"The men and women at the Naval Academy will go on to lead combat missions, to command aircraft carriers, to pilot nuclear-armed submarines and run enormous organizations. We will soon entrust them with incredible responsibilities and power. But we fear they'll be hoodwinked or brainwashed by certain books?

"Hitler's Mein Kampf was not one of the books removed from the Naval Academy library, and as heinous as that book is, it should be accessible to scholars and students of history. However, this makes the removal of Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings inexplicable. Whatever one thinks of D.E.I., we are not talking about the writings of external enemies here, but in many cases, art, serious scholarship and legitimate criticism of America's past. One of the removed books is about Black soldiers in World War II, another is about how women killed in the Holocaust are portrayed, another is a reimagining of Kafka called The Last White Man. No one at any public institution should have to fear losing their job for pushing back on such an obvious overreach, let alone those tasked with defending our freedom. Yet here we are.

"The decision by the academy's leaders to not protest the original order--which I believe flies in the face of basic academic freedoms and common sense--has put them in the now even stickier position of trying to suppress criticism of that decision... I felt I could not, in good conscience, lecture these future leaders and warriors on the virtue of courage and doing the right thing, as I did in 2023 and 2024, and fold when asked not to mention such an egregious and fundamentally anti-wisdom course of action."

More than 1,600 bookstores will participate in Independent Bookstore Day, which takes place this coming Saturday and features plenty of crowd-pleasing parties, giveaways, exclusive merchandise, scavenger hunts, music, prizes, readings, passport programs, and much, much more. It's the 12th annual Indie Bookstore Day and the largest ever. To see all the participating stores, click here.

This year's Independent Bookstore Day ambassador is comedian, author, actor, political commentator, actor, and TV host Trevor Noah, who was also last year's Indies First spokesperson. He said, "Books are expansive and infinite worlds--even as a child they helped me envision lands and lives, real and imagined, far beyond anything I could see with my own eyes. Bookstores are where readers can go to find these magical portals into other universes and other minds. But they do more than that. Independent bookstores connect readers to ideas and stories, and they are the rare physical place in our communities where we can connect with each other.

"In all of my work I'm always thinking about connection. It's one of the major themes in my first book, Born a Crime, and is right at the center of my second book, Into the Uncut Grass. It's up to us to support and sustain these stores, vital hubs that promote reading, learning, and imagining, while fostering a sense of community, providing spaces where diverse voices and ideas can mingle and thrive."

Unsurprisingly, Amazon is doing its best not to foster a sense of community. Last week it announced that the Amazon Book Sale (the first was held last year in May), will take place for six days, starting this Wednesday, overlapping Indie Bookstore Day. The sale features the company's "best book deals of the year" and is "expanding to additional countries including Canada and the U.K., offering up to 80% off thousands of e-books, up to 65% off hundreds of print books, and hundreds of audiobooks under $8." Special deals have already begun and are added daily. A few authors will appear on a livestream event on Wednesday.

For indies' reaction to Amazon's move, see the article below.

In anticipation of Independent Bookstore Day and in opposition to the recently announced April run for this year's Amazon Book Sale (see above), indie booksellers are taking to social media with reminders of their mission to provide services Amazon does not. Among the highlights: 

Judging by the Cover Books, Fresno, Calif.: "Amazon tried to open bookstores and flopped. Why? Because bookstores aren't just shelves and scanners. They're heart and connection.⁠ You can't ask Amazon for 'that one book you saw on Instagram that had a mango on the cover' and get what you're looking for. But you can ask your local bookseller.... ⁠That's the magic: real recommendations, from real people, who get what you're looking for even when you don't. ⁠This Indie Bookstore Day, shop with the humans who make it personal. Let Bezos play spaceman, we'll be selling books."⁠

Twice Told Tales, McPherson, Kan.: "An Am*zon Book Sale? On *OUR* weekend? Am*zon announced their annual book sale that conveniently overlaps with Independent Bookstore Day. As Michelle Tanner once said, 'HOW RUUDDEEEEE!' We know this isn't a coincidence, or the first time our friend (we love all God's creatures... even the slimy ones) Jeff has done something silly in his efforts to eliminate the indie bookstores.... We promise the only stargazing the owner is doing is with both feet on the ground and an astrology book. She's an astrology girlie, but not the 'let's go to space for funsies' kind. (Lookin' at you, Katy P.) Shop small. Shop indie."

Wild Rumpus Books, Minneapolis, Minn.: "It blows that Am*zon is doing a big book sale on Indie Bookstore Day. They're doing it on purpose to try to squash indie bookstores and I hope whoever came up with that idea stubs their pinky toe every day forever."

