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JD Salinger: The 'Garbo of Letters'
 JD Salinger: 
 The 'Garbo 
 of Letters' 
first takes
Jan 28, 2010 2:18 PM CST

JD Salinger: The 'Garbo of Letters'

Obituaries, tributes pouring in for late author

(Newser) - How to sum up the life of JD Salinger in a paragraph? Here's a sampling coming in from the wires:
  • Kyle Anderson, MTV : He's "the reclusive genius who crafted one of the most iconic and important pieces of youth fiction."
  • Charles McGrath, New York Times : "JD Salinger,
...

Spenser Novelist Robert B. Parker Dead

He helped bring back the genre of hard-boiled detective fiction

(Newser) - Robert B. Parker, the blunt and beloved crime novelist who helped revive the hard-boiled genre through his Spenser series, died yesterday of natural causes at 77. Prolific to the end, Parker wrote more than 50 novels, including 37 featuring Boston private eye Spenser. The character's first name was a mystery...

Cormac McCarthy Gets New (Old) Typewriter

 Cormac McCarthy Gets 
 New (Old) Typewriter 
5M words later
Dec 2, 2009 11:16 AM CST

Cormac McCarthy Gets New (Old) Typewriter

50-year-old Olivetti may fetch $20K at auction

(Newser) - Cormac McCarthy has typed his last on the ancient Olivetti on which he's pounded out more than 5 million words since 1963, and the battered machine is now up for auction. The author of No Country for Old Men and The Road picked up the typewriter at a pawn shop...

New Books Do Carver Justice
 New Books Do Carver Justice 
stephen king
Nov 21, 2009 10:16 AM CST

New Books Do Carver Justice

Biography, story collection provide 'necessary corrective'

(Newser) - Two new books on Raymond Carver—a biography and a collection of stories—bring a "welcome and necessary corrective" to what we know of the short story master, writes Stephen King. Carol Sklenicka's A Writer's Life cuts Carver too much slack for his personal life—he was a "...

Palin Memoir a Gift to Booksellers
Palin Memoir a Gift to Booksellers
Oct 15, 2009 2:39 PM CDT

Palin Memoir a Gift to Booksellers

Going Rogue likely to continue trend of hits from right-wing figures

(Newser) - Sarah Palin’s memoir is expected sell so well that it will singlehandedly boost the fortunes of the ailing book business. The book is already topping preorder lists, and publisher Harper plans an extensive slate of promotional appearances to make full use the former Alaska governor's drawing power. "They...

Gore Vidal: Hillary Would've Been the Better Prez

Onetime supporter bashes Obama, who needs more of Lincoln's 'chill'

(Newser) - Gore Vidal is 83 and uses a wheelchair now, but the legendary American writer hasn't lost any of his strong opinions—not least on Barack Obama, who is doing "dreadfully" and has "f---ed up" health reform. Vidal supported Obama after originally backing Hillary Clinton, but now thinks...

Danielle Steel Aide 'Fesses to $400K Ripoff

Author claims assistant stole $2.7M

(Newser) - A long-time assistant has pleaded guilty to embezzling $400,000 from best-selling romance queen Danielle Steel. Kristy Watts admitted depositing checks for Steel into her own bank account and using the author's credit card points to obtain gifts and airline tickets. Steel, who has written 76 best-selling novels, claims Watts...

Nader: Obama Is 'Weak, Waffling'

(Newser) - In an interview with Time to plug his new book, Ralph Nader doesn't mince words when asked his opinion of President Obama: "Weak. Waffling, wavering, ambiguous, and overwhelmingly concessionary." So does this mean we can expect another Nader run? "It's too early to say. One thing is...

Palin Won't Dine With Journo— Even for $60,000

Ex-governor nixes critical writer's bid in charity auction

(Newser) - A journalist willing to fork over $60,000 for a dinner with Sarah Palin found himself frozen out of a charity auction at the last minute, the Huffington Post reports. Joe McGinnis, a Palin critic who wrote a piece last fall slamming her handling of Alaska's gasline, slipped through the...

On the Waterfront Writer Schulberg Dead at 95

(Newser) - Legendary Hollywood screenwriter Budd Schulberg has died, the New York Times reports. He was 95. Schulberg, who won an Oscar for On the Waterfront in 1955, was the son of a movie mogul and grew up as a Hollywood insider. His 1941 novel What Makes Sammy Run?, a scathing look...

