Northampton House Press

09/08/2025

Proud to announce Richard Gayton's LOVE IN COUNTRY has received this distinguished award! Have you read it yet? Do you know someone who would enjoy it?

© 2017-2025 New York City Big Book Award       www.nycbigbookaward.com       Please come and see us on X (Twitter):

09/06/2025

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON COPYRIGHTED BOOKS PIRATED FOR AI TRAINING

EABartz v. Anthropic PBC is a class action lawsuit under the US Copyright Act. brought by authors on behalf of literary copyright holders against Anthropic PBC, an AI company. The Class of copyright holders which consists of authors and publishers claims Anthropic took books from bit-torrent pirate websites Library Genesis (“LibGen”) and Pirate Library Mirror (“PiLiMi”) without authorization from the rights holders.

We were recently informed by the Authors Guild of America that the Court certified a LibGen & PiLiMi Pirated Books Class made up of all legal or beneficial owners of the exclusive right to reproduce any ISBN- or ASIN-bearing book that Anthropic had copied from the two pirate sites. On August 26, 2025, the parties notified the Court that they had reached a settlement in principle on behalf of the Class, and will file a Settlement Agreement with the Court on September 5, 2025. Judge Alsup set a hearing on Plaintiffs’ forthcoming motion for preliminary approval on September 8, 2025, at noon in San Francisco, CA. Read the settlement page for more detailed information.

If you believe Anthropic may have downloaded your book(s) from LibGen or PiLiMi, in order to receive a settlement from the suit for your copyrighted books, you first need to search the Atlantic monthly's link to the LibGen database to see which, if any, of your titles were stolen. (Remember that you had to copyright your book when published to qualify. As per your contract, you, not NHP, were responsible for registering copyright.) Then, on the lawsuit settlement page, click the button provided to provide your contact information and the list of affected title(s). That's it. Once you've registered, you'll be notified via email later by the law firm as to the status of the settlement.

Don't ask us for the status of your registration or payout (if any) as we are just authors here same as you-all! Just providing the info for your information!

For more info, see here:

AG Notice email to members: https://authorsguild.org/news/what-authors-need-to-know-about-the-anthropic-settlement/

Anthropic Copyright Settlement site: https://www.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/

Author and Publisher Copyright form: https://www.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/contact

The Atlantic Monthly's link to the LibGen database of stolen titles: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/03/search-libgen-data-set/682094/

Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.

08/11/2025

The Ossabaw Island Writers Retreat is accepting applications for both the Fall Writing Bash retreat in September at a luxurious Savannah house, and for the March 2026 Spring retreat that will be on the island, as usual.

The Ossabaw Island Writers' Retreat is a 6-day retreat featuring creative writing workshops, readings and craft sessions. Enjoy and learn from readings...

05/18/2025

It’s a beautiful day in our front garden!

04/20/2025

04/20/2025

NHP'S OWN AUTHOR RASHIDAH ISMAILI IS THE 2025 CLARA LEMLICH POETRY AWARD WINNER! The Clara Lemlich Award honors women activists who've been working tirelessly for the larger good all their lives, in the selfless tradition of those who sparked so many reforms in the aftermath of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. This year the award honors historian Blanche Weisen Cook and playwright Clare Coss, musician Bev Grant, poet Rashidah Ismaili, and author Rudean Leinaeng. They will be presented live, in person and live-streamed by Labor Arts & Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition https://www.puffinfoundation.org/fifteenth-annual-clara-lemlich-award-winners-announced/ https://www.puffinfoundation.org/fifteenth-annual-clara-lemlich-award-winners-announced/

Supporting participation in the arts and community engagement.

03/06/2025

NHP is excited to announce that BLOSSOMS ON A POISONED SEA by MARIKO TATSUMOTO was awarded an Honorable Mention by the judges of the Freeman Book Awards! Her historical novel will be one of the titles thus honored in the Young Adult/High School Literature category for the 2024 Freeman Book Awards for Children’s and Young Adult Literature on East and Southeast Asia. Congratulations, Mariko!

