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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.