Thank You Books, Birmingham, Ala.: "Hi! Just to be clear, this is vile behavior! Am*zon is fully aware that Indie Bookstore Day is next weekend. We rarely get on our soapbox but this feels truly personal, and economically bullying. Every time you shop with us, you tell us that small business is important to you. Your dollars, and your faith in us, give profound meaning to what we do, and makes us want to keep doing it, better and better. Thank you for supporting TYB and other local businesses. We love our community of thoughtful & engaged readers. Let's stay strong together."

Newtown Bookshop, Newtown, Pa.: "You didn't just buy a book. You bought into your community. This bookstore isn't run by a robot. It's run by real people who care what you read next. Around here at the Newtown Bookshop, every purchase is personal. Indie booksellers are your neighbors. We're building a better Main Street, one book at a time."

Sweet Home Bookstore, Wetumka, Ala.: "On April 26th, we are throwing a party to celebrate YOU! Every single customer of ours has made a conscious decision to shop small, and to support local. With every book purchase, YOU send a message; a message that says you choose community and connection. You choose to have a place where you start talking about books with strangers and end up talking about life with new friends. You choose to meet authors and to gather at midnight for a long-anticipated book release. Come join us next Saturday as we throw a party for you, with sales, giveaways, raffles, and snacks."

The Bookshop, Nashville, Tenn.: "We are small; we are feisty; we are bookish; we are inclusive; we are community-minded; we are INDEPENDENT.... and we can't wait to celebrate Indie Bookstore Day with you one week from today. Watch this space for more details (teasers!) as the big day approaches."

Watermark Books & Cafe, Wichita, Kan.: "Watermark Books and Cafe has been successful because of all of you who consistently show up and support us. We are so grateful for our Wichita (and beyond) community and we are so excited to celebrate Indie Bookstores with you this next week!⁠"

Stories Like Me, Pittsburgh, Pa.: "An Am*zon Book Sale? On *our* Weekend? Am*zon announced their annual book sale that conveniently overlaps with Independent Bookstore Day. If they want to go toe to toe with indies, good luck to them. We do it better. Algorithms don't throw parties. Indies do. Buying books at indie bookstores hits different."

Bookish, Modesto, Calif.: "That other place that shall not be named (but it sounds like a river in South America) doesn't read to your kids, or host craft nights, or make you a delicious cup of coffee, or support your community events. You know this, and that's why you shop local. Thank you, our Bookish friends, and we'll see you on Saturday!"

Oldspeak Book Beer Bar has opened at 3640 W. Chinden Blvd. in Garden City, Idaho, featuring a "mix of books you can buy and spirits you can try," Idaho News 6 reported. The goal for co-owners Chelsea Major, Shelley Searle, and Adam Fleck is to "offer something for everybody, as long as you're 21, of course. Whether it's wine, beer, global reads or curated literature, Oldspeak Bar welcomes all walks of life. The spot is booming, highlighting local artists, hosting literary events, and soon, beer education classes."

Oldspeak owners Chelsea Major, Shelley Searle, and Adam Fleck

Oldspeak began when Chelsea Major, who also owns Lit Room bookstore, and Shelley Searle, co-owner of craft brewery Alliteration Ales, met and "realized they both had the same dream, a place where you could grab a drink, a good read and just hang out," Idaho News 6 noted.

"Well, we got the books," Major said. 

"And we got the beer," Searle added. 

Last December, they launched a crowdfunding campaign to help open Oldspeak that raised more than $35,000.

For their new, combined venture, Major said they "have local artists' goods. We're constantly looking to do literary events, community events, educational things that feel really interesting.... We're not a quiet library. You can buy the books, we love our libraries, but it's going to be a lot louder in here. We want to encourage that, encourage conversations. But, you know, in the afternoon we want to kick it up a little bit. We're not a rowdy club, we're the first place you start the night. It's a good time."

In an Instagram post earlier this month, Oldspeak noted: "Last week we welcomed in our community and were positively overwhelmed by your enthusiasm and compliments. After months of staring at spreadsheets, updating Asana tasks, calling for consultations, praying for permitting, pontificating through paint fumes, not murdering our business partners, successfully completing our crowdfunding campaign (truly thank you thank you thank you), and painstakingly ordering alllll the books, the book beer bar is OPEN. Come say hi. We're delighted to see you."

Publishers Weekly has selected its bookstore and sales rep of the year.

The 2025 Bookstore of the Year is Source Booksellers, Detroit, Mich., owned by Janet Webster Jones, "an octogenarian... considered bookselling royalty," and her daughter, Alyson Jones Turner. While still a public school educator, Jones "began selling books about African and African American history in 1989 from a table she would set up at church bazaars, fairs, and other community events," PW wrote. "After retiring as an educator in 2002, Jones and three other Black women entrepreneurs formed the Spiral Collective, which sold various products for more than a decade in a shared space across the street from Source's current location in the Midtown district. Source became a standalone business in 2013 in an 800-sq.-ft. space that was expanded during the pandemic to 1,400 sq. ft."

