• After yesterday's gossip that Amazon is considering opening hundreds of Amazon Books locations nationwide in the next few years, Shelf Awareness, the industry news site which first broke the Amazon Books story, now says Amazon's plans are more modest, likely in the range of a dozen or so stores. We at the Seattle Review of Books have heard that, too, from people in the industry. Amazon, of course, could do away with these rumors immediately, but Amazon doesn't comment on stories like these. Amazon never has any comment.

• We heard some gossip last night that a long-running and much-beloved local reading series might be ending for good this year. We hope the rumors aren't true, but we're on the story and will let you know as soon as we hear something solid.

• If you are a woman who makes comics, you should apply for Trailer Blaze, the Short Run festival's Ladies Comics Residency. If you're selected, you'll take up residence at the Sou’Wester vintage RV park and lodge in Seaview, WA from April 10th through the 15th. Applications are due by February 19th.

• Speaking of Short Run news, here's the announcement for this year's festival dates:

SAVE THE DATE: NOVEMBER 5, 2016 The 6th Annual Short Run Comix & Arts Festival at Fisher Pavilion, Seattle Center.

— Short Run (@shortrunseattle) February 3, 2016

• If I may editorialize in this news roundup for a moment, I'm glad Short Run is returning to Fisher Pavillion; it gave the festival a convention-like feel. If you'd like to learn more about the show, my Short Run 2016 wrap-up is here, and Martin McClellan's is here.

• Congratulations to the University of Washington Press, which just landed a grant that will do some good in the publishing industry:

A four-year, $682,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded to the University of Washington will help four university presses and the Association of American University Presses (AAUP) create a pipeline program to diversify academic publishing by offering apprenticeships in acquisitions departments.

• Believe me, if you had the access to publisher catalogs that I have, you'd be blinded by all the whiteness of the authors. University press catalogs are often the worst offenders. This is a big get for UW Press, and I can't wait to see the new titles that come out of it. It will also likely launch a few careers in the publishing industry, too, and the publishing industry desperately needs some diversity.