Harper Lee, Girl Dectective

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We had one of those “All Harper Lee, All The Time”* weekends. First up, of course, was a screening of Capote, where we learned that Lee was a driving force behind In Cold Blood. Though the husband notes sometimes movies Make Facts Up. We don’t care, we believe. Now we learn that the book that put us on the straight and narrow (what does that mean?) will finally be available to those who Don’t Read. You know who you are. “We are proud to be the original publisher of this American treasure and are thrilled to add ‘To Kill a […]

Books/Mags/Blogs

If Not Google, Who?

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As we read articles about how the various Google initiatives are destroying life as we know it, we have to wonder where the viable alternatives are: There is much hue and cry about how Google is a commercial entity and surely has a profit motive. Only the most naive of us would believe otherwise. But we should recall that this project does not come free to Google, either. While authors’ groups and publishers decry the commercial intent of a corporation, largely absent from the discussion is the announcement of a hint of an announcement of an industry initiative to engage

The Future of Publishing

Fisticuffs and Conga, What Will The British Think of Next?

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It’s Friday, February is slow (makes July and August seem like positively thrilling months), and we’ve hit rock bottom. First, pope news. Now feuding authors. Of course, no way could we resist pointing you to an article that starts like this: Literary award ceremonies, generally speaking, are not particularly boisterous affairs. This year’s British Book Awards may, however, be an exception. The London hotel hosting the event, Grosvenor House, has asked for an “exclusion zone” between two of the shortlisted authors, Piers Morgan and Jeremy Clarkson, on account of their now legendary personal feud having erupted into fisticuffs at a

Square Pegs

Desperately Seeking Royalties

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Okay, on one hand, the pope is rich. Sure all that money belongs to the church, but let’s be honest, the pope can tap the treasure trove whenever he wants. Then again, it is the firm policy of BS to support authors in their quest for full compensation for their work. Yeah, the pope wants his royalty money and he wants it now. The demand by the Vatican to respect copyright on the pontiff’s writings and pay for their use has triggered hot debate: Should an institution which exists to spread the word of God be putting a price on

Square Pegs

On Place

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To Americans, Paris suggests the idea of happiness as surely as an arrival in New York suggests hope and Los Angeles, in literature at least, hopelessness. French leave: Bohemian yet bourgeois, Paris is a city of contradictions. No wonder American artists have always been dazzled by it, says Adam Gopnik

Quote of the Week

Are You, Too, Looking To Connect To the National Conversation About Literary Life?

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We rarely focus on freelance opportunities because, well, the entire BS team is lazy. It takes a lot of sleep to keep a media empire running. Of course, we don’t want to hold you back. Hmm. No, no, that’s the truth. We do want you to go forth and succeed. There are many opportunities for writers out there, but today we found one that is so perfectly suited to those who write (how about that? A writing opportunity tailor made for writers. What will they think of next). It’s turns out that Poets & Writers is chock full of freelance

Books/Mags/Blogs

It’s Garner Time

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We know you’ve spent the last few weeks busily reading Garner (though, in all honesty, it probably only took you one long evening). Now it’s time to go to the LBC and join the discussions. We know, we know, you’ve listened to the podcast already. You’ve read the posts. And today, Kirstin Allio is talking about her book. Don’t be shy… Lit-Blog Co-op

Square Pegs

The End of an Era

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Regular readers know that we have a little bit of a blogging crush on the New York Times’ Ed Wyatt, the king of the publishing beat — we always make fun of the ones we love. So it’s with giddy fingers that we share the latest Wyatt news: he’s moving to Los Angeles! Yes, yes, we know. It’s hard to contain this kind of excitement. The announcement, via the always-worthy-of-reading L.A. Observed: But all is not woe for the culture department: Ed Wyatt, intrepid reporter on the publishing beat, is also moving to the California Republic, as a television beat

Square Pegs

Clarifying The Roles Of Fiction Writers, Journalists

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While we’re not entirely sure that we get fan-fic, much less slash fiction, we’re a live-and-let-live kind of blog. You have an active fantasy life? We support it. You have a thing for going where no character has ever gone before? We’re cool. But, man, we hate confusion. It is perfectly fine for fiction writers to Make Stuff Up. It’s really important for journalists to Get Stuff Right. If you’re gonna write about a new phenomenon that’s, like, really old, get your facts straight. To wit: Go to the REM link, for example, and you’ll find a short story devoted

Square Pegs

The Bell Tolls For Whom

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Even for regular practitioners, the English language is the stuff of nightmares. You’re talking along and then, boom!, do you use the subjunctive case? Is there another case that might be better? It’s a wonder any conversation, much less written material, is accomplished. Don’t get us wrong: we believe the convoluted nature of our language is what sets us apart from, oh, the French and their crazy insistence on assigning gender to everything. But whom? If there’s a concession the language can make (and, note, we are only asking for one), let it be the loss of “whom”. Purists might

Square Pegs
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