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:
Alabama state officials have closed their investigation into whether eighty-eight-year-old To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee was manipulated into publishing a second novel; officials found no evidence of abuse or neglect. Lee’s second novel, Go Set a Watchman, will be released by HarperCollins on July 14. (New York Times)
Meanwhile, Booker Prize–winning author Salman Rushdie gave Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird a three-star rating on Goodreads. Rushdie, who recently signed up for a Goodreads account, mistakenly believed his reviews of books were private. They were not. On Sunday, Rushdie told the Independent, “I was just fooling around, experimenting with the site. Pls don’t take [the ratings] seriously.”
This year marks the one-hundred-fiftieth anniversary of the Nation. To celebrate, the magazine released a special issue featuring new material, as well as archived material from notable contributing writers including Toni Morrison, Arthur Miller, and Henry James. The Nation will also host live events across the country over the course of the year. (Melville House)
Crime author Michael Connelly is auctioning off a chance to be a character in his next novel, The Crossing. The money raised from the bids will benefit Trinity Café, a Tampa, Florida–based restaurant that serves the homeless. (GalleyCat)
“The movement toward skills-based education in the humanities has also created an effort-return mentality: the expectation that a text can, or should, be distilled into a single sentence. Don’t we want students who know how to handle messes?” At the Millions, Nick Ripatrazone writes about the difficulties of teaching Thomas Pynchon.
To honor National Poetry Month, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs is hosting its sixth annual Twitter poetry competition. From today through April 13, participants across the country are invited to tweet their 140-character poems with the hashtag #PoetweetNYC. The winning poem will be published in the New York City newspaper Metro. (Associated Press)
Oliver Burkeman offers advice on finding time for more immersive and fulfilling reading in an increasingly goal-focused culture. (Guardian)
