TODAY'S NEWS

Diaz and Danticat Among 2007 NBCC Winners
By Craig Morgan Teicher
In his opening remarks, National Book Critics Circle president John Freeman described "enormous changes in the critical landscape," citing the proliferation of online venues for book criticism and shrinking space for reviews in print publications, as forces with which readers, writers and critics have had to reckon with this past year. Nonetheless, the 2007 NBCC awards ceremony, held at the New School's Tishman Auditorium Thursday night, celebrated the endurance of literature and liteacy in America. Books already highly praised, such as Junot Diaz's long awaited second book, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and Edwidge Danticat's memoir, Brother, I'm Dying, received awards. Other winners, like Mary Jo Bang's poetry collection, Elegy, received significant recognition for the first time.

Here is the complete list of winners in all categories: Read on »

A Rowling Recap
By Shannon Maughan
The end of the Harry Potter books certainly hasn't meant the end of J.K. Rowling's busy schedule. Last week Rowling and Warner Bros. issued a response to a filing by RDR Books, the Michigan publisher that plans to release Harry Potter Lexicon, based on material posted on a Harry Potter fan Web site. In the lawsuit, originally brought by Rowling and Warner Bros. last October 31 in Manhattan, Rowling claims that the proposed RDR work will infringe on her intellectual property rights and threaten the sales performance of her own definitive Potter guide, a book she has long intended to create, with its proceeds going to charity. RDR maintains that Rowling's acceptance—and, often, praise—of free Potter fan Web sites, justifies RDR's efforts to publish the book by fan site editor Steve Vander Ark.

This latest round of legal paperwork also includes statements from Suzanne Murphy, publisher of Scholastic's trade division; Cheryl Klein, senior editor at Scholastic; Sarah Odedina, publisher of children's books at Bloomsbury in the U.K.; Neil Blair, junior partner at Christopher Little Literary Agency; and William Landes, professor of law and economics at the University of Chicago Law School. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for March 13, at which time Rowling and Warner Bros. hope a preliminary injunction will be granted. Read on »

Rechy Marks 50 Years with Grove
by Don Weise
With so many venerable authors changing publishers these days—Tom Wolfe leaving Farrar, Straus & Giroux for Little, Brown; Richard Ford heading to Ecco from Knopf—it seems unusual when an author marks his 50th year with the house that first published him. That's what's happening with John Rechy, whose five decades with Grove Press are being celebrated with this month's release of his long-awaited autobiography, About My Life and the Kept Woman. Read on »

The PW Morning Report: A daily round-up of the latest publishing news
By Dermot McEvoy
New Vonnegut; Bob Barker Autobio; Hamill Rip-off?; George Fredrickson Dead; Cameron Novel to Big Screen; Digital Seuss; Writers on Indies; Frankfurt Fight; Irish Book News; Revenge of the Concierges; and Glenn Beck Predicts Novelist's Death Read on »

Monday's Reviews Today: Mankell's 'Eye' and Death in Florence

Swedish author Henning Mankell jumps from his native country to Zambia in the "fine, unsentimental" novel, The Eye of the Leopard. And in the "suspenseful procedural" co-written by Douglas Preston and Italian crime writer Mario Spezi, The Monster of Florence, the pair track an Italian serial killer who prayed on couples from mid '70s through the mid '80s in a "bit of real-life Florence bloodletting that makes you sweat and think." Read on »

Blogs

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Tori Spelling, Unwrapped; Marriage, Too; The New Cold War
Today's the nationwide opening of the film Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, starring Frances McDormand and Amy Adams. It's based on Winifred Watson's 1938 novel, whose new edition is Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (Persephone Books, $15). Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Lopate Off-Air
Last week the UJA's Young Publishing Committee hosted a mentoring event with Leonard Lopate and his executive producer, Melissa Eagan. Pictured here (l. to r.) are: Mary Fink, UJA Young Publishing Committee liaison; Andrea Rosen, v-p, special markets/HarperCollins and chair of the UJA's Young Publishing Committee; Eagan; Lopate; and Leslie Cohen, director of publicity/Harper and committee member of the UJA Young Publishing Committee. Submit your pictures here »

JOB OF THE DAY

PW VIRTUAL EDITION

To access the latest issue of Publishers Weekly no matter where you are, be sure to take a look at PW's Virtual Edition -- available online anytime. If you're not already a subscriber, take a look at a sample issue here.