Smashwords Publishes Anthology to Benefit Haiti, Paris Protects Indie Bookstore Culture, and More

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:

This week Penguin UK unveiled some "stunning" interactive book technology it has developed for the iPad. (CrunchGear)

In a development that "could lead to a huge shake-up of Canada's book trade," Amazon applied for permission to open a new business in Canada. (Bookseller)

With the help of Smashwords and a global team of volunteer publishers, editors, and authors, the anthology 100 Stories for Haiti was released yesterday to benefit victims of the recent Haiti earthquake.

Publishers predict that India will be the largest English-language book market within a decade. (Guardian)

Colm Toibin's 2009 novel, Brooklyn, was chosen as the next book in Chicago's citywide reading initiative One Book, One Chicago. (Chicago Tribune)

Eight Penguin Classics titles are getting a fancy book jacket makeover to promote AIDS awareness. (Creative Review) Speaking of book jackets, they look a lot different in the U.K. than in the United States, the Millions pointed out.

The city of Paris is buying up property in the Latin Quarter and renting it cheap to indie bookstores in an effort to protect one of its cherished cultural traditions. (Globe and Mail)

While some readers remain perplexed as to how exactly a video can be a book, yesterday Anne Rice nonetheless became the first major author to release a vook.