Nicholas Sparks & M. Night Shyamalan Collaborate, and More News For Libraries
Hey there, cool library cats. I have a mega roundup of important links and stories to keep you at the top of your professional game. (Spoiler alert: a lot of them have to do with censorship.) But there’s more palatable stuff as well, including libraries that lend out color-corrective glasses and an upcoming Nicholas Sparks/M. Night Shyamalan collaboration. Yes, you read that last bit correctly—keep reading for more details!
Library Updates
Some libraries are lending out color-corrective glasses for patrons experiencing color blindness.
How public libraries are building no-return collections for addiction and mental health support.
Censorship News
The Department of Defense Education Activity Schools received a memo instructing them to pull certain lessons and materials from the curriculum that may violate Trump’s recent executive orders.
A number of literary organizations have released a joint statement decrying Trump’s anti-trans executive order.
New legislative tactics to undermine anti-book ban bills.
Library Futures published a new report on neo-censorship and the suppression of digital content.
The 2025 Texas legislative session: criminalizing teachers and librarians.
How Authors Against Book Bans helped defeat attempted library censorship in Florida.
“Moms For Liberty co-founder and former Indian River County [FL] School Board member Tiffany Justice is joining the conservative Heritage Foundation as a visiting fellow to focus on parent rights.”
A Tallahassee (FL) Episcopal priest is leading the local fight against banned and challenged books.
“A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing the Florida government of discriminating against those opposed to the surge of school library book removals across the state.”
In addition to banning displays, Greenville Public Libraries (SC) have also removed domestic violence hotline posters from their bathrooms.
The recently-introduced bill in Arkansas that would disband the state library board has advanced in committee.
Arkansas’s prosecuting attorneys have notified a federal court that they plan to appeal a federal judge’s order striking down the two most contentious sections of a recent library censorship law—specifically the section that would have made it a misdemeanor for librarians to distribute “obscene” or “harmful” items.
Indiana’s proposed state budget would completely cut funding for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library programs.
(Paywalled): A Nebraska legislator has introduced a bill that would require school librarians to tell parents every time a student borrows a book.
A former Colorado middle school dean alleges she was fired for protesting the Elizabeth School District’s book ban as racist.
A far-right Arizona lawmaker has revived a bill that would jail educators for allowing access to “sexually explicit material.”
An East Bay (CA) teacher is facing controversy for displaying books about inclusivity and a Pride flag in her classroom.
Publishing News
“Thirty-eight international organizations representing creative industries—including the Association of American Publishers, under the auspices of the International Publishers Association—have released a joint statement calling for oversight and regulation of artificial intelligence development, focusing on respect for copyright and related intellectual property.”
New & Upcoming Titles
Margaret Atwood is publishing her first memoir in November.
Kenny Chesney is also publishing his first memoir in November.
Alexis Hall is publishing a queer reimagining of Moby Dick in space called Hell’s Heart, where Ishmael is an unnamed trans woman in a “neon-drenched, gritty space future,” and characters are hunting space whales on Jupiter. (Hands down the best sentence I will type out all week.)
Stephen King is publishing a picture book reimagining Hansel and Gretel, with illustrations from the late Maurice Sendak.
Book Adaptations in the News
Jake Gyllenhaal is starring in M. Night Shyamalan’s next film. The story is based on a collaboration between Shyamalan and Nicholas Sparks, with Shyamalan creating a screenplay and Sparks writing a novel.
Little House on the Prairie is getting a reboot on Netflix.
Here’s the first trailer for Judy Blume’s Forever…
A new French adaptation of Phantom of the Opera will take inspiration from Twilight.
The paused Netflix adaptation of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is back on track with a new director.
Amy Adams is starring in Apple TV+’s new series Cape Fear, based on the novel The Executioners by John D. MacDonald.
All Things Comics
School Library Journal found in a recent survey that the popularity of graphic novels has increased by over 90% in school libraries, and manga comprises nearly half of high school library graphic novel purchases.
Related: Graphic novels are booming in popularity and it’s changing children’s relationship with books (for the better).
Bookish Miscellaneous
The longlist for the 2025 Women’s Prize for Nonfiction has been announced.
Mystery as a respite for the anxious mind.
Don’t mind me, I’m just sitting here dreaming up other unusual author/director pairings for the future, and who should get paired up with Jordan Peele…so many possibilities!
