Publishing & Politics: 'Toxic Negotiations,' 'Trumpian Dystopia'

Last night at 22:34 UTC, we entered summer in the Northern hemisphere. It's a hot one, and in some unprecedented ways. 

Initially, almost any heat wave now ahead of us might have been answered with John McEnroe's famous line on the tennis courts of his youth, "You cannot be serious."

Could the UK leave the EU? Could Donald Trump seize the US Republican nomination for the presidency? Could Beijing imprison booksellers? Could Australia challenge copyright protection and fair use?

These once were when-hell-freezes-over bellylaughs for some. Now, it's looking pretty icy downstairs. While good literature never stands far from politics of one kind or another, the pressure points of the season are arriving in ways that are no joke. And the industry, along with the wider societies it serves, is understandably on edge.