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 NEA's [2] latest Survey of Publication Participation in the Arts charts a 2 percent drop in adults who engaged in nonrequired reading between 2002 and 2008, as well as a 4 percent decline in adults who read poetry over the same period. In slightly more encouraging news, the survey reported a 3 percent increase in adults who read "literature" (defined as plays, novels, or poetry) over the six-year span.
The Lambda Literary Foundation [3] appointed a permanent executive director.
A new Chinese literary agency with a focus on marketing authors to Western audiences is attracting top talent (Publishing Perspectives [4]).
Random House and EA Sports announced the release of a new version of Longfellow's translation of Dante's Inferno, as a promotional tie-in for a video game based on the epic poem (1up [5]).
The central character in David Foster Wallace's acclaimed work of fiction, Infinite Jest, is putting on an art show at Columbia University (Rumpus [6]).
To celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of Leo Tolstoy's death, Quirk Books announced the upcoming release of Android Karenina (GalleyCat [7]).
Barnes & Noble's Nook won Best Gadget of 2009 at the Crunchies Awards (Bookseller [8]).
British indie bookstores have seen sales drop as much as 50 percent due to unusually low temperatures and heavy snow this winter (Bookseller [9]).
The contenders for the Morning News' [10] Sixth Annual Tournament of Books were announced today.