I don’t think you should write 50,000 words in a month in hopes that you will get discovered and Penguin Random House will buy your Next Great American Novel, Gatorade for Lemurs. I think you should do NaNoWriMo to stick it to capitalism. - Slate
Nüshu, a phonetic, syllabic script (as opposed to the standard Chinese ideogram characters) used by and between women, developed in a rural area of Hunan province. It nearly died out during and after the Cultural Revolution, but interest has revived and it's being taught once again. (video) - BBC
Atwood says, "I just want to know how you are going to get around the giant blue penises." McGregor's only response (other than laughter) is "It's not a literal interpretation but a leap of faith." - Financial Times
There are more ancient surviving writings in hieroglyphics and cuneiform, but the inscription on this 3,700-year-old personal-care item is the oldest to use letters that represent sounds. What does it say? "May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard." - The Guardian
“The government has presented a compelling case that predicts substantial harm to competition as a result of the proposed merger of PRH and S&S,” Judge Florence Pan concluded. - Publishers Weekly
"Miser! Miser! is a complete translation of L'Avare (The Miser) of 1668 ... that Burgess wrote in the early 1990s, yet it has never been performed or published. But now it could finally be staged as it will published for the first time in a forthcoming book." - The Guardian
"The Calgary-based Mayr won for her novel ..., which follows a queer, Black sleeping car porter making a treacherous trip from Montreal to Vancouver in 1929." - Toronto Star
I read and write about books for fun. And yet, time and again, my mind goes blank during book discussions, and all I can muster up is “Er, I thought the book was good, because …” - LA Review of Books
After all, publishers spend a fair amount of time on it. "Whether the genre is romance, thriller or fantasy, artists, designers and authors who collaborate on book covers say they're more critical to a book's success or failure than most people understand." - CBC
Is this the same Britain that ruthlessly cut libraries in underserved areas all across the country? The report "recommends that the government should 'support the development of a network of hubs providing cultural spaces, workspaces and free, fast internet access.'" - The Guardian (UK)
She is the thirteenth woman to win in the prize's 120-year-old history. "The prize is worth just €10 but guarantees renown and massive book sales. Most winners prefer to frame rather than cash their Goncourt cheque." - The Guardian (UK)
"Giraud, 56, a French writer of novels and short stories, was declared winner ... after the jury voted 14 times. After a final vote ended in stalemate, the president of the Goncourt Academy cast a deciding vote, choosing Giraud over her closest rival, Giuliano da Empoli." - The Guardian
