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:
Forbes considers how the burgeoning self-publishing industry will alter the role of literary agents.
“I hate Facebook. I hate Twitter. I spend a lot of time on both.” Author Sean Beaudoin discusses the vagaries of self-promotion. (Salon)
Meanwhile, on her blog, novelist and editor Roxane Gay relates the significance of an online presence, and lists some examples of well-made author websites.
The New York Times reports how replacing Charles Darwin with Jane Austen on British currency has resulted in threats of rape and murder.
Following poet Kenneth Goldsmith’s appearance on the Colbert Report, and subsequent criticism by fellow poets, Robert Archambeau examines the state of conceptual writing. (Poetry)
NPR remembers poet Robert Hayden—born one hundred years ago this past Sunday.
Alexandra Socarides explores the origins of Langston Hughes’s famous poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” (Los Angeles Review of Books)
Jason Diamond lists ten must-reads for August, including Nelly Reifler’s Elect H. Mouse State Judge. (Flavorwire)
