PEN Denounces Indictment of Chinese Critic, Random House Claims Backlist E-rights, and More

by
Adrian Versteegh
12.14.09

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:

Literary critic and PEN member Liu Xiaobo—who was detained a year ago by the Chinese government for his role in drafting a pro-democracy manifesto—was formally indicted last Friday for “inciting subversion of state power” (PEN American Center press release).

Despite a fundraising campaign championed by the likes of Ray Bradbury, the H. P. Wright Library in Ventura, California, is closing its doors for good (New York Times).

Foreign Policy has released a list of 142 book recommendations—covering everything from biographies to fantasy novels—by its Top 100 Global Thinkers.

McSweeney’s San Francisco Panorama—published last week after nine months in the making—is a retro hit on the Bay Area bookselling scene (Publishers Weekly).

Looking to expand the market for electronic books and periodicals, online publisher Zinio is pursuing a series of deals designed to let devices such as smart phones tap into “digital newsstands” (Forbes).

In a move that has already provoked protest from authors, agents, and estates, Random House asserted last week that it owns the electronic rights to books on its backlist (Wall Street Journal).

The Poetry Translation Centre, which makes works by contemporary African, Asian, and Latin American poets accessible to the English-speaking world, has recently launched its own podcast service.

Scotland’s oldest book, an eleventh-century Celtic psalter, is going on public display for the first time since 1967 at the University of Edinburgh (Telegraph).