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:
An Egyptian publisher was kidnapped by security officials this weekend after he released a book praising a Nobel Peace Prize winner and former UN nuclear watchdog. (Guardian)
In an effort organized by the PEN American Center and over a dozen other international free expression groups 3,500 writers signed a petition urging Iran to release at least sixty writers, journalists, and bloggers currently imprisoned in the country.
Congratulations to Wolf Hall author Hilary Mantel, for whom the long list of accolades now includes 2010 Tournament of Books champion.
Meet today's new genre: faction. Sigh. Can anyone guess the origin words of the portmanteau? (Independent)
Yesterday was National Bookmobile Day, a designation honoring "the role of bookmobiles and direct-delivery outreach services in fulfilling the mission of libraries." In somewhat related news, Alec Baldwin purchased a bookmobile from a Long Island library, presumably for private use. (L Magazine)
Visual artists have filed their own lawsuit against Google's digital library and bookstore initiative. (New York Times)
The Women in Letters and Literary Arts Web site is now up and running with all sorts of interesting features and resources.
In what many college students will hope is a trend, the publisher of the Atlantic announced the magazine will begin paying all of its interns with actual money. (Daily Finance)
Archeologists may have found Shakespeare's broken beer jug in his old backyard. (Guardian)
