Books :: Paste

Pulitzer Prize winners include Elizabeth Strout, Lynn Nottage, W.S. Merwin and more

By Rachel Dovey on 11:52 AM on April 21, 2009

It's that time of year again, when the stars align to produce three great events (usually) in the same month. We get Easter, Coachella and the Pulitzer announcements all wrapped up in a pastel-colored package, complete with blossoming trees and warm weather. It's like Rogers and Hammerstein took over the universe for a few weeks, and we're all suddenly compelled to break into song.... read more

Elissa Elliott

By Kate Kiefer on 3:12 PM on April 20, 2009

In Elissa Elliott’s debut novel, three fictional daughters help... read more

Steve Knopper

By Chad Radford on 4:00 PM on April 15, 2009

The most compelling characters in Appetite for Self-Destruction are also... read more

AmazonFail postmortem: furor subsiding, hacking denied

By Jeffrey Bloomer on 11:04 AM on April 15, 2009

It began with a quiet post by an author on Sunday, but by Monday, it was a national controversy and an instant go-to for anyone out to prove the power of Twitter.... read more

Robert Moss

By Patricia Dreame Wilson on 4:10 PM on April 13, 2009

Former Economist correspondent Robert Moss is an expert guide to... read more

Wikipedia trounces Microsoft's Encarta Encyclopedia to death

By Matt Goodlett on 11:29 AM on April 8, 2009

"F*%$! accuracy!" So seems to say the world in our high-speed, internet-crazed culture where the free, web-based, cooperative encyclopedia Wikipedia has just dealt the death blow to Encarta Encyclopedia. Maybe you recall your professors telling you that Wikipedia is not an official source? Or maybe you work for a magazine that does not verify its facts based on Wiki's word? ... read more

Michael Crichton's last two novels to be published posthumously

By Muriel Vega on 5:20 PM on April 6, 2009

HarperCollins plans to publish two posthumous novels by Michael Crichton, the best-selling author of Jurassic Park and creator of ER. He left behind one finished novel, Pirate Latitudes, and about one-third of an untitled novel, after his death in late 2008. Pirate Latitudes will be published on Nov. 24, 2009, followed by the currently untitled thriller, which is to be published in late 2010.... read more

Greg Ames

By Matt Goodlett on 2:05 PM on March 31, 2009

The cover of Greg Ames’s debut novel depicts a sweating beer... read more

Christopher James wins National Poetry Competition

By Rachel Dovey on 9:54 AM on March 31, 2009

Poet Christopher James won this year's National Poetry Competition for his piece "Farewell to the Earth." Judges included Brian Pattern, Frieda Hughes and Jack Mapanje.... read more

Jon Hamm joins James Franco in Howl

By Jeffrey Bloomer on 10:00 AM on March 27, 2009

Jon Hamm, the eminently likeable actor who is the face of Mad Men, has gone in the past couple of years from relative obscurity to one of the most sought-after talents around. After his side gigs as Tina Fey’s beau on 30 Rock and as a faux Lex Luther, he’s signed on for a supporting part in Howl, the indie drama about the obscenity trial of Allen Ginsberg (to be played by James Franco).... read more

Anthony Hopkins to play Ernest Hemingway

By Jeffrey Bloomer on 10:36 AM on March 25, 2009

Ernest Hemingway’s fiction is famously difficult to develop for the screen, but perhaps his life will translate a little easier.... read more

Wells Tower

By Justin Taylor on 4:30 PM on March 16, 2009

We begin with a story of a man waking on the floor of a beach house, saltine crumbs... read more

Roberto Bolaño still cranking out novels after death

By Matt Goodlett on 3:04 PM on March 12, 2009

Not to be outdone by David Foster Wallace or Tupac Shakur, Roberto Bolaño may have some new literary work coming out soon, despite the fact that he's been deceased since 2003.... read more

Rare Harry Potter book fetches $19,000 at auction

By Rachel Dovey on 11:23 AM on March 11, 2009

We've left the muggle world without Harry Potter news for far too long. Lest our readership leave us for wizard sources like The Daily Prophet, we dug around like Rita Skeeter (more ethically, of course) and came up with some juicy new Potter tidbits.... read more