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While I focus on Technology, Innovation, and Publishing, because I have a platform, I also flag items that I think are important, which you might have missed, and try to include a bunch of resources & opportunities. My goal is to surface at least one interesting tidbit you didn’t see. How did I do – did you learn something new?

Important Items

The Real Targets of Project 2025’s War on Porn

It’s not just about people watching porn. It’s drag queens, trans people, LGBTQ library books, and more.

https://newrepublic.com/article/183636/project-2025-war-porn-trans-drag

Long Island bill could mean jail time, $1,000 fines for face masks

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/politics/long-island-bill-jail-time-fines-face-masks-nassau-county/5588110/

Map shows states where COVID levels are “high” or “very high” as summer wave spreads

“Nationwide, the average share of emergency room patients with COVID-19 is also now the highest it has been since February and has increased 115% from a month ago”

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/map-covid-levels-states-summer-2024/

Innovation

Monster 310-mile automated cargo conveyor will replace 25,000 trucks

The Japanese government is planning to connect major cities with automated zero-emissions logistics links that can quietly and efficiently shift millions of tons of cargo, while getting tens of thousands of trucks off the road.

https://newatlas.com/transport/cargo-conveyor-auto-logistics/

Technology

Is AI the Bitter End—or the Lucrative Future—of Book Publishing?

As the law fights to catch up to Big Tech, the future of books hangs in the balance. Are writers doomed by “the biggest rip-off in creative history” or could AI offer new ways of making a living?

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a61485201/books-ai-lawsuits/

Generative AI enhances individual creativity but reduces the collective diversity of novel content

HT @ThadMcIlroy “We find that access to generative AI ideas causes stories to be evaluated as more creative, better written, and more enjoyable, especially among less creative writers.”

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adn5290

The AI-focused COPIED Act would make removing digital watermarks illegal

The COPIED Act seeks to protect journalists and artists from having their work used by AI models without their consent.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/11/24196769/copied-act-cantwell-blackburn-heinrich-ai-journalists-artists

YouTube’s updated eraser tool removes copyrighted music without impacting other audio

https://techcrunch.com/2024/07/05/youtubes-updated-eraser-tool-removes-copyrighted-music-without-impacting-other-audio/

MIT researchers introduce generative AI for databases

A new tool enables someone to perform complicated statistical analyses on tabular data using just a few keystrokes.

https://news.mit.edu/2024/mit-researchers-introduce-generative-ai-databases-0708

The Washington Post made an AI chatbot for questions about climate

The chatbot will use articles from The Washington Post’s climate section to inform its answers.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/9/24194486/the-washington-post-climate-answers-ai-chatbot

OpenAI and Arianna Huffington are working together on an ‘AI health coach’

OpenAI and Arianna Huffington are now jointly funding the development of an “AI health coach” through Thrive AI Health. In a Time magazine op-ed, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Huffington stated that the bot will be trained on “the best peer-reviewed science” alongside “the personal biometric, lab, and other medical data you’ve chosen to share with it.”

https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/9/24194450/openai-sam-altman-arianna-huffington-thrive-ai-health

Amazon’s AI shopping assistant rolls out to all users in the US

Rufus is rolling out to all users in the US on Amazon’s mobile app. It can answer questions, draw comparisons between items, and give you updates on your order.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/12/24197173/amazon-ai-shopping-assistant-rufus-us-customers-rollout

Microsoft’s Copilot AI now understands your terrible handwriting

Microsoft will enable Copilot in OneNote to read and analyze handwritten notes. You write handwritten notes using a stylus + it will summarize, ask questions, or generate to-do lists

https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/12/24197009/microsoft-onenote-copilot-inked-notes-handwriting-recognition

AI’s Energy Demands Are Out of Control. Welcome to the Internet’s Hyper-Consumption Era

Generative artificial intelligence tools, now part of the everyday user experience online, are causing stress on local power grids and mass water evaporation.

https://www.wired.com/story/ai-energy-demands-water-impact-internet-hyper-consumption-era/

Early Apple tech bloggers are shocked to find their name and work have been AI-zombified

The Unofficial Apple Weblog was shut down by AOL in 2015, but its new owner is posting articles under the bylines of former writers who haven’t worked there for over a decade

https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/10/24195858/tuaw-unofficial-apple-tech-blog-ai-web-orange-khan

Everything You See Is a Computational Process, If You Know How to Look

Computer scientist Lance Fortnow writes that by embracing the computations that surround us, we can begin to understand and tame our seemingly random world.

https://www.wired.com/story/everything-you-see-is-a-computational-process-if-you-know-how-to-look/

A glitch in the matrix of online shopping

Or: why I reverse-image-search before buying anything. By @caitlindewey.

https://linksiwouldgchatyou.substack.com/p/a-glitch-in-the-matrix-of-online

Publishing & Media

Audible changing audiobook royalty model

Each subscriber is assigned a value, based on their subscription plan, a la carte purchases, and activity. That’s divided among the titles they consume each month. For the credit-free titles, a royalty will only be paid if a certain consumption threshold is reached, which varies depending on the length of the book.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-07-11/audible-pitches-publishers-and-authors-on-a-new-royalty-model

How Celebrity Book Clubs Actually Work

Three famous readers (Oprah, Reese, Jenna) hold immense influence over the publishing industry. Their recommendations can make or break a book—but how do they make their selections, and is their influence waning? Insiders take Esquire behind the scenes.

