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

Ishmael Baeh named an ambassador for the UN Children's agency

Nov 22 2007: Reuters reports that 26-year-old Ishmael Baeh, a former child soldier in Sierra Leone's civil war and author of A Long Way Gone has been named an ambassador for the U.N. children's agency. He vows to be an advocate for children worldwide, not just in African war ...

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Amazon introduces the Kindle

Nov 20 2007: Amazon have launched the Kindle electronic book reader retailing at $399. The Kindle utilizes electronic-paper display which provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that is claimed to look and read like real paper. It requires no computer and no cables. Books can be...

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Study Links Drop in Test Scores to a Decline in Time Spent Reading

Nov 19 2007: The New York Times reports that a newly released report by the National Endowment for the Arts, based on an analysis of data from about two dozen studies from the federal Education and Labor Departments and the Census Bureau as well as other academic, foundation and ...

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Rare edition of 'Wuthering Heights' sells for record price

Nov 18 2007: A rare first edition of Emily Brontë's novel Wuthering Heights has sold for £114,000 (~$228,000) at Bonhams London auction house today, more than double the expected sale price. The Guardian reports that the copy was purchased by "antiquarian bookseller Robert Kirkman...

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Author of 'Rosemary's Baby' and 'The Stepford Wives' dies

Nov 17 2007: The New York Times reports that Ira Levin, author of Rosemary’s Baby, The Stepford Wives and The Boys From Brazil, died on Monday 12th November at his home in Manhattan. He was 78.

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Judith Regan files lawsuit against Harper Collins

Nov 14 2007: The New York Times reports that Judith Regan, has filed a 70-page lawsuit that seeks $100 million in damages for what she says was a campaign to smear and discredit her by her bosses at HarperCollins and its parent company, News Corporation, after her project to publish...

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National Book Award Winners Announced

Nov 14 2007: The winners of the 2007 National Book Awards are:

• Fiction: Denis Johnson, Tree of Smoke (FSG)
• Nonfiction: Tim Weiner: Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA (Doubleday)
• Poetry: Robert Hass, Time and Materials (Ecco/HarperCollins)
  Young People's Literature: ...

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Prestigious UK publisher to publish all books as paperback originals

Nov 13 2007: The Guardian reports that from next spring Picador UK will release all new novels in paperback editions, alongside a small run of hardbacks, breaking with the trade convention of staggered publication dates. Andrew Kidd, publisher of the prestigious Macmillan imprint...

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