The Internet Writing Journal

Poets Laureate Raise Money for Haiti

Mon, 1 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST

The BBC reports that a "once in a lifetime" lineup of poets helped raise money for Haiti in an event organized by UK's poet laureate Carol Anne Duffy. The event was held at the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh.

Ms Duffy, one of the main organisers of the event, admitted that "poetry makes nothing happen."

But she said it "has the power of prayer and is the place in language where we are at our most human."

She added: "The people of Haiti need our humanity right now."

The BBC says the event was sold out. Money raised by the event will go to Mercy Corps.

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Jacqueline Wilson's Books Popular at UK Libraries

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST

The Telegraph reports that Jacqueline Wilson was the most popular library book author of the last decade at UK libraries. She was followed by Danielle Steel and Catherine cookson. Here is the list of the ten most borrowed authors of the 2000s from UK libraries according to Public Lending Right.

Jacqueline Wilson (16 million)
Danielle Steel (14 million)
Catherine Cookson (14 million)
Josephine Cox (13 million)
James Patterson (11 million)
RL Stine (10 million)
Mick Inkpen (10 million)
Janet & Allan Ahlberg (9 million)
Roald Dahl (8 million)
Agatha Christie (8 million)

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Book Page Markers That Resemble Leaves

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST

The clever little green page markers called Green Markers resemble leaves. The Green Markers are sold here in a Japanese online shop.

(via Boing Boing)

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Letters Reveal JD Salinger Was Still Writing After He Stopped Publishing

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST

The Guardian reports that letters JD Salinger was continuing to write even after he stopped publishing.

The 11 letters, written between 1951 and 1993, were sent to his friend of more than 40 years E Michael Mitchell, who at one point Salinger addresses, Holden Caulfield-style, as "Buddyroo". They show that he would start work every morning at six, or seven at the latest, refusing to be interrupted "unless absolutely necessary or convenient", according to a report in the New York Times, which revealed that the letters were to be made public at the Morgan Library and Museum in Manhattan.

A 1966 letter points to "ten, 12 years' work [which includes] two particular scripts - books really - that I've been hoarding at and picking at for years," the New York Times reported, while in 1951, the author refers to a trip to London just before The Catcher in the Rye was published, during which he visited the home of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh for cocktails. "Naturally, some gin went up my nose. I damn near left by the window," Salinger wrote.

The letters were donated to New York museum museum in 1998 but the content of the letters were not revealed until JD Salinger's death. A documentary coming out this spring will reveal that Salinger allegedly had a "secret vault" with 45 years of unpublished writings.

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Two Investors Vie for Majority Stake in Barnes and Noble

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST

Publisher's Weekly reports that Aletheia Research & Management has increased its stake in Barnes and Noble. The firm said in an SEC filing that it now owns more than 10 million shares. That means it owns 17.5% of the outstanding shares. It has paid over $210 million for its stake in the company. Publishers Weekly reports:

The filing comes a week after it was disclosed that investor Ron Burkle sent a letter to the B&N board questioning its November passage of a poison pill designed to discourage outside investors from accumulating too big a position in B&N. Burkle, who owns 18.7% of B&N's shares through his Yucaipa funds, asked the board to waive the rule to permit him to acquire up to a 37% stake in the bookseller. The poison pill is triggered if a shareholder owning more than 20% of B&N stock acquires additional shares.

The L.A. Times reports that billionaire Burkle asked specifically if shares owned by the Riggio family are excluded from the takeover provision. The shares of the company rose 18% today on the news that Burkle wants to own a majority stake.

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Oxford to Appoint Poet Laureate

Mon, 1 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST

The BBC reports that city officials in Oxford, UK have decided to appoint a poet laureate for the city. The Oxford poet laureate will promote Oxford's culture and participate in literary events.

The honorary role would see the successful candidate promote the city's culture, as well as literary events.

