expanded collection of Chinese poetry translations, The Silk Dragon II (2024). His most recent book, The Glass Constellation: New and Collected Poems (2021), received a 2024 Science and Literature Award from the National Book Foundation.

Sze's many honors include the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize from the Poetry Foundation, a Shelley Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America, a Jackson Poetry Prize from Poets & Writers, a Lannan Literary Award, and a Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writers' Award.

photo: Marie Jones

Kayvion Lewis is a young adult author of all things escapist and high-octane. Her Thieves' Gambit duology will be published in more than 25 languages and is being adapted for film by Lionsgate. Lewis, a former youth services librarian, has been working with young readers and kidlit since she was 16. When she's not writing, she's breaking out of escape rooms, jumping out of airplanes, and competing in kung fu tournaments.

Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:

The Thieves' Gambit duology is about an international thieving competition that brings together the world's best teenage thieves to vie for the favor of the criminal underworld's elites.

On your nightstand now:

There are so many books on my nightstand right now, the stack is probably a safety hazard. At the top are Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes, a sci fi-horror about an exploration crew possibly afflicted by a violence-inducing disease on an abandoned planet, Daughter of the Bone Forest by Jasmine Skye, a YA fantasy about witches and shape-shifting familiars at a magic school, and The Night Ends with Fire by K.X. Song, which had me at "Mulan retelling."

Favorite book when you were a child:

Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn haunted me, but in a good way. When I was in fourth grade, I was entranced by this ghost story and kept rereading it, along with her other books, even though they kept giving me nightmares. 

Your top five authors:

Man, this is like asking me to pick my favorite Skittles flavors, cause honestly, I'd happily eat them all. Not that I want to eat other authors, I just meant I like most of them. You know what I mean! Anyways, uh, here are the authors:

Grady Hendrix (My Best Friend's Exorcism; The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Monsters)

Liselle Sambury (Blood Like Magic)

Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou (The Husky and His White Cat Shizun)

Jennette McCurdy (I'm Glad My Mom Died)

Kimberly Lemming (That Time I Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf)

Book you've faked reading:

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Why is Holden Caulfield a jerk? Did I even spell his name right? What did he get expelled for? These are questions I'll never have the answers to. And it's not that I didn't want to read it, but my 10th grade self was far too busy researching how to join the Peace Corps and crying about failing my driver's test to get around to it.

Book you're an evangelist for:

Rainbow in the Dark by Sean McGinty. Why haven't more people read this book???!!! It's written in second person and is one of the trippiest yet most poignant books I've read about the bond between siblings, the sometimes confusing nature of depression, and a desperate search for home even when you don't remember where home is--all told through the lens of a video game. 

Book you've bought for the cover:

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows. I picked this book off the shelf at my bookstore, and a passing bookseller even stopped to say, "Wow, that's stunning!" Did I expect I was going to be hit with a story that was equal parts political fantasy/murder mystery and dealt with trauma from assault and homophobia? Not my first guess. Did I love it anyway? YES.

Book you hid from your parents:

1001 Spells by Cassandra Eason. It's a spell book. Like, literally. I still tuck it away when my dad comes to visit. Can't have them knowing his only daughter is brewing potions and casting hexes in her free time.

Book that changed your life:

The Maze of Bones, the first book in The 39 Clues series by Rick Riordan! An international adventure? Cryptic clues? The treasure of a lifetime? This was the book that made me want to be an adventurer when I grew up. (And the book that gave me the idea to write adventure books when the "become Black Indiana Jones" career path didn't pan out.) Without The Maze of Bones, I'd probably be a physicist right now. Or a nurse anesthetist. Definitely not an author. 

Favorite line from a book:

"Does it scare you that much when you don't know stuff?" It's a simple line from The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix, but it hit me really hard when I first read it. It captured the essence of how I was feeling about taking risks in my own life at the time. But even if you don't know exactly where your decisions will land you, you have to make them anyway. This line helped me realize that.

Five books you'll never part with:

The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

Bungo Stray Dogs (the whole series) by Kafka Asagiri

You could pry these books from my cold, dead hands, but I'm downloading the e-books and taking them to heaven with me.

Book you most want to read again for the first time:

The Selection by Kiera Cass. This was the first proper YA book I ever read, all the way back when I was 13. I'd read books I loved before this, but this was the first series I was properly obsessed with. (Like, "pretended to be sick so I could stay home and read the day the sequel came out" obsessed.) I'd love to go back and feel the exhilaration I felt reading it for the first time.

Author Lex Croucher follows up their acclaimed Arthurian-inspired YA novel Gwen and Art Are Not in Love with a witty, anachronistic rom-com adventure inspired by another classic story: the legend of Robin Hood.

Not for the Faint of Heart begins after Robin Hood's story ends. The Merry Men have transformed from a "fun, ballsy, anarchist autonomous collective to an organized militia" that battles the sheriff for control of Nottinghamshire. Mariel, the 18-year-old granddaughter of Robin Hood and "the youngest captain the Merry Men had ever seen," is desperate to impress her father, the Merry Men's current leader. The teen, to prove her ruthlessness, uses her squad of bandits to kidnap a healer rumored to be helping the sheriff. But the plan goes awry, and Mariel's team instead abducts 17-year-old Clem, the healer's bubbly, idealistic apprentice.

When the bandits reunite with the Merry Men, there is an ambush and Mariel's father is captured by the sheriff. Mariel and her team set off to rescue him, with Clem along for the ride. On the road flaxen-haired Clem bonds with her captors--blond, "friendly giant" Baxter; "fair-skinned," surly Morgan; dark-skinned Josie, Mariel's "efficient right-hand woman"; and clever Japanese healer Kit--but clashes with dark, shaggy-haired and pale-skinned Mariel. Clem, who has idolized the Merry Men since childhood, is disappointed to find that the thieves are no longer queer "heroes in nice tights" but have "become something murkier, uglier." Meanwhile Mariel is shaken by Clem's critiques of the cause to which she has devoted her life.

This novel is a breezy, comedic romp through the world of Robin Hood told from the perspectives of two teenage girls who have entertainingly contradictory personalities. Fans of grumpy/sunshine romances will be charmed by "stern" Mariel and "relentlessly fucking cheerful" Clem's improbable-yet-convincing enemies-to-lovers romance. Croucher balances snappy banter with interludes of tenderness and vulnerability, such as when Mariel and Clem must share a bed and, after a night of bickering, wake up cuddling.

The adorable sapphic romance unfolds during a swashbuckling quest filled with thrilling fights and chaotic heists. Mariel, Clem, and their found family of LGBTQ+ outlaws joyously embody the slogan "be gay, do crime." Readers will delight in this story of two young queer women coming into their own as they wreak havoc on the rich. --Alanna Felton, freelance reviewer

Shelf Talker: The granddaughter of Robin Hood and a healer's apprentice fall for each other while battling the aristocracy in this effervescent YA historical romantic comedy.