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On August 10, President Obama signed legislation that will protect American authors and publishers from foreign libel judgments that undermine First Amendment rights. The legislation, which passed the Senate last month [1], prohibits federal courts from recognizing or enforcing foreign libel judgments that do not pass First Amendment muster. It also allows American authors and publishers to go to court to seek a declaration that such a foreign judgment is not enforceable in the U.S.
Supporters of the legislation included the Association of American Publishers [2] and the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression [3].
Jim Dana, executive director of the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association [4], will be retiring from the organization after GLiBA's fall trade show. Dana, who was a longtime bookseller before joining GLiBA, will be joining the Peace Corps and working in Lesotho.
“This is a bittersweet circumstance for me,” Dana wrote in a letter to GLiBA members. “On the one hand, I'm excited about a new phase of life – an adventure, really – that I'm about to embark on. On the other, GLiBA and bookselling have been a huge part of my life. It's been full of great experiences and wonderful friends. I'll be sad to be leaving it behind.”
GLiBA has opened the search for a new executive director. The job description [5] is posted on the organization's website.
The three finalists for this year’s Thurber Prize for American Humor [6], announced on August 12, are:
Thurber House will confer the award at a ceremony at New York’s Algonquin Hotel on October 4.
The Fundamental Holmes: A Free Speech Chronicle and Reader, edited by Ronald K.I. Collins (Cambridge University Press) is the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression's (ABFFE) August Book of the Month.
“It's a fascinating compendium that pulls together important pieces that were scattered among dozens of sources,” said ABFFE President Chris Finan. On its website, ABFFE has published an interview [7] with Collins that explores the Supreme Court justice's views on free speech.
Links:
[1] http://archivenews.bookweb.org/../../news/btw-news-briefs-313
[2] http://www.publishers.org/
[3] http://www.abffe.com/
[4] http://www.gliba.org/tradeshow.php
[5] http://www.gliba.org/2010/GLiBA Executive Director Job Posting.pdf
[6] http://www.thurberhouse.org/program/adlt_prize.html
[7] http://www.abffe.com/collinsbotm.htm