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:
At the New York Times, three writers consider the identity of the pseudonymous Italian novelist Elena Ferrante, an elusive author who has never been photographed, interviewed in person, or made any public appearances. Ferrante’s latest novel, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, will be published next week by Europa Editions.
“I have only the vaguest memory of a life before fear." The New Yorker offers an excerpt of Lena Dunham's forthcoming memoir, Not That Kind of Girl.
Publishers Weekly looks at the long road to bringing Laura Ingalls Wilder’s 1930 autobiography, Pioneer Girl, into print. The book will be released this fall by South Dakota State University Press, which has been keeping a blog about the project.
A rare copy of 1938’s Action Comics No. 1, a comic book featuring the first appearance of Superman, sold at auction yesterday to an anonymous buyer for a record-breaking $3,207,852. Darren Adams, the previous owner of the book, which is in near-mint condition, told the Washington Post, “I actually held it for a few years—I was so excited about this book. And equally exciting to having a book of this condition is the fact that nobody knew it existed. Most books have a history...but this book was totally off the grid, and nobody knew about it till I made it known." (NPR)
New York City will be getting a Floating Library this fall. The pop-up library will be open on the Lilac Museum Steamship at Pier 25 on the Hudson River from September 6 through October 3. Artist Beatrice Glow has curated the collection, which will focus on books about art. (GalleyCat)
Meanwhile, Florida Polytechnic University, the newest campus in the Florida State University system, just opened a library with no books. (Los Angeles Times)
A pastor in Cleveland, Texas, has filed a complaint about vampire books in the young adult section of his local library, requesting that the titles—which include Rachel Mead’s Blood Promise, Matsuri Hino’sVampire Knight, and Stephanie Meyer’sTwilight series—be pulled from the shelves. The pastor, Phillip Missick, calls the books “dark,” “demonic,” “sexual,” and “dangerous for our kids.” (ABC News)
“Fishing, like writing, is a stab at permanence in a world of waiting.” As summer winds to a close, Nick Ripatrazone at the Millions explores the storied connection—one built in silence—between writing and fishing.
