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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: author

author stories: 58 news summaries

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Palin Memoir a Gift to Booksellers

Going Rogue likely to continue trend of hits from right-wing figures

Oct 15, 09 2:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - Sarah Palin’s memoir is expected sell so well that it will singlehandedly boost the fortunes of the ailing book business. The book is already topping preorder lists, and publisher Harper plans an extensive slate of promotional appearances to make full use the former Alaska governor's drawing power. "They... More »

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Alaska • Republican • conservative • publishing • memoir • author • Michelle Malkin • HarperCollins • Borders • Glenn Beck • book • Sarah Palin • Amazon.com • publishing industry • Going Rogue

INTERVIEW

 Gore Vidal: 
 Hillary Would've 
 Been the Better Prez 

Onetime supporter bashes Obama, who needs more of Lincoln's 'chill'

Sep 30, 09 8:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - Gore Vidal is 83 and uses a wheelchair now, but the legendary American writer hasn't lost any of his strong opinions—not least on Barack Obama, who is doing "dreadfully" and has "fucked up" health reform. Vidal supported Obama after originally backing Hillary Clinton, but now thinks... More »

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Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • gay marriage • homosexuality • novelist • author • Gore Vidal • Katharine Hepburn

 Danielle Steel 
 Aide 'Fesses to 
 $400K Ripoff 

Author claims assistant stole $2.7M

Sep 29, 09 6:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - A long-time assistant has pleaded guilty to embezzling $400,000 from best-selling romance queen Danielle Steel. Kristy Watts admitted depositing checks for Steel into her own bank account and using the author's credit card points to obtain gifts and airline tickets. Steel, who has written 76 best-selling novels, claims Watts... More »

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novelist • author • writer • romance • embezzlement • novel • best seller • Danielle Steele

(Newser) - In an interview with Time to plug his new book, Ralph Nader doesn't mince words when asked his opinion of President Obama: "Weak. Waffling, wavering, ambiguous, and overwhelmingly concessionary." So does this mean we can expect another Nader run? "It's too early to say. One thing is... More »

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author • Ralph Nader • progressive • President Obama

Palin Won't Dine With Journo— Even for $60,000

Ex-governor nixes critical writer's bid
in charity auction

Sep 19, 09 7:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - A journalist willing to fork over $60,000 for a dinner with Sarah Palin found himself frozen out of a charity auction at the last minute, the Huffington Post reports. Joe McGinnis, a Palin critic who wrote a piece last fall slamming her handling of Alaska's gasline, slipped through the... More »

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Alaska • author • Sarah Palin • charity auction • Joe McGinnis

(Newser) - Legendary Hollywood screenwriter Budd Schulberg has died, the New York Times reports. He was 95. Schulberg, who won an Oscar for On the Waterfront in 1955, was the son of a movie mogul and grew up as a Hollywood insider. His 1941 novel What Makes Sammy Run?, a scathing look... More »

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Hollywood • Communist Party • author • Joe Louis • screenwriters • movie industry • Spike Lee • blacklist • Budd Schulberg • On the Waterfront • House Un-American Activities Committee • Red scare • John Wayne • Max Schmeling

book review

This Is Your Best Shot to Finish
a Pynchon Novel

Author shifts gears, has fun with a stoner detective in the '60s

Jul 31, 09 1:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Thomas Pynchon's back with what appears to be his most accessible novel yet, in the unlikely category of detective fiction. Critics reviewing Inherent Vice say he pulled it off:
  • Laura Miller, Salon: It's "a sun-struck, pot-addled shaggy dog story that fuses the sulky skepticism of Raymond Chandler with
... More »

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fiction • author • book reviews • book • Thomas Pynchon • Inherent Vice • Raymond Chandler

PROFILE

Loner Author Charts His
Own Course

Vollmann's new opus is typical—brilliant, but sometimes unreadable

Jul 29, 09 3:46 PM CDT
(Newser) - Author William T. Vollmann is an odd bird—“a loner, a bit of a recluse,” Charles McGrath writes in the New York Times, “and a throwback: a wandering, try-anything writer-journalist in the tradition of Steinbeck or Jack London.” And his new book, Imperial, about Southern California,... More »

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California • Mexico • publishing • illegal immigration • author • William T. Vollmann • Imperial County • irrigation • Salton Sea

(Newser) - Author E. Lynn Harris, who offered a glimpse into the secret lives of closeted gay black men, died last night at 54, the AP reports. His publicist says the cause is unknown, and that Harris suddenly took ill just days ago. An autopsy will be performed next week. Harris was... More »

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entertainment • African Americans • obituary • fiction • author • novel • LGBT • best seller • Jay-ZTV • gay • E. Lynn Harris • black men

