WILLIAM HARRISON dies at 79—60th ANNIVERSARY of the POETRY LIBRARY

By MICHELLE HOGMIRE | 10/31/13

10/29/13

“William Harrison, 79, Novelist and ‘Rollerball’ Writer, Dies,” by N.Y. Times’ Daniel E. Slotnik: “William Harrison, who adapted his fiction into the films ‘Rollerball’ in 1975 and ‘Mountains of the Moon’ in 1990, died on Oct. 22 at his home in Fayetteville, Ark. He was 79.”  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/30/arts/william-harrison-79-novelist-and-rollerball-writer-dies.html?_r=0

“Poetry Library celebrates 60^th birthday,” by The Guardian’s Liz Bury: The Poetry Library in London’s Southbank Centre observes the occasion with cake and a poetry reading.  http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/29/poetry-library-60th-birthday

“How Has Twitter Changed the Role of the Literary Critic?” in N.Y. Times Sunday Book Review Bookends: Adam Kirsch talks about the lack of critics on the site, while Anna Holmes discusses women critics on Twitter. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/03/books/review/how-has-twitter-changed-the-role-of-the-literary-critic.html

“Ernest Hemingway’s Advice to a Young Writer: ‘You have to catch hell,’” by Galleycat’s Jason Boog: A section of writing advice published in volume two of the new book, The Letters of Ernest Hemingway. http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/ernest-hemingways-advice-to-a-young-writer-you-have-to-catch-hell_b79467

ONLINE EMILY DICKINSON ARCHIVE—1894 PHOTOGRAPH of TWAIN and TESLA

By MICHELLE HOGMIRE | 10/24/13

10/23/13

“Fiction MFA Application Advice from Elizabeth McCracken,” by Galleycat’s Jason Boog: Boog compiles McCracken’s advice from Twitter about applying for a graduate degree in fiction writing. http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/fiction-mfa-application-advice-from-elizabeth-mccracken_b79277

10/22/13

“What’s Behind the Notion That Nonfiction Is More ‘Relevant’ Than Fiction?” by Rivka Galchen and Pankaj Mishra in N.Y. Times’ Sunday Book Review: The two authors discuss how the notion of truth is contained in fiction. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/27/books/review/whats-behind-the-notion-that-nonfiction-is-more-relevant-than-fiction.html?_r=0

“Enigmatic Dickinson Revealed Online,” by N.Y. Times’ Jennifer Schuessler: “The manuscripts of Emily Dickinson have long been scattered across multiple archives, meaning scholars had to knock on numerous doors to see all the handwritten drafts of a poet whose work went almost entirely unpublished in her lifetime. The online Emily Dickinson Archive, to be inaugurated on Wednesday, promises to change all that by bringing together on a single open-access Web site thousands of manuscripts held by Harvard University, Amherst College, the Boston Public Library and five other institutions.” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/23/books/enigmatic-dickinson-revealed-online.html?_r=0

10/18/13

“Mark Twain Plays With Electricity in Nikola Tesla’s Lab (Photo, 1894),” posted by Open Culture: Photograph of Twain in Tesla’s laboratory. http://www.openculture.com/2013/10/mark-twain-plays-with-electricity-in-nikola-teslas-lab-photo-1894.html

ALICE MUNRO won’t attend NOBEL PRIZE CEREMONY for HEALTH REASONS—WHITING WRITERS’ AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

By MICHELLE HOGMIRE | 10/22/13

10/21/13

“10 Receive Whiting Writers’ Awards,” by N.Y. Times’ Julie Bosman: Bosman lists the winners, which will each receive $50,000 for successful early works. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/22/business/media/10-receive-whiting-writers-awards.html?_r=0

“Yahoo Plucks Influential Tech Writer From NY Times,” by AP (from ABC News): “New York Times technology columnist and gadget reviewer David Pogue is leaving the newspaper to cover similar topics for Yahoo. The hiring announced Monday is the latest step in Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer's effort to infuse the Internet company's website with more compelling content that will persuade people to visit more frequently and stick around longer.” http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/yahoo-plucks-influential-tech-writer-ny-times-20635308  

10/20/13

“Alice Munro won’t go to Sweden to collect her Nobel Prize,” by L. A. Times’ Carolyn Kellogg: “Alice Munro has won the Nobel Prize in Literature, but she won't be attending the prize ceremony in Sweden. On Friday, the head of the Swedish Academy Peter Englund announced on his blog that Munro was too frail to travel to Sweden. ‘Her health is simply not good enough,’ he wrote. ‘All involved, including Mrs. Munro herself, regret this.’” http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-alice-munro-wont-go-to-sweden-to-collect-her-nobel-prize-20131019,0,894230.story#axzz2iSSPJOi4

