Selected by Alta Journal contributors, editors, and readers, these independent bookstores serve their communities—one devoted customer at a time. Read more
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Iconic 1970s Photo Book ‘Carnival Strippers’ Reissued
From 1972 to 1975, photographer Susan Meiselas spent her summers photographing the world of women who performed in small-town carnivals as striptease artists. The resulting work would go on to form one of the world’s most enduring photo books: “Carnival Strippers.” Read more
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Thrust by Lidia Yuknavitch
Thrust is many things: a speculative history of the United States, a recognition of forgotten classes, a fluid song about the power of love, a celebration of the power of language and storytelling. It is an intricate novel in its interconnections, plotlines twisting away and back together again, but readers’ attention will be well rewarded by profound, thought-provoking and deeply beautiful observations about humanity in an ever-changing world. Read more
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Authors are protesting Amazon’s e-book policy that allows users to read and return
Earlier this month, Lisa Kessler, a paranormal romance author, logged into Kindle Direct Publishing to check her earnings from the previous month. On her publishing dashboard, she saw something she had never seen before in her 11 years as an author: a negative earnings balance. The reason for the negative balance? Kindle e-book returns. Read more
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Republicans are banning books about historical truths their own leaders have apologized for
Over a recent 9 month period more than 1,500 books have been banned in schools, most featuring nonwhite protagonists, dealing with racism, or addressing the LGBTQ experience. Read more
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Ukrainian Serhiy Zhadan wins German Peace Prize
The German Publishers and Booksellers Association has awarded the 2022 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade to Ukrainian writer Serhiy Zhadan. “We honor this Ukrainian author and musician for his outstanding artistic work as well as for his unequivocal humanitarian stance, which repeatedly motivates him to risk his own life to help people affected by war and thus to call greater attention to their plight,” said the award’s jury. Read more
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Italy’s town of diaries: where ordinary people’s memoirs are salvaged and celebrated
At the national diary archive in Pieve Santo Stefano, Tuscany, no journal is ever turned away – whether typed, scrawled or written on a bedsheet. Read more
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UC San Diego plans to sell the ‘storybook’ home of Dr. Seuss
The sun-kissed home on Mount Soledad where the late Theodor Geisel gazed at the Pacific and composed most of his beloved series of Dr. Seuss children’s books will soon be put up for sale by its owner, UC San Diego … The property has four bedrooms and four bathrooms, according to Redfin, a real estate brokerage company, which estimates the property’s value at $5,811,846. Read more
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St. Paul poet wins 2022 International Griffin Poetry Prize
Douglas Kearney is a St. Paul poet and a University of Minnesota professor. He is the winner of the 2022 International Griffin Poetry Prize and $65,000 for his most recent poetry collection, “Sho.” Read more
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The Historians Saving America’s Pint-Sized Railroads
From Maine to Alaska, narrow gauge is all the rage, including one of the most historic, Pennsylvania’s East Broad Top. Read more
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