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:
The New York Times profiles Jonathan Galassi, the venerable editor, poet, and publisher of Farrar, Straus and Giroux. His new collection of poetry, Left-handed, will be released by Knopf in March. Left-handed tells the story of a married man in midlife who discovers he's gay. “It’s about me,” Mr. Galassi said.
Malaprop’s Bookstore in Asheville, North Carolina, is celebrating its thirtieth year in business by publishing a collaborative comic novel, Naked Came the Leaf Peeper, written by ten western North Carolina writers, including Tony Earley and Fred Chappell. (Publishers Weekly)
Meanwhile, the Raconteur Bookstore in Metuchen, New Jersey, will shutter after tomorrow. (My Central Jersey)
Speaking at the Hay festival in Cartagena, Colombia, novelist Jonathan Franzen explained his dislike for e-books: "Someone worked really hard to make the language just right, just the way they wanted it. They were so sure of it that they printed it in ink, on paper. A screen always feels like we could delete that, change that, move it around. So for a literature-crazed person like me, it's just not permanent enough." (Guardian)
Novelist Justin Torres and his mom, Theresa, recall their versions of "a crisis that happened when Justin was a teenager," which led to Justin's psychiatric hospitalization. (KQED)
"Shouldering the responsibilities of Barnes & Noble is one thing. Holding the fate of American book publishing in your hands is quite another." With a new e-reading device reportedly in the works, the New York Times features the CEO of Barnes & Noble, William J. Lynch Jr., and the evolving state of the publishing industry.
On her website, publishing veteran Jane Friedman lists an informative breakdown on "how to get your book published."
Paul Berman recounts time spent with the late playwright and leader of the Czech Republic, Václav Havel, and how then Senator Joe Biden chided the ailing leader, “Mexico is fifty times as important to us as you are!”
