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:
Khaled Hosseini, bestselling novelist of The Kite Runner, has joined the call to release Azerbaijani journalist and translator Khadija Ismayilova. Hosseini stated that the “Azerbaijani government’s many attempts to silence Khadija and strip her of this freedom speak volumes about her courage and influence in the face of extreme oppression.” (Guardian)
The Academy of American Poets will host a tribute to late poet and former Academy chancellor Mark Strand on January 18 in New York City. Major poets, novelists, artists, and Strand’s family will participate in the memorial.
Self-conscious, detached, sensitive, and nostalgic for “times he never lived himself.” Was T.S. Eliot’s J. Alfred Prufrock character the original hipster? (Atlantic)
“Literary critics have become more subdued, adopting methods with less grand speculation, more empirical study, and more use of statistics or other data.” At the Chronicle of Higher Education, Jeffrey J. Williams discusses the “new modesty” in literary criticism.
Editors of the literary magazines Narrative, A Public Space, AGNI, and the Southern Review share a selection of emerging writers to watch out for in 2015. (Huffington Post)
The Booksellers and Publishers Association of South India has asked the state government to allocate a permanent venue for the Chennai Book Fair. The annual fair has had to frequently change venues and reject many bookseller applications due to lack of space. (Hindu)
The e-book subscription service Scribd has secured twenty-two million dollars in funding from Khosla Ventures and existing investors. “This new funding round will enable us to work towards achieving our goal of creating the most comprehensive library of the future for our millions of users around the world,” said Scribd CEO Trip Adler. (Publishers Weekly)
Should you self-publish or go the traditional route? Electric Literature provides an infographic to help you decide.
