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:
Turkish novelist and Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk has joined with Zadie Smith, Salman Rushdie, Günter Grass, and many other international writers to protest the Turkish government’s restriction of Twitter and other social media. (Guardian)
British justice secretary Chris Grayling has responded to the controversy over a recent ban prohibiting prisoners in the U.K. from receiving books in the mail, saying that books allow prison to become a vacation rather than a punishment; the secretary’s remarks have reignited indignation from numerous citizens, prison workers, and authors including Mark Haddon. (Melville House)
British novelist Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl With a Pearl Earring, discusses marathon running, the Washington Post, and her love of fossils with the Telegraph.
Following an article earlier this week by Julie Bosman concerning the difficulty of independent booksellers to find reasonable rents in Manhattan, several booksellers and writers from across the country have weighed in on the debate over how to keep bookstores alive. (New York Times)
Karen Russell discusses her newest work, an e-book titled Sleep Donation, which was released this week by Atavist Books. (NPR)
Also released this week was Michigan novelist Laura Kasischke’s latest novel, Mind of Winter. The author discussed her suspenseful new book on Interlochen Public Radio.
Former television writer Carol Leifer, the brains behind many of Seinfeld’s most-loved episodes, has penned a memoir about her experience working in Hollywood titled How to Succeed in Business Without Really Crying: Lessons From a Life in Comedy. The book will be released April 8. (LA Weekly)
Following the distribution of e-book credits to Amazon customers as a result of a lawsuit over price-fixing, customers seem less than impressed at their windfall. (Reuters)
The Poetry Foundation offers alternatives to Amtrak’s troubled writers residency.