A "clear majority" voted in favour of the voluntary position on Monday night. The city will now follow in the footsteps of Cambridge and Birmingham.

Councillor David Williams, who proposed the idea, said the move would encourage new talent.

The Times Online reports that several leading poets are after the job of Oxford poet laureate as well as the University of Oxford's Professor of Poetry position.

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LSSU Publishes 2010 Banned Words List

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:00:00 EST

Reuters reports that Lake Superior State University wordsmith's have published a list of banned words for 2010. The phrase "shovel-ready" topped the list. Obama-related terms are also out for 2010.

Tops on the Michigan university's list of useless phrases was "shovel-ready." The term refers to infrastructure projects that are ready to break ground and was popularly used to describe road, bridge and other construction projects fueled by stimulus funds from the Obama administration.

And speaking of stimulus, that word -- which was applied to government spending aimed at boosting the economy -- made the over-used category as well, along with an odd assortment of Obama-related constructions such as Obamacare and Obamanomics.

"We say Obamanough already," the LSSU committee said.

You can see the list of banned terms from LSSU here. Twitter terms also made the banned list. There were countless versions of Twitter terms used in 2009 so they are out in 2010.

And all of its variations...tweetaholic, retweet, twitterhea, twitterature, twittersphere...

"People tweet and retweet and I just heard the word 'tweet' so many times it lost all meaning." - Ricardo, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.

Mikhail Swift of Hillman, Mich. says the tweeting is "pointless...yet has somehow managed to take the nation by storm. I'm tired of hearing about celebrity X's new tweet, and how great of a tweeter he or she is."

"I don't know a single non-celebrity who actually uses it," says Alex Thompson of Sault St. Marie, Mich.

Jay Brazier of Williamston, Mich. says she supposes that tweeters might be "twits."

We can certainly understand why many of these terms made the list. Unfortunately, people are highly likely to keep on using them this year.

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Google Named Word of Decade. Tweet Named Word of the Year

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:00:00 EST

The Washington Post reports that the word "tweet" has been named the word of the year and "Google" has been named the word of the decade by the American Dialect Society.

"I think my life has been more affected by 'Google' than '9/11,' " says a college student.

"People are currently tweeting that 'tweet' is being nominated for word of the year," observes someone else.

After much discussion, the final vote. A year and a decade, both recently laid to rest, receive the briefest kind of epitaph. The two words meant to evoke the feeling of this moment years from now: "tweet" for 2009 and "Google" for the Aughts.

It is good news for the two companies behind the words: Twitter and Google.

Here are the definitions for the terms from the American Dialect Society:

tweet: (noun, a short message sent via the Twitter.com service, and verb, the act of sending such a message)
"google: (a generic form of "Google," meaning "to search the Internet")

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Carol Ann Duffy Writes Christmas Poem

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST

The BBC reports that British Poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy has written a Christmas poem. The poem was commissioned by the Radio Times. The poem mentions a number of famous people including US President Barack Obama.

The poem begins: "On the first day of Christmas, a buzzard on a branch. In Afghanistan, no partridge, pear tree; but my true love sent to me a card from home.

"I sat alone, crouched in yellow dust, and traced the grins of my kids with my thumb. Somewhere down the line, for another father, husband, brother, son, a bullet with his name on."

The other 11 verses see the poet give her interpretation of the traditional Christmas song while commentating on the state of society and politics.

The poem also comments on recent events like the financial crisis. Duffy refers to the fiscal crisis when she writes of "bankers' profits fired in greed."

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Hachette Book Group Goes Green

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 21:00:00 EST

Hachette Book Group has announced a new, green policy of using more recycled paper, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and using paper that's been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Publisher's Weekly reports:

The policy has both long-term and short-term targets. By 2012, Hachette plans to raise the use of recycled fiber from 3% to 30%, with a majority of the fiber to be postconsumer. Hachette also intends to have FSC-certified papers account for at least 20% of paper use by 2012. 2020 is the target date for Hachette to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20% and to reduce its carbon footprint 2% per year off of a 2008 baseline.

