Latest news with #DeepEnd
USA Today
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Trump administration could change the way we read, from book bans to author talks
Trump administration could change the way we read, from book bans to author talks Show Caption Hide Caption US schools banned 10,000 books last school year alone It's Banned Books Week in the U.S. and it comes as we're learning more than 10,000 books were banned in public schools nationwide last year. Straight Arrow News Despite the international buzz over her latest romance novel "Deep End," author Ali Hazelwood told fans she had to cancel her U.K. book tour. In a social media post, the bestselling romance author who was born in Italy cited border concerns with leaving and reentering the U.S., mirroring concerns from tourists, noncitizens and visa and green card holders about the Trump administration's recent deportation and border actions. Hazelwood's tour snag sparked a discussion on book communities about how President Donald Trump's recent policies would trickle down to publishing. Amid book banning, border policies, new anti-DEI sentiments and federal library grant cuts, these are the ways the new administration may impact readers. Trump administration's policies shake author tour plans Hazelwood, who is originally from Italy and now resides in the U.S., was booked for several international appearances before she canceled because "it's not possible for me to safely travel outside and then back inside the US," she wrote on Instagram. But Curtis Chin, the Detroit-based author of "Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant," decided to move his tour abroad after several U.S. colleges canceled book talks with him, citing funding cuts from federal arts grants. "Asian American Heritage Month is May, right? So I'm usually booked giving speeches," he says, but not this year. Around the same time, the John Adams Institute in Amsterdam invited him to talk about his book and being a writer of color in the U.S. during the Trump administration. Then, he got booked at Oxford University and the British Library. Soon, he had 21 events abroad in just one month. "Maybe in America we're not ready to talk about these things, but maybe there are other places," Chin says. Still, it comes with a steep financial loss for Chin. He's losing two months of income because his European stops are unpaid opportunities. With U.S. events, he often makes thousands of dollars per event, occasionally up to $10,000. Authors worry about impact of Trump, DEI backslide In Chin's mind, it's not a coincidence that May was the first AAPI Month he wasn't fully booked with speaking engagements. He also worried about June's Pride Month, another typically busy month for him. His shift to international engagements, he says, feels reminiscent of historical movements of artists of color to Europe to evade discrimination, like James Baldwin and Josephine Baker. "In some small way, I'm in that same tradition where the things that we're writing, the things that we're creating are facing these extraordinary scrutiny and challenges," Chin says. Trump has not issued a proclamation for Pride Month, instead starting June with several actions undermining gains for LGBTQ+ Americans. And though Trump did formally recognize AAPI Month as past presidents have, his efforts to purge DEI practices led major companies like Disney, IBM and Goldman Sachs to publicly scrap DEI initiatives. The majority of organizations have "simply gone quiet" on DEI, according to past reporting from USA TODAY. And in early May, Trump fired longtime Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, the first Black American and first woman to head the library, because of her "pursuit of DEI." Hayden had been leading the "Of the People" initiative to bring more works from Black, Indigenous, Hispanic or Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander and other communities of color into the library's collections. Books typically take between two and three years to publish. If publishers follow in the suit of major companies turning away from – or staying silent – on DEI, we may not see the effect until years down the line. "It actually occurred to me, maybe I should hold off and wait until Trump is out of office before I try to sell my book because I don't know if publishers are afraid of publishing books by people of color. Because maybe there's a perception that these books may be banned, these books may not be bought by libraries," Chin says. "But then I thought to myself, I can't be afraid." Grant cuts threaten libraries, public spaces for readers In March, Trump issued an executive order that terminated dozens of federal grants held by libraries, archives and museums. The Institute of Museum and Library Services, one of those agencies, distributes millions of dollars in congressionally approved funds to libraries across the country. A federal judge has since blocked the Trump administration, but uncertainty about the state of funding means some libraries have already abandoned programs and implemented hiring freezes. The administration's termination of grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts also impacts authors and academics. Michigan Humanities, the state affiliate of NEH, was left with a $900,000 budget loss after the cuts, according to the Detroit Free Press. One shuttered program is Great Michigan Read, which "engages 300 organizations in all 83 counties," according to the organization's president and CEO. This year, Chin was the recipient of the annual grant, which would normally buy around 6,000 