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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.
Think Outside the Book Review
Seasoned book publicist Kathleen Schmidt gets very real about the state of book publicity in the latest piece for her Substack, Publishing Confidential. The headline is that attention is the coin of the realm, it’s hard to come by, and the old model doesn’t work anymore. Schmidt encourages authors not to fixate on book reviews (which, she correctly points out, don’t generate many sales anyway) and to “avoid participating in events merely for validation.” You can feed your ego or your bank account but rarely at the same time. She also reminds authors that “the same templates are repeatedly used: review coverage, NPR, specific podcasts, Goodreads, etc…Hundreds of book publicists pitch the same people at those outlets daily.” My groaning inbox and I can confirm that this is true. The whole piece is worth reading, especially if you are or soon will be publicizing a book.
Already?
Just as I’d gotten my head around the reality that Best Books of the Year season now starts in mid-October, Vogue went and released its Best Books of 2025 So Far on <checks calendar> March 24. Are we doing this quarterly now? The first few months of 2025 have been light on Big New Books for everyone who isn’t Rebecca Yarros, Suzanne Collins, or a Facebook whistleblower, and that has opened up space for quieter novels and small press picks. Love to see that.
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The Odds Are Ever in Her Favor
Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins’s latest addition to the Hunger Games extended universe, is catching fire this week. A prequel of sorts, the novel presents the backstory of fan-favorite character Haymitch Abernathy (played to great effect by Woody Harrelson in the films). If, like me, you’ve been wondering how much appetite readers still have for the series, which originally culminated with Mockingjay in 2010 (yes, friends, it’s been 15 years), here’s your answer. Sunrise on the Reaping outpaced Mockingjay and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, selling more than 1.5 million copies in English in its first week on shelves. Incredible longevity for a franchise in a time when TikTok changes its favorite tropes every couple months.