Writerswrite.com's Writer's Blog

Borders Plans to Encourage Book Club Gatherings

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST

The Chicago Tribune reports that Borders has a new plan to get readers into its bookstores. Borders plans to encourage readers to hold book group gatherings inside its stores. The Tribune says Borders wants its bookstores to become more of a gathering place.

Signs and posters telling shoppers to bring their book group to the store have gone out from corporate headquarters in Ann Arbor, Mich., to Borders' 507 outposts, including 18 stores in the Chicago area, said Mary Davis, spokesman for the chain. Borders' Chicago flagship on North Michigan Avenue, which is slated to close next year, already has hosted a few private book clubs in its third-floor event space.

"We're encouraging stores to reach out to the public to say, 'We're here,'" Davis said. "It's a way to drive traffic to the stores."

It sounds like a good plan. Many Borders stores now have cafes serving Seattle's Best coffee and plenty of chairs and tables for people to hang out. We saw some some ladies playing gin rummy at a Borders store the other day. Borders would be wise to also welcome writers' groups.

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Books Now Outnumber Games in the iTunes App Store

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST

Apple's iTunes App store is a growing source for content. People download a wide variety of apps from navigation tools to shopping aids, but they also buy games and books on iTunes. Mobclix reports that the number of book apps on iTunes now outnumbers the number of games. You can see the latest chart here, which shows there are nearly 27,000 book apps on iTunes.

Penguin's digital publisher, Jeremy Ettinghausen, told the Guardian that most of the books listed on iTunes are free downloads. Ettinghausen also says "it's very easy to produce books for the iPhone" which helps explain why books outnumber games on iTunes.

Apple is hoping that when the iPad goes on sale on April 3rd more people will start buying books from iTunes.com. You can read more about how the iPad can be used as an ebook reader here.

Image: Mobclix

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B&N To Test Book Bundles That Include Ebook and Printed Book

Tue, 9 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST

Publishers Weekly is reporting that Barnes & Noble is considering a plan to bundle print books and ebooks. The digital and print book bundles will launch in about 60 to 90 days. The plan was announced by Barnes & Noble.com president William Lynch at the AAP annual meeting.

Publishers Weekly also reports that William Lynch predicts there will be less bookstores in the future but they won't completely go away.

While he predicted there will be fewer bookstores in the future, he said bookstores will never go away, agreeing with "interviewer" David Young of Hachette Book Group that bookstores are where bestsellers are made, particularly for books that are put in the front of the store.

The bookstores that remain will have to find ways to keep customer foot traffic high if they want to continue to be the place where "bestsellers are made."

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Geoffrey Fletcher Wins Best Adapted Screenplay

Mon, 8 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST

Geoffrey Fletcher stands next to his Oscar backstage during the 82nd Annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre. Geoffrey Fletcher won Best Adapted Screenplay for his adpation of the novel Push by Sapphire. He is the first African American screenwriter to win an Academy Award. Fletcher beat out favorites Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner who wrote the script for Up in the Air. Fletcher is also an adjunct professor of film at Columbia University and NYU.

Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire was nominated in six categories and won two Oscars. The second Oscar went to actress Mo'Nique, who won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as an abusive mother.

You can find more coverage of the Oscars, including fashion coverage, on our sister site ShoppingBlog.com's Oscar section.

Photo: Todd Wawrychuk/ (C) A.M.P.A.S.

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Why People Hate Dave Eggers

Fri, 5 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST

The Awl wants to know why so many people hate Dave Eggers. Maria Bustillos did a Google search for the most hated authors and what she found was surprising. While there were only two results for "I Hate Jonathan Franzen" (which is amazing, considering how annoying he is), there are 3888 results for "I Hate Dave Eggers."

Part of the hate accruing to Dave Eggers is undoubtedly due to crab-bucket syndrome, which is when there are a lot of rivals, e.g., writers who are struggling after success in the form of TED prizes and screenplay commissions, and then one of them actually succeeds, and the rest of his fellow-strivers and former comrades attempt to yank him back down again. In the case of Eggers this is commonly depicted as not just envy, but more like a sense that the litterati just ought to have a better representative. Better, somehow, in some way, than this seemingly self-promoting impresario.

