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Western Europe is experiencing a massive shift toward e-books; the best literary shows on television; the new Concise Oxford English Dictionary lists "sexting" as a noun; and other news.
Terese Svoboda's fifth novel, Bohemian Girl, forthcoming from Bison Books next month, is one of twelve new and noteworthy books featured in the latest installment of Page One. Watch the trailer then read an excerpt from the first chapter.
The winner of this year's Edwin Morgan Poetry Prize, the largest U.K.-based award for a single poem, was announced earlier today at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Scottish poet Jane McKie, who runs the small publisher Knucker Press, was chosen from an all-female shortlist to win the five thousand pound prize (roughly $8,250) for her poem "Leper Window, St. Mary the Virgin."
Judge Kona Macphee says the poem, while relatively brief at forty-seven words, "epitomizes everything I love about poetry. It revels in the musicality of language and is magnificently concise, evoking a whole lost world in a dozen elegantly understated lines."
McKie has been previously honored for her debut collection, Morocco Rococo (Cinnamon Press), which was awarded the Scottish Arts Council's prize for a first book in 2007. To read her Morgan Prize–winning poem, visit the Guardian's website.
The annual prize, named for the late Scottish poet Edwin Morgan, is given for a poem by a writer of any nationality.
Investment news sent Barnes & Noble stock into a tailspin; Disney has donated five hundred thousand dollars and eight million books to a children's charity; BookPage lists the twenty-five fall books they're most excited about; and other news.
Novelists Janet Burroway and Elizabeth Stuckey-French and essayist Ned Stuckey-French provide a guide for the novice story writer from first inspiration to final revision by providing practical writing techniques and concrete examples. The text also includes exercises to spur writing and creativity.
Simon & Schuster employees have a little fun reading from Nicholson Baker's new erotic novel, House of Holes, which was reviewed on the cover of last Sunday's New York Times Book Review by Sam Lipsyte, who called it a "hideously glorious filthfest."
I visited one of Brooklyn College's workshops when deciding among programs and remember being awed by the quality of the student writing and the level of attention everyone paid one another's stories. The place seemed filled with talented and passionate writers. I quickly realized it was filled with great people, too. My experience as a student has far surpassed my expectations of this or any program. My writing's sharpened on a technical level, but also on a personal one, as each student is given the freedom to explore his or her own style.
A Judge has dismissed the case against novelist Kathryn Stockett; BookTour.com is shutting down September 1; Literary Brooklyn; dispatches from the Edinburgh International Book Festival; and other news.
Based on the 2003 novel by Lionel Shriver, We Need to Talk About Kevin, starring Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly and directed by Lynne Ramsay, will open in theaters in France next month, in the U.K. in October, and in the U.S. in December.
Californians have launched a boycott of Amazon over its sales tax stance; Novelist Tom Perrota is the latest literary star to ink a deal with HBO; David Sedaris is not running for president of the United States; and other news.