10/19/13

“Comedy needs more female writers, says Veep’s Armando Iannucci,” by The Guardian/The Observer’s Vanessa Thorpe: Thorpe discusses the rise of British female comedy writers. http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/oct/19/british-female-comedy-writers-control-script

FREE SAMPLES of 2013 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALISTS—28-YEAR-OLD AUTHOR YOUNGEST to RECEIVE BOOKER PRIZE

By MICHELLE HOGMIRE | 10/17/13

SNEAK PEEK—“Dante: The Most Vivid Version,” by N.Y. Review of Books’ Robert Pogue Harrison: In the upcoming Oct. 24 issue, Harrison discusses two new translations of Dante in conjunction with Dan Brown’s “Inferno.” http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2013/oct/24/dante-most-vivid-version/?pagination=false

“The Art of ‘Creative Sleep’: Stephen King on Writing and Wakeful Dreaming,” by Brain Pickings’ Maria Popova: Popova discusses King’s ideas about the writing benefits of “a sleep-like state in waking life” from “On Writing” and provides links to writing advice from other famous authors. http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/10/14/stephen-king-on-writing-and-creative-sleep/

10/16/13

“Free Samples of the 2013 National Book Award Finalists,” by Galleycat’s Jason Boog: Galleycat compiles a list of all the finalists for the National Book Award, along with samples of each work. http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/free-samples-of-the-2013-national-book-award-finalists_b79064

10/15/13

“At 28, Writer Is Youngest to Receive Booker Prize,” by N.Y. Times’ Julie Bosman: “Eleanor Catton was awarded the Man Booker Prize on Tuesday for ‘The Luminaries,’ an immersive tale set in 19th-century New Zealand that explores identity, greed and human frailty. At 28, Ms. Catton is the youngest winner of the Booker. She was born in Canada and raised in Christchurch, New Zealand.” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/16/business/media/at-28-eleanor-catton-is-youngest-man-booker-winner.html?_r=0

OSCAR HIJUELOS Dies at 62—NEIL GAIMAN NOVEL BANNED from NEW MEXICO SCHOOL

By MICHELLE HOGMIRE | 10/15/13

10/13/13

“Oscar Hijuelos, Who Won Pulitzer for Tale of Cuban-American Life, Dies at 62,” by N.Y. Times’ Bruce Weber: “Oscar Hijuelos, a Cuban-American novelist who wrote about the lives of immigrants adapting to a new culture and became the first Latino to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his 1989 book, “The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love,” died on Saturday in Manhattan. He was 62.” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/14/books/oscar-hijuelos-cuban-american-writer-who-won-pulitzer-dies-at-62.html?_r=0

10/11/13

“Nobel Prize in Literature: the women who’ve won it,” by The Telegraph’s Charlotte Runcie: Runcie lists the 13 women who’ve won the Nobel Prize for Literature with recommended books to read first, from Alice Munro in 2013 back to Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlof in 1909. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/10370838/Books.html

“Neil Gaiman novel banned by New Mexico school after mother objects,” by The Guardian’s David Barnett: “Neil Gaiman's urban fantasy novel Neverwhere has been removed from a New Mexico school's "required reading list" after a mother objected to her daughter bringing it home. According to the state's KRQE news station, Nancy Wilmott complained to Alamogordo High School because of the book's "sexual innuendos and harsh language". http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/11/neil-gaiman-novel-banned-new-mexico-school?CMP=twt_fd&CMP=SOCxx2I2

“Trusting Thurber: On Created Nonfiction,” by L.A. Review of Books’ Maria Bustillos: Bustillos discusses Ohio humorist James Thurber’s influence on today’s creative nonfiction writers.  http://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/trusting-thurber-maria-bustillos-on-created-nonfiction

ALICE MUNRO wins NOBEL PRIZE in LITERATURE

By MICHELLE HOGMIRE | 10/10/13

“Alice Munro Wins Nobel Prize in Literature,” by N.Y. Times’ Julie Bosman: “Alice Munro, the renowned Canadian short-story writer whose visceral work explores the tangled relationships between men and women, small-town existence and the fallibility of memory, won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday. Ms. Munro, 82, is the 13th woman to win the prize.” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/11/books/alice-munro-wins-nobel-prize-in-literature.html?_r=0

10/9/13

“A Conversation with George Saunders,” at The New Yorker Festival: Video of Deborah Treisman, fiction editor of The New Yorker, talking with author George Saunders at the2013 festival. http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2013/10/george-saunders-video.html