As well, a great divide opened between youngs and olds on the issue of Eggers when Where the Wild Things Are finally emerged. Us olds don't just detest twee, childish sentimentality. We would douse it in kerosene and throw a match on it, if we could.

So who else inspires true hatred on the Internet? Well, there's Elizabeth Wurtzel (89 results of online hatred) and David Sedaris, who clocks in at 774.

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J.K. Rowling Turns Down Oscar Invitation

Thu, 4 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST

J.K. Rowling turned down the Oscars producers' invitation to present the award for Best Adapted Screenplay with Twilight author Stephenie Meyer. Jo said that she's too busy writing her next book to make the trip.

Rowling writes on her website, "You won't be hearing from me often I am afraid, as pen and paper is my priority at the moment."

The movies nominated for the screenplay award are In the Loop (Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci & Tony Roche), District 9 (Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell), Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire (Geoffrey Fletcher), An Education (Nick Hornby) and Up In The Air (Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner).

Stephenie has reportedly accepted the offer, but it's not clear who she will be presenting with.

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Salman Rushdie Planning to Write About Years in Hiding Because of Fatwa

Tue, 2 Mar 2010 21:00:00 EST

Salman Rushdie is finally planning on writing about the decade he spent under a fatwa of death issued by Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini. The fatwa was issued because Rushdie wrote The Satanic Verses.

"It's my story, and at some point, it does need to be told. That point is getting closer, I think," he told reporters at Emory University in Atlanta, where an exhibition of his personal correspondence, notebooks, photographs, drawings and manuscripts is set to open on Friday. "When [the archive material] was in cardboard boxes and dead computers, it would have been very, very difficult, but now it's all organised," he said.

Last year marked 20 years since the Iranian leader called for Rushdie's execution, saying that his novel The Satanic Verses insulted Islam, Mohammed and the Qur'an. The edict, which followed street protests and book burnings across the Muslim world, forced Rushdie to go into hiding under police protection for almost 10 years.

We do hope he gets on with it, as we are most interested to read it. Rushdie's next novel is called Luka and the Fire of Life. A sequel to the children's story Haroun and the Sea of Stories, the book will be released in fall, 2010.

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John Grisham to Write Children's Series

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST

Bestselling author John Grisham is going to write a series of books for kids. The first book, Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer, will be published by Penguin Young Readers Group in May. Grisham's agent David Gernert explained to Publishers Weekly why Grisham went with a different publisher for the children's series.

"Since children's books is a completely different area of publishing than adult, and since John had never experienced any publishing in the children's area, we went out and spoke to a very, very small number of people we felt were particularly good at children's books," said Gernert, adding that Random House, Grisham's adult publisher, was in the mix. "We tried to figure out who had the vision for launching Theo that most matched John's, and it ended up being Penguin and Don Weisberg."

The New York Times says Doubleday will still publish Grisham's new legal thriller for adults, which will be out in October.

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J.K. Rowling Adamantly Denies Plagiarism Charges

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST

J.K. Rowling is furious over what she says is a totally absurd plagiarism lawsuit. The lawsuit claims that she stole the idea of Harry Potter from a deceased author named Adrian Jacobs. The estate found out that the statute of limitations had not run, so it filed suit. The lawsuit claims that in 1987 Jacobs submitted to Bloomsbury a number of stories about Willy the Wizard. Bloomsbury rejected the stories.

Jacobs' family members filed a lawsuit last June, claiming Rowling's 2000 book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire steals segments of the writer's novel The Adventures of Willy the Wizard - No 1 Livid Land. Rowling was named as a defendant in the lawsuit on Wednesday after the trustee of Jacobs' estate, Paul Allen, realised the time limit to sue the writer had not run out.

But Rowling has moved quickly to slam the accusation, insisting she has never even read Jacobs' book and will be applying to have the claim dismissed immediately. In a statement, she says: "The fact is I had never heard of the author or the book before the first accusation by those connected to the author's estate in 2004; I have certainly never read the book.

"The claims that are made are not only unfounded but absurd and I am disappointed that I, and my U.K. publisher Bloomsbury, are put in a position to have to defend ourselves. We will be applying to the court immediately for a ruling that the claim is without merit and should therefore be dismissed without delay."

