Authors It’s Official: Philip K. Dick, Great American Writer By Neal on Nov. 27, 2006 - 11:50 AM Buried at the tail end of Mark Sarvas’s interview with Jonathan Lethem comes news of one project on the novelist’s plate: “I’m helping preside over the utter and irreversible canonization of one of my (form ...
Trends Literary Suppression from Iowa to Australia By Neal on Nov. 27, 2006 - 10:00 AM A school superintendent in Carroll, Iowa has ordered the removal of What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? from a high-school reading list after a parent complained about an oral sex scene in the novel. (Goes to show; having never rea ...
Comic Books DC, Alloy Team Up: Comics for Girls Return By Neal on Nov. 27, 2006 - 9:00 AM There was a time when comics weren’t just about superheroes; in fact, caped crusaders had to compete in a marketplace crowded with westerns, horror, war stories, and romance. Over time, comics explicitly aimed at young adult ...
Reviews Print v. blog gets another spin cycle By Carmen on Nov. 27, 2006 - 9:00 AM Last week the UK publishing industry was agog after Susan Hill published a missive from a name-withheld literary editor who promised never to review any books written or published by her. Now the Observer’s Rachel Cooke has ...
Awards Nat’l Book Award Judge Pulls Back Curtain By Neal on Nov. 27, 2006 - 8:32 AM Novelist Marianne Wiggins has written an essay for the Los Angeles Times about her work on this year’s NBA fiction committee, after getting in a few jabs about how Americans are blithely ignorant of literary culture, even he ...
Comic Books Dave Cockrum, 1943-2006 By Neal on Nov. 27, 2006 - 8:01 AM Comic book artist Dave Cockrum (left), best known for his role in reviving Marvel’s X-Men franchise in 1975, died yesterday of complications relating to diabetes. Comics blogger Tom Spurgeon has written a thoughtful obituary ...
Authors Welcome Back; Here’s Your OJ Update By Neal on Nov. 27, 2006 - 7:55 AM Just a quick followup to last week’s item on Regan ghostwriter Pablo Fenjves: in this week’s New Yorker, Fenjves talks to Jeffrey Toobin, who covered the Simpson murder trial (in which Fenjves was a prosecution witness ...
Awards Previewing the Bad Sex Prize By Carmen on Nov. 27, 2006 - 7:53 AM This award is certainly one of our favorites, for how can a prize that celebrates awful sex in books not be entertaining? The Independent on Sunday’s Suzi Feay managed to get a hold of a probable shortlist for the prize, whi ...
Book Biz Judge the book by its jacket By Carmen on Nov. 27, 2006 - 7:04 AM The Times’ Philip Oltermann goes for the tried-and-true in his piece on what makes for a good book jacket, but sometimes the expected makes for good reading nonetheless, pointing out that “a good jacket reveals somethi ...
Authors McEwan accused of plagiarism yet again By Carmen on Nov. 27, 2006 - 6:36 AM Almost 30 years ago, Ian McEwan‘s debut novel THE CEMENT GARDEN faced charges of plagiarism by critics suggesting the book’s plot bore a suspicious resemblance to another book published 15 years before. Nothing was pro ...