Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—from publishing reports to academic announcements to literary dispatches—for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today's stories:
Booker prize winner Arundhati Roy has been accused of sedition, a crime that in India results in punishments ranging from a fine to life in prison, after making a public speech "claiming that the disputed territory of Kashmir was not an integral part of India." (Guardian) Read Roy's statement in response to the alleged charges at Hari Kunzru.
Maya Angelou's personal papers, including letters from Malcolm X and James Baldwin, have been acquired by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, New York. (New York Times)
Barnes & Noble unveiled the Nook Color yesterday. The Wall Street Journal has details and industry reactions.
A new book club is set to launch from WowOwow, a women's Web site launched two years ago by "a slew of famous female entertainers and media personalities." The new club will allow readers to read galleys of anticipated titles up to six months before they hit the commercial market; the first selection is Jodi Picoult's forthcoming Sing You Home. (Forbes)
The annual Jane Austen Conference takes place in Portland, Oregon, this weekend with a focus on the author's first completed manuscript, Northanger Abbey. (Jacket Copy) In related news, apparently Austen was a horrible speller. (NPR)
Knopf announced plans to release a boxed set of Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy in time for the holidays. (Publishers Weekly)
According to the Guardian, devices like the Kindle have opened up a whole new realm of wonderful: drunken book buying.
In the digital age, have rejection letters—"like so many things in book publishing"—gone from thoughtful, beneficial feedback to the "electronic burps" many writers receive from publishers? Yes, yes they have. (Millions)
