One more year in the books, one more year full of books. We can all agree that 2024 was a weird year for pretty much everything, and the literary world was no exception. The year started with an author backing down after angering Taylor Swift fans (not very mindful, not very demure) and continued with a Harry Potter actor dissing the boy wizard’s adult fans. There was also a remarkable literary own-goal by a former rising star in politics, a beloved retail chain deciding books were getting in the way of chicken bakes, and James Patterson (once again) teaming up with a celebrity. Here’s a look back at 10 of our favorite book stories of 2024.
Jan. 2: “We write to expose the unexposed,” Anne Lamott proclaimed in her bestselling book Bird by Bird. “If there is one door in the castle you have been told not to go through, you must.” Just before the new year, Lamott saw a door labeled “Mild Taylor Swift Criticism” and came at it with an axe, writing in a since-deleted post on the social platform X that she hoped she’d hear less about the singer-songwriter in 2024. Swift’s fanbase, which—we’ve got to be careful here—have been described as rather intense, reacted angrily, and Lamott issued an apology.
Jan. 4: X users (let’s all admit this was an unfortunate name change) were delighted with a post from Vox
journalist Andrew Prokop, which highlighted a passage from former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s 2012 memoir. In Can’t Is Not an Option, Haley wrote that she had renamed her husband “Michael,” tossing away his first name, “Bill.” Apparently, “no” was not an option for Michael, who acquiesced to the change.
March 5: Book banners: Sashay away. Drag queen, reality show host, and forever queen of the runway RuPaul was none too pleased to hear about book bans across the country, so he commissioned a rainbow bus, designed by queer artists India Torrez and Paco May, to travel to cities including San Antonio; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Atlanta, bringing banned books to readers. The message: If you want to stand up for the freedom to read, you better work.
March 18: Miriam Margolyes was beloved by Harry Potter fans for her role as herbology professor Pomona Sprout in the films based on J.K. Rowling’s children’s books. That goodwill didn’t last, though, after she told a New Zealand network, “I worry about Harry Potter fans, because they should be over that by now. It was 25 years ago, and it’s for children.…[I]f your balls have dropped, then it’s time to forget about it. You know, go on to other things.” It sure looks like someone has moved from Hufflepuff to Slytherin.
May 9: It’s a doggone shame. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem canceled two media appearances she had planned to promote her memoir, No Going Back, after it was reported that Noem bragged in the book about killing her family’s puppy, Cricket, whom she called “less than worthless”—a totally normal thing to say about a 14-month-old wirehaired pointer. Controversy over the incident may have cost Noem the Republican vice presidential nomination, which eventually went to Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, who has never admitted to killing a dog but has probably been seen laughing and taking notes while perusing Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.
June 7: It’s a weekend tradition like none other: getting the whole family together for a trip to Costco, and loading your cart with socks, fresh produce, a 52-pound bag of frozen chicken tenders, and the collected works of Romanian novelist Mircea Cărtărescu. But the kings of Kirkland just had to take that away. According to the New York Times, the warehouse club retailer decided that it would stop selling books year-round, only offering them during the holiday season. There has been no word yet on reaction from viral stars the Costco Guys, although rumors suggest that Big Justice responded to the move with a wistful Proust quote, “The places that we have known belong now only to the little world of space on which we map them for our own convenience. BOOM! WE BRING THE BOOM!!!”
June 25: “Ban this book,” said author Alan Gratz. “Don’t mind if we do!” said a Florida school board. Gratz’s
middle-grade novel Ban This Book, which follows a fourth grade student who rebels against book banning by opening a samizdat-style lending library in her locker, was banned by the Indian River County School Board, after board members accused the book of “teaching rebellion of school board authority.” A frustrated Gratz said, “They banned the book because it talks about the books that they have banned and because it talks about book banning.” On the plus side, teachers in the district will now have a much easier time explaining the concept of irony to their students.
July 9: James Patterson is apparently on a lifelong quest to collaborate with every celebrity in the known world. The thriller author, who has co-written books with Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton, announced that he is working on a novel with Viola Davis, the EGOT-winning star of Doubt, Fences, and How To Get Away With Murder. The book is scheduled for publication in 2025 or 2026, which still gives Patterson time to publish 27 other novels in the interim. It also raises the question of who Patterson’s next collaborator will be. Perhaps someone with Gen Z appeal, like a TikTok influencer who you have never heard of but is famous for lip-syncing to Chappell Roan songs while drinking out of a 256-ounce Stanley cup.
Aug. 7: Can we just take a moment to recognize that there are still good things in this world? A reminder came over the summer, when Grand Central Publishing announced that it had acquired a memoir from Liza Minnelli, which it said will reveal “the raw and triumphant experiences that have solidified her status as one of the most compelling performers ever in entertainment history.” The book, which doesn’t yet have a title, is scheduled for publication in 2026. Start spreading the news! (And don’t call her Lisa.)
Oct. 28: In late September, Bob Dylan, the legendary singer-songwriter and the only Victoria’s Secret pitchman to win a Nobel Prize in Literature, apparently discovered that he had an account on the social platform X, and started posting there himself. His posts have been what you would expect, which is to say, delightfully random; in one, he gives his enthusiastic recommendation for New Orleans restaurant Dooky Chase. (He’s right. Get the court bouillon.) But the publishing world took notice when Dylan revealed that while on tour, he had stumbled like a rolling stone into the Frankfurt Book Fair—the largest one in the world—and unsuccessfully searched for Crystal Lake Publishing, the press that published an edition of Arthur Machen’s classic horror novella The Great God Pan, a book Dylan loves. Sadly, Bob and the press didn’t connect. (Should he be reading this, though, we’d like to let him know he’s welcome at the Kirkus offices anytime. Donuts and coffee from Dunkin’ are on us.)
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
