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:
At a book signing in Saint Paul, Minnesota, eleven hundred fans arrived to have their copies of Hillary Clinton’s memoir Hard Choices signed by the author. (Star Tribune)
Australian author Liam Davison, the author of five books including the novels Velodrome, The Betrayal, and The White Woman, was among the victims of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which was shot down Thursday while flying over Ukraine. (GalleyCat)
The Recuyell of the Histories of Troye, a five-hundred-and-forty-year-old tome thought to be the first book printed in English, was sold at auction recently for £1,082,500 (approximately $1,848,596). (BBC)
British feminist author Laurie Penny, whose book Unspeakable Things was released in her home country two weeks ago, reported experiencing “a stream of vile sexist and anti-Semitic abuse on Twitter and elsewhere” over the weekend. Penny added that in an attempt to "sabotage" sales of her book, Internet users also posted several one-star reviews on Amazon, many of which also included abusive language. (Independent)
Self-named “Love Poet” Lee Mallory, who relocated from southern California to Las Vegas last year, is attempting to take the city’s poetry scene by storm by arriving for readings at nightclubs in limousines and accompanied by strippers. (Los Angeles Times)
St. Mark’s Bookshop has opened its doors for the first time in its new Manhattan space, after high rent and a drop-off in sales forced the store to move from its old location. (Shelf Awareness, New York Times)
Journalist Joe Pinsker of the Atlantic explains how auto-correct software may slow the impending death of the apostrophe.
An infographic at Electric Literature illustrates the word counts of several works of literature, including poems, stories, and books by Margaret Atwood, Donald Barthelme, Kate Chopin, James Joyce, George R. R. Martin, Leo Tolstoy, and others.