PW noted that the store has an emphasis on history, culture, health, metaphysics, spirituality, and literature by and about women as well as many books about Detroit because, Jones said, "I see myself as a bookseller that is representing titles that relate to the people who are in Detroit, who come to Detroit, who have been in Detroit, and who have moved through Detroit."

Sandra Law, a sales rep at Abraham Associates, wrote in her nominating letter that Jones "has dedicated her life to championing literacy, education, and history, ensuring that readers have access to books that inspire, inform, and challenge perspectives."

The 2025 Sales Rep of the Year is Ty Wilson, Northern California sales rep for Ingram's Publishers Group West and Two Rivers distributors. He began his book career at Tower Books in 1984, eventually becoming national adult frontlist buyer. He then was adult frontlist buyer for Copperfield's Books.

"This business is still very much a personal business," he told PW, which wrote that "one of the things he loves most about his work is 'that chain from editor to rep, from rep to bookseller, from bookseller out into the public.' "

In his nominating letter, Michael Barnard, president and general manager of Rakestraw Books, Danville, Calif., said, "Working with Ty is a total pleasure. He's knowledgeable, diligent, and passionate about books. He works hard in support of his many, many publishers, but he also truly cares about the stores in his charge. I cannot think of anyone who deserves this honor more."

Rosemary Sandberg, a literary agent and children's publishing veteran who "witnessed many firsts in children's publishing during her career," has died, the Bookseller reported. She was 85. Sandberg's career began in 1967 at Puffin, where she co-founded the Puffin Book Club. Four years later, she joined Collins Publishers to set up the publisher's first in-house picture book paperback list "at a time when no other children's publishers were doing this."

She went on to create the paperback imprints Lions and Picture Lions for Collins, "with their white covers branded with a cheerful lion on a circus podium, which any child who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s will instantly recognize," the Bookseller noted. Sandberg published about a dozen titles a year, a small number for a paperback publisher, but 90% of the titles remained in print. 

"My first criterion became to imagine reading the book to a child," she said. "I think of a child on my lap at bedtime, when the child is maybe a bit gritty; on the first page the book has got to capture the imagination--the child's and mine. It has to interest, excite, hold the attention and delight.... Books have to be well designed and easy on the eye. I remember a child complaining to me once that a particular book had too many words. So I was always very careful about extent, typeface and all that sort of thing."

After 18 years in charge of children's paperbacks at HarperCollins, she founded a literary agency in the 1990s, spending the next three decades as an agent and "becoming very well known to publishers and editors across publishing houses globally. She was extremely well respected, known to be skilled and formidable and was always an energetic advocate for her clients," the Bookseller wrote.

Sandberg is also responsible for some of the bestselling children's titles in the U.K. and the U.S., including Horrid Henry by Francesca Simon and Voyage to the Bunny Planet by Rosemary Wells in the U.S.

Caldecott Medalist (and former independent bookseller) Brian Selznick is on tour for his first YA novel, Run Away with Me (Scholastic Press). He visited Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tenn., where he spoke and signed books. Pictured: Selznick with booksellers Hannah Peterson (l.) and Aly Plasterer. 

Broadside Bookshop, Northampton, Mass., shared a photo of the shop's spring- and Emily Dickinson-inspired sidewalk chalkboard: "Can you feel it? We are SO close to reading outside weather. Need something to look forward to? Swipe for some upcoming titles we are psyched about.... Once again, Broadside bookseller, artist extraordinaire, & @emilydickinson.museum tour guide, Brenna Macaray is responsible for this lovely sidewalk sign. Thank you @brennalane.art!"

"We can't launch you to space, but we do offer a really soft spot for a lot of your everyday moments. More than just books," the Book & Cover, Chattanooga, Tenn., posted on Instagram. 

At Abrams:

Taryn Roeder has been promoted to v-p, publicity.

Natasha Martin has been promoted to publicity director, food & lifestyle.

Beatriz Milander has been promoted to school & library marketing coordinator.

Today:
Tamron Hall: Jason Wilson, author of The Man the Moment Demands: Master the 10 Characteristics of the Comprehensive Man (Thomas Nelson, $19.99, 9781400249053).

Jimmy Kimmel Live: Chris Hayes, author of The Sirens' Call: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource (Penguin Press, $32, 9780593653111).

Tomorrow:
CBS Mornings: Suleika Jaouad, author of The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life (Random House, $30, 9780593734636).

Also on CBS Mornings: William McRaven, author of Conquering Crisis: Ten Lessons to Learn Before You Need Them (Grand Central, $26, 9781538771747).

