The Kindle Killer, a Tolstoy Museum Reopens, and More

by Staff
1.5.10

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:

Hearst Corp. released its first image and a few details about Skiff, its new e-reader device to be unveiled at this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (Mediaweek).

Rumors of an early year release for a new, highly anticipated Apple e-reader (unofficially named "iSlate") have one industry expert already tagging it "The Kindle Killer" (Huffington Post). A thorough breakdown of prospective specs can be found at Gizmodo

Michigan indie publisher Dzanc Books aquired Keyhole Press today. Meanwhile, Minnesota's Lerner Publishing Group acquired Darby Creek Publishing and will operate the company as an imprint (Publishers Weekly). 

In an effort to combat the loss of major outlets for literary criticism in the past year, MediaBistro has launched GalleyCat Reviews.  

According to the Bookseller's Christmas survey, deep discounting and the continuing recession are the main threats to independent booksellers. 

A museum devoted to Leo Tolstoy reopened recently in a village in Chechnya where the famous  author spent his formative years as a writer (New York Times).

Britain's most powerful book club is returning to television and promises to launch a new generation of British literary sensations (Telegraph). 

Random House UK, one of the few notable exceptions to the international Kindle roll-out last year, has now added its titles to Amazon.com's international Kindle store.

The Modern Language Association held its annual conference last week in Philadelphia (Chronicle).

Cambridge University has acquired an important collection of personal papers belonging to Siegfried Sassoon, the British anti-war poet.