*****

Other aspects of the environmental policy include avoiding the use of paper sourced from any ancient or endangered forests, using paper that has been bleached without the use of chlorine, and using inks with low contents of volatile organic compounds. Hachette also hopes to reduce the number of books in landfills by improving projections of consumer demand, increasing the use of on-demand printing, and working with retailers to lower returns.

The company is really serious about environmental issues. Vice president of inventory and procurement Peter Datos is the new chairman of the Book Industry Environmental Council. Hachette is the first major publisher to sign the Book Industry Treaties on Responsible Publishing.

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New Oxford American Dictionary's Word of the Year is Unfriend

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:00:00 EST

Oxford University Press announced that the New Oxford American Dictionary's Word of the Year for 2009 is unfriend. It is something that happens frequently on social networks like Facebook.

unfriend - verb - To remove someone as a 'friend' on a social networking site such as Facebook.

As in, "I decided to unfriend my roommate on Facebook after we had a fight."

"It has both currency and potential longevity," notes Christine Lindberg, Senior Lexicographer for Oxford's US dictionary program. "In the online social networking context, its meaning is understood, so its adoption as a modern verb form makes this an interesting choice for Word of the Year. Most "un-" prefixed words are adjectives (unacceptable, unpleasant), and there are certainly some familiar "un-" verbs (uncap, unpack), but "unfriend" is different from the norm. It assumes a verb sense of "friend" that is really not used (at least not since maybe the 17th century!). Unfriend has real lex-appeal."

If Twitter gets popular enough you have to wonder if they will consider "unfollow" in 2010. If you are on Twitter you can follow the IWJ on Twitter account, @iwj.

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Kindle Textbook Runs Into Trouble With Text to Speech for Blind

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST

Amazon.com did not get the reception it was hoping for from universities that were testing out the large-format Kindle DX as an electronic textbook replacement. The universities don't like the fact that the device doesn't have text-to-speech capabilities for blind students, as promised. But Amazon.com ran in to trouble with the Authors Guild when it tried to implement text to speech features.

Sadly, the text-to-speech abilities of the Kindle were crippled shortly after launch following complaints from the Authors' Guild of America that the text-to-speech functionality in the Kindle 2 -- which promised to bring the benefits of electronic books to blind and partially sighted people -- were infringing authors' rights to be paid a separate royalty for all verbal performances of their works.

This disagreement -- which saw Amazon head off a lawsuit by making the text-to-speech capability controllable by e-book publishers via a flag which disables the functionality -- is directly responsible for the DX's main failings, at least according to the director of libraries at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Ken Frazier: "the big disappointment [in the trials] was learning that the Kindle DX is not accessible to the blind. Advancements in text-to-speech technology have created a market opportunity for an e-book reading device that is fully accessible for everyone, [but] this version of the Kindle e-book reader missed the mark."

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, is even more scathing in his disdain for the device: in a statement regarding the use of the Kindle DX in education as a replacement for traditional textbooks, Dr. Maurer states that "it is our position that no university should consider this device [the Kindle DX] to be a viable e-book solution for its students."

Amazon.com is in a no win situation on this one. It seems that the National Federation of the Blind and the Authors' Guild are the parties that should be talking and trying to work this out. Because electronic textbooks really are the way to go: textbooks are heavy, expensive and are very wasteful. Electronic textbooks save old growth forests and are easily updated.

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School Library Goes Completely Digital

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST

NPR reports that a school in Ashburnham has renovated its library to be completely digital. All the hardcover and paperback books are gone.

An elite boarding school in Ashburnham, Mass., just spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on renovating its library. But Cushing Academy wasn't just redoing its walls and carpets. The school is getting rid of the actual, physical books in favor of going digital.

And the move - thought to be the first of its kind in the country - is worrying some librarians and book lovers.

