Dave Eggers Thanks His Teacher, Ken Kesey's Magic Bus Trip, and More
The teacher who changed Dave Egger’s life; a new film about Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters; a new multimedia journal from Arts & Letters; and other news.
Genre: Not Genre-Specific
Write What You Don't Know, New York Is King of the Literary Union, and More
The Atlantic argues writers should write what they don't know; a new adaptation of Moby Dick; crime writer Agatha Christie was a gnarly surfer; and other news.
The Art of the Literary Duel
Melville House Publishing, pioneer of book-trailer appreciation, is offering its entire novella library to the literary filmmaker who can come up with "the most awesome book trailer of all time." The challenge? Create a video that embodies five novellas by major international authors, all titled The Duel.
The independent press has just released the suite of novella reprints, by Giacomo Casanova, Anton Chekhov, Joseph Conrad, Heinrich von Kleist, and Alexander Kuprin, as part of its forty-two volume Art of the Novella series (the official publication date for the five is in August, but books are available now from the press). The winner of the trailer competition will receive the entire collection celebrating the "renegade art form" that doesn't often make its way into a stand-alone book, including titles by classic authors such as Jane Austen, Kate Chopin, Gustave Flaubert, Edith Wharton, and, of course, Herman Melville.
Entries, which should first be posted on YouTube, can be created using any media, from crayons to computer-generated imagery, and must be under three minutes. For all the details on how to submit a video (there is no entry fee), as well as descriptions of each version of The Duel, visit the Melville House site.
In the video below, Melville House throws the gauntlet.
Banned Books in Missouri, Lorrie Moore on Friday Night Lights, and More
A school board in Missouri has banned Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five; Lorrie Moore on Friday Night Lights; Barnes & Noble sued; and other news.
Books Columnists Fired, Unbound and Struggling, and More
The Los Angeles Times has fired its freelance book reviewers and columnists; Unbound, a "Kickstarter for books" is struggling; a self-published young-adult writer was fooled into believing she'd landed a lucrative book deal; and other news.
The $100,000 Book Review, a New Yeats Play, and More
The Daily Telegraph is ordered to pay more than one hundred thousand dollars to author over a book review dispute; the tragedy in Norway through the lens of Stieg Larsson; a new Yeats play; and other news.
Post-Borders Roundup, New York Poetry Festival, and More
Life after Borders; over one hundred poets land on New York City's Governors Island; one hundred forty thousand children are pardoned library fines; and other news.
Norway Suspect Wrote a 1,500-Page Manifesto, Agents as E-book Publishers, and More
Accused mass-murderer Anders Behring Breivik wrote a fifteen-hundred-page manifesto; Google Books disappeared from Apple's App Store; Jeffrey Eugenides has a black eye; and other news.
Indie Bookstores in a Post-Borders World, Ayn Rand's Adolescent Appeal, and More
The state of indie bookstores post-Borders; Busboys and Poets crosses state lines; Ayn Rand speaks to "alienated youth"; celebrity baby boosts book sales; and other news.
Pinsky's Rules for Reviewers, Catch-22 Turns Fifty, and More
AAP reports book sales figures for the first half of 2011; a compendium of literature of extraordinary debt; Keats's bullying reviewer; and other news.
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