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The Royal Society Of Literature Names Elif Shafak Its New President

Shafak, author of The Island of Missing Trees, has a popular appeal across the globe: She "is the author of 21 books, including 13 novels; her works have been translated into 58 languages. She also holds a PhD in political science.” - The Guardian (UK)

How Alban Berg’s ‘Wozzeck’ Keeps On Shocking Its Audience, A Century On

“The music is thoroughly and smoothly integrated with the plot, representing opera in its purest ideal of form.” - The New York Times

A Startup Wants To Relaunch Twitter

The group Operation Bluebird claims Elon Musk’s X has legally abandoned Twitter (not to mention the word “tweet”), and wants to relaunch. If you “reserve your handle" at twitter dot new, you’ll even see a surprise hashtag. - Ars Technica

The Smithsonian Returns Suspected Looted Khmer Artifacts To Cambodia

The National Museum of Asian Art’s "records showed that there were no export licenses for the objects, as required under Cambodian law, and that the items had passed through the hands of middlemen known to have trafficked in looted artworks.” - The New York Times

Why The Pope Would Like The Newest Knives Out

It actively engages with Catholicism and belief - and not in a surface way. That’s vanishingly rare. - Vulture

Enrico Morricone Finally Gets His Opera Premiere

But sadly, he’s not here to see it. “Why the opera was not performed when it was written, in 1995, offers a snapshot of the classical music scene in Italy at the time, which snubbed Morricone as a mere composer of film soundtracks.” - The New York Times

Whether It’s TikTok Or Celebrity Book Groups Or Both, Some Books Turn Into Surprise Sleeper Hits

Sometimes it’s timing - or a good translation. Vincenzo Latronico’s Perfection didn’t find its audience in Italy, but English readers love it. It “has now sold more copies in specific London bookshops than in the whole of France.” - The Guardian (UK)

Museums Were Prepared For Vandals, But Not For Thieves

Two recent heists “represent a different threat altogether, one involving weapons, threats to staff, getaway vehicles, and missing artworks worth over $100 million, all happening in broad daylight.” - Wall Street Journal (MSN)

The Definitive Oral History Of How Jim Carrey’s Grinch Movie Really Did Steal Christmas

The rewriters who didn’t get a credit: “The way that Writers Guild arbitration process works is that if you arbitrate for credit and you don’t get credit, the Writers Guild forbids what they call compensatory credit. … Jim Carrey’s dentist has a credit on this movie, and we don’t.” - Vulture

This Free Web Serial Turned Into A Book Series With Millions Of Books Sold

Oh, people don’t read anymore? Tell that to Matt Dinniman, who was making a living drawing people’s cats (yes, that’s a job) until he started writing what became the Dungeon Crawler Carl empire. - The New York Times

There’s A PR Push From AI Companies To Say Data Centers Might Not Be That Bad In Terms Of Water Usage

A lot depends on where you are. “In the near term, it's not a concern and it's not a nationwide crisis. … But it depends on location. In locations that have existing water stress, building these AI data centers is gonna be a big problem.” - Wired

The Toughest Shot In Cinema Got A New Entry This Year

“The long take, the unbroken tracking shot, ‘the oner’ — whatever you want to call it, … it’s a feat of creativity, but also great coordination and choreography when a single, tiny mistake can ruin a shot.” - The Verge (Archive Today)

Madeleine Wickham, Whose Pen Name Was Sophie Kinsella, Has Died At 55

“The works under her pen name came to define Ms. Wickham’s career. She wrote nine Shopaholic novels, which sold tens of millions of copies and were translated into dozens of languages.” The writer announced a glioblastoma diagnosis in an Instagram post in 2024. - The New York Times

Peter Greene, Actor In Pulp Fiction And The Mask, Has Died At 60

“Over a four-decade career, Mr. Greene stood comfortably in a villain’s shoes, bringing to life a range of characters who unnerved audiences with their sadism and moral corruption,” including in Pulp Fiction and The Mask. - The New York Times

Kate Winslet On Her New Movie, Written By Her Son, Inspired By Her Mother’s Death

“I almost felt like I was living out moments of my own mother’s passing that I never would have witnessed. So directing actors in a tender way without falling apart in the corner was definitely part of the challenge.” - Irish Times

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