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a61473205/celebrity-book-clubs/

From ‘Bridgerton’ to ‘Ripley,’ Netflix’s latest hit adaptations have also boosted book sales

HT @publishingtrend Netflix has had immense success adapting books into television series, turning the streamer into a global driving force for boosting book sales and changing how we read fiction.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2024-07-08/netflix-book-adaptations-bridgerton-good-girls-guide-to-murder

Lit Hub’s Most Anticipated Books of 2024, Part Two

193 Books to Read in the Second Half of the Year

https://lithub.com/lit-hubs-most-anticipated-books-of-2024-part-two/

The UK & Ireland TikTok Book Awards shortlist is here – these are the reads to have on your radar

Plus how to vote for your faves.

https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/entertainment/books/tiktok-book-awards-uk-ireland-shortlist

100 Best Books of the 21st Century

As voted on by 503 novelists, nonfiction writers, poets, critics and other book lovers — with a little help from the staff of The New York Times Book Review.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/books/best-books-21st-century.html

100 Best Books of the 21st Century: That’s a Dizzying List! Help Me Choose a Book.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/books/21st-century-books-read-next.html

Vote for Your 10 Best Books of the 21st Century

More than 500 writers and notable book lovers — including James Patterson and Junot Díaz, Rebecca Roanhorse and Roxane Gay — have shared their picks for the best books of the 21st century, and now it’s your turn.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/books/vote-books-century.html

RBmedia Agrees to Acquire Dreamscape Media

The pending acquisition of Dreamscape will add more than 7,000 titles to RBmedia’s catalog, giving the audiobook publishing giant more depth in such genres as mystery/thriller and romance.

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/industry-deals/article/95470-rbmedia-agrees-to-acquire-dreamscape-media.html

Random House Publishing Group to acquire comic book and graphic novel publisher Boom! Studios

#teamPRH

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/95465-random-house-is-buying-boom-studios.html

Need a wedding dress? This librarian has 100 — and she lends them out for free

RT @EveryLibrary Adele Puccio from NJ’s Maurice M. Pine Free Public Library lends wedding dresses to brides-to-be, offering them a free and unique alternative to buying a wedding dress and giving a growing collection of donated dresses a new chance to shine.

https://www.today.com/life/relationships/librarian-loans-wedding-dress-rentals-rcna155230

Hundreds line up in North Carolina and Tennessee for used books road trip

HT @publishingtrend McKay’s, a treasured used book store and music shop in the South, is celebrating its 50th anniversary by offering fans up to $800 in store credit and swag to anyone who visits all five locations in North Carolina and Tennessee in one day.

https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2024/07/09/mckays-used-bookstore-roadtrip-north-carolina-tennessee

The House just voted to roll back LGBTQ+ protections for library workers and students

Join me in telling the Senate to stop this bad bill. Via @LibraryPolicy.

https://oneclickpolitics.global.ssl.fastly.net/messages/edit?promo_id=22924

Book banning just got harder in Vermont

RT @FReadomFighters In positive news, VT has passed a new law banning book bans and protecting teen readers

https://www.aol.com/book-banning-just-got-harder-085101795.html

Resources & Opportunities

Call for WMG Mentors!

WMG has had 30-minute mentors in the Summer for our CUNY fellows for a long time. I started year-round mentoring of WMG scholarship winners a few years ago and this year we’re adding peer mentoring. WMG Members: Sign up TODAY!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSesVa6W4d_jPUHmpU1gMRHIO393qNkWf66oxbm6urSkP1bQRA/viewform

Applications are now open for The Word’s Editor-Writer Mentorship!

MT @wordisdiversity We have 5 categories: picture book, middle grade, YA, adult general fiction, and adult romance. Writers with a complete, unpublished manuscript apply by Sunday 8/4.

https://www.thewordfordiversity.org/editor-writer-mentorship

Agents of Change Mentorship Program

RT @litagtsofchange The next cycle of the Literary Agents of Change Mentorship program is coming soon! Apply to be a mentor or a mentee by July 31st, 2024. #LAOCMentorship

https://airtable.com/appUBxLXVxSN7vsH1/shrRMQgrk0CfXqZmn

Do Query List

MT @AriannaSidd Had a really good experience with an agent? Recommend them to other querying authors? Consider filling out this DO-QUERY form. Note: email and name are both required to ensure no funny business! Both will be kept completely confidential.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScfLx4DPHRlbpxH8lZaTgB3RaWcJnT3bd5pEUnASma_hUirQw/viewform

Getting Published Hub

RT @PenguinUKBooks Are you an aspiring writer? For information on the process of getting an agent, making money as a writer, writing prizes and opportunities or just general advice, check out our Getting Published hub! 👇

https://www.penguin.co.uk/company/work-with-us/getting-published

Sir Harry Evans Global Fellowship

RT @sirharrysummit Calling early career journalists!🚨 The Sir Harry Evans Global Fellowship is an unrivalled opportunity for an ambitious reporter: a 9-month fellowship with @durham_uni + @Reuters to undertake an investigative project. 2025 applications close 15 July 2024.

https://www.durham.ac.uk/sir-harry-evans-memorial-fund/global-fellowship/

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