Here are a few news tidbits from this the week in the book world, in brief:
Liberty Media made a $1 billion bid to buy Barnes and Noble (contingent on Len Riggio staying put.)
Philip Roth won the Man Booker Prize and one of the judges was none too pleased. In fact, author and publisher Carmen Callil resigned from the judging panel, issuing a statement that likened Roth’s writing to the unfortunate image of the author “…sitting on your face…” Reactions have been varied – Melville House has a good roundup (and video of the Monty Python song – really, she just walked right into that one.)
One in eight women over 35 admit to illegally downloading e-books, according to the UK Telegraph.
The WNBA (Woman’s National Book Assocation, not that other WNBA) announced the winners of its 2011 Panell Awards, given to bookstores for excellence in bringing together books and the young people in their communities. Many congratulations to Queen Anne Books in Seattle and Fairtytales Bookstores and More in Nashville.
John Irving wil publish two new books with Simon & Schuster. The first is the novel In One Person, about a bisexual man.
Greg Allman, frontman for the Allman Brothers Band, will publish a memoir with HarperCollins in 2012.
Susan Sarandon and Jim Broadbent have been cast in the film adaptation of David Mitchell’s The Cloud Atlas. Tom Hanks and Halle Berry are already on board.
We got our first look at the actress who will play Katniss in the highly anticipated film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games.
Listen, the world’s not going to end this weekend. It’s just not. Not when we have SIMON PEGG coming on June 15. No way is this world kicking the bucket before then, so let’s just all relax.
BookPeople 