-Miss Snark, literary agent, has some sympathy for Don Imus. After all, "he helped promote a lot of books." (via Miss Snark)
-Newly uncovered manuscript from the late author of Suite Française (via Conversational Reading)
-More mind-blowing poetry videos from Billy Collins, former Poet Laureate (Billy Collins Action Poetry via Very Short List)
-Au revoir, Cody's Books (via SFGate)
Size matters over at Boldtype. This literary e-magazine's new issue rounds up books under the theme Tiny; that is, "books that are either physically slight themselves or concerned with tiny subjects."
Brought to you by my zeitgeisty friends at Flavorpill.
*Chicagoans! Check out ongoing City of Words events including today's Jonathan Lethem discussion. (via Chicagoist)
CONVERSATION WITH THE AUTHORS: Process and Place*Fellow New Yorkers! Join indie presses this Friday for a reading marathon featuring Soft Skull Press and City Lights authors. (via Small Press Month)
National Small Press Month Reading Marathon
Friday, March 16, 2007
Mo Pitkin’s House of Satisfaction
34 Avenue A
6 p.m.
Gawker reports that Dave Eggers's highbrow satire magazine McSweeney's wants to rescind their lifetime subscriptions offer.
Specifically, the mag's letter to lifetime subscribers says, "You know, move on."
Ouch.
Maybe they're just being ironic?
Galleycat's poll says we take our book hints from friends and newspapers. What was the last book you bought, and where did you hear about it?
The last book tip I followed up on was Don't Get Too Comfortable by David Rakoff, which I heard about back when the author appeared on The Daily Show.
-PEN appoints author Francine Prose as president (via Boston Herald)
-A Long Way Down author Nick Hornby writes children's book (via Publisher's Weekly)
-Penguin Books UK blog discusses South by Southwests' Blogs to Books panel (via The Penguin Blog)
-Random House and Whole Foods team up to promote memoir (via Publisher's Weekly)
Gawker ponders shrinking book review sections in the L.A. Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and other top newspapers. Apparently, "the only book review in the country that will not be affected is the one that comes in the New York Times."
Yeah, Californians may not read book reviews, but don't forget that they've got literary cred with 826 Valencia and San Francisco's City Lights bookstore.
Wait a minute, that's just northern California...
-Janet Fitch, Paint it Black
-Sean Wilsey, Oh the Glory of It All
-Dr. Connie Guttersen, The Sonoma Diet
-Mark Sarvas, The Elegant Variation blogger, signs with Bloomsbury (via Slush Pile)
-Catherine Sanderson, La Petite Anglaise blogger, gets fired, inks Penguin book deal (via The Independent)
-Jessica Hagy, Indexed blogger, signs with Viking Studio (via Indexed)
Gawker talks shrinking book advances. It's only a matter of time before $62.5K is the new $125K!
Future novelists, don't quit your day jobs... (via 52 Projects)
-Three Rivers Press (Random House) inks deal for biography of troubled indie rock artist Cat Power (via Publishers Marketplace)
-Hollywood glamorizes Jane Austen in the upcoming film Becoming Jane (via Bookninja)
-Columbia University's writing seminar spawns book deals (via NPR)
-Salon advises a novelist who fears getting published (Salon via Mediabistro)
I heart YouTube, I really do. It's not as if I have anything better to do than watch people lip synch or view footage of someone's cat. Sleeping.
Right. Well, as with movies or any other media, occasionally I want to watch something not just because I can. I want to watch something meaningful. Something I can relate to. Something earnest. Art. Poetry. Something. Anything.
Check out this reading by Poet Laureate and The Trouble With Poetry author Billy Collins set to beautiful animation. It's better than a video of your pet. Lip synching. To The Beatles.
This link is all over the lit blogs, but I thought I'd share a little story first...
Back when Bookblogger was an intern at a hip little magazine, an editor announced to us that George Plimpton, editor-in-chief of The Paris Review, had died. Cool kids that we were, we couldn't quite hear the editor in our open loft office space over the sound of our iTunes blasting. One editorial assistant said, "George Clinton died? Man, that's too bad."
Another editorial assistant straggled in from lunch, a greasy paper bag in hand. "Did you guys hear? George Plimpton died!"
"George Plimpton died? Oh..." the first assistant said. "Hey, what a coincidence...George Clinton died!"
And here, my friends, is The Plimpton Project, an organization collecting funds toward creating a statue of Plimpton for Central Park. Enjoy.
Who knew? Those who write book blurbs don't even read the books they're blurbing!
Say it ain't so, Penguin Books UK!
Hey, remember back when magazines used to feature serial fiction once a week?
Me neither!
Anyway, check out the new site Five Chapters for your daily dose of serialized fiction. While you're at it, check out free fiction from my comrades at the literary mags KGB Bar Lit and Pindeldyboz.
And if you have any lit mag suggestions for me, drop me a line.
OH MA GAHHH...The NYT has finally noticed that there are a lot of great books coming out this fall.
We, of course, have most of these. Yay! Take a look: www.zooba.com.
Hooray! We finally have a MySpace page, complete with 16 li'l buddies...less than Black Expressions, but we plan to change that soon!
Check us out: http://myspace.com/zoobabookclub