Emily Gould on the Memoirs of Mary MacLane, E-Book Prices at Record Low, and More

by
Evan Smith Rakoff
3.19.13

Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—from publishing reports to academic announcements to literary dispatches—for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today’s stories:

In e-book news, bestseller prices have hit an all-time low; and a self-published title, Wait for You by J. Lynn, is number one for the second week. (Digital Book World)

Amazon Publishing announced it intends to dramatically speed up royalty payments to its authors. (Wall Street Journal)

The Rose Reading Room inside the New York Public Library’s main branch may attain landmark protection. (New York Times)

Emily Gould discusses Mary MacLane's work and tragic life in this excerpt from the intro to Melville House's new edition of I, Mary MacLane—a bestselling memoir of 1917. (Rumpus)

Nick Cohen looks at the recent actions of Verso Books, and asks, "Why is Christopher Hitchens’s old publisher turning on him?" (Spectator)

The Guardian highlights the differing views of poetry held by Lucretius, and the person he most admired, Epicurus.

David Cameron cut and pasted a New Yorker story into a word processor, retitled it, invented a fake name and bio, and submitted the fiction to multiple publications, where it was universally rejected, even by the publication where it first appeared—the New Yorker. (Review Review)

The Tampa Bay Times revisits the last interview with Jack Kerouac.

A Letters of Note book is on the horizon.