- 2013 May 16
John Green's Commencement Speech
"Do not worry too much about your lawn."
- 2013 May 14
Reburying F. Scott Fitzgerald
Salon: "Nearly 40 years ago, I watched his remains be laid to rest -- a poignant coda to his years of celebrity."
Segel's 'Nightmares'
Jason Segel is eagerly anticipating the release of his middle-grade book, Nightmares!
- 2013 May 13
Dan Brown and Tourism
Florence hopes for a tourism miracle.
Kingsolver on Motherhood
"Motherhood is so sentimentalized in our culture."
- 2013 May 08
Candace Bushnell's Novel Leaked
Opening 50 pages of Sex and the City author's new novel made available online, along with her agonized emails to publisher.
Crime Novel Soundtracks
"In an average book of mine I'll probably name check Warren Zevon, Band of Horses, Wintersleep, Tom Waits, Midlake, Gillian Welch and plenty of others."
- 2013 May 07
Ellison Recalls Assaulting Publisher
"This is the story Harlan Ellison tells of that day in 1982: He had just assaulted his publisher."
Make No Mistake
Stephan Pastis visits his elementary school while promoting Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made.
Wilson Critiques Fan Mail
Jacqueline Wilson states that the fan letters she receives from children overseas are better written than the letters from British children.
- 2013 May 06
Haprer Lee's Suing Her Agent
The author has filed a claim stating that her agent's son-in-law tricked her into signing over the copyright to To Kill a Mockingbird.
The 'Bards of Gridlock'
NYC cab drivers produce a series of poems about their jobs
- 2013 May 03
Kafka, Poe & Other Great Procrastinators
"In his letters, Kafka complained that his day job was holding him back, but as Louis Begley argues in his excellent biographical essay on Kafka, this was really just an excuse."
- 2013 May 02
Gillian Flynn
On "Gone Girl" and misogyny.
New George R R Martin
Coming for Christmas.
- 2013 May 01
Roth Receives 'Literary Service' Award
Roth received the PEN/Allen Foundation Literary Service Award Tuesday night.
Day Jobs of Poets
A handy graphic.
- 2013 Apr 30
Poets' Second Jobs
From dissections to depositions.
Soderbergh Writing Novella
On Twitter.
Milne's World War Propaganda
An article discusses how A.A. Milne at one time wrote WWI propaganda.
- 2013 Apr 29
World's Oldest Romance Writer
105-years-old and still writing.
- 2013 Apr 26
Richard Dawkins Named Top Thinker
In a poll, evolutionary biologist beats four Nobel prize winners for his global influence and significance on the year's biggest questions.
- 2013 Apr 24
Corbys Win Damages
Over "Sins of the Father."
- 2013 Apr 23
Does Boozing Help or Hinder Writers?
"One of the problems for Bacon, Hemingway, and numerous other artists was that they could really only work for a few hours a day; after that, they needed to do something to get away from the work and out of their own heads."
Sebald: Reveries of a Solitary Walker
James Wood, Iain Sinclair, Robert Macfarlane and Will Self reflect on what his work means to them.
Thatcher's Biography Distilled
Down to 600 words.
- 2013 Apr 22
George Saunders & Computers
A complicated relationship.
'Fantasy is Uni-Age'
Says Terry Pratchett.
- 2013 Apr 19
Artists & Coffee
Balzac had 50 cups a day.
- 2013 Apr 18
Gertrude the Great
Gertrude Chandler Warner, author of The Boxcar Children series, is one of four Gertrudes discussed in this article.
Anne Sexton's Eggs of Things
A look at Anne Sexton's 1963 children's book, Eggs of Things.
Veronica Roth Reveals New 'Divergent'
"Allegiant" will be out October 22.
le Carré Has Not Mellowed With Age
A look at the author, now 81.
- 2013 Apr 16
Gaiman Throws Art to the Wind
In NYC, Neil Gaiman launched a scavenger hunt to find a piece of his discarded table cloth art.
The Author of Over 400 Novels
Is one of the best French novelists ever.
Granta's Young Writers
International, majority-female list of 20 most promising authors under 40 includes Sarah Hall, Adam Foulds and Zadie Smith.
