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:
According to estimates from the Assocation of American Publishers, book sales dropped 1.8 percent in 2009 to $23.9 billion. Book sales dropped 2.6 percent in 2008. In brighter news, e-book sales increased 176.6 percent last year. (Publishers Weekly [2])
Tariq Ramadan, the Swiss scholar of Muslim studies whose visa was revoked by the Bush administration in 2004, finally arrived in the United States on Wednesday. (New York Times [3])
In honor of the tenth anniversary of the Griffin Poetry Prize, Canada's most prestigious award for poetry is significantly increasing its cash awards. "We want to make a statement to poets and to the international world that this prize and poetry are really important," the award's founder said. (CBC [4]) Read more at G&A: The Contest Blog [5].
A roadie for the Rolling Stones is releasing a memoir and an iPhone app at the same time; Sam Cutler's publisher, ECW Press, claims it's the first time such a thing has been done in North America. (Yahoo [6])
Courtesy of the new San Francisco Panorama, here's a handy pronunciation guide to help you pronounce your favorite writer's name correctly at his or her next event. (Diesel [7])
The Kindle [8] may be coming to a Target store near you, and the Nook [9] will soon be available at Best Buy. (engadget)
Scrabble fans, fear not! After much consternation and confusion, the word game will not be allowing proper nouns. Phew. (Slate [10])
The American Library Association is facing another million dollar budget shortfall, resulting in at least one week-long furlough for ALA staffers. (Library Journal [11])