Category: words

“Concerns about contraband introduction led me to issue the original directive. After conducting further review, the data does not support continuing the restriction on donated, used books.” – Seattle Times

“Inside the new space, the North Hall would feature a vault for the library’s 82 Shakespeare first folios, the first collections of Shakespeare’s plays published in 1623. In addition, four immersive galleries would … introduce visitors to Shakespearean themes. … Another new exhibition hall would display the library’s treasures” — it holds the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare-related materials — “as well as provide room for changing exhibitions.” – The Washington Post

The works, which had belonged to the University and Regional Library of Bonn and “which were thought to have been irretrievably lost, included rare medieval manuscripts, early 15th-century prints, historical maps and the 19th-century illustrated bird books from the library of the celebrated German ornithologist and explorer Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied.” – The Guardian

“The Libro de los Epítomes manuscript … contains more than 2,000 pages and summaries from the library of Hernando Colón, … who made it his life’s work to create the biggest library the world had ever known in the early part of the 16th century.” Only about a quarter of the actual volumes have survived, so the catalogue provides invaluable information on what was being published at the time. – The Guardian

“When German book wholesaler and distributor Koch, Neff and Volckmar (KNV) filed for bankruptcy in February, Europe’s largest book market was deeply shaken. Coming hot on the heels of a controversial merger between two leading book chains — Thalia and Mayersche — KNV’s plight added massively to the already fraught mood in the industry. If no buyer is found for the family-owned business, the implications could be severe … for the German book industry as a whole.” – Shelf Awareness

Of the six authors and six translators up for this year’s £50,000 award, only one author (Juan Gabriel Vásquez of Colombia) is male. Arguably the most prominent name on the list is Polish novelist Olga Tokarczuk (who took the same award last year for Flights) with Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead. – The Guardian

“Laboulaye’s creative work has been eclipsed by his political career” — a judge during France’s Second Empire, he was committed to women’s rights and the end of slavery — “but in his day he was recognized as a writer of fiction, too, and especially known for his fairy tales … [in which] rulers are more often than not oppressors, and women and outcasts and peasants usually win out.” – The New York Review of Books

Martin Colthorpe, director of ILFDublin : “The pressure for festivals to evolve beyond the readings-and-discussion format is a hot topic right now, with the sheer portability of words allowing for a wide interpretation of what counts as a literary event.” – Irish Times