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:
Following the missteps of James Frey and Margaret Seltzer, Nicolai Lilin—author of the memoir Free Fall: a Sniper's Story from Chechnya—has admitted that he did not experience much of what he documents and intentionally embellished his story to make it more marketable. (Independent)
Turkish writer Elif Safak has been accused of plagiarizing the fiction of Zadie Smith within her forthcoming novel, Iskender. Safak vehemently denies it, and writes, "I don’t take seriously the accusations levied by a handful of people whose intention is to wear me down. As with all of my books, my hard work and imagination is evident in this novel." Iskender is Safak's eleventh book. (Observer)
If you've ever considered moving to an urban center and living the glamorous life of a fiction editor, first take a look at a book editor's typical salary. (Galleycat)
By opening a new fulfillment center in Pennsylvania, and creating hundreds of new jobs, Amazon is sending a clear message that state governments who don't fight Amazon's sales-tax policy will be rewarded. (Shelf Awareness)
Have you been wondering what exactly to do with the new Google+ social media other than add people to your Circles? This might help: Google has rolled out the ability to share e-books. (TeleRead)
Not surprising to anyone except perhaps the unassuming poet himself, in the few days since Philip Levine was heralded the new poet laureate, his book sales have skyrocketed. (New York Times)
Often a conundrum for tech shoppers, do you lust after the latest gadget, or save money by buying an older, discounted model? The Huffington Post asks if now is the moment to buy an e-reader.
On the PoemTalk podcast recorded at Kelly Writers House at the University of Pennsylvania, a roundtable of poets examine Fred Wah's sixteen-poem series, "Discount Me In," and discuss the difficult subjects of racial identity and multiculturalism in North America. (Jacket2)
If the distraction-free word processors you tried recently didn't help as much as you'd hoped, the Millions points out two new writing platforms designed to keep the Internet at bay.