copies of Chin's book and send him on a 15-city tour of the state. Then he got word that the program could not proceed because of the funding cuts. The rollback is particularly devastating to Chin because, growing up in Detroit and Ann Arbor, he didn't see himself represented in the books in his classrooms and libraries. "That's why we write, because we want to be seen and we want to help other people navigate their lives, right?" Chin says. "They're denying us an audience because they don't like what we have to say. They don't like our vision of the country. But, I would argue that our vision of the country is a loving vision of America. It's an open, embracing vision of America." The publishing world's most influential voices are also speaking out. Before the judge blocked Trump's executive order to eliminate IMLS funding, four of the Big Five publishers – Hachette, Macmillan, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster – as well as Sourcebooks, called on Congress to reject the order. And at this year's PEN America Literary Gala, actress and SPJ Lit imprint founder Sarah Jessica Parker said she was "enraged" at threats to libraries and librarians across the country. "To censor books is to limit imagination, curiosity, connection, empathy and inspiration. Libraries aren't just buildings with shelves, they are a beacon," Parker said. "They are warm in the winter and cool in summer, and they are sanctuaries of possibility. They are the heartbeat of a neighborhood." Book banning continues in libraries, classrooms A late March order by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth led to 400 books being removed from the U.S. Naval Academy's library to "comply with directives outlined in executive orders issued by the president," according to a statement from a Navy spokesperson reported by The New York Times. Most of the banned titles – a ban is any restriction on access, according to the American Library Association – discuss race, gender or sexuality. Books embraced by white supremacists, like "Mein Kampf," "The Camp of Saints" and "The Bell Curve" remained on the shelves. One ongoing Supreme Court case, Mahmoud v. Taylor, appears likely to rule that parents can opt their children out of classroom books that include representations of gender and sexuality that go against their religion. The Trump administration agrees with the parents. PEN America has filed an amicus brief in support of Thomas W. Taylor, the respondent in the case representing Montgomery County Public Schools. In a press release, the organization warned a ruling in favor of the parents could "turbocharge the already dire state of book bans and educational censorship." "An opt-out would chill freedom of speech for students, teachers and authors and would constitute viewpoint discrimination, raising core First Amendment concerns," PEN America's Chief Legal Officer Eileen Hershenov said in the release. "Both legally and practically, this would deny students access to diverse literature that spurs empathy, understanding and prepares them for lives in a pluralistic society." Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY's Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you're reading at cmulroy@
USA Today
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
How the Trump administration could change the way we read, from book bans to author talks
How the Trump administration could change the way we read, from book bans to author talks Show Caption Hide Caption US schools banned 10,000 books last school year alone It's Banned Books Week in the U.S. and it comes as we're learning more than 10,000 books were banned in public schools nationwide last year. Straight Arrow News Despite the international buzz over her latest romance novel "Deep End," author Ali Hazelwood told fans she had to cancel her U.K. book tour. In a social media post, the bestselling romance author who was born in Italy cited border concerns with leaving and reentering the U.S., mirroring concerns from tourists, noncitizens and visa and green card holders about the Trump administration's recent deportation and border actions. Hazelwood's tour snag sparked a discussion on book communities about how President Donald Trump's recent policies would trickle down to publishing. Amid book banning, border policies, new anti-DEI sentiments and federal library grant cuts, these are the ways the new administration may impact readers. Trump administration's policies shake author tour plans Hazelwood, who is originally from Italy and now resides in the U.S., was booked for several international appearances before she canceled because "it's not possible for me to safely travel outside and then back inside the US," she wrote on Instagram. But Curtis Chin, the Detroit-based author of "Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant," decided to move his tour abroad after several U.S. colleges canceled book talks with him, citing funding cuts from federal arts grants. "Asian American Heritage Month is May, right? So I'm usually booked giving speeches," he says, but not this year. Around the same time, the John Adams Institute in Amsterdam invited him to talk about his book and being a writer of color in the U.S. during the Trump administration. Then, he got booked at Oxford University and the British Library. Soon, he had 21 events abroad in just one month. "Maybe in America we're not ready to talk about these things, but maybe there are other places," Chin says. Still, it comes with a steep financial loss for Chin. He's losing two months of income because his European stops are