John D’Agata Controversy, AWP Bingo, and More

by
Evan Smith Rakoff
2.28.12

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:

According to a report from the Association of American Publishers (AAP), print sales are down—despite increasing e-book sales a revenue gap remains. (GalleyCat)

With the Academy Awards behind us, the A.V. Club lists fifteen unsuccessful film adaptations of hard-to-adapt books.

In case you're about to journey to the upcoming AWP conference in Chicago, don't forget to pack your official 2012 bingo card (created by Daniel Nester).

Meanwhile, one block away from the AWP conference at the Hilton, the Examiner reports of a shake-up at the Columbia College Chicago writing program.

Writer Dinty W. Moore weighs in on the controversy surrounding the new book by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal, The Lifespan of a Fact. (Brevity)

Graywolf Press announced a new publishing collaboration with literary and culture magazine A Public Space. Brigid Hughes, founding editor of A Public Space, will act as contributing editor to Graywolf Press, and Graywolf will publish two A Public Space titles a year.

Open Road, the digital publisher co-founded by industry-veteran Jane Friedman, has reached an agreement with Ingram to distribute printed versions of its e-books. (Shelf Awareness)

The Big Think examines how new generations of readers respond to J. D. Salinger's infamous Holden Caulfield.

On her website, author Dani Shapiro shares her thoughts on the writing life: "I write because, when I don't, I feel not-quite-alive, at a remove from everything and everyone I love. I don't write because I enjoy it. I don't write because it's fun. Honestly, it's so rarely fun."