What? Friday already? Sweet! What are you doing this weekend? Want to meet Tabatha Coffey AND Sarah Vowell all in one day? Then come on down to the store tomorrow, because that’s what we’ve got going on.
Here’s what went on in the book world this week:
~The Boston Globe had this editorial regarding Amazon’s refusal to collect and pay state sales tax. Here in Texas, it’s estimated those missing taxes could add up to $269 million.
~David Foster Wallace’s The Pale King, originally slated for an April 15th release, went on sale early courtesy of Amazon, sending booksellers scrambling. (Our copies are on the shelf and available for sale now, by the way, and be sure to check out the event scheduled at the Harry Ransom Center for the original on-sale date of April 15th. While a lot of us here are fans and are happy to be reading the book a bit sooner, Amazon’s early selling really did funk up a lot of plans for celebrating this highly anticipated book. Just sayin’.)
~Chinese-born Australian spy novelist Yang Hengjun has gone missing in China.
~A new book by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has been getting a lot of buzz for the picture it paints of Bill Gates.
~Washington D. C.’s famous indie bookstore Politics and Prose finally found a buyer.
~The last love letter of John Keats was auctioned off in London.
*DEALS*
Random House will publish seven new Dr. Seuss stories.
Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton announced he signed a deal for a new children’s book.
Billy Joel was going to write a memoir, and now he’s not.
James Garner will publish his memoir The Garner Files with Simon and Schuster.
*AWARDS*
We celebrated around here when Shaun Tan won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for his illustrated book depicting childhood depression, Lost and Found. (A staff favorite – if you haven’t seen it yet, definitely browse a copy, the illustrations are incredible.)
Finalists for the Man Booker International Prize were announced, and John Le Carre shook things up by withdrawing his name from the list, stating, “…I do not compete for literary prizes…”
Finalists were also announced for the New York Public Library’s 2011 Young Literary Lion Award. Previous winners include Colson Whitehead, Jonathan Safron Foer, and Mark Z. Danielewski.
It’s National Poetry Month! Read a poem this weekend. Or better yet, write one.
JW
BookPeople 