News of note for readers: March 21, 2023

Catch up quick with the bookish news of the day ... or take a deeper dive into each story. Your choice!

• Lawyers for the Internet Archive and a coalition of book publishers faced off in court yesterday over the latter's claims that the former has committed "willful digital piracy," with the judge grilling both sides (Ars Technica).

• Learn about the cover design process for Bryan Washington’s next book, Family Meal, which comes out October 10; the novel follows Cam, a man grieving the loss of his partner, as he reconnects with his former best friend (Literary Hub).

• Speculative fiction is fun — and, professor Nandini Das would add, also educational (The Guardian).

• You can watch President Joe Biden award the National Humanities Medal to twelve recipients, including a number of well-known writers, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern. The winners include Amy Tan, Ann Patchett, Colson Whitehead, and Tara Westover (Literary Hub).

• Ari Shapiro's voice is instantly recognizable to so many of us, from his work on NPR's All Things Considered. Now you can experience his voice in a different way: through his memoir, The Best Strangers in the World: Stories from a Life Spent Listening (NPR).

• A memorial service for author Hilary Mantel, who died last fall, will be held April 20 at Southwark Cathedral in London, with a limited number of tickets available to the general public (The Guardian).