Category: publishing

The 31 nominees in six competitive categories (autobiography has six finalists) announced Saturday were an international blend of popular authors such as Franzen, Christopher Hitchens and Patti Smith and the kind of lesser-known picks critics pride themselves on, such as German-Dutch novelist Hans Keilson, 101 years old, and cited for the acclaimed “Comedy in a Key.”

“Philosophy has historically viewed literature with suspicion, or at least a vague unease. Most philosophers are wary of the aesthetic urge in themselves. It says something about philosophy that two of its greatest practitioners, Aristotle and Kant, were pretty terrible writers.”

“To those of us who haven’t studied rhetoric — that is, pretty much all of us — its workings are largely invisible. In the same way the same scene in a movie can seem either innocuous or sinister depending how it’s presented (search for “recut trailer” on YouTube if you don’t believe me), different figures of speech can color statements in subtle ways.”

“[It’s] highly disturbing that literature is being celebrated in this manner in a land where cartoonists, journalists, writers and dissident voices are so often victimized by the current government,” said a release from Reporters Without Borders this week.

“The notion of a cadre of literary novelists, young or old, eager to depict the moment we live in – let alone battling conservative naysayers for the right to do so – is almost quaint. When reading for a American literary prize a couple of years ago, I was struck by how strenuously most of the entrants seemed to be skirting that challenge.”

A historian of medicine claims “that she has identified the model for the workhouse in Oliver Twist – and that the building in central London is now facing demolition.”

“The count offers a snapshot of a typical week of reading by Canadians – including physical books and digital downloads, purchased or on loan from the library.” (Canada’s population is roughly 34 million.)

“On the one hand, the Reading Summit is motivated by a fear that Canada lags other countries in promoting reading among the populace; on the other, it will be celebrating Canadians’ demonstrable enthusiasm for books. It’s a paradox that speaks to the gap between anxieties about literacy and our reading reality.”

“Excruciating it may be. Nonetheless, authors are becoming more and more involved in the nitty-gritty of moving the merch” – working Facebook, of course, but also running giveaways and sometimes performing onstage.

“Wikipedia turned 10 years old this week, and perhaps no entry better captures its chaotic ascendency than that of Jesus Christ. What follows is a brief history of Wikipedia Jesus – his test, trials, and the chaotic world into which he was born.”