News Roundup: October 31, 2022

In this week’s edition: Spotify and Apple feud over audiobook sales; Elon Musk makes big changes at Twitter; U.K. publishers predict an increase in book prices; Toni Morrison will be on a U.S. postage stamp in 2023; and more.

Their Book Is Banned from Dozens of Districts, but Has Helped Countless Young Readers
NPR Morning Edition
George M. Johnson’s YA memoir All Boys Aren’t Blue is one of the most banned books in the U.S., but the author says that the book’s supporters outweigh its attackers.

Book Prices Set to Rise as Production Costs Soar, Say U.K. Publishers
The Guardian
Small and large publishers alike say that higher paper and energy costs, along with the effects of Brexit, will translate to higher prices for books in the United Kingdom. Some presses hope to offset some of the increase by choosing cheaper paper options and limiting special finishes.

Spotify Wants to Get Into Audiobooks but Says Apple Is in the Way
The New York Times
Spotify’s plan to sell audiobooks has hit a snag, as its updated app has been rejected by Apple three times in the last month for breaking the App Store’s rules about online purchases. It’s the latest in a longstanding feud between Spotify and Apple, which included the streaming app filing an antitrust complaint in Europe nearly four years ago.

Twitter Is Planning to Start Charging $20 per Month for Verification
The Verge
Just two days after taking control of Twitter, Elon Musk gave employees a one-week deadline to convert its $4.99/month Twitter Blue subscription into a $19.99/month plan that includes verification. Once the feature launches, accounts that are already verified will have 90 days to subscribe or lose their checkmarks.

Khadija Abdalla Bajaber Has Won the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction
Lit Hub
Khadija Abdalla Bajaber’s The House of Rust has won the inaugural Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction. The prize was first announced last year on Le Guin’s birthday and comes with a $25,000 award.

Toni Morrison Will Finally Be on a U.S. Stamp in 2023
Lit Hub
The United States Postal Service unveiled new forever stamps honoring Black authors Toni Morrison and Ernest J. Gaines, to be released next year. Morrison has been on international stamps before, but the USPS has a policy against portraying living people on postage stamps.