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:
Industry statistics program BookStats released new figures on total book sales for 2013 totaling $27.01 billion, down less than 1 percent from 2012, when sales reached $27.12 billion. (Publishers Weekly)
The French Parliament unanimously voted in favor of a law nicknamed the Anti-Amazon Law, which prevents online retailers from offering free shipping in addition to 5 percent discounts on books. French parliament members hope the move will support independent booksellers by preventing Internet retailers from destabilizing independent bookshops. (Melville House)
Boston radio station WBUR recently located tape of an interview with writer David Foster Wallace from February 1996, which aired shortly after the publication of his novel Infinite Jest. The radio station has made the interview available online in its entirety.
Five of thirty employees at Book Culture, an independent bookseller with two locations in New York City, reported that they were fired following a vote to unionize. (Gothamist)
Novelist Raymond Chandler will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year, joining authors Ray Bradbury, Theodor Geissel, Adela Rogers St. Johns, and Ogden Nash. (Los Angeles Times)
A computer game featuring an original story by Neil Gaiman is set to launch July 15. (Polygon)
Chinese publishers have refused to purchase translation rights for Hillary Clinton’s recently published memoir Hard Choices. Import agencies are also blocking distribution of the English-language edition within the country. (Buzzfeed)
Judy Blume, the well-known author of many books for young adults, will publish a historical fiction novel for adults during the summer next year. The book tells a “complicated story” that takes place in the 1950s. (GalleyCat)
Six British publishers recently spent one night in jail as part of a fundraising campaign to combat limits recently placed on British prisoners’ reading materials. (Guardian)
