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News Roundup: September 30, 2022

In this week’s edition: Debut novelists over the age of fifty are leaving their marks; the U.S. House of Representatives finally passed an antitrust bill aimed at Big Tech, but the final version will likely do little to contain Amazon or other key players; a disabled author talks about how having amnesia actually helped her write her latest book; public libraries across the country have received more than a dozen violent threats over the past two weeks; and more. 

It’s Never Too Late: Seven Authors on Making Their YA Debuts After Age 50
Publishers Weekly
Older debut authors speak about the value of life experience when writing for teens and the many different paths to publication writers take today.

House Approves Scaled-Down Bill Targeting Big Tech Dominance
Associated Press
The House of Representatives has passed a bipartisan bill that seeks to rein in Big Tech, including Amazon, by giving states greater power in antitrust cases and increasing funding for federal regulators.

Center for Fiction Announces Shortlist for 2022 First Novel Prize
Lit Hub
The Center for Fiction has announced the shortlist for its 2022 First Novel Prize, which honors “the best debut fiction of the year” with a $15,000 prize. The finalists are Daphne Palasi Andreades for Brown Girls; Jessamine Chan for The School for Good Mothers; Isabel Kaplan for NSFW; Noor Naga for If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English; Alyssa Songsiridej for Little Rabbit; Mecca Jamilah Sullivan for Big Girl; and Vauhini Vara for The Immortal King Rao.

How Amnesia Helped Ingrid Rojas Contreras Tell Her Family’s Stories
Lit Hub Radio Podcast
In this podcast, Colombian-American National Book Award for Nonfiction Finalist Ingrid Rojas Contreras talks about how an accident that left her with amnesia freed her to tell stories about her family in her latest memoir.

Six Authors Make TIME100 2022 Next List
Book Riot
TIME Magazine
 has issued its annual TIME100 Next list, highlighting 100 people across different industries who are driving change as they rise within their fields. The 2022 list includes six authors: Jeannette McCurdy (I’m Glad My Mom Died); Casey McQuiston (Red, White & Royal Blue); George M. Johnson (All Boys Aren’t Blue); Michael W. Twitty (The Cooking Gene); Keke Palmer (My Dear Friend Janet); and Leah Thomas (The Intersectional Environmentalist).