If you haven't been following the presidential election, I'll give it to you in a nutshell: Maya Angelou has endorsed Hilary Clinton, and Toni Morrison has endorsed Barak Obama. No writer has come out in favor of any of the Republican hopefuls.Now salon.com helpfully compares and contrasts the two authors--but fails to ask the most … Continue reading Whose Dame is Grande-er?

Thirteen people have been arrested in Turkey, charged with plotting to kill the writer Orhan Pamuk. The author has long been the target of threats and was prosecuted last year for "insulting Turkishness" in his writings. Among those arrested are a retired general and the lawyer who brought charges against Pamuk and several other writers.Details … Continue reading Watch Out

San Francisco's Chronicle Books is now the US distributor for the storied Moleskine notebooks. There's an item on the publisher's blog about the notebooks, and while it's mostly marketing fluff, it does include this charming photo. I thought it was too good to pass up.--David E