Nobel Prize-winning author Günter Grass, 87, died in hospital in Lübeck, Germany. He was the author of THE TIN DRUM (1959) and other novels, in addition to being a poet, dramatist, sculptor, and the speechwriter for German chancellor Willy Brandt. Grass received his Nobel Prize in 1999.
Uruguayan writer and journalist Eduardo Galeano, 74, died Monday morning in Montevideo. His published books included OPEN VEINS OF LATIN AMERICA (1971), MEMORY OF FIRE (1986) and most recently, CHILDREN OF THE DAYS (2012).
President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle reported more than $477,000 in income according to their annual tax return, released last Friday, the result of book sales declines from earlier years. The Obamas earned $503,183 in 2013 and $662,076 in 2012; the president’s annual salary is $400,000.