Connect The Hearts pre-order, Twilight‘s 20th anniversary, Komiket’s 10th anniversary, and a Stephen King and Maurice Sendak collaboration in this week’s edition.
Tara Frejas’ Connect The Hearts pre-order
Readers can now pre-order Tara Frejas’ Connect The Hearts, which had a cover reveal last week.
Connect the Hearts is a short story collection that features characters from Tara’s previous books, Waiting in the Wings and Like Nobody’s Watching. The four stories “Tech Week Makes the Heart Grow Fonder”, “Best Days Ever”, “Finding Mr. Swipe Right” and “Happy Endings Please, and Thank You”. Check out Tara’s blog post for more details!
Twilight 20-year anniversary collectible editions
Here’s news that will make you feel old — it’s been 20 years since Twilight first came into the world. People reports on the release of Twilight: Deluxe Collector’s Edition to celebrate the milestone, with this new hardcover edition featuring “a vintage-inspired design with foil-stamped slipcase; a ribbon marker; gorgeous new art adorning the cover, interiors and endpapers; and a one-of-a- kind interactive edge design”.
There is also going to be a Twilight: 20th Anniversary Edition paperback that will feature new cover art and a black and red book edge with the fan-favorite quote, “And so the lion fell in love with the lamb.”
And if you’ve got the big bucks and want to really splurge, publisher Little, Brown Books will also release The Twilight Saga Deluxe Hardcover Collection, “a box set that includes the original four Twilight books, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, as well as Midnight Sun, which retells the story of the first novel through Edward’s perspective.”
In a statement sent to People, author Stephenie Meyer said: “One thing that has not changed is how much gratitude I feel toward my readers. They have been the best part of this experience from the first year until the 20th. Because people gave my stories a chance, I was able to write for a living — a true dream. The amount of validation and support I’ve felt from my readers over the years is something I’ll never stop being thankful for.”
Komiket 10th anniversary
Komiket is now in its 10th year and is celebrating the occasion at the SM Megamall Megatrade Hall 2 from April 5 to April 6. It will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., with tickets at P100 and P50 for students and persons with disability.
International organizations call on AI to respect copyright
Publishers Weekly reports that 38 international organizations, including the Association of American Publishers, have released a joint statement calling on government to provide oversight and regulation when it comes to the development of AI, focusing especially on respect for copyright and intellectual property.
Aside from respecting copyright, the statement also calls for effective and full transparency towards rights holders, encouraging (personally think it should be requiring) operators of AI models to seek licenses, compensating intellectual property rights holders for the use of their work, and sanctioning those who do not comply. Let’s see how this turns out!
‘Mixed messages’ to publishers at Paris AI summit
Related to the previous item, Publishers Weekly also reports that the Association of American Publishers (AAP) is getting a “mixed read-out” from its French counterparts at the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit hosted by French president Emmanuel Macron.
AAP CEO Maria Pallante said that the statement released at the end of the summit did not “position intellectual property rights as a priority…and did not reference the International Charter on Culture and Innovation that the AAP and other members of the International Publishers Association released at the summit.”
Duterte’s China Embrace book talk
The University of the Cordilleras College of Law and the Ateneo de Manila University Press will be holding a talk on Marites Vitug and Camille Elemia’s book Unrequited Love: Duterte’s China Embrace on March 18, 2025 at the UC Theater. The registration link for the even is in the Facebook post below.
Margaret Atwood memoir
People reports that Doubleday will be releasing Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts on November 4 this year. The book is the 85-year-old Margaret Atwood’s memoir, and will “explore the Toronto-based author’s life and work, from her childhood in Canada to the writing of The Handmaid’s Tale to the present day.”
Stephen King and Maurice Sendak’s Hansel and Gretel
Finally, if you want your kid to be the coolest one at the playground, get them this new retelling of Hansel and Gretel by Stephen King and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. The illustrations were for originally for the 1997 set and costume designs for Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel opera (! but also ?) that obviously never materialized. The illustrations are provided by the Maurice Sendak Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to preserve Sendak’s work and legacy. Maurice Sendak passed away in 2012.
In a statement quoted by Publishers Weekly, Stephen King said Maurice Sendak’s pictures spoke to him.
When I saw the pictures themselves, I resolved to give it a try. Two of his pictures in particular spoke to me: one was of the wicked witch on her broom with a bag of kidnapped children riding behind her; the other was of the infamous candy house becoming a terrible face. To me, it was the essence of this story and, really, all fairy tales: a sunny exterior, a dark and terrible center, brave and resourceful children. In a way, I have been writing about kids like Hansel and Gretel for much of my life.
The book will be released on September 2.
Ron Does Stuff 
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