The school used to have a collection of 20,000 books but it will now have access to millions of digital books.

Carlisle says the library is trading its 20,000-volume collection for a database of millions of digital books. All students can read any of the books, either through the 68 Amazon Kindles cycling around campus or on the laptop that each of the school's 450 students is provided.

NPR says there are critics of the school's futuristic maneuver but the critics are worrying Headmaster James Tracy. Tracy says, "If I look outside my window, and I see my student reading Chaucer under a tree, it is utterly immaterial to me whether they're doing so by way of a Kindle or by way of a paperback."

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Tor.com to Serialize Two New Graphic Novels

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST

Tor.com has purchased the web-only rights to two full-length graphic novels. The site (which is separate from the print only Tor) will serialize them over six months, beginning in January.

The two works are The Imitation Game, a biography of mathematician Alan Turing by comics writer and science biographer Jim Ottaviani and artist Leland Purvis; and Red Light Properties by Dan Goldman, described as a "paranormal real estate tale" by literary agent Bob Mecoy of Creative Book Services, who represents all the creators and negotiated the deal on their behalf.

The two works were acquired by Tor.com producer Pablo Defendini, who described the acquistions as part of Tor.com's mandate to experiment with nontraditional publishing strategies. But he also emphasized that the acquisition also highlights how important and popular comics have become on the site, which he also said will be redesigned and relaunched in 2010..

It's an interesting concept that will certainly be worth checking out. Tor.com also just published its first print on demand book. It's an anthology of fantasy short stories.

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Anne Rice Talks About Vampire Popularity

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 20:15:00 EST

The Wall Street Journal Speakeasy blog has an interesting interview with Anne Rice, author of Interview With a Vampire. Anne Rice talked about the current popularity of vampires today in novels, tv and film. She says the public's fascination is "great fun." Anne Rice likes HBO's True Blood series. Anne Rice also says she hasn't read the Twilight books but did see the film. She talked about how the Twilight film reflected young women's desire for older men.

"No, I haven't read any of the Twilight series, but I did see the film. I felt that it reflected the deep desire of young women to have the mystery and protection and wisdom of older men. I think many girls mature much earlier than boys, and they are frustrated when they approach young boys for love or protection. Hence the fantasy of a wise and protective vampire coming into the life of a young girl who, of course, appreciates him in a special way."

Anne Rice also sounds proud of her son, Christopher Rice, who rights mystery thrillers set in present day with no supernatural elements. Anne Rice has a new Vampire Chronicles novel out called Angel Time: The Songs of the Seraphim

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Sales of Recipe Book Jump After Gourmet Magazine Closes

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST

Now that Gourmet magazine has been folded as part of the great Conde Nast purge of 2009, a special Gourmet magazine book of recipes is selling extremely well to readers who aren't happy about losing access to their favorite recipes.

Gourmet Today had a lot going for it before the magazine folded on October 5. For $40 (and $26.40 at Amazon), readers would get more than 1,000 recipes-for vegetable sides, seafood dishes, cocktails and much more -- from the editors at the prestigious magazine. There are no photos, but high-quality recipes and equally well-researched writing. However, now that Gourmet's final issue is on newsstands, sales of the book have jumped. Publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has seen sales increase since the magazine closed -- which was only two weeks after the book went on sale -- and former editor-in-chief Ruth Reichl, who'd committed to touring to promote the book months ago, has been a hotter than usual ticket in light of recent events. Booksellers are reporting a bump, and Amazon says sales of Gourmet Today have doubled since Conde Nast's announcement Gourmet was over.

Houghton reports that book sales were strong out of the gate (Gourmet Today went on sale September 22), but got stronger after a barrage of media coverage in the weeks following the October 5 news. According to publicity manager Alia Habib, the house printed 165,000 copies, and has received orders for 120,000 copies. Nielsen BookScan reports only 12,000 copies sold as of last week, although a "significant number" of Houghton's outlets (such as Williams-Sonoma) don't report sales to BookScan, and the publisher has staged promotions at non-traditional outlets in the lead-up to holiday.

