Breaking news on authors, publishers, and book-related topics

Donald Hall, US poet laureate and prize-winning man of letters, dies at 89

Jun 25 2018: Donald Hall, a prolific and award-winning poet and man of letters who was widely admired for his sharp humor and painful candor about nature, mortality, baseball and the distant past, has died. He was 89.

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Where the ‘no ending a sentence with a preposition’ rule comes from

Jun 25 2018: Atlas Obscura explains the history behind the, arguably nonsensical, grammar rule about not ending a sentence with a preposition which, "all goes back to 17th-century England and a fusspot named John Dryden":

There are thousands of individual rules for proper ...

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B&N posted loss of $125 million on 6% sales drop in FY '18

Jun 21 2018: Total sales at Barnes & Noble fell 6.0% in the fiscal year ended April 28, 2018, compared to fiscal 2017, and the retailer posted a net loss of $125.5 million last year, compared to net income of $22.0 million in fiscal 2017. Revenue last year was $3.66 billion, down ...

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The 2017 VIDA Count

Jun 20 2018: Since 2009 VIDA has tracked the review coverage of major print publications to analyze how many women and gender minorities are represented.

For the 2017 VIDA Count, they looked at 15 major print publications over the course of the year. Even though many, if not all ...

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Atul Gawande named to head cost-cutting health-care venture

Jun 20 2018: Renowned surgeon and best-selling author Atul Gawande will lead a major new company aimed at reducing health-care costs, a joint venture by Amazon, JPMorgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway.

The company, which will be based in Boston, was announced in January with a ...

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Junot Díaz cleared in MIT Investigation

Jun 20 2018: A Massachusetts Institute of Technology investigation has cleared author and creative writing professor Junot Díaz to return to the classroom for the fall semester. The Associated Press reported that "the inquiry into Díaz's actions toward female students and staff ...

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Oxford English Dictionary asks members of the public to submit regional words

Jun 20 2018: Oxford University Press is asking members of the public to submit local words, phrases and expressions from around the world for inclusion in the Oxford English Dictionary:

"Whether you’re in Manchester, Mumbai, Manila, or Massachusetts, the OED would like to hear ...

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Richard Powers: 'We're completely alienated from everything else alive'

Jun 16 2018: After writing novels on artificial intelligence, neuroscience and genetics, Powers’ has turned to trees with The Overstory. While on a hike through the Great Smoky Mountains, he talks to The Guardian about environmentalism and not having children.

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