Ah, the price of fame. Once an author hits the big time, lots of people come out of the woodwork claiming plagiarism. Just ask Dan Brown. This case will most likely be dismissed, but in the meantime, Jo Rowling has to pay her attorneys to defend the case and make statements to clear her name.

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Apple's Ebook Pricing Secret

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST

There have been many articles written about Apple's plans to sell ebooks on the new iPad for around $14.99, which is $5 more than the average Kindle price of $9.99. The New York Times reports that it has uncovered a dirty little secret in Apple's deal with several major book publishers: if a book becomes a bestseller, the book's price may drop to $9.99.

[A]ccording to at least three people with knowledge of the discussions, who spoke anonymously because of the confidentiality of the talks, Apple inserted provisions requiring publishers to discount e-book prices on best sellers -- so that $12.99-to-$14.99 range was merely a ceiling; prices for some titles could be lower, even as low as Amazon's $9.99. Essentially, Apple wants the flexibility to offer lower prices for the hottest books, those on one of the New York Times best-seller lists, which are heavily discounted in bookstores and on rival retail sites. So, for example, a book that started at $14.99 would drop to $12.99 or less once it hit the best-seller lists.

Moreover, for books where publishers offer comparable hardcover editions at a price below the typical $26, Apple wanted e-book prices to reflect the cheaper hardcover prices. These books might be priced much lower than $12.99, even if they did not hit the best-seller list.

Naturally, Apple refused to comment for the article. But publishers' general unhappiness with the price of ebooks may not be going away with the introduction of the iPad.

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Oscar Snub: Author of Up in the Air Denied Oscar Ticket

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST

Walter Kirn hasn't been invited to the Oscars and he's not happy. He's the author of that novel that was turned into the film Up in the Air starring George Clooney. Up in the Air has been nominated for no less than six Oscars, but Walter wasn't invited. He has been tweeting his disappointment over the snub. But he still wishes the film good luck.

caution to writers: don't expect that because you write a novel that becomes an Oscar-nominated film that you'll be invited to the Oscars

*****

Novelists are like oil in H'wood: they drill us, pipeline us, pump us and then burn us.

*****

sincerely wishes Up in the Air the best at the Oscars, all other matters aside, because art is art and the movie is art, he thinks

A Paramount rep told The New York Post that it is still hoping for more tickets to the Oscars for the film:

"The Academy has a process that we are following and we are respectfully waiting for them to allocate additional tickets. Of course, Walter Kirn is on our wish list for seats, as are producers and executive producers of our film who do not have seats yet."

This is ridiculous. Kirn wrote the book which was turned into a film that's up for six Oscars. Get the man a seat.

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James Cameron is Writing an Avatar Prequel

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST

Director James Cameron is writing an Avatar novel. The novel will act as a prequel to the Avatar movie that has made over $2 billion and won the U.S. box office six weeks in a row. Jon Landau, Avatar producer, told MTV news that the novel will act like a prequel.

"It would be something that would lead up to telling the story of the movie, but it would go into much more depth about all the stories that we didn't have time to deal with - like the schoolhouse and Sigourney [Weaver's character] teaching at the schoolhouse; Jake on Earth and his backstory and how he came here; [the death of] Tommy, Jake's brother; and Colonel Quaritch, how he ended up there and all that," Landau explained.

Although Cameron has extensive writing credentials, including the screenplays for everything from the first two "Terminator" films to "Titanic," the "Avatar" prequel would mark his debut as a novelist.

"I don't think Jim has ever written a novel before, but his first step of writing a script is often in a novella format," Landau said. "So this is just expanding that, and I think that he'll be very adept at it."

We are surprised James Cameron that is he is writing the book himself. Even George Lucas has turned to some very famous author to create entries in the Star Wars canon.

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Roger Ebert's Inspiring Life After Cancer

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST

Esquire has an interesting article about what life is today for Roger Ebert. The reknowned film critic can longer eat, drink or spreak since he underwent a series of surgeries that included the removal of his lower jaw.

Roger Ebert can't remember the last thing he ate. He can't remember the last thing he drank, either, or the last thing he said. Of course, those things existed; those lasts happened. They just didn't happen with enough warning for him to have bothered committing them to memory - it wasn't as though he sat down, knowingly, to his last supper or last cup of coffee or to whisper a last word into Chaz's ear. The doctors told him they were going to give him back his ability to eat, drink, and talk. But the doctors were wrong, weren't they? On some morning or afternoon or evening, sometime in 2006, Ebert took his last bite and sip, and he spoke his last word.

