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:

The United States Department of Justice has approved the merger of Random House and Penguin [2]. (New York Times)

Emily Temple asked fourteen poets about their favorite love poems for Valentine’s Day [3]. (Flavorwire)

And GalleyCat rounded up ten free Valentine’s Day e-books [4].

After reviewing MFA program applications, Brown University’s Brian Evenson posted needed advice for future applicants, including, “Don’t try to pretend you’re something you’re not. [5]” (Los Angeles Times)

Library Lournal takes the pulse of today’s erotic fiction [6].

NPR looks at the long-running and famously erudite personal ads [7] in the New York Review of Books [8].

For Valentine’s Day, poet and editor Matthew Zapruder considers Frank O'Hara’s poem [9], “Having a Coke With You.” (Los Angeles Review of Books)

The New York Times profiles the social media website for book lovers [10], Goodreads, which now has fifteen million members.

The British Library intends to make available digital versions of twenty-five thousand rare medieval manuscripts [11], including Petit Livre d’Amour [12], a collection of love poems copied in 1500, which is online now. (Financial Times)