News of note for readers: March 17, 2026

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

SERIOUS STUFF 

• Kouri Richins, the woman who wrote a children's book about coping with grief after her husband's death, has bee convicted of aggravated murder in said death (The Guardian).

• Author Salman Rushdie is eager to move past the 2022 attempt on his life, saying he's tired of serving as a "free speech Barbie" (The Guardian).

OTHER NEWS

• The Indies Choice Book Awards, which had been on hiatus since 2019, are back this year, with shortlists out for your browsing; the winners will be announced April 8 (American Booksellers Association). 

• Mahmood Mamdani, the father of New York City's new mayor, talks about his next book — which will address the campus protests against the war in Gaza at Columbia University in 2024 — in an examination of the interplay between his writing and his son's mayoral role (The New York Times).

Tech talk

• Learn more about the new Did Not Finish shelf feature (Goodreads).

• NielsenIQ BookData will build a monthly chart showing the twenty most popular books on TikTok and launch it later this year (The Guardian).