“We go to casinos to tell the everyday world that we will not submit.” NPR has an excerpt from Colson Whitehead’s new book, The Noble Hustle.
Colson at the Casino
The Pale King Comes into View
David Foster Wallace’s unfinished novel The Pale King now has a cover and an April 15 release date (appropriate for its IRS-oriented subject matter.) The New York Times has a bit more.
Meta-Dialogue
The terrific Gary Amdahl (Visigoth, I Am Death), talks shop with A Public Space.
●
●
The YA Diet
From Hunger Games‘s Katniss to Divergent‘s Tris, today’s YA heroines are confident, intelligent, powerful, and always skinny. At The Atlantic, Julianne Ross argues that this scrawny stereotype ends up belittling the heroines’ independence and strength. “Just as women are expected to be sexual but not slutty, pure but not prudish, heroines should be strong but not buff.”
Did You Hear?
Gossip is often seen as inherently frivolous and trashy, which is why it’s odd that a poet would use it as the subject of his or her work. On The Poetry Foundation’s blog, Austin Allen writes about George Green’s collection Lord Byron’s Foot, in which, as Allen puts it, “the dish spares no one.” (h/t Arts and Letters Daily)
●
●
To the Far Sector with N.K. Jemisin
Hugo award-winning sci-fi and fantasy writer N.K. Jemisin discusses scripting the new Green Lantern series, Far Sector, for DC Comics
●
●
●
Chosen One Narratives
Rainbow Rowell’s newest book, Carry On, is out now. Here she is interviewed by Nicole Chung over at The Toast. Our own Janet Potter has a moving essay on Rowell and young love that may also be of interest to you.
●
●
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Elected
J.K. Rowling says Donald Trump is worse than Voldemort. The Harry Potter author has come out against the presidential hopeful, tweeting that “Voldemort was nowhere near as bad.” Yes, she even said his name.
●
●
We at The Millions Now Trademark “Zuckerberg”
Sorry, everyone who works in publishing. Looks like it’s time to call it quits. Per Facebook’s new user agreement, the firm asserts trademark on the word “book.”