unpaid opportunities. With U.S. events, he often makes thousands of dollars per event, occasionally up to $10,000. Authors worry about impact of Trump, DEI backslide In Chin's mind, it's not a coincidence that May was the first AAPI Month he wasn't fully booked with speaking engagements. He also worried about June's Pride Month, another typically busy month for him. His shift to international engagements, he says, feels reminiscent of historical movements of artists of color to Europe to evade discrimination, like James Baldwin and Josephine Baker. "In some small way, I'm in that same tradition where the things that we're writing, the things that we're creating are facing these extraordinary scrutiny and challenges," Chin says. Trump has not issued a proclamation for Pride Month, instead starting June with several actions undermining gains for LGBTQ+ Americans. And though Trump did formally recognize AAPI Month as past presidents have, his efforts to purge DEI practices led major companies like Disney, IBM and Goldman Sachs to publicly scrap DEI initiatives. The majority of organizations have "simply gone quiet" on DEI, according to past reporting from USA TODAY. And in early May, Trump fired longtime Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, the first Black American and first woman to head the library, because of her "pursuit of DEI." Hayden had been leading the "Of the People" initiative to bring more works from Black, Indigenous, Hispanic or Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander and other communities of color into the library's collections. Books typically take between two and three years to publish. If publishers follow in the suit of major companies turning away from – or staying silent – on DEI, we may not see the effect until years down the line. "It actually occurred to me, maybe I should hold off and wait until Trump is out of office before I try to sell my book because I don't know if publishers are afraid of publishing books by people of color. Because maybe there's a perception that these books may be banned, these books may not be bought by libraries," Chin says. "But then I thought to myself, I can't be afraid." Grant cuts threaten libraries, public spaces for readers In March, Trump issued an executive order that terminated dozens of federal grants held by libraries, archives and museums. The Institute of Museum and Library Services, one of those agencies, distributes millions of dollars in congressionally approved funds to libraries across the country. A federal judge has since blocked the Trump administration, but uncertainty about the state of funding means some libraries have already abandoned programs and implemented hiring freezes. The administration's termination of grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts also impacts authors and academics. Michigan Humanities, the state affiliate of NEH, was left with a $900,000 budget loss after the cuts, according to the Detroit Free Press. One shuttered program is Great Michigan Read, which "engages 300 organizations in all 83 counties," according to the organization's president and CEO. This year, Chin was the recipient of the annual grant, which would normally buy around 6,000 copies of Chin's book and send him on a 15-city tour of the state. Then he got word that the program could not proceed because of the funding cuts. The rollback is particularly devastating to Chin because, growing up in Detroit and Ann Arbor, he didn't see himself represented in the books in his classrooms and libraries. "That's why we write, because we want to be seen and we want to help other people navigate their lives, right?" Chin says. "They're denying us an audience because they don't like what we have to say. They don't like our vision of the country. But, I would argue that our vision of the country is a loving vision of America. It's an open, embracing vision of America." The publishing world's most influential voices are also speaking out. Before the judge blocked Trump's executive order to eliminate IMLS funding, four of the Big Five publishers – Hachette, Macmillan, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster – as well as Sourcebooks, called on Congress to reject the order. And at this year's PEN America Literary Gala, actress and SPJ Lit imprint founder Sarah Jessica Parker said she was "enraged" at threats to libraries and librarians across the country. "To censor books is to limit imagination, curiosity, connection, empathy and inspiration. Libraries aren't just buildings with shelves, they are a beacon," Parker said. "They are warm in the winter and cool in summer, and they are sanctuaries of possibility. They are the heartbeat of a neighborhood." Book banning continues in libraries, classrooms A late March order by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth led to 400 books being removed from the U.S. Naval Academy's library to "comply with directives outlined in executive orders issued by the president," according to a statement from a Navy spokesperson reported by The New York Times. Most of the banned titles – a ban is any restriction on access, according to the American Library Association – discuss race, gender or sexuality. Books embraced by white supremacists, like "Mein Kampf," "The Camp of Saints" and "The Bell Curve" remained on the shelves. One ongoing Supreme Court case, Mahmoud v. Taylor, appears likely to rule that parents can opt their children out of classroom books that include representations of gender and sexuality that go against their religion. The Trump administration agrees with the parents. PEN America has filed an amicus brief in support of Thomas W. Taylor, the respondent in the case representing Montgomery County Public Schools. In a press release, the organization warned a ruling in favor of the parents could "turbocharge the already dire state of book bans and educational censorship." "An opt-out would chill freedom of speech for students, teachers and authors and would constitute viewpoint discrimination, raising core First Amendment concerns," PEN America's Chief Legal Officer Eileen Hershenov said in the release. "Both legally and practically, this would deny students access to diverse literature that spurs empathy, understanding and prepares them for lives in a pluralistic society." Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY's Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you're reading at cmulroy@
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Country singer posts bond after Tennessee arrest
Gavin Adcock, the 26-year-old country singer, seems to have fallen into the 'Deep End' on Wednesday. He was arrested in Tennessee and charged with reckless driving and a violation of open container laws. The Tennessean, citing the Wilson County Sheriff's Office, reports the Georgia native posted a $1,000 bond and was released around 4:34 a.m. on May 22. The underground-to-mainstream-favored singer, known for songs like 'Deep End' and 'Ain't No Cure,' was arrested after performing back-to-back nights at Nashville's The Pinnacle as part of his 'Need to' tour. He plans to continue the tour in Grant, Oklahoma, on Saturday. No further details were available about the circumstances that led Adcock to be arrested, or when he will be back in court to address the charges. It isn't Adocock's first run-in with the law. He posted on X in 2023 that he'd previously been arrested for driving with a suspended license. Country music star gives emotional speech on stage after incurable disease diagnosis Country music pioneer 'whose artistry touched millions' dies at 73 Country music legend fired gun at husband after learning he cheated Hit country singer explains abrupt 'SNL' exit: 'I was just ready to go home' Country music star says he's 'so close to a full healing' with daughter Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Former Georgia Southern football player and rising country star Gavin Adcock arrested in TN
Gavin Adcock, a 26-year-old country singer from Oconee County, Georgia, was arrested in Tennessee on Wednesday, May 21. Adcock, known for his hits "Deep End," "Ain't No Cure," and "A Cigarette," faces charges of reckless driving and violation of open container laws. The Tennessee Highway Patrol took Adcock into custody in Oconee, Tennessee. According to reports, he was later released after posting a $1,000 bond, having spent approximately five hours in jail. A mugshot has surfaced showing Adcock sming. In September 2021, Adcock was suspended and removed from the team following a viral video showed him standing atop a moving school bus and chugging a beer before a game. Here is the viral video: No, he was arrested back in June 2023 for a suspended license, according to the New York Post. 'Went to jail one time because of a suspended license, sat in there for 10 hours and made friends with my cell mates,' Adcock wrote on X. Adcock is currently on tour and will come to the Peach State in October, 2025: The Blue Room, Statesboro: Oct. 16 Akins Ford Arena, Athens: Oct. 17 For more about this country star and Georgia Native, visit Vanessa Countryman is the Trending Topics Reporter for the the Deep South Connect Team Georgia. Email her at Vcountryman@ This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Former Georgia Southern football player Gavin Adcock arrested in TN
USA Today
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Country singer Gavin Adcock arrested on reckless driving charge in Tennessee
Country singer Gavin Adcock arrested on reckless driving charge in Tennessee The 26-year-old Georgia native was released on $1,000 bond. Rising country music performer Gavin Adcock has run afoul of the highway patrol. The underground-to-mainstream-favored Georgia native was arrested May 21 by the Tennessee Highway Patrol after being pulled over in Wilson County, The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, confirmed. Adcock, 26, was charged with reckless driving and having an open container of alcohol in his vehicle. He posted a $1,000 bond and was released around 4:34 a.m. on May 22, according to the Wilson County Sheriff's Office. The vocalist behind streaming-favored hits including "A Cigarette," "Deep End" and "Ain't No Cure" is scheduled to continue his Need To tour in Grant, Oklahoma, on May 24. Gavin Adcock's history with legal entanglements The crooner, who recently passed 1 billion total streams on Spotify, is familiar with law enforcement, citing on X in 2023 that he'd previously been arrested for driving with a suspended license. "I sat in there for ten hours and made friends with my cellmates," he recalled. The Tennessean reached out to Adcock's reps for comment. In the coming weeks, Adcock is scheduled to appear at CMA Fest's Riverfront Stage on June 5. He's also scheduled to appear as an opener for pop-crossover country superstar Morgan Wallen during his I'm The Problem stadium tour in a few cities, including Miami. Adcock's August 2024 major label debut album, "Actin' Up Again," was the most streamed country debut album of the year with more than 350 million streams. He also sold more than 100,000 tickets for album tour dates between the fall of 2024 and spring of 2025.
