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S. Zainab would like to think she bleeds ink but the very idea makes her feel faint. She writes fantasy and horror, and is currently clutching a manuscript while groping in the dark. Find her on Twitter: @szainabwilliams.
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Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
The Gilead Series Will Get Scorsesed
Martin Scorsese is set to write, direct, and produce Marilynne Robinson’s entire series. Of course, that includes Gilead, which landed the 10th place spot on The New York Times‘ list of The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century, but Scorsese will kick off the Apple Original Films production with the second book in the series, Home. Aaaaand, Leonardo DiCaprio will star in the kickoff feature film. Who expected this news today? Not I. My colleagues and co-TIB writers, Jeff and Rebecca, are into Gilead in a big way–Past Rebecca is even here to help Scorsese cast Gilead–and this might have been the news I needed to get me to finally pick up the Pulitzer Prize-winning book (from my own bookshelf where it’s been sitting for years) and contemplate with Reverend John Ames writing in Iowa to his young son about their religious and abolitionist family history.
The Once-Lost Westing Game Sequel
Fans of The Westing Game, there’s a sequel to Ellen Raskin’s Newbery Award-winning mystery for young readers–a book that holds an impenetrable space in the memories of countless readers of my generation. Raskin had been working on A Murder for Macaroni and Cheese at the time of her death in 1984. John Silberstack of the Bent Agency, which has represented Raskin for almost two decades is working with International Literary Properties, which recently acquired her estate, to bring the work to completion with the help of “another iconic middle grade author.” Raskin was close to completing the book so, hopefully, the sequel will ring a lot of bells for her fans.
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An Interview With the First Disabled Actor to Play Nessarose on Broadway
Marissa Bode became the first actor who uses a wheelchair to play Elphaba’s sister Nessarose in last year’s film adaptation of Wicked, and now Jenna Bainbridge has become the first disabled actor playing the part on Broadway. While changes around ableism have been made to the onscreen production, the production Bainbridge features in will remain the same. Vulture interviewed Bainbridge on being a “first,” playing a part written and directed by non-disabled people, and bringing new complexity and richness to the role. I tried very hard to avoid reading spoilers in this piece, but there might be some here depending on how you define spoilers.
Moms For Liberty Is Shutting Down BookLooks
Curiouser and curiouser. BookLooks, a site that gained some legitimacy despite its dubious review and vetting process and its affiliation with Moms For Liberty, is apparently shutting down. There isn’t much info to be gleaned from their statement, which includes vague pronouncements like this one: “It has been quite the ride with many ups and downs since God called us to this work in 2022, but after much prayer and reflection it has become apparent that His work for us here is complete and that He has other callings for us.” But Kelly Jensen is here to ask the questions and offer some context.
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