AMERICAN WINGS by Sherri L. Smith has been nominated for a 56th NAACP Image Award in the category of Outstanding Literary Work – Youth/Teens. The award aims to “continue its tradition of excellence, uplifting values that inspire equality, justice, and progressive change, and highlighting artists committed to these values.” AMERICAN WINGS was published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers on January 16, 2024.

PEARL by Sherri L. Smith was featured on The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books’ “2024 Blue Ribbons” list. The graphic novel was published by Graphix on August 20, 2024.

Culture critic Jeremy Gordon’s debut novel, SEE FRIENDSHIP, is receiving fantastic press ahead of its release. A positive review from Kirkus reads: “Explored throughout are millennial culture, indie rock, and ‘the psychically fallow Bush years.’ Totally of their time, these characters spend a lot of time smoking weed pens, playing video games, and posting on social media. A frequently funny meditation on memory and loss.” Debutiful named it one of “The Most Anticipated Debut Books of 2025,” with reviewer Adam Vitcavage praising: “Gordon gets humanity and writes subtle moments with gorgeous prose.” The novel was also listed on Bookshop.org’s “50 Preorder Picks: Books We Can’t Wait to Read.” Lastly, The Millions published an essay by Gordon titled “A Year in Reading.” Harper Perennial will publish the book on March 4, 2025.

Common’s latest book AND THEN WE RISE has been selected as a 2025 Audie Award finalist in the Business/Personal Development category. The Annual Audie Awards are the “premier awards program recognizing distinction in audiobooks and spoken-word entertainment.” The winners will be announced at the 2025 Audies Gala in New York on March 4th. AND THEN WE RISE was published by HarperOne on January 23, 2024.

Danielle Steel’s latest novel, NEVER SAY NEVER, debuted on The New York Times Bestsellers list for the week of January 26, 2025, appearing at #5 on the Hardcover Fiction list and #7 on the Combined Print & E-Book Fiction list. Delacorte Press published the book on January 7, 2025.

THE STOLEN QUEEN by Fiona Davis debuted on The New York Times Bestsellers list for the week of January 26, 2025, appearing at #13 on the Hardcover Fiction list. Dutton published the book on January 7, 2025.

The National Society of Film Critics awarded Scott Eyman the Film Heritage Award on January 4th “for his outstanding books on film artists and epochal shifts in moviemaking, most recently with CHARLIE CHAPLIN VS. AMERICA: WHEN ART, SEX, AND POLITICS COLLIDED, a revelatory study of the nexus of American politics and American pop culture.” Simon & Schuster published CHARLIE CHAPLIN VS AMERICA on October 31, 2023.

Alex Van Halen joined Anderson Cooper on his All There Is podcast for “an emotional, and musically rich interview [where] Alex talks about Eddie’s life and death and the communication he feels he still has with him.” BROTHERS was included on The New York Post’s guide for the “best books to gift to the readers in your life this Christmas.” Harper published the book on October 22, 2024.

Joseph Earl Thomas was awarded the 2024 First Novel Prize for GOD BLESS YOU OTIS SPUNKMEYER at The Center for Fiction Annual Awards Benefit on December 10. The awarded is annually presented to the best debut novel of the year, with a $15,000 prize “in recognition of their contribution to the contemporary literary canon and in support of their ongoing creative career.” The book was selected by a panel of distinguished writers, including Merve Emre, Raven Leilani, Jonathan Lethem, and Tyriek White. Grand Central Publishing published the novel on June 18, 2024.