Gourmet Today: More than 1000 All-New Recipes for the Contemporary Kitchen is still available for sale at Amazon.com for a nice discount.

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What Does Your Bookshelf Say About You?

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:00:00 EST

People's bookshelves can offer fascinating insight about the owner. There are over 50,000 photographs of bookshelves on Flickr - see here. The BBC has an interesting article about what your bookshelf says about you. You can tell a lot about what a person likes if their bookshelf is focused on a particular theme or subject or if they have a particular book on the shelf. The photograph on the right shows a manga collection organized on a bookshelf by Flickr user jmurawski.

The article says Ikea's Billy bookshelf is immensly popular. 41 million of them have been sold since 1979.

Billy is a behemoth of the bookcase world. Designed by only the fourth employee for Ikea, 41 million have been sold since 1979. The factory where the bookcases are made knocks out 15 Billys a minute; 3.1 million a year.

Many households in the UK have one of these no-frills, building-block style bookcases nestled in a corner somewhere, which means there are a lot of books sitting on its simple shelves.

Book displays can also be manipulated to "present a certain front" says book blogger Peter Sandico.

"Books were immensely prestigious," says Ms Geddes-Brown. "Not only did they show how very learned you were - you could read - but they were also very expensive. At one throw, you proved your intellectual and monetary value."

Peter Sandico is a firm believer in books as an extension of the self. A book blogger, who is collecting photos of readers' shelves in his "bookcase project", he says the magic of book display is the ease with which they can be manipulated to present a certain front.

"The books we choose to display in our bookcases say a lot as to how we want others to see us," says Mr Sandico. "People who want to appear to have serious or academic reading tastes display their classics, while keeping popular novels at the back of the bookcases."

Some of the big nonfiction books that sell each year about past presidents could be one of those books people put on the shelf just for show. The article also mentions bookshelves that have a minimalist theme. That seems somewhat pointless. If you have a bookshelf it should be filled with wonderful books.

Photo by jmurawski

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Dig Could Turn Up Spanish Poet's Remains

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:00:00 EST

The BBC reports that a dig may find the remains of Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca. The excavation is taking place in a remote spot between the Andalucian villages of Viznar and Alfacar. It is where Lorca is believed to have been murdered at the start of the Spanish Civil War. A historian believe his body could determine if he was tortured before he died.

"If they discover him it will lay a ghost to rest," says Ian Gibson, a Madrid-based historian who has penned a biography on Lorca.

"Through finding him, we will learn more. I think he was tortured before they finished him off.

"There may be bullets inside the grave, and who knows what else. It is vital that we find and open it."

You can read more background on Lorca here.

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Paul Anka Gets This is It Royalties and Co-writer Credit

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:00:00 EST

The Wall Street Journal reports that songwriter Paul Anka will be getting 50% of the songwriting royalties from "This Is It" as well as a co-writer credit. Paul Anka co-wrote the song with Michael Jackson 26 years ago but he wasn't listed as one of the writers when Michael Jackson's song was released posthumously on Monday. Paul Anka says he believes the omission was an honest mistake.

When the song was first released to radio stations and online by Sony Corp.'s Sony Music Entertainment, Mr. Jackson was listed as the only writer. Critics and Mr. Anka himself quickly complained that the song was indistinguishable from one the men wrote together 26 years ago.

"This Is It" is to be featured on the soundtrack to the coming documentary that features the late superstar, but its genesis was actually in 1983 when it was written for a duets album that Mr. Anka was recording.

The song was then titled "I Never Heard," and Messrs. Jackson and Anka are credited as co-authors on an early 1990s version recorded by a singer named Safire.

"They did the right thing," Mr. Anka, 68 years old, said Tuesday. "I don't think that anybody tried to do the wrong thing. It was an honest mistake."

