To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the University of Massachusetts Amherst MFA Program, the school’s literary magazine – Route Nine – gathered work from over 80 alumni to create a special Alumni Omnibus issue. The collection just went online recently, and it’s tremendous.
Route Nine’s Alumni Omnibus: 50 Years in the Making
Recommended Reading: Ben Marcus
Recommended Reading: Ben Marcus's short story "Leaving the Sea" in the current issue of Tin House.
The Annual Fund
"And, it really means so much to us to watch our birds fly out of the high school nest and into an income bracket that could really benefit the Annual Fund this year. I mean, we have 85% of our goal, but as you know, that’s only a B. And we know that you are an A student." Ah, what a heartwarming and totally genuine letter from my private, nonprofit high school congratulating me on my new job. Thanks, McSweeney's.
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New Ishiguro: The Buried Giant
We didn't catch it in time for our big preview, but Kazuo Ishiguro's forthcoming novel The Buried Giant, now has an official U.S. release date of March 2015. The novel is the author's first in 10 years, and his British publisher says it will be about "lost memories, love, revenge and war."
Book-Buying While Intoxicated
"Because I am a writer, people sometimes ask me how ebooks have changed the literary landscape. The short answer, for me, is that I have developed a compulsion to drunk-dial Agatha Christie several times a week." Elif Batuman on buying (and reading) while intoxicated, at Guardian.
Give the Gift of Dalkey
It's that time of year again. Dalkey Archive's annual holiday sale is upon us. Grab 10 books for $65, or 20 books for $120 -- and that includes shipping!
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Rooster Starter Kit
The Morning News Tournament of Books is around the corner (less than two weeks away, in fact) and readers can now download the bracket (pdf), print it out, and start scribbling in their picks. Along with the bracket, Andrew Seal offers up an array of intriguing statistics from past tournaments. So, now that you can make an educated guess, Who do you think is going to win this year?