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:
Barnes & Noble has decided to split from its e-reader and e-book business, making Nook Media a separate business entity. While the brick-and-mortar bookseller made a profit during the last fiscal year, the Nook lost $218 million. (Los Angeles Times)
Following a successful trial run with twenty libraries, Simon & Schuster has announced that it will begin sharing its full catalogue of e-books with libraries nationwide. (Publishers Weekly)
In a recent GQ review of the new film Third Person, Tom Carson wrote that Olivia Wilde’s portrayal of a writer was unbelievable given her physical appearance—more specifically, he wrote, "With that tush, who'd need to be literate? Who'd want to?" Wilde responded to the remark on Twtitter, and the GQ editors have since apologized. (Huffington Post, Indie Wire)
A first edition of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass sold at Christie’s yesterday for $305,000. The book had previously belonged to reclusive heiress Huguette Clark. (CNBC)
Author Daniel Handler, also known by the nom de plume Lemony Snicket, will host the National Book Foundation’s fall awards ceremony. (ABC News)
Lily King’s fourth novel, Euphoria—a work of historical fiction based on the experiences of anthropologist Margaret Mead—is being adapted for the big screen by Michael Apted, director of Coal Miner’s Daughter and the Showtime series Masters of Sex. (Washington Post)
Today, Poets House in New York City opens its annual showcase of poetry books and poetry-related texts published in the past calendar year.
Meanwhile, Indianapolis artist Jonathan McAfee has created a series of portraits of the late Kurt Vonnegut to be displayed beginning July 11 at the city’s memorial library devoted to the author. (Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library)
