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
- Miramax Faces Lawsuit for Mr. Holmes movie. (GalleyCat) The Conan Doyle estate is suing the film company as well as Mitch Cullin (the author of the novel on which the movie is based) and Penguin Random House (the book’s publisher) for copyright violation. While many of the Holmes stories are in public domain in the U.S., several remain in copyright. The copyrighted stories include discussions of Holmes’s later years and retirement, the time covered by the movie and novel. (Note: The estate recently lost a high-profile suit brought by Les Klinger; the ruling means the Doyle estate can no longer charge a licensing fee for derivative works that use characters and elements found in the pre-1923 stories.)
- BEA and BookCon 2015 in Photos (Publishers Weekly)
- Jacqueline Woodson Named Young People’s Poet Laureate (Poetry Foundation)
- British Publishers Win Suit Against eBook Pirates (GalleyCat)
- Amazon’s Most Well-Read Cities list is out, and Seattle tops it.
- NY Public Library to Give Away 15,000 Literacy Kits (GalleyCat)
- “Very Eric Carle” exhibit at Children’s Museum Pittsburgh will open on June 13
- F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘Gatsby’ house for sale for $3.9 million (Los Angeles Times)
Worth Reading
- Let’s Talk About Genre – a conversation with Neil Gaiman and Kazuo Ishiguro (New Statesman)
- Books About Women Don’t Win Big Awards: Some Data. Author Nicola Griffiths looked at 15 years’ worth of Pulitzer Prize, Man Booker, National Book Award, National Book Critics’ Circle Award, Hugo, and Newbery winners, and tabulated the author’s gender and the main/POV character’s gender(s). The results are disappointing but not surprising. (Nicola Griffiths’ blog)
- Trends at BEA (Kelly Jensen, for BookRiot)
- Publishing 101. Jim C. Hines talks about John Scalzi’s recent 13-book, $3.4 million deal with Tor, and why the people who have been complaining or ranting about it are, well, wrong. (Jim C. Hines’ blog) (The Los Angels Times has the full scoop on Scalzi’s book deal.)
- BEA 2015: Writing About Tough Topics for Teens (Publishers Weekly)
- Why Did People Stop Saying “Thou”? (Mignon Fogarty, Grammar Girl, for Quick And Dirty Tips)
- The Secret Lives of Bookmarks – or rather, one particular bookmark. (Edd McCracken, for BookRiot)
- My Fictional Childhood Best Friends (BookRiot)
- On mapping the world of Sabaa Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes (Jonathan Roberts, for Tor.com)
- When a Book Eclipses Your Being (Lynn Crothers, for BookRiot)
For Writers & Bloggers
- Engaging Your Readers – tips for bloggers (Armchair BEA: Live from BEA: Blogger Con Panel)
- Must-visit Sci-Fi Websites for Writers (some also cover fantasy)
Literary Losses
A
uthor Tanith Lee died on May 24, 2015, following a long illness. Lee had dyslexia and did not learn to read until the age of 8; she began writing at 9. Lee went wherever her imagination took her, penning children’s and adult fantasy and science fiction novels, erotic gothic thrillers, creepy fairytale retellings, even crime novels and historical fiction. In addition to books and short stories, she also wrote a number radio and television scripts, including two for the SF series Blake’s 7. Her works were nominated for a number of awards and won several, including the prestigious World Fantasy Award. Lee had twice been treated for breast cancer. She was 67. (Obituaries: The Guardian; The New York Times; NPR; Tor.com. Locus Online also has a list of her awards and achievements.)
Book & Movie Announcements
- Eddie Redmayne confirmed to play Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them (a prequel of sorts to the Harry Potter series.) (Hollywood Reporter)
Awesome Lists
- Nancy Pearl’s “under-the-radar” fiction picks (NPR)
- Top Ten Pre-Raphaelite Paintings Inspired by Literature (Behold the Stars blog)
- 40+ Od Your Favorite Modern Books Inspired By Myth (BookRiot)
- Superhero Book Match: Avengers Edition. The Lawrence Public Library suggests books for each of the Avengers.
- 13 Fantasy Novels That Are Good Despite Their Covers (Buzzfeed)
- 7 Ways to Pull Yourself Out of a Reading Slump (BookRiot)
- 12 Words That Have a Totally Different Meaning to Book Lovers (BookBub blog)
Bookish Quote
That’s it for this week!
Selah @ A Bibliophile's Style
I’m elated (and surprised) that my hometown made the Well-Read Cities list (#11)!
Selah @ A Bibliophile’s Style recently posted…Blogging Besties: Something Borrowed
Lark_Bookwyrm
Hurray! 🙂
Bea @Bea's Book Nook
I didn’t realize that people were complaining about Scalzi’s book deal. What a shame that we can’t just celebrate someone’s success.
Not a single city in my state made Amazon’s well-read list.I admit that I’m surprised that Boston didn’t make the list.
Your trends at BEA link is incomplete; it should be http://bookriot.com/2015/06/04/whats-catching-attention-picking-books-bea/
Bea @Bea’s Book Nook recently posted…May Balancing the Books with Bea
Lark_Bookwyrm
Oh, thank you, Bea! I must have clipped some of it when I copied-and-pasted the link.
I agree re Scalzi’s deal. And the Amazon list is a bit biased, since it’s based on their sales info only. Maybe people in Boston use physical bookstores more than in other cities, and purchase online less?
RO
This post is totally awesome! Love reading about news and trivia around the globe, and appreciate the updates. Pleased to see that NC, (where I live now) and Baltimore, MD (where I’m from)both made the list at 11 and 12. Yippee! Hope your weekend is fab!
Hugs…www.intheknowwithro.blogspot.com
RO recently posted…TOP GROSSING MOVIES ADAPTED FROM NOVELS/COMICS
Lark_Bookwyrm
Oh, I’m glad you enjoyed the links! I try to do this every week, but I missed about three weeks due to work pressure and two weeks of vacation. Hopefully I’ll be more consistent in July!
Lory @ Emerald City Book Review
Yay Seattle! I miss my bookish hometown.
Lory @ Emerald City Book Review recently posted…Remembering Mary Hocking: Good Daughters
Lark_Bookwyrm
I’ve only been to Seattle once, as a child, but I hope to visit again sometime.
Stephanie
The 13 Fantasy Novels that are good despite their covers had me laughing out loud! Great list of links as always!
Stephanie recently posted…Saturdays in the Garden – Peas and Bats
Lark_Bookwyrm
Glad you enjoyed them! Yes, those novel covers had me laughing, too.
R_Hunt @ View From My Home
Wow, too many good links here to point out, except to say I enjoyed the BEA photos but they should’ve shown more of the true side to it (from what I’ve heard, haven’t been there) the long, long lines and frustration of being turned away from a signing or speaker, the overlapping events, the unattainable women’s restroom etc. I wish for book blogger and reader’s sakes that they would make it more user-friendly.
Your other links are wonderful, getting my second cup and browsing them now 🙂 Thanks for your hard work!
R_Hunt @ View From My Home recently posted…Weekly Wrap-Up: 6/5- 6/7/15
Lark_Bookwyrm
I would really love to go to BEA someday but those drawbacks do make it a bit of a daunting prospect. Glad you enjoyed the links, and I’m sorry I missed several weeks… but now that I’m back I’ll try to be more consistent again!