The Council of Literary Magazines and Presses is hosting their annual Spelling Bee Fundraiser on October 30th. New Yorker editor Ben Greenman will host the event, which will pit Jonathan Ames, Amor Towles and Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures author Emma Straub against one another (and more) in a battle of lexicographic perspicacity. (Can you state the language of origin, please?) The event will be judged by none other than Jesse Sheidlower, editor of the inimitable Oxford English Dictionary.
Which Author Spells The Best?
Facebook Overload
Pamela Paul's recent New York Times piece on the "permanent reunion" Facebook has trapped us in and an 18-year-old's op-ed in the New York Post about why the shallow connections of Facebook led him to quit, have me feeling queasy about checking my timeline. So, I'm re-reading Edan Lepucki's essay about taking a social media detox instead. (Cue the cognitive dissonance of clicking the "like" button next to this entry.)
Spiegel & Grau turns to indies for help
Shaken by scathing reviews from The New York Times and The Washington Post, Yann Martel's publisher turns to independent bookstores for help.
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“Everyone is simply wonderful”
You've heard about grade inflation, but universities are now dealing with academic job reference inflation, a slightly more adult kind of problem.
Argentinian Pension Plan for Writers
Argentina may be offering a $940/month pension plan for writers. Eligibility requirements include 20 years of work in "literary creation" and five published works with ISBN numbers. This bill was proposed amidst the festivities of the Buenos Aires International Book Expo, one of the biggest book expos in the world.
Belladonna* Reading Tonight in NYC
Tonight in New York, poets Juliana Spahr and TC Tolbert read and discuss “how can we, as poets, take care of ourselves, our creative work, and the larger planetary body on which we depend?" 7.p.m. at Dixon Place.
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“Perfect translation … is of course impossible.”
Ever wonder how Google Translate works? Now you know. These two pieces (one and two) on Lydia Davis' translation of Madame Bovary are worth revisiting, too.
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