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:
After a vigorous bidding war, HBO's Girls creator Lena Dunham's first collection of essays sold to Random House for a reported 3.7 million dollars. (New York Daily News)
Tin House editor Rob Spillman explains why Dunham's big score is not good for the publishing industry. (Salon)
Meanwhile, Slate's Alyssa Rosenberg writes that Dunham's new book is worth every dollar.
Gillian Flynn's third novel, Gone Girl, has sold over 1.5 million copies. (USA Today)
"It isn’t exactly like you’re being offered a night featuring Thomas Pynchon showing slideshows of his summer vacation with Bigfoot alongside the ghost of J.D. Salinger." Jason Diamond reports on attending a sold out reading by Zadie Smith and Michael Chabon at the famed 92nd Street Y in New York City, replete with scalpers, bickering, and line cutters. (Capital New York)
The Paris Review has launched an App.
For NPR, Missy Shelton attended the National Storytelling Festival in Tennessee.
The University of Missouri changed its decision to shutter the University of Missouri Press, and has rehired the publishing house's longtime editor, Clair Willcox. (New York Times)
For the conclusion of Banned Books Month, author Je Banach has the final word. (PEN American)