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James Franco Sells Book Straight to Amazon

Yet another occupation for busy actor

(Newser) - Jack-of-multiple-trades James Franco is about to peddle his latest endeavor on Amazon. The actor's first novel, Actors Anonymous, has been acquired by Amazon's new fiction editor and the tome will head directly to the company's online store. The work is supposed to be a barely-fictionalized version of... More »

2011's Top 10 Books

Stephen King, Christopher Hitchens make the cut

(Newser) - If you need a book recommendation for holiday reading, look no further than the New York Times ' list of the 10 best books of the year. Five are fiction and five non-fiction:
  • 11/22/63 by Stephen King: A time portal sends an English teacher back to 1958 to try and
... More »

Brazenly Plagiarized Spy Novel Pulled

Author's debut was 'collage of others' work'

(Newser) - Bookseller Quentin Rowan appears to have forged a writing career entirely by raiding the contents of his shelves. Publisher Little, Brown & Co. recalled every single copy of his debut spy thriller, Assassin of Secrets—written under the pseudonym QR Markham—after discovering that passages had been lifted from more... More »

Gabriel García Márquez Novel Spurs Rebels in Iran

'News of a Kidnapping' selling out after Mousavi comment

(Newser) - Want to know what it’s like to be an Iranian opposition leader under house arrest? Read Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s News of a Kidnapping. Ever since Mir Hossein Mousavi told his daughters the Colombian novel describes “my situation in captivity,” it’s been flying off the shelves... More »

9/11 Too 'Meaningless' to Inspire Great Novels

Because 'life, not death, is the novelist's subject': Laura Miller

(Newser) - Ten years later, and still no great 9/11 novels? Yes, because "at its heart, 9/11 was meaningless," writes Laura Miller at Salon . "I realize that sounds inflammatory, but hear me out." A novelist explores "the winding and unwinding of long strands of cause and effect,... More »

So, Just Who Wrote That Celebrity Novel?

Probably not the celebrity, says the 'New York Times'

(Newser) - Just because Nicole Richie is a reality TV star doesn't mean she can't also write. In fact, she claims to write every morning, before her family wakes up, and said last year that she writes "all my own stories." How else do you think she'd... More »

New Godfather Novel Coming

Prequel based on screenplay by Mario Puzo

(Newser) - Godfather fanboys, rejoice: More of Vito’s tale is on the way, partly from the pen of Mario Puzo, on whose novels the movies were based. The new novel is an adaptation of a screenplay written by the late Puzo that never made it to the silver screen, the Huffington... More »

Plot Rumors Leak on Fourth Stieg Larsson Novel

But much uncertainty remains on whether novel will see the light of day

(Newser) - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo kicked off a trilogy of international bestsellers—and though author Stieg Larsson died in 2004, rumors of another novel’s existence are gaining traction. Plot details have emerged, but the book’s fate remains murky as Larsson’s family and his former girlfriend battle... More »

Novel Appears Page by Page on NYC Lampposts

East Village fans have to work to read 'Holy Crap'

(Newser) - We've got another anonymous author in the spotlight, or at least the lamplight: Somebody is posting a novel page by page on lampposts in New York City's East Village, notes New York's Daily Intel via EV Grieve. So far, eight pages of Holy Crap have been taped up, with each... More »

Shame on You, Simon & Schuster

Tim Rutten: Marketing of 'O' is outright 'deception'

(Newser) - Now that we know McCain adviser Mark Salter is the author of O: A Presidential Novel, Simon & Schuster has some 'splaining to do, writes Tim Rutten in the Los Angeles Times . Marketing campaigns don't have to win prizes for honesty, "but they are supposed to stop somewhere just... More »

DC's Big Mystery: Who Wrote Anonymous Obama Novel?

Book is due out Jan. 25

(Newser) - A mystery is sweeping Washington: Who penned the forthcoming O: A Presidential Novel ? The 368-page, $25.99 book, out for release Jan. 25, is about the Obama administration—and is reportedly written by an anonymous author who has “vast personal experience” with the subject, the Washington Post reports.... More »

Did This Book Inspire Real-Life Murder?

Lead character based on man who later killed his mother

(Newser) - A Florida man confessed to killing his mother in the same fashion as a recently published novel describes: by beating her, cutting her open, and removing her inner organs. And the author of the novel admits that he based his main character partially on his friend, Beau Bruneau, 29—the... More »

Inside James Frey's Sweatshop-Like Novel Factory

Controversial author hires writers to churn out novels on the cheap

(Newser) - James Frey, infamous for angering Oprah with his "fake memoir" A Million Little Pieces, idolizes Vonnegut, Hemingway, and Henry Miller. He's the kind of writer who talks about wanting to "change the game" and "move the paradigm." Yet he's also the head of Full Fathom Five,... More »

Jane Austen's Style? Not Actually Jane Austen's

An editor was likely the one to polish her prose, says professor

(Newser) - Jane Austen is known as a “perfect stylist,” but those perfectly crafted sentences may not actually be hers. After studying 1,100 pages of Austen’s handwritten, unpublished manuscripts, an Oxford professor concluded that “the polished punctuation and epigrammatic style … is simply not there,” she... More »

CIA Hunts Truth About Obama—in New Novel

Obama Identity: A Novel (Or Is It?) tackles those pesky conspiracy theories

(Newser) - One CIA agent will stop at nothing until he uncovers the shocking truth about the president himself. That’s the plot of The Obama Identity: A Novel (Or Is It?), a new satirical thriller from Edward Klein (the man behind The Truth About Hillary) and John LeBoutillier (a former GOP... More »

Oprah Mends Fences With Novelist Who Dissed Her

Jonathan Franzen's 'Freedom' lands coveted book club slot

(Newser) - Nine years after Oprah Winfrey chose Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections for her book club, and the "uncomfortable" novelist talked his way out of appearing on her show, he's getting another chance, reports the New York Post . The media magnate's people won't confirm the Oprah's Book Club selection—likely the... More »

Anti-Novel Manifesto Reads Like 'Hokey' Fiction

David Shields' hypocritical book is dependent on plot

(Newser) - The subtitle of David Shields’ Reality Hunger—an anti-novel, anti-plot screed that celebrates reality in all its forms—is A Manifesto, which automatically makes it less about “reality” and more about creating a stir, writes Laura Miller. Even as he rails against the outdated novel, Shields is creating a... More »

'Lost' Man Booker Prize From 1970 to Be Awarded

Rule change omitted all books published in 1970

(Newser) - In 1970, the Man Booker Prize went to a book published in 1969, but the rules changed in 1971 and the coveted prize was awarded to a book published that year—meaning no 1970 novel scored a Booker. Organizers plan to right the perceived wrong by awarding the Lost Man... More »

Writers Pick Best Books of '09

Nick Hornby, Judy Blume, and more weigh in

(Newser) - What was the best book of the year? Salon asked Nick Hornby, Junot Diaz, Curtis Sittenfeld, and other people with better literary credentials than ours what they enjoyed in 2009. Their responses are in the photo gallery. More »

New 'Vooks' Sex Up Books With Video Clips

Video-text hybrids seen as way to keep 21st-century readers interested in books

(Newser) - Publishers are scrambling to attract readers weaned on video games and social networking by jazzing up a format little-changed since Gutenberg started churning out Bibles in the 15th century. "Vooks" add video segments, either embedded in the text or available online, to electronic books. The hybrids are being created... More »

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