Tag: books and authors

2013 Hugo Award Winners

September 3, 2013

John Scalzi wins the 2013 Hugo award for best novel with Redshirts.The winners of this year’s Hugo Awards for science fiction were announced Sunday, September 1st in San Antonio, Texas. The winner for the Best Novel went to Red Shirts: A Novel with Three Codas, by John Scalzi. Other awards went to: The Emperor’s Soul, by Brandon Sanderson, The Girl-Thing Who Went Out for Sushi (from Edge of Infinity), by Pat Cadigan, and Mono no Aware (from The Future is Japanese), by Ken Liu. The Hugos, named after the founder of the science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, have been awarded since 1955 and are voted on by the public. You can read more about the ceremony here.

Laura

The Austen/Clarkson Controversy

August 15, 2013

austen ringAmerican pop star and first American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson bought a gold and topaz ring owned by Jane Austen at an auction last year. But British Austen-lovers want the ring, only one of three pieces of jewelry belonging to Jane Austen, to stay in the UK. And thanks to a recent anonymous $155,000 donation, that goal may just be met. Ms. Clarkson, who also owns a first edition of Persuasion, said she’d be willing to sell the ring to a British buyer if he/she can meet the price she paid ($235,700 according to press reports).  Louise West, curator of The Austen House Museum is  hoping to add the ring to their collection (which already includes the writer’s turquoise bracelet and topaz cross) in time for next year’s bicentennial celebration of the publication of Mansfield Park. So will Clarkson return the ring under friendly “Persuasion” or because she has “Sense and Sensibility“? You can read more of the article here. (Note: some publications describe the ring as gold and turquoise, while others say it’s gold and topaz)

Laura

Barbara Mertz, Egyptologist and Novelist, Dies at 85

August 13, 2013

barbara-mertzProlific author Barbara Mertz, better known as mystery authors Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels, died last week at the age of 85. Born  in Astoria, Illinois in 1927, she received  a PhD in Egyptology from the University of Chicago at the age of 23. Ms. Mertz wrote two nonfiction books under her own name, including Temples, Tombs & Hieroglyphs before her first work of fiction The Master of Blacktower was published under the Barbara Michaels name. As  Elizabeth Peters she wrote the popular Amelia Peabody mystery series about the adventures of the feisty Victorian archaeologist, beginning with Crocodile on the Sandbank in 1975. In 1998, Mertz received the grandmaster lifetime achievement award from the Mystery Writers of America, the top award from the mystery writers group. Check out the library catalog for works by this “novelist of many names” and read the obituary here.

Laura

Early Stieg Larsson Story To Be Published

August 6, 2013

larsson-media-articleInlineA new anthology of crime fiction will include a short story written by a 17-year-old Stieg Larsson. The anthology titled A Darker Shade of Sweden to be published February 2014 will feature stories from 20 Swedish writers, including Henning Mankell, Asa Larsson, Maj Sjowall, Per Wahloo , and Sara Stridsberg. Mr Larsson’s companion Eva Gabrielsson will also have a story in the collection.  According to the publisher the anthology “promises to sate the desire to read about the darker side of Sweden.” Mr. Larsson’s Milennium trilogy which began with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo  is one of the most successful series ever published. Read the entire article here.

Laura

What's In A Name

August 1, 2013

pennamesAfter J.K. Rowling admitted she wrote The Cuckoo’s Calling, the NYT asked some other authors to choose a pen name and a genre they would write.  One of my favorite’s is Carl Hiaasen who said his pen name would be Rick O’Morits and his genre fantasy: “I envision a series of vampire-romance novels set at an assisted-living facility in post-apocalyptic Boca Raton.” Other writers include Anne Lamott (her pen name – Dr. Morris Fishback), Rebecca Skloot (who would write “a story of a dog who wrote a best-selling book about animal intelligence”), and Stacy Schiff.  For all the authors, pen names, and genres read the entire article here. (The best comment is from the editor: “This informal survey was conducted before any of them had a chance to consider “Carlos Danger” as an option.”)

Laura

2013 Booker Prize Nominees

July 24, 2013

Colm Tóibín has been listed for the Man Booker prize for the third time, with The Testament of MaryThirteen diverse novels have been nominated for this year’s Man Booker prize, Britain’s most prestigious literary award. Robert MacFarlane, the chairman of judges, said the books “range from the traditional to the experimental, from the first century A.D. to the present day, from 100 pages to 1,000 and from Shanghai to Hendon.” The winner will be announced October 15. You can read more here. The nominated books are listed below:

Laura

The Cat's Out of the Bag–And It Ain't Crookshanks

July 15, 2013

ROWLING-articleInlineThe secret’s out: The Cuckoo’s Calling, a debut detective novel published in April under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith turns out to have been written by J.K. Rowling. The Sunday Times of London uncovered the truth by doing its own detective work, finding similarities with Ms. Rowling’s earlier novel The Casual Vacancy. You can read the entire NYT article here. Better get your name on the waitlist now.

Laura

Let Your Inner Child Out at NYPL

June 27, 2013

abcsexhibitAn exhibit for children and adults alike recently opened at the New York Public Library. “The ABC of It: Why Children’s Books Matter” has both popular and more exotic offerings. Included is the green room of Margaret Wise Brown’s 1947 Goodnight Moon, a display from the 1964 Disney movie Mary Poppins, and an Alice in Wonderland figure; you can create your own fairy tale, or see an 1826 edition of Grimm’s tales; there’s a 1727 edition of The New-England Primer and a selection of poems from William Blake’s 1789 Songs of Innocence. The show’s  nearly 250 books and artifacts are “so intelligently woven together by the curator Leonard S. Marcus, that you make your way through them with a mixture of eager pleasure and focused attentiveness.” Read the entire article here – or better yet, book your next flight to NY.

Laura

Retirement For Alice Munro

June 21, 2013

Alice Munro81-year-old short story author Alice Munro told  The National Post‘s editor Mark Medley that she’s retiring. After accepting the Trillium Book Award (the top Ontario literary prize) for her collection Dear Life, she said: “I’m probably not going to write anymore. And, so, it’s nice to go out with a bang.” Her suggestion to disappointed fans: “Well, tell them to go read the old ones over again. There’s lots of them.” Check out the library catalog for her many titles – and read the entire article here. You can also read more on Alice Munro’s Trillium Award here.

Laura

Film in "Blume"

June 7, 2013

blumeJudy Blume has been a best-selling author since her first novel Iggie’s House was published in 1970. Although she’s sold more than 80 million books none of them have been produced as a feature film until today. Her 1981 young adult novel Tiger Eyes will open in select theaters around the country – and has already won a jury prize at a film festival screening. Judy Blume’s son Lawrence directed the film and both mother and son wrote the script. It was “a real homemade movie,” according to Lawrence, who thought the book very cinematic when he first read it as an 18-year-old. The story of teenage girl Davey who has to adjust to life in New Mexico after her father is killed stars Willa Holland of “Gossip Girl.” Ms. Blume will be in Chicago this weekend to accept the 2013 ChicagoTribune Young Adult Literary Prize at the Printers Row Literary Festival. See the articles in today’s NYT and Chicago Sun-Times, and check out the library catalog for the many books by the acclaimed author.

Laura

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