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 e-book price-fixing trial against Apple begins today. All five major publishers also targeted in the lawsuit, which was filed last year by the Department of Justice, have settled. (NPR)
Meanwhile, Stephen King has created a “supernatural digital book musical,” which includes original songs and lyrics by John Mellencamp and T Bone Burnett, sound effects, and an interactive video, released today exclusively through Apple iBooks. (AppNewser)
According to Markus Dohle, chairman and chief executive of Random House parent company Bertelsmann, the merger between Random House and Penguin is slated for July. (The Bookseller)
Forty years after Pablo Neruda’s death—which was originally attributed to cancer—a judge has ordered a search for the man who has since been accused of poisoning the Chilean poet. (The Huffington Post)
After mining the depths of Project Gutenberg’s free digital book list, web developer Christopher Pound has created his own list of the one hundred most popular books by one hundred different authors, all available online for free. (GalleyCat)
The art collection of T.S. Eliot’s widow, Valerie Eliot, who died last November, will be auctioned by Christie’s in London later this year. The collection includes work by Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, and Winston Churchill, among others. (The Huffington Post)
Philosophy professor Gregory Currie challenges the long-held assumption that reading great literature makes us better people. (New York Times)
In an overview of this year’s Book Expo America conference, which wrapped up in New York City over the weekend, Jen Doll offers observations and advice for future conference-goers, concluding, “These are the four days of our book lives.” (The Atlantic Wire)