The Good Fight

After blocking Trump’s attempts to shut down the Institute of Museum and Library Services last year, the American Library Association is revving up for another fight amid federal proposals to eliminate funding for the IMLS for the 2027 fiscal year. The Public Library Association’s biennial conference wrapped up last week in Minneapolis, drawing more than 6,400 registrants for panels about library tech, civic legislation, and advocacy. Next week, BookCon will return to New York’s Javits Center following a six-year hiatus, featuring a slate of programming on book bans, dark fantasy, queer horror, and more. The New York Times profiles journalist Patrick Radden Keefe, whose new book, London Falling, hits shelves next week. Meanwhile, in Tennessee, a Rutherford County librarian was fired for refusing to comply with a new library board vote requiring the relocation of LGBTQ books from children’s to adult sections, per NBC. Netflix has released a first peek into its new Lord of the Flies adaptation, which is slated to premiere next month. Following the Shy Girl fallout, the New Yorker considers the moral implications of writing books with the help of AI. Grammy Award–winning singer Dua Lipa has been tapped to curate this year’s London Literature Festival, three years after launching her own literary “concierge service,” reports Lit Hub. And Vulture sits down with Ben Lerner, whose latest novel, Transcription, comes out this week.