National Book Foundation Honors Five Debut Fiction Writers
The National Book Foundation announced yesterday the five debut fiction writers who will be honored at the third annual 5 Under 35 celebration.
Daily News from Poets & Writers
Chicago Poet Seeks Collaborators for Anti-War Street Performance
Poet Jennifer Karmin is asking for anyone and everyone to collaborate with her on a four thousand word poem to be performed in her hometown of Chicago. Each word represents one of the more than forty-one hundred American soldiers killed in Iraq.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Among 2008 MacArthur Fellows
Fiction writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is one of twenty-five individuals from a variety of professional fields to receive a $500,000 "genius" fellowship from the MacArthur Foundation. MacArthur president Jonathan Fanton said the winners received a phone call last week informing them that they would receive the unconditional "no strings attached" support over the next five years.
Graywolf to Publish Bakeless Prize Winners
The Bread Loaf Writers' Conference announced on Friday its plans to partner with Graywolf Press to publish the winners of the conference's Katharine Bakeless Nason Prize, given annually for first books of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.
American Readers Invited to Nominate Books for Translation Into Arabic
A new Arabic translation initiative is asking Americans to weigh in on what books of poetry and fiction best represent the literature of the United States.
Seventy Years After Death, Lorca's Remains to Be Exhumed
The relatives of poet Federico García Lorca, who was executed by fascists in the early morning hours of August 18, 1936, during the Spanish Civil War, recently agreed to allow authorities to excavate the mass grave, located in a village near Granada, Spain, where he is believed to be buried.
Six International Writers Make Shortlist for Dylan Thomas Prize
The administrators of the 2008 Dylan Thomas Prize announced on Tuesday the six finalists for the international award, including poets and fiction writers from England, South Africa, Ethiopia, and Vietnam.
National Book Foundation Honors Lifetime Achievement of Maxine Hong Kingston
The National Book Foundation, sponsor of the National Book Awards, recently announced that Maxine Hong Kingston will be honored with the 2008 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.
California Poets Unite for L.A. Poetry Marathon
On Saturday, September 27, over sixty southern California poets will come together for a fourteen hour poetry marathon to benefit Avenue 50 Studio, a multicultural gallery and exhibition space in the city's Highland Park district.
NEA Chairman Set to Return to a Life of Writing
Dana Gioia, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for the past six years, has announced that he will step down from his post in January to return to writing, the New York Times reported.
Debut Novelists Steve Toltz and Aravind Adiga Among Finalists for Booker Prize
The judges of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction announced on Tuesday the six finalists for this year’s award.
Will the Twiller, a New Twittering Genre, Catch On?
Perhaps the latest chapter in the continuing debate over whether the book is a dying medium will be titled "Twiller." A couple weeks ago, novelist and New York Times reporter Matt Richtel wrote a short post on the newspaper's technology blog about his new writing project, effectively introducing a new genre called Twiller.
Ecco Lands Two Novels on Merc Center's First Novel Prize Shortlist
The Mercantile Library Center for Fiction recently announced the shortlist for the 2008 John Sargent Sr. First Novel Prize. The annual award is named after the former president and CEO of Doubleday; funded by his family, the prize is worth ten thousand dollars.
Louise Glück Wins $100,000 Wallace Stevens Award
The Academy of American Poets announced on Tuesday that Louise Glück has been named the winner of the 2008 Wallace Stevens Award, which carries with it a prize of $100,000.
Amazon Acquires Shelfari
A little more than three weeks after Amazon bought AbeBooks, the online retailer announced that it has acquired Shelfari, the social networking site for book lovers.
Final Works of Sir Walter Scott Find a Publisher
Nearly two hundred years after they were written, two lost works of Sir Walter Scott, The Siege Of Malta and Bizarro, have found a publisher.
Penguin Launches Bookish Dating Site
Penguin U.K. has teamed up with Match.com to introduce a dating Web site for book lovers, or for anyone, according to the publisher, who has "ever wished real life could be as romantic as a novel."
New Yorker Festival to Host Politically Charged Lineup
The New Yorker recently announced a portion of the program for its 2008 New Yorker Festival, to be held at various venues throughout New York City from October 3 through October 5.
Rushdie Bodyguards Admit to Embellishing Memoir
The authors of the memoir that Salman Rushdie claimed was largely fabricated have admitted that a portion of the book was fictitious.
FSG's Jonathan Galassi Wins 2008 Maxwell Perkins Award
The Mercantile Library Center for Fiction announced yesterday that Jonathan Galassi, president of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, is the recipient of the 2008 Maxwell E. Perkins Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Field of Fiction. The award is given annually to recognize an editor, publisher, or agent "who over the course of his or her career has discovered, nurtured, and championed writers of fiction in the United States."
London Tops List of Best Literary Destinations
The editors of TripAdvisor, a travel Web site that allows users to rate and review their vacation experiences, recently released a list of the top ten literary destinations worldwide. London took the top spot as "the home of literature we have spent so much time learning and loving," in the words of one TripAdvisor user, and was followed by three other locales in the British Isles.