News Roundup: October 21, 2022

In this week’s edition: The 2022 Booker Prize winner is announced; artists offer opposing perspectives on recent AI developments; discussions on Capitol Hill seek a new legislative approach to curbing piracy; a new report details the barriers and biases that stand in the way of diversifying the U.S. publishing industry; and more.

A.I.-Generated Art Is Already Transforming Creative Work
The New York Times
In just a few months, generative AI programs like DALL-E 2 have found millions of users, including some in creative industries who use them to generate sketches, concept art, and other images to aid their work.

These Artists Found Out Their Work Was Used to Train AI. Now They’re Furious
CNN Business
On the other side of the AI debate, many professional artists were unhappy to learn that their work was included in a data set—without permission or payment—used to train an AI program.

2022 Booker Prize Winner Announced
Book Riot
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka has won the 2022 Booker Prize. The judges praised the novel’s ambitious scope and the “hilarious audacity of its narrative techniques” in their announcement on Monday. Karunatilaka receives £50,000 while the other five shortlisted authors each receive £2,500.

Rampant ‘Shadow Libraries’ Drive Calls for Anti-Piracy Action
Bloomberg Law
New legislation to block pirate sites in the U.S. could be introduced in Congress when its new session begins next year. One possible approach is domain name blocking, which would allow internet service providers to prevent users from accessing sites wholly devoted to piracy.

Ng Named ABA’s Inaugural Indie Bookstore Ambassador
Publishers Weekly
The American Booksellers Association has named Celeste Ng, author of Everything I Never Told You, Little Fires Everywhere, and Our Missing Hearts, the inaugural ambassador for its new year-round Indie Bookstore Ambassador Program. The program is an expansion of the ABA’s Indies First program and Independent Bookstore Day (April 29, 2023), both of which will celebrate their 10th anniversary next year.

Can Joining Substack Allow a ‘Midlist’ Author the Same Success as Booker Prize Winners?
The Guardian
Author Tim Lott describes his attempt to replicate the success Booker Prize winners George Saunders and Salman Rushdie have had on Substack and how he has built a small but lively community around his writing and teaching.

Grim News About Diversity in Publishing
Washington Post Book Club
A frank new report by PEN America called “Reading Between the Lines: Race, Equity, and Book Publishing” finds that systemic barriers and historic biases in the American publishing industry remain, despite its recent efforts to diversify.