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:
In honor of what would be Jane Austen’s two-hundred-thirty-ninth birthday today, Joanna Scutts highlights four books that examine the history of the “cult of Jane,” from scholarly analyses on Austen’s cultural reception to Rudyard Kipling’s story about Jane superfans called “Janeites.” (Biographile)
“Indulge your imagination in every possible flight.” If you are in need of more ways to celebrate Jane Austen today, browse this list of quotes from Austen and her characters. (Guardian)
Taking the reading out of…reading? A German tech startup called Blinkist, whose app distills books down to text sections called “blinks” that can be read on e-readers within fifteen minutes, is now launching an audio version of the app for “readers who want a hands-free, eyes-free source of factoids from popular publications.” Condensing information in such a way has proven negative in that it leads to decreased memory retention of the material, but Blinkist cofounder Holger Seim states that the app is mainly used as a discovery tool that actually leads people to read more books. (Melville House)
Bookstore hero: The London Evening Standard speaks with the current managing director of Waterstones Bookstores James Daunt, who saved the brick and mortar shops from going under.
What’s the best way to encourage your children to read this holiday season? Bruce Feiler poses this question to a selection of popular authors of young adult and children’s literature at the New York Times.
The Academy of American Poets has released its list of standout poetry books of 2014. Among the selections are impressive works by Jericho Brown, Erin Belieu, and Diane Di Prima.
Next summer, beloved children’s author Judy Blume will release her first adult novel in sixteen years. In the Unlikely Event (Knopf) follows three generations of people affected by a series of plane crashes in the author’s hometown in the 1950’s. (Guardian)
At the Nieman Foundation blog, Kate Galbraith discusses the current challenges faced by independent literary print magazines that publish long form articles and narratives.
