In this week’s edition: Illinois tries to stop book bans; Simon & Schuster is for sale again; Supreme Court justices under scrutiny for failing to recuse themselves in cases involving their publisher; TikTok takes the first step towards launching a book publisher, and more.

Illinois Libraries That Ban Books May Soon Be Ineligible for State Grants
The Washington Post
Illinois is poised to become the first state to end book bans, via legislation sent to the desk of Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) on Wednesday. Pritzker said in a tweet on Thursday that he plans to sign.

OpenAI’s Regulatory Troubles Are Only Just Beginning
The Verge
ChatGPT may have returned to Italy this week after an effective ban over privacy concerns, but it still faces increasing scrutiny from a host of European regulators.

Paramount Restarts Simon & Schuster Sale Process
Axios
Simon & Schuster CEO Bob Bakish shared the news during a company earnings call this week. Paramount CFO Naveen Chopra told analysts that a deal could be announced by the end of the year.

Two Supreme Court Justices Did Not Recuse Themselves in Cases Involving Their Book Publisher
CNN Politics
With the Supreme Court under a microscope, CNN observes that neither Justice Sonia Sotomayor nor Justice Neil Gorsuch recused themselves from cases involving their publisher Penguin Random House that came before the court in the past decade.

Royal Reads: 6 Books About British Monarchs and Coronations
The New York Times
In advance of the coronation of King Charles III, the NYT suggests a syllabus to catch up “on who’s who, what to expect and what the Stone of Scone is.”

TikTok May Launch a Publisher as Its Role in Book Marketing Grows
Business Insider
ByteDance has filed a trademark application for a book publishing entity called 8^th Note Press, Business Insider reports.

“Maybe This Means Something.” Min Jin Lee on Vulnerability and Audacity, in Life and on the Page
Literary Hub
Authors Guild Council member Min Jin Lee is interviewed on Lit Hub’s Talk Easy podcast

‘A Culture, A People, An Ethos’: One of the U.S.’s Oldest Asian American Bookstores Closes
The Guardian
While Berkeley’s Eastwind Books is closing its brick-and-mortar shop, the store will continue to sell books online and to partner with libraries and organizations for events.

Shelf Life: Judy Blume
Elle
The award-winning author of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret reveals which books surprise her, her thoughts on the most beautiful book jacket, and which book she confesses she never returned to the library as a child, instead hiding it because she thought it was the only copy.

Fantasy Books for People Who Don’t Like Fantasy Books
Book Riot
Not a fan of fantasy? A Book Riot contributor encourages readers to give the genre another chance, and suggests an alternate on-ramp.