You can hear the song on MichaelJackson.com.

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The Poetry Society Rolls Out Kniited Dylan Thomas Poem

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:00:00 EST

The Poetry Society rolled out its giant centenary poem at the British Library, in London on October 7th. The giant centenary poem is a hand-knitted version of Dylan Thomas's poem, "In my Craft or Sullen Art." More than one thousand knitters and crocheters worldwide contributed to the construction of the knitted poem.

Photo: The Poetry Society

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Don Paterson Wins Forward Poetry Prize

Thu, 8 Oct 2009 07:20:00 EST

The BBC reports that Scottish poet Don Paterson has won the £10,000 Forward Poetry Prize for his anthology entitled Rain.

Paterson, who won best first collection in 1993, is only the second poet in the prize's history to take both awards.

Emma Jones has become the first Australian to win the debut prize for her work, The Striped World.

Judge and former Forward prize winner David Harsent had high praise for Paterson's prize-winning anthology, "It is a book of great seriousness by a particularly gifted writer. It has enormous emotional depth and he is a very skilful writer in real command of his craft. Some of the work in it is tremendously moving and one or two of the poems really unsettled me - the book will stay with me."

The announcement coincides with Britain's National Poetry Day. You can see a list of the Forward Poetry Prize shortlist here.

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Harvard Acquires John Updike's Archives

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 20:03:00 EST

The Boston Globe reports that Harvard is buying John Updike's archives, which includes his books, manuscripts, documents, correspondences and other miscellaneous papers.

The university will announce today that Houghton Library, Harvard's primary repository for rare books and manuscripts, will house the John Updike Archive, making the library the center for studies on the life and work of the two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and prolific novelist, poet, and critic. College officials would not disclose how much Harvard paid to acquire the papers of Updike, who died in January at 76.

"John Updike is a terribly important American, given his cultural and literary achievement," said William Pritchard, an English professor at Amherst College who chronicled the writer's life and work in "Updike: America's Man of Letters." "It's an extraordinary thing that his university is where his papers have landed."

The Globe says the large collection "stretches 380 linear feet" and spans 1,500 books. Harvard officials would not say how much Harvard paid to acquire Updike's archive.

(via ArtsBeat)

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London Evening Standard to Go Free

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 21:00:00 EST

Reuters reports that the London Evening Standard will go free starting October 12th in an effort to boost its circulation. The paper - which is delivered in London in the afternoon - wants a higher circulation so it can obtain more advertisers.

The newspaper, first launched as the "Standard" in 1827, said the number of circulated copies would rise to over 600,000 a day from 250,000, which would in turn pull in more advertisers.

"I am confident that more than doubling the London Evening Standard's circulation and maintaining its quality journalism is what London deserves," Lebedev said in a statement.

"The London Evening Standard is the first leading quality newspaper to go free and I am sure others will follow."

A Guardian column says the move is a "last throw of the dice" for the Standard, which has been suffering from a falling circulation.

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Lord Byron's Letters Reveal Affair and Criticism of Fellow Writers

Fri, 2 Oct 2009 17:24:00 EST

Sotheby's in London will auction some letters written by Lord Byron on October 29th. The letters include details of an affair with a servant girl. They also include Byon's criticism of fellow writers. Byron even referred to William Wordsworth as "Turdsworth."

Byron is dismissive of some of the other great writers of the day, particularly Robert Southey and William Wordsworth.

In the final letter of the series, he attacks Wordworth's denigration of a poet he much admired, Alexander Pope.

Wordsworth criticised Pope's poetic style as artificial and archaic, arguing that it did not express the true thoughts and feelings of men. Byron, however, disagreed, writing to Francis Hodgson: "Southey and Turdsworth such renegado rascals."

You can see the auction listing here on Sotheby's website.

