AmazonFail postmortem: furor subsiding, hacking denied
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
Wikipedia trounces Microsoft's Encarta Encyclopedia to death
"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
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
Christopher James wins National Poetry Competition
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
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
Ernest Hemingway’s fiction is famously difficult to develop for the screen, but perhaps his life will translate a little easier. ... read more
Roberto Bolaño still cranking out novels after death
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
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
James Franco preps short-story collection
Actor James Franco has reportedly sold a short-story collection to publishing giant Simon Schuster's imprint Scribner.... read more
Posthumous David Foster Wallace story published in New Yorker, book promised for 2010
Following months of speculation as to what would happen... read more
Soundscreen Design prepping 7" design book
Seven-inch records are where things begin. For independent labels and bands without cashflow to speak of, it's how sound gets moving from amps to earphones. Which is exactly why they merit acclaim so badly: They've long been the handshake drugs of punk and hardcore scenes, and even eventual powerhouses like Seattle's Sub Pop would be nowhere without a debut 7" like Mudhoney's "Touch Me I'm Sick".... read more
Silver Jews' David Berman plans cartoon compilation
Now, why would David Berman think that people who listen to indie rock want to read comics? Drag City's website recently announced that they'll be publishing The Portable February, a comic compilation book from the ex-lead silver semite.... read more
I Love You, Beth Cooper gets movie to go with soundtrack
Larry Doyle, who has written for The Simpsons and Beavis and Butthead, is having his first novel, I Love You, Beth Cooper, made into a movie.... read more
Bill Ayers set to publish graphic-novel memoir
Bill Ayers' name became common coin during the 2008 presidential election, with Barack Obama's campaign railroaded into answering questions on his tenuous connection to the radical leftist-turned-university professor. The grim specter of this TERRORIST MENTOR dominated the political narrative for a month, and then Tina Fey turned in the defining role of her career. Ayers, clearly operating on the maxim that any publicity is good publicity, has decided to use the last of his 15 minutes to greenlight a graphic-novel adapatation of his 1993 memoir To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher.... read more
Amazon and Google make books extra portable
It looks as though you can all but throw out the library card that's been hiding behind all of the other plastic in your wallet. With the announcement of Amazon's 230,000-plus Kindle e-book titles being formatted for your cellphone, the idea of actually going to the library is one step closer to becoming completely obsolete.... read more
Patrick Swayze to write a memoir
Patrick Swayze will co-author a memoir with his wife that will chronicle his 25-year film career and his current trials with pancreatic cancer, according to People. ... read more
Neil Gaiman nabs director for The Graveyard Book
On the heels of Coraline, Neil Gaiman announced recently that he's found a director for The Graveyard Book.... read more
Washington Post's Book World ends stand-alone run
The Washington Post's Sunday stand-alone book section, Book World, will come to an end and be absorbed by the paper. The last issue will be printed on Feb. 15, but Book World will remain on the Internet.... read more
Best of 2008: It's your turn
Paste announces its 2008 Reader Survey...just in time for Feb. '09! read more
Stan Lee, Marvel, others sued for $750 million
In a sweeping lawsuit filed Monday, Stan Lee, Marvel and several others were sued for $750 million by shareholders over profits from Stan Lee Media, a comics website that filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001. ... read more
