In this week’s edition: U.S. book sales are down, but adult fiction sales remain robust; Ada Limón is the new U.S. Poet Laureate; how to avoid creative burnout; more than 300 new American independent bookstores opened their doors in the past two years; and more.

Two Views on U.S. Book Sales
Publishing Perspectives
The Association of American Publishers (AAP) reports that total print, ebook, and audiobook revenues in April 2022 were 12.6 percent lower than in April 2021 while year-to-date book revenues were down 2.3 percent from the year before. Meanwhile, NPD BookScan, which reports print book sales based on retailers’ point-of-sale data, says that 2022 sales are down 7 percent overall, though adult fiction sales remain strong.

NCTE Publishes Rationale Database for Challenged Books
Washington Post Book Club
The National Council on the Teachers of English has unveiled This Story Matters, a “rationale database” of more than 800 frequently-challenged book titles. Each rationale consists of a grade-level recommendation, a plot summary, a survey of critical reviews, a list of possible objections, and a discussion of the book’s value and benefits to student readers.

Ada Limón Is Named the Next Poet Laureate
The New York Times
The Library of Congress has named Ada Limón the 24^th Poet Laureate of the United States. The author of six books of poetry, Limón won a Guggenheim Fellowship and a National Book Critics Circle Award and was a finalist for the National Book Award.

Some Surprising Good News: Bookstores Are Booming and Becoming More Diverse
The New York Times
More than 300 new independent bookstores have opened up across the country in the past two years, and they are increasingly owned and operated by people of color.

Trying To Do Too Much? Don’t.
CrimeReads
A crime fiction writer writes about coping with burnout and re-energizing your creativity.