Harper Lee Lawsuit, Nicholson Baker Nail Art, and More

by
Evan Smith Rakoff
10.17.13

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:

Harper Lee has filed a lawsuit against her Alabama hometown’s Monroe County Heritage Museum, alleging the museum is exploiting the fame of To Kill a Mockingbird. (Shelf Awareness)

Meanwhile, Business Insider believes To Kill a Mockingbird is indeed the most famous book set in Alabama, and lists forty-nine other titles for the rest of the United States.

Businessweek peers inside the corporate structure of Amazon.

Carolyn Kellogg reports that Joan Didion was advised by her doctor not to travel to California to receive a PEN lifetime achievement award this past Monday evening. Harrison Ford presented the award and Anjelica Huston accepted it on Didion’s behalf. (Los Angeles Times)

Anna Holmes, editor of The Book of Jezebel, lists five books by women all people should read, including Joan Didion’s Slouching Towards Bethlehem. (Bookish)

Mary Gaitskill wrote an open letter to the Rumpus in answer to Suzanne Rivecca’s essay “What Men Talk About When They Talk About Mary Gaitskill.”

The film adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl is slated for release on October 3, 2014. (Hollywood Reporter)

On her Tumblr, Mary Duffy pays tribute to the novels of Nicholson Baker in nail art.