News & Notes is a weekly Saturday post featuring book- and publishing-related news, links to interesting articles and opinion pieces, and other cool stuff
Book News
- Harlequin Launches Hanover Square Press, an imprint for “general fiction, narrative history, journalism, and memoir.” (Publishers Weekly)
- “Hachette’s New Clothes” explores Hachette’s acquisition of ebook publisher Bookouture. (The Bookseller)
- Kids’ Subscription Services Take Off at indie bookstores. (Publishers Weekly)
Worth Reading
- Beauty and the Beast: The dark history of a literary fairy tale (Amanda Craig, for The Guardian). In honor of the live-action Disney movie opening this weekend, here’s a little backstory on the fairy tale’s origins and its many adaptations.
- From ‘alibi’ to ‘mauve’: what famous writers’ most used words say about them (Ben Blatt, The Guardian) And not just words, but cliches and even punctuation.
Literary Losses
Nancy Willard, Newbery Award-winning author of over 70 books for children and adults, died Feb. 19, 2017, in Poughkeepsie, NY. She was 80 years old. In 1982, Willard won the Newbery for her picture book, A Visit to William Blake’s Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers. Her final book is due out this fall.
Obituaries: New York Times; Poetry Foundation; Poughkeepsie Journal
Robert James Waller, author of The Bridges of Madison County, died Friday, March 10, 2017, at his home in Fredericksburg, Texas, at the age of 77. Waller had been a professor of economics before penning The Bridges of Madison County in 1992, in a little under two weeks. Although scorned by critics, the book went on to become a huge bestseller and was adapted into a 1995 movie starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood, and later, into a musical in 2014. Waller wrote seven more books and two collections of essays, but none of them matched the runaway success of his first novel.
Obituaries: Los Angeles Times
Awesome Lists
- 9 Poets to Remember during Women’s History Month (My Poetic Side)
- 5 Famous Female Authors Who Wrote Under Male or Androgynous Pen Names (NaNoWriMo blog)
- Top 10 Fantasy Fiction Universes (Samantha Shannon, author of The Bone Season, for The Guardian) While I think she left out some that really ought to have been included (Patrick Rothfuss’s Temerant tops the list), there are also some worlds I wouldn’t have come up with, mostly because I haven’t read the books yet, but which sound really cool.
Bookish Quote
Poster by Simini Blocker for Goodreads’ YA newsletter.
That’s it for this week!
Angela
Ah, I love that C.S. Lewis quote! It’s so funny, I recently did a post about what I like to eat while I read!
Angela recently posted…Review: The Sleepwalker
Lark_Bookwyrm
I’m actually trying to stop eating while I read, because I tend to eat too much without noticing. Tea, on the other hand… I can drink endless cups of (decaf) tea!
La La in the Library
Thanks for all the bookish links. I love this feature. 🙂
La La in the Library recently posted…TELL ME TUESDAY #137
Lark_Bookwyrm
I’m glad! And you’re welcome. 🙂