Photo source: Sotheby's

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Kay Ryan Talks About Life as U.S. Poet Laureate

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:00:00 EST

The Washington Post talked to U.S. Poet Laureate Kay Ryan at the National Book Festival.

Kay Ryan admits that she writes long hand, each morning, in bed. She also says she has a new Laureate wardrobe. She talked about how she thinks about poetry and how people appreciate poetry differently.

It isn't interesting to me. It is not a way that I sort poetry. I sort poetry by the feel it gives my brain. It has nothing to do with gender. I would put Emily Dickinson at the very top of the list, however... People appreciate poetry for many reasons other than poetry. Like, they like the fact that it talks about God, or that it talks about flowers, or that it talks about horses. Or they like it because it's written by women, or by Portuguese people... But I'm interested in--I don't even know what to call it--the essential feel element that doesn't have anything to do with gender.

She also says she even gets recognized now that she is the U.S. Poet Laureate.

I do! I was at a festival recently at Yosemite, and I was standing in line to use the bathroom. This was up in the Tuolumne Meadows, and the people said, You go first! And I said, Oh I couldn't possibly. They said, You must! There was quite a line, and I said, This is great! And then at the reading, I said: Auden said that poetry makes nothing happen, but that's not true--I got cuts in the bathroom line. But it is a little odd. I feel that my food selections at the local health food store are scrutinized a little too seriously.

You can read the full interview with Kay Ryan here.

Photo Source: Library of Congress

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Dylan Thomas Prize to be Awarded Annually

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:00:00 EST

The BBC reports that the Dylan Thomas Prize will now be awarded annually. The award recognized writers under age 30. The prize will awarded will be smaller but it will be awarded more frequently.

Launched in 2004 and first awarded in 2006 its £60,000 cheque was one of the largest literary prizes in the world.

From 2010 £30,000 will be awarded each year to a young writer of a novel, play, poetry or travel book.

In other changes designed to raise its profile, actress Kate Burton, daughter of Richard, and actor Michael Sheen, have been made patrons of the award.

The website for the Dyland Thoms Prize can be found at thedylanthomasprize.com.

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Man Booker Prize Shortlist Announced

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:00:00 EST

The Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2009 shortlist has been announced. Here are the six finalists.

The Children's Book by AS Byatt
Summertime by JM Coetzee
The Quickening Maze by Adam Foulds
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
The Glass Room by Simon Mawer
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

The winner of the Man Booker Prize will be announced on October 6th, 2009. The Guardian writers that JM Coetzee could become the first author to win a hat-trick of Man Booker prizes.

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New Article: Songwriters Anonymous - Part Eight by Mary Dawson

Mon, 7 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST

Some of the best songwriters in history are almost totally anonymous. But these songwriters, who cared more about writing a hit song than recording one, had very interesting lives. In this eighth and final article in her fascinating series, Mary Dawson talks about the many anonymous musical geniuses that exist all over the world. They remain anonymous until someone discovers them. Chris Daughtry from American Idol was eliminated as a finalist in the fifth season of American Idol, but he landed an RCA record deal. His debut CD became the fastest selling debut rock album in history. He went from being unknown to being a star. Don't miss Mary's insights on this interesting subject.

You can read Mary's article, "Songwriters Anonymous - Part Eight," here

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President Obama's Marth's Vineyard Reading List

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:00:00 EST

Here is President Obama's planned reading list for his trip to Martha's Vineyard according to Deputy White House Press Secretary Bill Burton.

Hot, Flat and Crowded by Tom Friedman
John Adams by David McCullough
Lush Life by Richard Price
Plainsong by Kent Haruf
The Way Home by George Pelecanos

(via ShoppingBlog.com)

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Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn Win 2009 Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Lifetime Achievement

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:00:00 EST

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize Committee has announced that authors and journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn will receive the 2009 Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Lifetime Achievement.

