New York Times Book Review editor Pamela Paul addresses the controversy over Alice Walker’s recent “By the Book” interview, in which the author said she was currently reading a book by anti-Semitic writer David Icke. “When we interview anyone, whether it’s a public official or a foreign leader or an artist, The Times isn’t saying that we approve of the person’s views and actions,” Paul said. “We’ve also faced criticism when a writer only named white authors, or male authors. My response to that is the same as in this case: Does that answer tell you something about the subject? I think it does, and now readers know it because we’ve informed you.”
“Darin Webb, the bookkeeper who stole more than $3.4 million over eight years from venerable New York literary agency Donadio & Olson, was sentenced to two years in prison on Monday,” Publishers Weekly reports.
An Amnesty International report highlights “the breadth and depth of toxicity on Twitter,” a problem they say is particularly likely to inhibit women from “freely expressing themselves on the platform.”
Politico owner Robert Allbritton talks to Vanity Fair’s Joe Pompeo about digital media, politics since 2016, and the magazine’s plans for expansion.
The Law360 editorial union has unanimously voted to accept a new contract that offers an across-the-board 22 percent salary increase, along with guaranteed sick days, bereavement leave, and more. “Our newsroom has come together in a way we never thought possible,” the group wrote in a statement. “We finally have a voice in our newsroom and it is loud!”
The Guardian’s Sam Jordison wonders why so many people consider Richard Powers’s The Overstory one of the best books of the year. “There’s plenty to appreciate if you’re predisposed to liking books and disliking the idea of environmental apocalypse,” he admits, but feels that the “undemanding” nature of the book is ultimately unsatisfying. “There’s nothing beyond the page, nothing that Powers doesn’t spell out slowly for us.”
