As we mentioned earlier, the long list of finalists for the Man Booker International Prize was announced today by judging panel chair Jane Smiley in a press conference held at the New York Public Library. Flavorwire pal Ron Hogan did some great Twittereporting from the conference; there’s a lot of chatter around the scarcity of East Asian and Middle Eastern writers on this and past Booker Int’l lists.
Speaking of lists and Brits, The Times has a piece on 10 literary one-hit wonders. Apparently, “one-hit” refers exclusively to novels, because the list includes Oscar Wilde, J.D. Salinger, and Sylvia Plath. Who needs plays, short stories, or poetry?
Speaking of plays, six new ones by Shakespeare have just surfaced.
And speaking of public libraries, budget cuts pose serious threats for libraries in Brooklyn and throughout Massachusetts. [via Bookninja]
John Wray, author of Lowboy, a novel that takes place in, was written while riding, and has been read aloud on the subway of New York, tells PaperCuts what he listened to while he wrote it.
The Daily Beast recycles two literary memes: tapping the ever-elusive male literary fiction market (by way of Wells Tower) and the slow tragic death of publishing (insert eye roll).
Amazon faces a suit over Kindle technology, instead of copyright violations.
Finally, happy birthday to the ghost of John Updike.
*Post title adapted from Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary