Donal Ryan’s Novel Rejected Forty-Seven Times, Estate of William Faulkner, and More

by
Evan Smith Rakoff
7.26.13

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 Wall Street Journal looks at the estate of William Faulkner, headed by Lee Caplin. A former prosecutor turned film producer, Mr. Caplin has optioned the film and television rights to several of Faulkner’s books.

GalleyCat explains how to share reading material with the incarcerated.

First-time novelist Anakana Schofield details the vagaries of publicizing a book—often with no remuneration. (Guardian)

Irish novelist Donal Ryan’s The Spinning Heart was rejected forty-seven times before it was rescued from the slush pile—Ryan’s book was just nominated for a Man Booker Prize. (Independent)

AcademicPub has a created a self-publishing service for college professors called Express Books. (Publishers Weekly)

In 2004, fifty-six antique books were stolen and sold by a librarian at the National Library of Sweden, who later committed suicide. Recently two books were returned to Swedish authorities in a ceremony in New York City. (Huffington Post)

Pop Chart Lab created a poster of the chapter-by-chapter breakdown of The Great Gatsby.

Arika Okrent collected sixteen words with origins much older than one would imagine. For instance, “Legit” has been in use since the 1890s. (Mental Floss)