A diary offering a rare insight into both sides of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas’s infamously rocky marriage to Caitlin McNamara is up for sale, one of 40 pieces being sold for £250,000 on behalf of a New York-based collector by London antiquarian bookseller Rick Gekoski. Gekoski said of the diary, written by Mrs. Thomas: “It was a tumultuous marriage, of that there is no doubt, but what this collection has is both sides of it. It is very raw and emotional. Sometimes she says ‘Oh my God, I wish I’d never married him’ and at other times she wishes she […]
Authors
Buffett Bio Now Scheduled for September
The authorized biography of investor Warren Buffett finally has a release date: September 29, according to Bantam Dell. The 976-page book is being written by former Morgan Stanley insurance analyst Alice Schroeder with Buffett’s cooperation and is titled The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life. The book had been scheduled for a May release in conjunction with Buffett’s insurance and investment company Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting, but was delayed.USA TODAY
Miramax Latest to Sue for Breach of Contract
After Simon & Schuster launched lawsuits to recover advance money from rappers L’il Kim and Foxy Brown, Miramax is trying the same thing with Alison Pearson, the Daily Mail columnist and author of the 2003 bestseller I Don’t Know How She Does It. They allege Pearson signed a contract five years for an unpublished novel titled I Think I Love You, accepting a $700,000 advance. The suit, filed on Friday in Manhattan federal court, said although Pearson accepted the money in August 2003 under a two-year contract she failed to deliver the novel and ignored requests by Miramax since 2006 […]
Tan, Houellebecq Venture Outside Novel Territory
There’s been much ink spilled over the past few days about the San Francisco Opera’s upcoming production of Amy Tan’s The Bonesetter’s Daughter, with Tan writing the libretto herself after director Stuart Wallace “badgered” her into it, saying the novel “must be an opera.” As for her hopes for the opera, she tells Newsweek “part of it has been fulfilled already, as I’ve had this amazing musical experience. If people respond enthusiastically, I’ll be grateful. But even terrible reviews cannot diminish its success for me personally. It will hurt, but I won’t regret doing what’s been so fulfilling.” Meanwhile, reactions […]
On Mahmoud Darwish, 67
The Palestinian poet, author and politician died Saturday night in Houston from complications following heart surgery. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas declared three days of mourning yesterday for the man he deemed “the pioneer of the modern Palestinian cultural project.”NYTGuardian
Coelho on His "Online Journey"
Novelist Paulo Coelho writes in the New Statesman about his decade-long adventures in connecting with fans and readers electronically. His starting point was significantly different from that of many of his peers: “in my case, I was never very keen on the notion of the reclusive author working in solitude, and have always tried to interact with my readers. So I’ve spent a lot of time on my website, knowing that it is one of the rare public platforms, besides the traditional book signing, open to me.” That genuine desire for constructive engagement with his audience, and a creative willingness […]