Happy first Saturday in December, book friends! The end of the year slowdown is real and in so many ways it feels like things are on pause until we hit play on 2023. But in reality, there’s always something going on.
So, here I am with a few of the interesting book news stories that caught my eye this week.
We Need Diverse Books Launches Anti-Censorship Campaign
We Need Diverse Books, a nonprofit centered on advocating for a wider range of stories in children’s books, launched their #BooksSaveLives campaign on December 1st.
The goal of this iniatitive is to combat the increased number of book bans and censorship attempts in schools and libraries across the United States. We Need Diverse Books will offer grants to help stock the shelves with diverse titles, create educator guides on fighting back against censorship, and will also provide funds to support authors impacted by book bans.
If you’re interested in getting involved in the campaign, WNDB has a list of ways to get involved including posting a selfie using their hashtag, local advocacy, and of course monetary donations to support the initiative.
(Source: Book Riot News)
“Mediator” Netflix Series Isn’t Happening
In a recent newsletter, Meg Cabot confirmed the news that Princess Diaries 3 is happening. Sadly, she also confirmed that a previously announced Netflix series based on her Mediator series is no longer moving forward, due to the creative team being let go from the streaming service.
Cabot remains optimistic about the film/TV rights to the series being up for grabs, but for now, we won’t be seeing Jesse DeSilva and Suze Simon on screen. I have mixed feelings about the prospect of these beloved books from my youth being adapted, but I have to admit I’m curious to see how they’d manage the ghosts of it all.
In the email, there’s also a teaser about “several other projects” being in the works that the prolific author can’t reveal just yet, so I’m excited to see what 2023 will bring.
(Source: Meg Cabot’s newsletter email)
Literary Agents Pen Open Letter to HarperCollins
There haven’t been too many big public updates regarding the HarperCollins strike, but as of today the strike and related negotations between the publisher and the union are ongoing.
The most recent development is that a group of 150 literary agents wrote an open letter to the publisher, in which they lay out plans to leave HarperCollins out of future book deals until an agreement is made.
On Instagram, I’ve also seen a few book bloggers posting the suggestion to stop covering HarperCollins titles until the publisher makes a deal with its employees that provides them with a fair living wage and working conditions.
If you’re looking for ways to support the strike, the HarperCollins union has an Instagram page with updates and requests.
(Source: Googling my way to this article from Fortune, plus posts on Instagram).
Final Round of Goodreads Choice Awards Ends December 4th
The first round of voting has ended for the Goodreads Choice awards and the final round is underway! If you want to cast your vote, make sure to stop by the site by December 4th.
That’s it for me this week! What bookish news has caught your attention this past week?
Your Book Friend 
Nice wrap up, Amanda. I’ve voted for the Goodreads books, I always enjoy doing that. I”m going to check out the We Need Diverse Books campaign. I’m horrified at the efforts to ban books. Kids need to read books where they are represented.
Great wrap up! I really enjoy reading these! I also can’t believe I missed that they turned Louise Pennys books into an 8 part series on Amazon!
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it! I think I missed that news as well. Thank you for sharing!