Ian Hamilton’s Salinger Biography Up for Auction, Speed-Reading Apps, and More

by
Evan Smith Rakoff
11.12.13

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:

A galley copy of Ian Hamilton’s unpublished biography of J. D. Salinger is up for auction at Swann Galleries in New York City on November 21. Salinger successfully sued to block publication of the book in 1987. (Boston Herald)

With the news yesterday that editor Hugo Lindgren is leaving the New York Times Magazine, Choire Sicha suggests a pool of replacements, including Anna Holmes and Renata Adler. (Awl)

Best-selling author Tim Ferriss announced he is launching an audiobook publisher. (paidContent)

“At the BBC, Thomas was known, not for his attachment to alcohol, but for his reliability.” The Independent recalls the life and work of celebrated poet Dylan Thomas, who died sixty years ago on November 9.

On Ron Slate’s website, several poets discuss their favorite recent collections, including Lisa Russ Spaar who examines Silverchest by Carl Phillips, and Daisy Fried who explores Sebastien Agudelo’s Each Chartered Street. (On the Seawall)

Maria Popova considers what can be gleaned from Conversations with David Foster Wallace. Published by the University Press of Mississippi in 2012, the book is a collection of interviews and profiles of Wallace. (Brain Pickings)

Rachel Arons looks at the rise and use of speed-reading Apps like QuickReader, and other time-tracking features on digital books. (New Yorker)