October 16, 2012
This humorous PW article describes the extraordinary lengths Jeri Westerson will go to understand her material. When your book is part of a medieval mystery series starring Crispin Guest, ex-knight turned 14th century detective, that research can become dangerous and hilarious at the same time. Jeri’s writing inspired her to make mead […]
October 16, 2012
Johnny Depp is starting his own literary imprint – a list of books called Infinitum Nihil (meaning nothing is forever) – part of HarperCollins, which will publish titles that reflect his tastes and interests. Some of the books acquired for Infinitum Nihil are The Unraveled Tales of Bob Dylan by Douglas Brinkley (planned for release […]
October 16, 2012
Do you like words? Do you like dictionaries? I do. So I found this interview last Sunday on NPR’s “Weekend Edition” particularly fascinating. Rachel Martin spoke with author David Skinner about his new book, The Story of Ain’t. Skinner takes us back to the release of what is commonly known as “Webster’s Third” in 1961. […]
October 11, 2012
In a separate ceremony, the National Book Foundation (National Book Awards) will honor young authors who have earned recognition for their writing. This meeting will take place in Brooklyn Nov. 12, two days prior to when the main awards are given out. The 2012 honorees are Jennifer duBois (A Partial History of Lost Causes), Stuart […]
October 11, 2012
For the award in fiction, the NBA committee nominated Junot Diaz, who continues to garner attention for his short story collection “This is How You Lose Her,” along with Dave Eggers for “A Hologram for the King” and Louise Erdrich for her work “The Round House.” In nonfiction, Anthony Shadid, who died earlier this year […]
October 11, 2012
The Nobel Prize committee announced today that Mo Yan, age 57, of China is this year’s Nobel Prize winner for literature. This article from today’s LA Times quoted the Nobel committee’s description of Mo’s style as “hallucinatory realism,” which blends aspects of “folk tales, history and the contemporary.” Mo is most known here in the U.S. for his […]
October 4, 2012
“Once upon a time,” the teacher begins reading to a group of eager 2nd grade listeners, “there was no little girl in a red hood, no young wizard starting a new school, but there was a scientist named Charles Darwin who had a big, new idea.” OK, that’s a totally made-up scene. I was just […]
October 3, 2012
Best-selling mystery writer Donna Leon is most famous for her Commissario Guido Brunetti series. But her new novel The Jewels of Paradise is based on a little-known Baroque composer Agostino Steffani. She collaborated with opera singer Cecilia Bartoli whose most recent recording Mission features Steffani’s music. Ms. Leon became friends with the opera star more […]
September 27, 2012
This year the week of Sept. 30 through Oct. 6 marks the 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week which celebrates the freedom to read. In a truly ironic twist, James Klise, young person’s author and school librarian, writes in this Chicago Tribune commentary from today’s paper that he was invited to speak to 8th graders […]
September 24, 2012
A man in Manila is so committed to reading that he has turned his home into a lending library. In fact, he encourages people to take books and keep them. He isn’t worried about losses because he believes that whatever he gives away will be replaced many times over. Hernando Guanlao has racks of books outside […]
