Penguin Random House

A federal judge blocked Penguin Random House's proposed purchase of Simon & Schuster, saying that the joining of two of the world's biggest publishers could "lessen competition."

The proposed merger between Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster will likely change things for authors and readers - for better or worse

The Department of Justice is suing to block a proposed merger between Penguin Random House and Simon and Schuster

The lawsuit filed this week in federal court alleges that the organization, which lends books online for free, amounts to a "piracy site" that has been eluding copyright law for years.

Atwood said that she was inspired by readers' questions about the dystopian world of Gilead — and, she says, by "the world we've been living in." It's set to be released next September.