10/8/13

“American adults have low (and declining) reading proficiency,” by L.A. Times’ Hector Tobar: “The reading skills of American adults are significantly lower than those of adults in most other developed countries, according to a new international survey. What’s more, over the last two decades Americans’ reading proficiency has declined across most age groups, and has only improved significantly for 65-year-olds.” http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-american-adults-have-low-and-declining-reading-proficiency-20131008,0,3562742.story

“Robert Kirkman: I Can Do 1,000 Issues of ‘The Walking Dead,’” by Rolling Stone’s David Peisner: Rolling Stone will interviews cast and crew members of “The Walking Dead” every day until the Oct. 13 season premiere of the show. Peisner interviews the series creator, comic book writer Robert Kirkman. http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/robert-kirkman-i-can-do-1-000-issues-of-the-walking-dead-20131008

TOM CLANCY Dies at 66—EDGAR ALLAN POE exhibit opens at the MORGAN LIBRARY & MUSEUM

By MICHELLE HOGMIRE | 10/8/13

10/4/13

“Rise and Shine: the daily routines of history’s most creative minds,” by The Guardian’s Oliver Burkeman: Burkeman reviews the book “Daily Rituals” by Mason Currey, a book about the daily habits and rituals that have helped make famous writers successful. Burkeman reveals patterns, such as being a morning person, not giving up a day job, taking walks, sticking to a schedule, practicing a little substance abuse and writing anywhere. http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/oct/05/daily-rituals-creative-minds-mason-currey?CMP=fb_gu

10/3/13

“Author Tom Clancy, master of the modern-day thriller, dead at 66,” by CNN’s Alan Duke: “Spy thriller writer Tom Clancy, whose best-selling books ‘The Hunt for Red October’ and ‘Patriot Games’ became blockbuster films, has died, his publisher said Wednesday. He was 66.” http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/02/us/tom-clancy-obit/index.html

“The Writer and the Man, Evermore,” by N.Y. Times’ Charles McGrath: “Edgar Allan Poe, among the unluckiest and most misunderstood of writers, is the subject of a tasteful, thoughtful exhibition that opens on Friday at the Morgan Library & Museum — about 100 years too late to do his reputation much good. Among Poe’s misfortunes is that many of his American contemporaries found his work morbid and unreadable. In some ways, he was the Mickey Rourke or Jerry Lewis of 19th-century letters, better appreciated in France, by writers like Baudelaire and Mallarmé, than he was at home.” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/04/books/edgar-allan-poe-exhibition-opens-at-the-morgan.html?pagewanted=all

10/1/13

“Top 10 tips for writing a Hollywood blockbuster,” by BBC News’ Alison Feeney-Hart: Feeney-Hart interviews Tony Gilroy, a popular Hollywood screenwriter, about writing. His advice includes starting small, learning to write anywhere, anytime and not living in Los Angeles. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24348113

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CLOSES Due to Government Shutdown—ROBERT BARNARD Dies at 76

By MICHELLE HOGMIRE | 10/1/13

9/29/13

“Robert Barnard, Award-Winning Writer of British Crime ‘Cozies,’ Dies at 76,” by the N.Y. Times’ Paul Vitello:  “Robert Barnard, an award-winning British crime writer known for skewering hypocrites, snobs and prigs in his cast of characters as energetically as he dispatched murder victims, died on Sept. 19 in Leeds, England. He was 76.” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/books/robert-barnard-award-winning-writer-of-british-crime-cozies-dies-at-76.html?_r=0

9/27/13

“Library of Congress Would Close Website During Government Shutdown,” by Galleycat’s Jason Boog: Boog points out the impact of today’s government shutdown on the Library of Congress. The library’s buildings and website will close and planned events will be cancelled.  http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/library-of-congress-would-close-website-during-government-shutdown-occurs_b78455

“Apple moves to let authors sign e-books on the iPad,” by the L.A. Times’ Carolyn Kellogg: “Want to hand over your iPad so an author can sign your e-book? You might be able to soon. Apple has registered for a patent that would allow an e-book owner with an iPad get his or her book signed by an author. Readers might even be able to pose for a photo with the author as authentication to go with it -- a photo that would go right into the e-book on the traditional signature page.” http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-apple-moves-to-let-authors-sign-ebooks-on-the-ipad-20130927,0,5708637.story

“Why the Booker Prize expansion is terrible news for Canadian writers,” by The Globe and Mail’s Leah McLaren: McLaren discusses how U.S. inclusion in the Man Booker Prize will knock more Canadians out of the running, as Canadian writers have always operated in the shadow of U.S. culture. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/why-the-booker-prize-expansion-is-terrible-news-for-canadians-writers/article14566090/