Nook Tablet Discontinued, Adam Gopnik on Gertrude Stein, and More

by
Evan Smith Rakoff
6.25.13

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:

Barnes & Noble announced it’s shelving the Nook Tablet, and will continue its e-reader. (Digital Book World)

Meanwhile, Barnes & Noble reported sales were down over 7 percent in the last quarter. (GalleyCat)

Industry insiders—including literary agent Jonny Geller, and Melville House's Dennis Johnson—weighed in on the merger of Random House and Penguin. (Bookseller)

The government of France is reportedly considering a ban on some of Amazon’s practices, such as combining discounts with free delivery. (Christian Science Monitor)

Poet and songwriter Leonard Cohen is alive and well, according to the New York Times. (FishbowlNY)

For summer reading, novelist Rosecrans Baldwin lists his favorite celebrity memoirs. (Daily Beast)

Adam Gopnik looks at the life and work of Gertrude Stein, in an essay drawn from his introduction to Liveright’s reissue of Stein's Paris France, first published in 1940.

“I don’t have answers. Neil Gaiman doesn’t have answers. Jane Austen didn’t have them. Nobody has answers. We have ideas.” On his blog, Terrible Minds, novelist Chuck Wendig dispenses advice for writers.