- 2013 Apr 15
The Novelists of 1993 Had it Easy
How will today's young writers publish their work?
Do Writers Really Retire?
"Honestly … do you know many former writers? Is that a category that exists?"
- 2013 Apr 12
'Long-Lost Dad' Sues 'Oprah' Genealogist
For claiming that she’s his biological daughter in book.
Murakami Fans Wait at Midnight
"Because the train I take to go home is not running (at this time), I will stay up overnight somewhere nearby and read the novel."
- 2013 Apr 11
Irish Coin Misquotes 'Ulysses'
Central Bank of Ireland gaffe causes 10,000 €10 coins honoring Joyce to be minted with an extra word.
Charlotte Bronte Poem Sells
For £92,000.
- 2013 Apr 09
Jason Segel to Write YA Series
Actor Jason Segel is writing a YA series about "kids facing their biggest fears."
'Beautiful Bastard' Authors Do Big Deal
Lauren Billings and Christina Hobbs, the writing duo behind the erotic romance hit, will follow their bestseller with two new novels and three novellas.
- 2013 Apr 08
The Slow Death of the American Author
Scott Turow: "The global electronic marketplace is rapidly depleting authors’ income streams."
- 2013 Apr 04
Libba Bray Revealed
Excerpts from an interview with YA author Libba Bray.
Diversity in YA
Malinda Lo takes a look at diversity as represented in 2012 YA bestsellers.
- 2013 Apr 03
Iain Banks Suffering From Cancer
The author's statement: "I'm expected to live for 'several months' and it’s extremely unlikely I'll live beyond a year."
100 Literary Rumors
Cormac McCarthy dresses up as “sexy Betsy Ross” on Halloween every year.
Maureen Johnson: What I Read
Her first media stop in the morning is her phone; the last at the end of the day is a book.
- 2013 Apr 02
Eloise Reimagined in Brooklyn
Joana Avillez gives Eloise new digs in Brooklyn.
Top 10 Most Prolific Authors on Twitter
Who's at the top?
- 2013 Mar 28
Authors Who Loved Film Versions
Anne Rice: "Tom Cruise was Lestat for me."
Writing a Book Isn't Supposed to be Fun
"I'm enjoying writing this column, but the grander endeavor of a whole volume does, alas, require more sweat and worry."
Faulkner Auction
For collectors Faulkner’s 1949 medal, his Nobel diploma and an early handwritten draft of the speech he made when accepting the award are likely to be the most sought-after items at the sale. Sotheby’s estimates they alone will fetch his family between $500,000 and $1 million.
- 2013 Mar 27
The Strange Case of Buzz Bissinger
He admits he has a Gucci shopping addiction.
- 2013 Mar 26
Writers Give Themselves Bad Reviews
Anne Enright, Richard Ford and Rachel Cusk among authors confessing worst literary sins.
Junot Diaz on Colbert
Watch the full interview.
- 2013 Mar 25
Cather Didn't Want Her Letters Published
Cather was believed to have destroyed most of her letters and sternly ordered that her surviving correspondence never be published or quoted from--but her letters will be published in April.
- 2013 Mar 22
Chinua Achebe Dies at 82
The Nigerian novelist and poet Chinua Achebe, who first made his mark with 1958 novel Things Fall Apart, has died aged 82 .
- 2013 Mar 21
Stone on Courage Has No Color
Tanya Lee Stone discusses the motivations for her writing Courage Has No Color about the black paratroopers, the Triple Nickles.
David Bowie and T.S. Eliot?
In a 1974 interview with William Burroughs, Bowie denied any knowledge of "The Waste Land." But are his lyrics more literary than he admitted?
Newark Celebrates Roth's Birthday
Roth, normally the most private of authors, was greeted with applause from 250 friends, relatives and invited guests.
- 2013 Mar 20
Self-Pub Author Gets Six Figures
HarperCollins has signed Jennifer L. Armentrout to a three-book deal.
- 2013 Mar 19
Rowling On Phone Hacking
J.K. Rowling wants crackdown on phone hacking.