02/06/2025

Food for thought!

An announcement from Simon & Schuster’s publisher left the literary community wondering whether blurbs, the little snippets of praise on a book jacket, are all they’re cracked up to be.

01/24/2025

Congratulations to NHP author Richard Gayton!

Gayton’s outstanding tribute to the gay and bisexual military personnel of the Vietnam War is an in-depth novelisation of his 2023 award-winning film of the same name. In 1968, five young men of 18 and 19 years old enlist to fight for their country. Enlisting rather than being drafted becomes incr...

01/17/2025

Work with one of our critically acclaimed writers in a workshop limited to five qualified participants. Each day, participants will bring manuscripts of their work-in-progress to their assigned workshop group where they will read, discuss and receive feedback about their projects from fellow partici...

01/17/2025

ALWAYS WANTED TO GO TO AN EXOTIC ISLAND AND WRITE? Deadlines have been extended to Feb 1 for scholarship, Feb 15 for paid applications. See you there!

Work with one of our critically acclaimed writers in a workshop limited to five qualified participants. Each day, participants will bring manuscripts of their work-in-progress to their assigned workshop group where they will read, discuss and receive feedback about their projects from fellow partici...

01/13/2025

A GLOWING RECOMMENDATION FOR TATSUMOTO'S HISTORICAL NOVEL SET IN JAPAN.

" . . . a top recommendation for libraries, book discussion groups, schools, and young adults seeking a thought-provoking, compelling story." -- from MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW'S take on
BLOSSOMS ON A POISONED SEA by Mariko Tatsumoto

(Northampton House Press – https://northampton-house.com
9781950668243, $18.95 Paper/$9.99 ebook)

Blossoms On A Poisoned Sea: A Novel of Love & Betrayal in Minamata, Japan is a historical romance for adults and young adults that delves into the facts behind a true story of industrial subterfuge and disaster.

Yuki, the daughter of a poor fisherman, and Kiyo, the son of an executive at a huge chemical plant, meet and fall in love - but their real story is only the beginning. When all life begins to die in their lovely Minamata Bay and humans begin falling ill with an agonizing, mysterious illness, Yuki finds herself the sole breadwinner, supporting her ailing family.

It would have been easy to limit the focus to their relationship, but Mariko Tatsumoto adds history and bigger-picture thinking to her story as it surveys class prejudice when city folk turn their backs on the poor fisherfolk who receive the brunt of the disease's outbreak. Kiyo's efforts to help Yuki pit him against his own family and heritage. Both face off with a big conglomerate that sports deep pockets, broader resources, and an interest in hiding the truth about what is really happening in Minamata Bay and to its residents.

Tatsumoto brings all these elements to life, employing evocative description, atmosphere, and language to cement personalities and lives with social and political challenges. The politics of cover-up revolving around a water purifier which is touted to solve everything are astutely portrayed, as are the disparate reactions of common people to shifting proposals:

"I'm just annoyed. These fishermen, creating too many problems. The government instructed us to switch dumping from the bay to the river. Now, they want us to discharge into the bay again. Industry creates waste. It can't be helped. Our products are vital to the nation, but government people keep hamstringing us."

Educators and adults will especially appreciate how Blossoms On A Poisoned Sea gives them the opportunity to open dialogues with young readers about Japanese history, industrial pollution, and social prejudice.

The novel is thoroughly compelling and rich in its explorations of political and social issues intrinsic not just to Japanese society, but also in Tatsumoto's examination of the clash between industrial interests and everyday lives, making the saga hard to put down.

All these elements make Blossoms On A Poisoned Sea a top recommendation for libraries, book discussion groups, schools, and young adults seeking a thought-provoking, compelling story.

On sale at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Bookshop, and your favorite independent bookstore!