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:

Burmese poet Saw Wei was released from prison yesterday after serving a two-and-a-half year sentence for "inducing crime against public tranquility" in one of his poems. The poem, published in a weekly magazine in 2008, contained a hidden acrostic message for readers: "General Than Shwe is crazy with power." (Press Release [2])  

A spate of recent suicides by Chinese workers has occurred at a factory making Apple's iPad. (Independent [3])

The New York Times [4] reported on the anxiety at BEA over e-book pricing, piracy, and retail bookstore closings. Also notable? The appearance of the duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, who is currently embroiled in a bribery scandal over access to her ex-husband, Prince Andrew. 

Author Joe McGinniss has taken up residence in the house next to Sarah Palin as he finishes work on a book about the former Alaska governor. Needless to say, this has stirred up a bit of controversy. (Star [5])

Penguin and Amazon have finally reached an agency agreement to sell the publisher's front-list titles in the Kindle bookstore. (Publishers Weekly [6])

The Poetry Foundation [7] released an iPhone app that includes "hundreds of poems by classic and contemporary poets." 

A new study has revealed a shocking statistic: Children as young as seven are more likely to own a mobile phone than a book. (Telegraph [8])

London's book thieves are quite literary, according to the Independent [9].