Voting is now open online, and over the next two weeks English speakers can cast their vote, choosing from three words selected by Oxford University Press (OUP)’s lexicographers, each of which is believed to capture “the mood and ethos of the last year in its own way”. - The Guardian
One of the main determinants of the vulnerability of literary studies, and hence of the compensating over-ambitiousness of the justification offered for it, is the mismatch between literature’s suitability as a subject for teaching and as a subject for research. - London Review of Books
All graphic novels in the school library’s collection were recalled after parent Tim Reiland took issue with the school letting his teenage daughter borrow Blankets, an autobiographical coming-of-age story by Craig Thompson about questioning blind faith in a fundamentalist Christian household. - Vice
Many have seen how the foolish and unwary "intellectually self-immolate under the pressure of his polite prodding. ... This raises a question that many ask on social media: Why does anyone ever agree to be interviewed by Chotiner in the first place? I can speculate on some possible answers." - Drezner's World
Justin Steffman, a professional authenticator who runs a Facebook group for collectors, said the autograph was most likely created by an autopen. The machine, which recreates signatures, is used by universities, celebrities and, most notably, the White House. - The New York Times
In the wake of a judge's decision to block the union of the two giants on anti-trust grounds, Paramount Global, the conglomerate which owns Simon & Schuster, is simply allowing the $2.2 billion sale of the publisher to Penguin Random House to collapse. - Reuters
“The defendants are alleged to have operated a website for over a decade whose central purpose was providing stolen intellectual property, in violation of copyright laws.” - The Verge
Stored in a drawer in the vault is the original, ink-blotched, handwritten state constitution signed on July 2, 1776, declaring New Jersey’s independence from Great Britain and rejecting the authority of Governor Franklin, who had already been arrested. - The New York Times
Writer Ryan Lee Wong: " This is a metaphor for the writer’s dilemma: this desire to transform everything in your life, especially the painful things, into our way of making meaning of it, making it legible to yourself and others." - The Millions
Well, it's like this: The so-called Z-Library had an unsavory underpinning."Two Russian nationals, Anton Napolsky and Valeriia Ermakova, have been charged with criminal copyright infringement, wire fraud and money laundering for operating Z-Library." - Washington Post
Twitter has given writers access. "People of color, people who live anywhere other than New York City, people who work day jobs unrelated to media—they can build an audience, post links to their work, attract the attention of editors." - The Atlantic