This Is Your Best Shot to Finish a Pynchon Novel
This Is Your Best Shot to Finish
a Pynchon Novel
book review
Jul 31, 2009 1:10 PM CDT

This Is Your Best Shot to Finish a Pynchon Novel

Author shifts gears, has fun with a stoner detective in the '60s

(Newser) - Thomas Pynchon's back with what appears to be his most accessible novel yet, in the unlikely category of detective fiction. Critics reviewing Inherent Vice say he pulled it off:
  • Laura Miller, Salon: It's "a sun-struck, pot-addled shaggy dog story that fuses the sulky skepticism of Raymond Chandler with the
...

Loner Author Charts His Own Course
Loner Author Charts His
Own Course
PROFILE
Jul 29, 2009 3:46 PM CDT

Loner Author Charts His Own Course

Vollmann's new opus is typical—brilliant, but sometimes unreadable

(Newser) - Author William T. Vollmann is an odd bird—“a loner, a bit of a recluse,” Charles McGrath writes in the New York Times, “and a throwback: a wandering, try-anything writer-journalist in the tradition of Steinbeck or Jack London.” And his new book, Imperial, about Southern California,...

Black, Gay Lit Trailblazer E. Lynn Harris Dead at 54

(Newser) - Author E. Lynn Harris, who offered a glimpse into the secret lives of closeted gay black men, died last night at 54, the AP reports. His publicist says the cause is unknown, and that Harris suddenly took ill just days ago. An autopsy will be performed next week. Harris was...

Savaged in Book, McCourt's Hometown Split on Legacy

(Newser) - The Irish town exposed in grisly detail by late son Frank McCourt in Angela’s Ashes isn’t quite sure what to do with its ignominy, the AP reports. A majority of Limerick citizens are proud—“The book was a delight and 80% true,” one historian says—but...

Angela's Ashes Author McCourt Gravely Ill

'He is not expected to live,' brother says

(Newser) - Angela's Ashes author Frank McCourt is battling skin cancer and meningitis and is near death, his brother tells the New York Daily News. McCourt, 78, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his 1996 memoir about growing up in poverty in Ireland, is under hospice care, says his brother Malachy. "...

Judge Backs Salinger, Blocks Catcher Sequel

Novel about Holden Caulfield can't be published in US

(Newser) - Another court triumph for JD Salinger: A federal judge has blocked the US publication of an unauthorized sequel to The Catcher in the Rye. The judge, who had issued a temporary restraining order last month, issued a more permanent injunction against the novel by Swedish author Fredrik Colting, reports the ...

Tale of Wailin' Whalers Nails Bad Writing Contest

Drunken sailors' screaming contest wins 'coveted' Bulwer-Lytton prize

(Newser) - A tale of screaming seafarers has won a Washington man this year's grand prize for terrible writing, AP reports. The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest—named in honor of the British writer who coined "It was a dark and stormy night"—rewards the author who can come up with the...

Weird Facts About Best-Selling Authors

Dan Brown, pop musician? And more.

(Newser) - Summer's here, and that means it's time for beach reading. Mental Floss compiles some surprising facts about the authors most commonly toted along to the shore:
  1. Dan Brown hasn’t spent his whole life pondering Vatican conspiracies: he was also a musician and pop singer. The name of his second
...

Authors Want Boom Lowered on Book Pirates

Book piracy balloons with growth of e-readers

(Newser) - A surge in book piracy has followed hot on the heels of the growth in ebooks, the New York Times reports. Publishers trying to stamp out unauthorized editions online say the ease with which books can now be copied online make their efforts little more than a game of "...

Calm Down, Your Kids Are Perfectly Safe
Calm Down,
Your Kids Are Perfectly Safe
Interview
May 4, 2009 11:24 AM CDT

Calm Down, Your Kids Are Perfectly Safe

Writer/mom says parents worry, hover way too much

(Newser) - With a constant barrage of news stories and TV shows highlighting child abductions and murders, it may seem like a supremely dangerous time to be a kid. But don't believe the media, says Lenore Skenazy, the author of Free-Range Kids. In an interview with Salon, she explains why children today...

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