Big Picture

Since teaming with Histria Books to acquire Unicorn Publishing in the U.K., Forefront Books CEO Jonathan Merkh has used his time at the helm of the newly formed Unified Publishing Group to spearhead the creation of a global hybrid publishing ecosystem. A new national bill attempting to restrict “sexually oriented” material in public school libraries is being considered by a Senate committee, after a House committee advanced a similar bill in March. And PW reveals that Eisner Award–winning comics creator Christian Ward has signed with Oni Press for three new titles, and offers an exclusive preview of the first installment in his forthcoming miniseries, The Forever Home. In other news, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey earned a whopping $264 million globally in its opening weekend, making it Nolan’s biggest debut ever, per Variety. Meanwhile, new editions of the epic have multiplied as publishers attempt to capitalize on Homer’s resurgence with splashy reissues and updated translations, the New York Times reports. Russian strikes targeting the warehouse of Ukrainian publisher Knyholove destroyed nearly 250,000 books overnight on July 19, per the Kyiv Independent. The Hollywood Reporter considers a rumor that Rachel Cusk’s forthcoming novel Life of M is a “thinly-veiled portrait” of actor Natalie Portman. And Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-Kee, known for his resistance to government suppression, has died at 70.