In an earlier post I discussed the furor in the book world caused by the publication over the weekend in The Wall Street Journal lamenting the sad state of YA (young adult) fiction. Here are a couple of responses that get at the heart of the matter. Has Young Adult Fiction Become Too Dark? Over […]
YA Fiction is Too Dark: Some Responses Read More »
Tea Obreht won the Orange Prize for Fiction on Wednesday for her debut novel, “The Tiger’s Wife,” making her at 25 the youngest person to win the award.
Tea Obreht Wins Orange Prize for Fiction Read More »
Britain’s Orange Prize was established 16 years ago to promote women’s fiction in English. The judges look around the world for “excellence, originality, and accessibility” (and no, the first criterion isn’t automatically canceled out by the third). Three of this year’s shortlisted novels deal with imprisoned women, three with the aftermath of war, and three
Darkness Too Visible Contemporary fiction for teens is rife with explicit abuse, violence and depravity. Why is this considered a good idea? Authors and publishers are all atwitter about this article that appeared over the weekend in the online edition of The Wall Street Journal. Meghan Cox Gurdon, who writes regularly about children’s books for
Darkness Too Visible Read More »
Author Michael Cunningham writes about how, as a teenager, he discovered Virginia Woolf through a reading of her novel Mrs. Dalloway, and how his own mother figured in his attempt to write about Woolf in his novel The Hours. As a woman, Woolf knew about the sense of helplessness that can afflict women given too
Virginia Woolf, my mother and me | Books | The Guardian Read More »
If you’re looking for something to read this summer, NPR has 15 suggestions. And it looks as if there should be at least one something for everybody here.
Books Preview: Spotting Summer’s High Fliers : NPR Read More »
Seattle Times book editor Mary Ann Gwinn writes about a “print isn’t dead” report from Bowker, the company that produces Books in Print. Some of the numbers may surprise you.
Books still big business in 2010 Read More »
On this, the final day of Oprah’s long-running network TV show, I have a confession: I have never watched an Oprah show, not even one of her famous book discussions. But so many other people have watched Oprah’s show that publishers are wondering what their fate will be with the loss of “the Oprah effect,”
What Oprah has done for books Read More »
A list of this year’s nominations for the annual Anthony Awards for mystery writing. The winners will be announced at the 2011 annual mystery convention, Bouchercon, to be held in St. Louis September 15-18.
Anthony Award Nominees Announced Read More »
Publishers have spent a lot of time and money building their own company Web sites with fresh information on their books and authors. The trouble is, very few book buyers visit them. In search of an alternative, three major publishers said on Friday that they would create a new venture, called Bookish.com, which is expected
Publishers Make a Plan: A ‘One Stop’ Book Site Read More »
