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:
Post-Borders roundup: Independent bookstores in Maine consider their future without the big-box retailer (Forecaster); Books-A-Million has withdrawn its offer to purchase thirty of the bankrupt stores (Bloomberg); and twelve prominent writers, including Lauren Groff, Tom Bissell, and Darin Strauss offer their thoughts on the demise of the bookstore chain (Salon).
This weekend, on New York City's Governors Island, marks the first ever New York Poetry Festival. Over one hundred poets from across the country will read and perform. (WNYC)
San Diego's Comic-Con International—an annual gathering of comic-book fans held since 1970—has come and gone this past week. However, it looks as if the standout of this year's convention was Edgar Allan Poe. (Los Angeles Times)
The Guardian considers whether authors should be paid for appearances at popular (and booming) book festivals.
If you have overdue library books take heart, the New York Public Library has pardoned over one hundred forty thousand children who had been barred from checking out books due to late fees. (Gothamist)
“Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But since no one was listening, everything must be said again.” John Barth quotes André Gide in this short essay about originality for the Atlantic.
The Poetry Foundation reports on a dust-up over the sexual orientation of Canadian war poet, John McCrae, who penned "In Flanders Fields." Lieutenant Colonel McCrae was the commanding officer of a field hospital, and a surgeon; he died of pneumonia during World War I. (Harriet)
Collected here are the most ludicrous and hilarious book titles ever imagined. (Huffington Post)