Despite losing of ability to speak Roger Ebert is saying more than ever through his writing. He continues to write movie reviews and also has a blog for the Chicago Sun Times. Recently, he wrote a moving blog entry titled Nil by Mouth where he explains what he misses and doesn't miss about no longer eating. In addition to his journal, Roger Ebert is also very active on Twitter, @ebertchicago, where he comments on movies and a wide range of other topics.

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Dick Francis Dead at 89

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST

Retired British jockey and New York Times bestselling author Dick Francis has died at the age of 89.

Had he remained in the racing world as a trainer or thoroughbred expert after retiring from riding in 1957, Dick Francis would have been remembered as one of the most successful jockeys of his era.

Mr. Francis, who died Sunday at age 89, would also be remembered as the jockey who spectacularly managed to lose in the 1956 Grand National, Great Britain's most famous steeplechase. A photograph of him within a whisker of the finish line, aboard Queen Elizabeth's horse Devon Loch, flat on its belly with four legs helplessly splayed out, is one of racing's strangest images. To "do a Devon Loch" is a still a byword for losing a race from a seemingly unassailable position.

But the disaster actually helped launch Mr. Francis's subsequent career as a journalist and then as horse racing's most eloquent writer of thrillers. Almost all his books became international best-sellers, and they made Mr. Francis a wealthy man.

Dick Francis was also a devoted husband who wrote many of his books with his wife. After she died, he nearly stopped writing.

After the death in 2000 of Mary Francis, his wife of 53 years and a close collaborator on his books, Mr. Francis expressed doubts that he would ever write another novel. "She was the moving force behind my writing," he said. "I don't think I shall write again other than letters now. So much of my work was her."

Indeed, he didn't write another novel until Under Orders in 2006. That novel brought back Sid Halley, the retired steeplechase jockey who was his champion sleuth.

Francis lived an extraordinary life: he was a fighter and bomber pilot in World War II. As a jockey, he won more than 350 races. He was champion jockey in 1953-1954 and rode for HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

At the age of only 36 he retired because of injuries started a new career, first as a journalist and eventually as a beloved mystery author. There are 60 million of his books in print. He will be greatly missed; our condolences to his family and friends.

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Indiana Pacers Owner Buys Kirkus

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST

Kirkus Reviews got rescued by a white knight from the NBA. The New York Times reports that Herb Simon, the owner of the Indiana Pacers, purchased Kirkus because he loves to read. The sale caught most of the literary world by surprise. Mr. Simon is chairman emeritus of shopping mall developer Simon Property Group and also co-owns an independent bookstore in Montecito, California. He will create a new company called Kirkus Media, which will be run by Marc Winkelman.

In a telephone interview, Mr. Winkelman, who co-owns Tecolote Books with Mr. Simon, said that the company would retain its current editorial leadership, with Elaine Szewczyk as editor and Eric Liebetrau as managing editor. Mr. Winkelman said that Mr. Simon was "an inveterate and unquenchable and voracious reader" who was a longtime subscriber to Kirkus, which was founded in 1933. "The idea that Kirkus was leaving was a real shame for him," Mr. Winkelman said.

In a statement, Mr. Simon said: "With the growth of e-books and e-reading devices, no one can really see the future of publishing. But turmoil like this creates opportunities. At a time when even the definition of a book is changing, my love of books makes me want to be part of the solution for the book publishing industry."

Mr. Winkelman, who used to work at Barnes & Noble, says that Kirkus will remain a print magazine, but will also expand its presence online. It's a strange -- but happy -- ending for the Kirkus employees.

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D.A. Powell Wins $100,000 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award

Tue, 9 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST

Claremont Graduate University has announced D.A. Powell won the $100,000 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award and Beth Bachmann won the Kate Tufts Discovery Award. The Kingsley Tufts prize was established in 1992 to honor work by a midcareer poet. The Kate Tufts Award is given to a poet for their first book of poetry.

