Great writers have always been inspired by friends and lovers, but a viral article has revived the moral arguments around muses. In the age of the internet, does using someone else’s story feel like a violation?Name: The muse.Age: Ancient. Continue rea…
The Nation’s Largest Public Library System Is Ending Late Fees Forever
An anonymous reader quotes a report from NPR: The largest public library system in the country has become the latest to eliminate all late fees. Effective immediately, the New York Public Library system will not charge fines on overdue materials, and a…
Breakfast at Tiffany’s at 60: the sharp romcom that grows darker with age
Audrey Hepburn’s star-making turn as Holly Golightly remains as luminous as ever in Blake Edwards’ sweetened yet still bittersweet adaptation of Truman Capote’s novelBreakfast at Tiffany’s was a sacred film in my household growing up. My mother’s VHS t…
Trio of scientists win Nobel prize for physics for climate work
Sykuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann and Giorgio Parisi share award for advancing climate knowledgeThree scientists have won the 2021 Nobel prize in physics for their groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of complex physical systems – including …
Bernardine Evaristo picks black authors for London ‘short story stations’
Author teams up with Canary Wharf to distribute short works by five writers during Black History MonthThe award-winning author Bernardine Evaristo has joined forces with the owners of Canary Wharf in London to publish a series of short stories by up-an…
Putting It Together review – how Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park With George was born
James Lapine’s account of how he and Stephen Sondheim braved bad previews and cast members jumping ship to create a hit musical is fascinatingThis book is a retrospective peep behind the curtain, an account of how a musical was conceived, written, prod…
Arguments, anticipation and carefully encouraged scandals: the making of the Booker prize
Its knack for creating tension and controversy has helped it remain an energising force in publishing for more than 50 years – but how do writers, publishers and judges cope with the annual agony of the Booker?Just after 7.20pm on 20 October 1981, the …
Handwritten manuscript of The Grapes of Wrath to be published for the first time
This early version of John Steinbeck’s most famous novel, written in less than 100 days, will be released by SP Books on 7 October The handwritten manuscript of John Steinbeck’s masterpiece The Grapes of Wrath, complete with the swearwords excised from…
Why Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto is having a moment
The Canadian musician Grimes tweeted an image of herself with the 1848 document last week – just after her reported split from the world’s richest man, Elon Musk. She isn’t the only one reading it right nowName: The Communist Manifesto.Age: 173 years. …
Armistead Maupin and Laura Linney: how we made Tales of the City
‘I thought we were going to make history with our same sex kiss. And we did. There were protests all over America – and a bomb threat in Chattanooga’Armistead Maupin, author and executive producer of the Channel 4 seriesI wrote Tales of the City for th…