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:
The poet Cui Weiping has been banned by the Chinese government from traveling to an academic conference in Philadelphia. An outspoken political activist, Cui explains the reasons behind her ban: "They're afraid, one, of what I might say abroad and two, they want to pressure me." (Associated Press)
Electric Literature is hosting a Twitter contest judged by Colson Whitehead for "the best tweet your muse says, and s/he doesn't have to be literary—anything goes."
A group of Scottish booksellers have reported Amazon to the Office of Fair Trading with complaints about the Internet giant's "bullying" tactics regarding book pricing. As one bookseller says, "Amazon is attempting to stop me and other sellers deciding what price we sell at on different sites." (Scotsman)
The self-publisher Smashwords signed a distribution deal with Apple to put its books into the iPad's iBookstore. (DigitalBeat)
The Battery Park City neighborhood of New York City opened a stunning new environmentally-friendly public library thanks to a major financial gift from Goldman Sachs. (New York Times)
Last week the Toronto public library randomly distributed ninety-nine red "Books We Love" journals throughout the city's coffee shops and bus shelters. "Those who find them are meant to peruse the comments by those who came before about their favorite books, then add a tome or two before passing the journal on." (Star)
After intense criticism from some quarters, Philip Pullman defended his controversial new book The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ. (Independent)
An award-winning writer is petitioning the Israeli government to lift a travel ban preventing him from attending an Arab literary festival in Beirut. (Guardian)
The New York Times tracks the recent surge of manifestos published in the United States and suggests another, more traditionally American method of dissent.
