Isabel Allende is working on a new novel. The book tells the story of a car accident in Brooklyn that becomes “the catalyst for an unexpected and moving love story.” In the Midst of Winter will be published by Atria next fall.
Brit Bennett’s debut novel, The Mothers, will be made into a film. The adaptation was bought by Warner Bros. Actress Kerry Washington will produce the movie, and Bennett will write the script.
Mark Halperin and John Heilemann announced plans for a third book in their Game Change series. The next installment will cover the 2016 presidential election and will also be adapted into a miniseries by HBO.
At the Washington Post, Paul Farhi reflects on the slippery slope of partisan news organizations being included in the White House press pool. Last Thursday, a reporter employed by The Daily Signal, a website run by conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, was responsible for covering Vice President Mike Pence and supplying details to the rest of the press corps. Farhi writes that the website’s inclusion in the pool could lead to other think tanks requesting press credentials. “These groups could argue that they, too, qualify for White House press credentials and pool shifts,” he writes. “The slope could become even more slippery if extremist or racist organizations sought similar status.” The Daily Signal’s Rob Bluey responded that there is no reason one of their reporters shouldn’t be included in the pool, as their conservative leanings don’t affect “the fairness and accuracy” of their journalism. Bluey also identified the real reason Farhi and others raised their concerns: “They want to delegitimize news outlets such as The Daily Signal to protect their cabal.”
The Atlantic’s Rosie Gray profiles Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, who has been acting as an unofficial spokesman for the president since his election. The conservative media company had supported Trump from the beginning of his campaign, and Ruddy has spent time with the president, who he has known for the last two decades, at his Mar-a-Lago estate since his inauguration. Ruddy said that he felt that his close relationship with the president made him the right choice to defend Trump to the media. “I felt I had a comfort level with many in the press,” he said, “so I figured it might be a good thing for me to go out and talk about my relationship with the president and his ideas.”
At a SXSW event, Nick Denton discussed Peter Thiel, freedom of the press, and life after Gawker. Denton said that he was glad that the company’s lawsuit with Hulk Hogan, which at some points was costing $1 million per month, was settled before the 2016 election, since Trump’s win made Thiel more powerful. “It’s probably wise not to be in a fight with him at this time,” Denton said. He also lamented the state of the web and social media. “Facebook makes me despise many of my friends and Twitter makes me hate the rest of the world,” he said. But Denton isn’t entirely pessimistic about the future. “Even if we’re full of despair over what the internet has become, it’s good to remind yourself when you’re falling down some Wikipedia hole or having a great conversation with somebody online—it’s an amazing thing,“ he said. ”In the habits that we enjoy, there are the seeds for the future. That’s where the good internet will rise up again.”