Malala Yousafzai’s $3 Million Memoir Deal, Ten Trendy Librarians, and More

by
Bryanna Tidmarsh
3.28.13

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:

Taliban shooting victim Malala Yousafzai received a reported $3 million advance from publisher Weidenfeld & Nicholson for her forthcoming memoir, I Am Malala, to be released this fall. (NBC News) 

Authors such as Tayari Jones, Jon Clinch, and Carolyn Parkhurst share their strangest interactions with readers. (Huffington Post)

According to the New York Times, William Faulkner’s Nobel medal and diploma, as well as hand-corrected manuscripts, letters, and a recently discovered thirteen-page fiction exercise, will be auctioned in June.

Bookstore chain Books-A-Million reports a $2.5 million profit for 2012 thanks to blockbusters series such as Hunger Games and Fifty Shades, but CEO Terry Finley tells Publishers Weekly that profits may slow down for 2013.

Starting Tuesday, Penguin will remove its six-month e-book delay for libraries, allowing them to lend Penguin Group e-books as soon as the hardcover is released. (Huffington Post)

Flavorwire’s Emily Temple profiles ten trendy librarians who counter the profession’s stereotype to promote books and become agents of social change.

A book-loving couple got engaged at the Chicago Public Library last weekend. (Mediabistro)

According to the American Language Association, Chicago’s Readers Theatre is encouraging the relationship between children and literature by pairing them on stage, helping children develop public-speaking and teamwork skills while staging literature readings.