Nominated for an Oscar in the category of Short Film (Animated), this beautifully rendered story "of people who devote their lives to books and books who return the favor," by author and illustrator William Joyce and codirector Branden Oldenburg, uses miniatures, computer animation, and 2D animation that harkens back to silent films, making it appear old-fashioned and cutting edge at the same time.

Kepler's Books has been operating in Menlo Park, California, since 1955. After the recent retirement of Clark Kepler, a group of people committed to the bookstore's place in the community came together to start the process of imagining what the future of Kepler's will look like. The vision, as discussed in this video, combines a nonprofit model that can offer literary events with a community-owned bookstore that will preserve the physical space.

In the latest installment of his hilarious Failed Writer Series, Yuvi Zalkow applies to writing a concept he (thinks he) learned from Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers: It takes approximately ten thousand hours to master a particular craft. "Just focus on getting stuff written," he concludes, "and maybe not as much about achieving fame and fortune."

If this simple, evocative video shot at Shakespeare and Company in Paris and set to Melody Gardot's "Over the Rainbow" doesn't give you an almost irresistable urge to visit an independent bookstore today, you've probably been buying all your books online.

In this endearing short film by student Juliet San Nicolas, five lines of poetry by Frank O'Hara are intermingled with the sweeet sound of a typewriter and the song "Annie Green Quit Speaking to Me" by Jeff Pianki.

This work by Owen W. Lee is part of a project that aims to recode Shakespeare from a contemporary perspective. The skull represents a well-known tragic character, Ophelia in Hamlet, who is often used as a symbol of tragic death.

"I think if people knew how hard we worked, they would pay us more." Enjoy the first tongue-in-cheek episode of A Writer's Life With Susan Juby.

This short film, starring comedian and author Mike Birbiglia and "Fresh Air" host Terry Gross, was part of last week's live "This American Life" show that was seen in movie theaters across the country. Birbiglia's 2010 book, Sleepwalk With Me and Other Painfully True Stories, was made into a movie that will be released by IFC Films this fall.

This animated short film based on Leni Zumas's first novel, The Listeners, published by Tin House Books this month, features art and animation by Luca Dipierro and music by Father Murphy. Zumas was featured in the magazine's First Fiction Annual back in 2008 for her debut story collection, Farewell Navigator (Open City Books).

Do the books on your shelves whisper to you, too? Check out this dramatic trailer for The Page's Wing, a short film directed by Federico Campanale, with excellent photography by Ben Geraerts.