Blog

Ten-Year-Old Wins A Book Deal

A ten-year-old girl’s book about surviving her parents’ divorce has been picked up by a publisher. “When her mother and father separated three and a half years ago Libby Rees wrote a list of the things that helped her make sense of what was going on. The result was a 60-page book called Help, Hope and Happiness, published by Aultbea Publishing based in Inverness.”

Montreal Modern In A Grain Silo?

The Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal wants to build a home in a grain silo. “The museum’s project, titled Silo No. 5: Musée d’art moderne, imagines the revamping of three historic grain silos on the western edge of Old Montreal, a project that would include a luxury-condo complex and a museum devoted to modern and contemporary art with a special emphasis on the emergence of abstraction in Quebec. The proposed museum would be housed on the 10th and 11th floors of a concrete grain elevator built in 1957 by C. D. Howe and Co. and would showcase the permanent collection of the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal.”

Study: Music Sharing Could Be Major Sales Force

A new study suggests that online music sharing could become a major force in marketing music. “Nearly one quarter of frequent online music users say that the ability to share music with others is a key factor when selecting an online music service. And a third were interested in technology that helps them discover and recommend music, such as tools that allow Internet users to publish and rank lists of their favorite songs. Perhaps most important for the recording industry, a tenth of those surveyed said they frequently make music purchases based on others’ recommendations.”

A Magazine Outsiders Can’t Get

Even as owner David Bradley is moving the Atlantic magazine out of Boston, he’s starting another magazine in Boston. This one is a publication for Harvard alums only. “It’s certainly an original gambit, to market a subscription-based magazine to a group that outsiders can’t join. Alumni magazines typically lose plenty of money, and it’s hard to see who would want to read this one, apart from the not-inconsiderable universe of narcissistic Harvard graduates.

Celeb Mags Headed Down

After seeing big circulation increases earlier this year American celebrity magazines have seen some shrp declines. “Us has seen the steepest drop-off, with fourth-quarter sales running about 15 percent below its January-through-September average. People is down about 9 percent; Star, 8 percent, and In Touch, 5 percent, said sources. (People, Us and In Touch are all on pace to report a year-over-year increase for the second half as a whole, however; Star will be slightly down.)”

John Simon In Three Volumes

Critic John Simon is out with three volumes of his collected pieces. “The irony of this is that writers (and bloggers) who benefit, likely without realizing it, from Simon’s path-blazing, pre-eminent debunking of crap are some of his most vocal critics. It seems almost foolish to have to point out that Simon’s reviews were politically incorrect well before the tide began to turn against PC, yet his detractors, who remain determinedly stuck on autopilot, could use a little nudging.”

Mamet: Why “Night Of The Iguana” Is Not A Good Play

“Playwriting is a young man’s – and, of late, a young woman’s – game. It requires the courage of youth still inspired by rejection and as yet unperverted by success. Most playwrights’ best work is probably their earliest. Those prejudices of anger, outrage and heartbreak the writer brings to his early work will be fuelled by a passionate sense of injustice. In the later work, this will in the main have been transformed by the desire for retribution.” That said, writes David Mamet, “The Night of the Iguana is not a very good play.”