Good Morning America: Sen. Raphael Warnock, author of We're in This Together: Leo's Lunch Box (Philomel, $19.99, 9780593691526).

Also on GMA: Eden Grinshpan, author of Tahini Baby: Bright, Everyday Recipes That Happen to Be Vegetarian (Avery, $35, 9780593713426).

Today: Kristen Kish, author of Accidentally on Purpose (Little, Brown, $30, 9780316580915).

Also on Today: José Andrés, co-author of Change the Recipe: Because You Can't Build a Better World Without Breaking Some Eggs (Ecco, $26.99, 9780063436152).

Also on Today: Amity Gaige, author of Heartwood: A Novel (Simon & Schuster, $28.99, 9781668063606).

Drew Barrymore Show: Giada De Laurentiis, author of Super-Italian: More Than 110 Indulgent Recipes Using Italy's Healthiest Foods (Rodale, $35, 9780593579831).

Isaac Marion's next book, The Overnoise, will be adapted into a film by Made Up Stories, which has acquired the rights, Deadline reported. The production company's heads, Bruna Papandrea and Steve Hutensky, will produce alongside Jeanne Snow and Claudia Park. This is the second collaboration between Marion and Papandrea, following the movie adaptation of Marion's Warm Bodies in 2013. 

"Making a 'zombie romance' work on screen was an absurdly tall order, but Bruna sank her teeth into it and created a genuine classic," said Marion. "She's never been afraid to tackle unusual stories with unique and exciting challenges, so I'm thrilled to be working with her again to bring The Overnoise to life."

Made Up Stories commented: "We knew The Overnoise was special from the first page. We're thrilled to partner with Isaac again on this brilliant, emotionally resonant story about the cost of progress and the value of human connection. We can't wait to bring this powerful narrative to the screen." 

Time's Agent by Brenda Peynado (Tordotcom) is the winner of the 2025 Philip K. Dick Award, honoring the best "original science fiction paperback published for the first time during 2024 in the U.S." and given with the support of the Philip K. Dick Trust, sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society, with the award ceremony sponsored by Norwescon. A special citation was given to Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Orbit). The award ceremony can be seen here.

Ling Ling Huang's Immaculate Conception is a dazzlingly ambitious feat of storytelling. The narrative revolves around the bond between Mathilde and Enka, two artists, one privileged in many ways, the other decidedly not, at least initially. Narrator Enka befriends the intimidatingly talented Mathilde during their first year at art school and feels continually inferior to her friend's knowledge, growing acclaim, and confidence.

Enka's desire to emulate Mathilde's success is as accessible as it is unsettling. As they mature and their paths diverge, Enka becomes more and more obsessed with Mathilde's life and work. She gradually transforms from a friend into something more sinister. Huang expertly portrays Enka's inner turmoil, her constant struggle between admiration and envy, love and resentment, control and atonement.

Mathilde, the object of Enka's obsession, is equally complex. A brilliant artist, but also a deeply traumatized person, her vulnerability makes her intermittently dependent on Enka, who sees her role as Mathilde's caretaker, even at the expense of the latter's agency. Huang depicts with precision the subtle power dynamics that exist between them--the one-sided competition and the ever-present threat of betrayal.

Meanwhile, they exist in a dystopic, chillingly plausible world in which societal inequities are amplified and technology is employed to maintain a rigid social order and gratify the egos and whims of the wealthy. While lip service is paid to art and technology enhancing human connection, the privileged wield them to assuage their most primal desires or insecurities. This can be seen, for example, in a philanthropist who makes a fortune predicting areas vulnerable to climate change--and then using that technology to restrict interaction between social groups based on predictive "demographic criminology."

Ultimately, Enka uses her husband's research involving a technology called SCAFFOLD, which allows individuals direct access to another person's brain, their thoughts, their creativity, and full interiority. The stated purpose is to help Mathilde bear her emotional burdens, but Enka's motives are hardly pure.

Huang's (Natural Beauty) vision of a world where technology promotes inequity and extraction confronts readers with questions about the nature of identity, creativity, and what it means to be human. Huang's style is as captivating and distinctive as the story itself, with incisive prose that is alternately evocative, funny, and caustic. The characters are flawed, multifaceted individuals driven by a desire to succeed and a desperate need for validation, seemingly ignorant to the cost for other people.

Immaculate Conception investigates the dark side of ambition, the seductive power of technology, and the complex nature of human relationships--a simmering rumination on covetousness, resilience, and atonement. --Elizabeth DeNoma, executive editor, DeNoma Literary Services, Seattle, Wash.

Shelf Talker: Immaculate Conception is a virtuosic work beaming the spectrum of human emotions through a prism of indifferent technology.