D.A. Powell's books include Tea, Lunch and Cocktails. His most recent book, Chronic: Poems, is also a finalist for the NBCC Award in Poetry, and was named a Best Book of 2009 by Publishers Weekly and the Kansas City Star.

Beth Bachmann won the Kate Tufts Award for her first book of poetry, Temper.

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Upcoming Dr. Who Episode Penned by Neil Gaiman

Mon, 8 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST

Neil Gaiman confirmed that he's written a Dr. Who episode. Neil Gaiman sent this message to SFX Weekender about winning Best Comic at the SFX Awards the following message:

"Over the years SFX, and its readers and their votes in the polls, have always been very kind to me. I thought I'd return the favour with what used to be called, in journalistic circles when I was a boy, a scoop.

As anyone who's read my blog knows, I'm a big fan of a certain long-running British SF TV series. One that started watching -- from behind the sofa -- when I was three. And while I know it's cruel to make you wait for things, in about 14 months from now, which is to say, NOT in the upcoming season but early in the one after that, it's quite possible that I might have written an episode. And if I had, it would originally have been called "The House of Nothing". But it definitely isn't called that any more.

Neil is a huge Dr. Who fan, so that makes sense. Although how he's managing to find time to write it with all the new projects he's working on and the awards he's picking up we can't imagine.

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Australia-Asia Literary Award is Dropped

Fri, 5 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST

ABC News reports that the West Australian Government has scrapped the $110,000 Australia-Asia Literary Award.

The Arts Minister John Day says the prize has now been scrapped. Instead, he says the government will increase the prize money for the Premier's Book Awards.

"The State Government is now under a lot more pressure than was the case two years ago and there is simply not the ability to continue that sort of prize in the longer term."

"So we've made the decision to increase the funding that will be going into the WA Premier's Book Awards and to increase the status of those awards and I think that that is really the best outcome."

The Australia-Asia Literary Award is gone but a little more money will put toward the Premier's Book Awards. The top prize money for the Premier's Awards is being increased from $27,000 to $40,000.

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Stan Lee Talks Spider-Man Changes

Thu, 4 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST

So what does Stan Lee, the co-creator of Spider-Man, think about the studio's decision to dump Tobey Maguire and do another origin story with Peter Parker as a teenager? He loves it. He talked to Access Hollywood about why he thinks change is good. He also talks about his cameo in Iron Man 2. Take a look:

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Anthony Peckham to Recive WGA West Paul Selvin Award

Wed, 3 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST

Variety reports that the Writers Guild of America West will honor Invictus screenwriter Anthony Peckham as recipient of its Paul Selvin Award. The award honors work which promotes civil liberties and constitutional rights.

Peckham will receive the kudo at the Writers Guild Awards' West Coast ceremonies on Feb. 20 at the Century Plaza. Previous recipients include Allison Cross, Gary Ross, Cynthia Whitcomb, David E. Kelley, Eric Roth, Michael Mann, Jason Horwitch, Don Payne, Robert Eisele & Jeffrey Porro, and most recently, Dustin Lance Black for "Milk."

"Anthony Peckham's screenplay for Invictus perfectly illustrates what the Paul Selvin Award stands for, expertly conveying how only a few men can unite to impact positive change, and have that change resonate around the world," said WGA West president John Wells.

The Invictus screenplay is based upon the book Playing the Enemy. Peckham, a native of South Africa, co-wrote the hit Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey, Jr. Invictus garnered a Best Actor Oscar nomination for Morgan Freeman for his portrayal of Nelson Mandela, but the film was snubbed in both screenplay categories and in the Best Picture category.

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Avatar, Hurt Locker Lead Oscar Race

Tue, 2 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST

The Oscar nominations were announced this morning by Anne Hathaway. Here are the nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Screenplay:

Adapted screenplay:

District 9 (Sony Pictures Releasing), Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell

An Education (Sony Pictures Classics), Screenplay by Nick Hornby

In the Loop (IFC Films), Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (Lionsgate), Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher

Up in the Air (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios) , Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Original screenplay:

The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment), Written by Mark Boal

Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company), Written by Quentin Tarantino

The Messenger (Oscilloscope Laboratories), Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman

A Serious Man (Focus Features), Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

Up (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

You can see the full list of nominations here.

Photo: Todd Wawrychuk/©A.M.P.A.S.

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