(Newser) - The Irish town exposed in grisly detail by late son Frank McCourt in Angela’s Ashes isn’t quite sure what to do with its ignominy, the AP reports. A majority of Limerick citizens are proud—“The book was a delight and 80% true,” one historian says—but... More »

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Ireland • author • Angela's Ashes • Limerick • detractors

 Angela's Ashes Author 
 McCourt Gravely Ill

'He is not expected to live,' brother says

Jul 16, 09 4:58 PM CDT
(Newser) - Angela's Ashes author Frank McCourt is battling skin cancer and meningitis and is near death, his brother tells the New York Daily News. McCourt, 78, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his 1996 memoir about growing up in poverty in Ireland, is under hospice care, says his brother Malachy. "... More »

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meningitis • literature • skin cancer • Ireland • melanoma • author

Judge Backs Salinger, Blocks Catcher Sequel

Novel about Holden Caulfield can't be published in US

Jul 1, 09 5:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - Another court triumph for JD Salinger: A federal judge has blocked the US publication of an unauthorized sequel to The Catcher in the Rye. The judge, who had issued a temporary restraining order last month, issued a more permanent injunction against the novel by Swedish author Fredrik Colting, reports the ... More »

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lawsuit • author • The Catcher in the Rye • JD Salinger • Fredrik Colting

 Tale of Wailin' Whalers 
 Nails Bad Writing Contest 

Drunken sailors' screaming contest wins 'coveted' Bulwer-Lytton prize

Jun 30, 09 7:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - A tale of screaming seafarers has won a Washington man this year's grand prize for terrible writing, AP reports. The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest—named in honor of the British writer who coined "It was a dark and stormy night"—rewards the author who can come up with the... More »

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writing • creative writing • author • Bulwer-Lytton prize

 Weird Facts About 
 Best-Selling Authors 

Dan Brown, pop musician? And more.

Jun 24, 09 5:54 PM CDT
(Newser) - Summer's here, and that means it's time for beach reading. Mental Floss compiles some surprising facts about the authors most commonly toted along to the shore:
  1. Dan Brown hasn’t spent his whole life pondering Vatican conspiracies: he was also a musician and pop singer. The name of his
... More »

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beach • literature • summer • author • book • John Grisham • Dan Brown • Nicholas Sparks • Danielle Steel • authors • Nora Roberts

 Authors Want 
 Boom Lowered 
 on Book Pirates 

Book piracy balloons with growth of e-readers

May 12, 09 5:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - A surge in book piracy has followed hot on the heels of the growth in ebooks, the New York Times reports. Publishers trying to stamp out unauthorized editions online say the ease with which books can now be copied online make their efforts little more than a game of "... More »

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publishing • file sharing • author • book • copyright infringement • ebooks • e-readers • Jay-ZTV

Interview

Calm Down,
Your Kids Are Perfectly Safe

Writer/mom says parents worry, hover way too much

May 4, 09 11:24 AM CDT
(Newser) - With a constant barrage of news stories and TV shows highlighting child abductions and murders, it may seem like a supremely dangerous time to be a kid. But don't believe the media, says Lenore Skenazy, the author of Free-Range Kids. In an interview with Salon, she explains why children today... More »

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parenting • children • abduction • author • child safety • book • cable news • Lenore Skenazy

(Newser) - British author JG Ballard died this morning "with great sadness" after many years of poor health, his agent said today. The 78-year-old novelist and short story writer was most famous for his semi-autobiographical book Empire of the Sun, later made into a film by Steven Spielberg, and his controversial... More »

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obituary • British • death • novelist • author • writer • novel • JG Ballard

(Newser) - Meghan McCain has snagged a book deal thought to be in the high six figures, the New York Observer reports. The 24-year-old chose Hyperion over at least three other publishers. No official word on the subject, but a good bet is the future of the Republican party and how to... More »

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publishing • author • Meghan McCain • conservatives • young Republicans • book deal

 Schindler's List Found 
 in Aussie Library 

List of saved Jews that inspired book was buried deep in box of author's papers

Apr 7, 09 5:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - A rare copy of one of Oskar Schindler's original lists has been found in an Australian library, Reuters reports. The 13 yellowing pages list hundreds of Jews the German industrialist saved from the gas chambers by employing them in his factories. The list was given to Schindler's List author Thomas... More »

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Australia • Holocaust • Jews • author • Oskar Schindler • library

Two More Crichton Novels to Be Released

Late author left behind pirate yarn, and part of techno-thriller

Apr 6, 09 7:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - Michael Crichton fans will have at least two posthumous releases to look forward to, the New York Times reports. The late author left behind a completed 17th-century adventure yarn called Pirate Latitudes that publisher HarperCollins plans to release this November, and the company is seeking an author to finish a... More »

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publishing • author • HarperCollins • Michael Crichton

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