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:

After selling three hundred thousand e-books, self-published novelist Hugh Howey has landed a book deal [2] with Simon & Schuster. (GalleyCat)

Huffington Post rounds up gift ideas for every book lover [3] on your holiday shopping list.

David Foster Wallace biographer D. T. Max reveals the origins of his title phrase [4], "every love story is a ghost story." (New Yorker)

Humanities details the unexpected literary friendship between Dracula author Bram Stoker and Walt Whitman [5].

For the Poetry Society of America, Matthew Rohrer shares his affection for the fragments of Percy Bysshe Shelley [6].

Melville House considers what Shakespeare can teach us about the fiscal cliff [7].

The New York Daily News reports a man recorded himself reading the longest word in the world [8], which takes three hours to pronounce.

With hours to spare, the Rumpus reached its funding goal for a film adaptation of Stephen Elliott's novel [9], Happy Baby.