It's No 'Secret'
Chris Columbus discusses co-writing his first children's book, House of Secrets.
- 2013 Mar 18
'My Childhood Ended When I Was Five'
The Guardian profiles Sue Grafton.
Nabokov: Houdini of History?
What the new Nabokov books tell us about him.
- 2013 Mar 14
Lost and Found
An essay by Robert Louis Stevenson to be published in the Strand magazine.
The Evolution of 'Nerdfighters'
Thoughts on the origins of the term "Nerdfighter." Hint: it has to do with John Green.
Literary Rediscoveries in Vogue
From Paula Fox to Richard Yates. Now: Barbara Pym.
Why Gulliver Is Still Important
The Guardian: Jonathan Swift's satires of science and criticisms of Isaac Newton are full of 18th-century politics, yet offer some lessons that remain valid today.
- 2013 Mar 13
Philip Roth Unmasked
Inside the new documentary.
- 2013 Mar 12
Kerouac to Brando
"I'm praying that you'll buy 'On the Road' and make a movie of it."
- 2013 Mar 11
'I Haven't Read 50 Shades'
Says Stephenie Meyer.
Douglas Adams Google Doodle
Celebrating what would have been his 61st birthday.
- 2013 Mar 08
Mantel Doesn't Back Down
Booker Prize winner says she has no regrets about comments in British Museum lecture that led to a media storm.
- 2013 Mar 07
Meyers Reveals Accusation
Stephenie Meyer reports that she was once accused of stealing material from a fan fiction e-book.
96-Year-Old Blogger is Bestseller
The story of how Los Angeles blogger Barbara "Cutie" Cooper made her way onto the Amazon bestseller list.
- 2013 Mar 05
Sweet Embrace
Jessica Shirvington on her 'Embrace' series.
Bob Balaban, who plays Hannah's therapist in
Indian Writer Gets $1M for Trilogy
Amish Tripathi, whose advance is thought to be the largest paid by an Indian publisher, taps into the resurgence of interest in Hindu myths.
Obligated to Write About Sex?
Modern authors can feel commercially obliged to write about sex, novelist Julian Barnes has suggested.
- 2013 Mar 04
Holocaust Survivor Pens Memoir
One of the youngest Holocaust survivors saved by Oskar Schindler has a book deal, for a manuscript completed shortly before he died.
Quiz: Machine Translation or Faulkner?
Can you tell the prose that won a Nobel Prize from the text that needs editing?
- 2013 Mar 01
So You Want to Be a Travel Writer?
Infographic time.
- 2013 Feb 28
In Rare Form
A few of Dr. Seuss's form letters that he used to respond to readers.
Baldacci's New Adventures
David Baldacci will offer a behind-the-scenes tour of the Smithsonian via a March 5 webcast. His latest 39 Clues book, Day of Doom, also releases that day.
Subversive Seuss
An article on the Dr. Seuss's frequent use of political and social satire in his children's books.
Rare Charlotte Bronte Poem
Expected to fetch up to £45,000 at auction.
Russia's Turn Against Nabokov
Beatings in alleys, vandalism, and more in the writer's homeland.
David Mitchell's Next Book
A translation by an autistic Japanese writer.
For the Love of the Stage
Tim Federle channels his own love of theater in his novel Better Nate Than Ever, about a boy who tries out for a Broadway production of E.T.
- 2013 Feb 27
E.L. James's Next Book
Expect less raunch.
Patricia Cornwell Inteview
Following her legal victory.
- 2013 Feb 26
David Foster Wallace's 1994 Syllabus
"Don’t let any potential lightweightish-looking qualities of the texts delude you into thinking that this will be a blow-off-type class."
Elizabeth Bishop Paints
See the poet's paintings.
50 Unseen Kipling Poems Discovered
The collection includes several poems dating from the first world war, which Kipling initially supported, helping his son John to gain a commission in the Irish Guards.
- 2013 Feb 22
Edward Gorey Google Doodle
Cult author known for macabre drawings and picture-stories, who passed away in 2000, would have been 88 today.
Rereading Stephen King
"Pet Sematary."
