The Millions has posted their comprehensive preview of the “most anticipated” books coming out in the first half of 2017, with titles by Roxane Gay, Rachel Cusk, Aravind Adgia, Elif Batuman, Ali Smith, Percival Everett, and many more.

Medium, the web publishing service, has announced that they are cutting one-third of their staff and revamping their business model. Medium began in 2012 with the goal of changing how stories on the web worked: They aimed to promote thoughtful writing over quick clickbait. But as Medium founder Ev Williams writes in a post announcing the cuts, “In building out

On January 15th, the organization Writers Resist will be holding events around the US, as authors band together to promote democracy. A reading on the steps of The New York Public Library will feature Andrew Solomon, Masha Gessen, Robert Pinsky, and Rita Dove, and local events are being organized throughout the nation. The National Book Critics Circle has dedicated its “NBCC Reads” series to the topic of resistance literature, posting discussions by authors such as Jonathan Lethem and T. J. Siles, with new entries being added daily. 

After twelve years at Fox News, Megyn Kelly is leaving the

Critic and novelist John Berger—whose influential works include About Looking, The Shape of a Pocket, and G—has died at the age of ninety. For those new to Berger’s work—or anyone looking to experience his particular genius—the BBC series Ways of Seeing is worth watching.

In The Guardian, Alex Preston previews fiction to be published in the coming year, with new novels by Paul Auster, Katie Kitamura, and Arundhati Roy (with her first book of fiction in twenty years), among many others. Preston notes that in 2017, storytellers will have their work cut out for them: “One’s heart goes out to the

In a year-end memo to staff, BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith warned that “fake news will become more sophisticated, and . . . will spread widely.” Smith also noted that the problem can be found on both sides of the political spectrum, as in the case of a highly embellished story of a Jewish family having to “flee” town after being falsely identified as the reason for a school Christmas play being canceled.

At the New York Times, James Risen writes that journalists have Barack Obama to thank for the possible mistreatment of the press under Trump. Citing the Obama administration’s prosecution

The New York Times looks ahead to the most anticipated books of 2017. Ottessa Moshfegh’s Homesick for Another World, Joan Didion’s South and West, and Elif Batuman’s The Idiot all make the cut.

Journalist David Fahrenthold reflects on his long investigation of Donald Trump’s charity throughout the presidential campaign. After his work failed to dissuade voters from electing Trump, a German reporter asked if he felt his work mattered. Fahrenthold writes that it did matter, but the length of the campaign made it hard for his articles to have an impact. “In an election as long and wild as this,

Gwen Ihnat examines the truth behind the stories of the late Carrie Fisher’s novels, many of which have become bestsellers in the days since her death.

At the Los Angeles Times, Carolyn Kellogg writes that 2017 needs to make up for 2016’s lack of a blockbuster book, “the book you see people reading on subways and on planes, that you hear about on the radio and on TV talk shows, that seems to be everywhere at once.” 

LitHub highlights the most |http://lithub.com/the-years-best-overlooked-books-according-to-booksellers/#|overlooked books| of 2016. Selections include Horacio Castellanos Moya’s

Writers reflect on the legacy of actress Carrie Fisher, who died yesterday at age sixty after suffering a heart attack last weekend. At the Huffington Post, Claire Fallon writes that Fisher “could easily have gone the way of many one-time it girls . . . only remembered as a young Princess Leia. Instead, she carved out a unique path for herself, including a successful and acclaimed career as a novelist and memoirist.” At the New York Times, A. O. Scott highlights the “12 dimensions of meta” present in Fisher’s one-time role on 30 Rock as Liz Lemon’s career idol. BuzzFeed looks to Fisher’s 2008

Jason Miller, communications director for the Trump transition team, has turned down an offer to serve as White House communications director. His duties will be taken over by former RNC spokesperson Sean Spicer, who was recently named White House press secretary. Former campaign manager and recently-appointed White House counselor Kellyanne Conway told ABC News that, contrary to his current attitude toward the media, the Trump administration will offer “a great deal of press availability on a daily basis.”

Business Insider takes a look at Jared Kushner’s attempts to amass a media empire, a

Women’s Wear Daily reports that Jared Kushner may be preparing to join his father-in-law in DC. The New York Observer owner and son-in-law of president-elect Donald Trump, is said to be looking for buyers for the paper.

At the New York Times, Bookends writers share the best book they read in 2016. Siddhartha Deb calls Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian “unflinching in its portrayal of settler colonialism and so familiar in its violence, racism and twisted masculinity,” while Zoë Heller notes that Emma Cline’s The Girls, a “story about the charismatic power of an evil cult leader turned out to

Libby Chamberlain, founder of the Hillary Clinton-supporting Facebook group Pantsuit Nation, has signed a deal with Flatiron Books. The book will collect posts and images from the Facebook page and “amplify the collective voices of the women who shared their stories of overcoming or facing sexism, racism or xenophobia.”

The jury for the 2017 Man Booker Prize has been selected. Colin Thubron, Tom Phillips, Sarah Hall, Lila Azam Zanganeh, and Lola Young will announce the 2017 longlist in July.

Bloomberg has named the members of its White House team. Alex Wayne will stay on as team leader,

Egyptian novelist Ahmed Naji has been released from prison pending the appeal of his two-year sentence. Naji was originally convicted of “violating public modesty” after excerpts of his unpublished novel gave a reader “heart palpitations” and “a drop in blood pressure.” A hearing to decide whether Naji will face trial for a third time is scheduled for January 1.

The New Yorker has been chosen as Ad Age’s Magazine of the Year. David Remnick and Lisa Hughes were chosen as Editor and Publisher of the Year.

Columbia Journalism Review talks to Tina Nguyen, whose Vanity Fair review of Trump Grill

Starting today, the Knight Foundation is matching donations made to non-profit news organizations through the end of Obama’s term in office. Qualifying organizations include The Marshall Project, ProPublica, PBS NewsHour, and more.

Flatiron Books has announced a name for Oprah Winfrey’s imprint, as well as its first titles. An Oprah Book will first publish a cookbook written by Winfrey, Food, Health and Happiness, on January 3.

Julia Roberts has been tapped to star in a TV adaptation of Maria Semple’s novel, Today Will Be Different. Semple, who has written for shows like Suddenly