Since becoming the first married couple to win a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of the Tiananmen Square protests for the New York Times, Kristof and WuDunn have collaborated on books including China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power and Thunder from the East: Portrait of a Rising Asia. In 2006, Kristof received a second Pulitzer Prize for his New York Times op-ed columns on Darfur. Their latest book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, will be released in September 2009.

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize is the only international literary peace prize awarded in the United States. It was founded in 2006 as an outgrowth of the Dayton Peace Prize, which commemorates the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords ending the war in Bosnia. Winners receive a $10,000 honorarium and runners-up receive $1,000.

Photo source: Dayton Literary Peace Prize

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John Keats Home Reopens After $800,000 Renovation

Thu, 6 Aug 2009 16:00:00 EST

The home of English poet John Keats is reopening following a renovation that cost over $800,000. John Keats lived in the Regency villa in Hampstead, a part of north London, from 1818-1820. It was here that he composed some of his famous works, including "Ode To A Nightingale."

The Wall Street Journal reports that Keat's home had been a "dilapidated state" before the renovation.

But the house had finished its last major overhaul in the mid-1970s and had been in a -"dilapidated state," said Mr. Scott, who is employed by the City of London's Metropolitan Archives, which has operated the site since 1997. "The floors were so damp and weak," said Geoff Pick, the restoration -project's director, that guides used to be able to take only a few people up to the second floor at a time.

After securing a £424,000 ($717,709) grant from Britain's Heritage Lottery Fund, a new steel frame was installed. Then, said Mr. Pick, the goal was to capture the feel of Wentworth Place during Keats's time, down to the salmon-pink paint on his bedroom walls, the Chaucer and Milton books dotting the shelves and Brown's grandfather clock in the corner.

The tubercular Keats watched that clock during his final days at Wentworth Place, lounging on what he called a "Sopha bed," and penning letters to his lover Fanny Brawne next door. Eventually Keats shipped off to Italy in late 1820 for an unsuccessful attempt at convalescence, ultimately dying of the disease in February 1821, at just 25.

Keats House is now a thriving museum dedicated to the poetry of John Keats and to poetry in general. You can visit the official website here.

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Shortlist For Forward Poetry Prize Announced

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST

The shortlist for the Foreward Poetry Prize has been announced. Here are the six finalists.

Glyn Maxwell, Hide Now
Sharon Olds, One Secret Thing
Don Paterson, Rain
Peter Porter, Better than God
Christopher Reid, A Scattering
Hugo Williams, West End Final

The Guardian reports that all six of the poets named in the shortlist are well-established writers.

All six names shortlisted for this year's £10,000 best collection prize are well-established, with the youngest being Don Paterson, 45, who won the Forward best first collection 16 years ago. This year he is nominated for his yet-to-be-published Rain. A titan of an older generation is also nominated with Peter Porter, 80, a previous winner, shortlisted for his 18th collection Better Than God. The Guardian praised it as "a densely fleshed book by a poet at the height of his powers".

The Forward prize's founder, William Sieghart, said the entries - 109 submissions in the best collection category, 57 for best first collection and 120 for best single poem - highlighted "the rude health of the UK's contemporary poetry scene".

The winner of the £10,000 prize will be announed on October 7th.

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Interview With Author Peter Lance

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EST

Don't miss our interview with five time Emmy Award-winning investigative journalist Peter Lance. Peter talks about how U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald tried to kill the new trade paperback version of his bestselling 9/11 expose, Triple Cross: How Bin Laden's Master Spy Penetrated the CIA, the Green Berets, and the FBI. He also explains why he thinks the 9/11 Commission held no one accountable for the biggest terrorist act committed on American soil.

You can read Part I of the interview here and Part II here.

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Bob Woodward Talks Investigative Journalism

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

Bob Woodward explains the three ways journalists get their information. Woodward says these sources include people, documents and visiting the scene. Woodward also comments on the future of in-depth journalism in the digital age. He says young people will develop new business models and there will always be in-depth reporting. Take a look:

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