Norton editor Matt Weiland has purchased Blake Bailey’s forthcoming biography of Philip Roth, which is tentatively titled Philip Roth: The Biography. Roth has granted Bailey full access to his archives and papers, and has already sat for a series of interviews. This isn’t the only project that Bailey is working on, either: Weiland recently purchased Bailey’s memoir, The Splendid Things We Planned, and it’s set to come out with Norton in 2014.
Last month, the New York Times called attention to the growing industry of pay-for-play book reviews (a phenomenon that’s also been called “sock puppetry”) and the explosion of fraud in online reviewing. In case you were wondering how these companies recruit, here’s theanswer in the form of a Craigslist ad, courtesy of Moby Lives. “Wanted — literate, artful writers who can post five-star reviews of some books on amazon.com. Pay is $15 firm for 50 to 100 words of high praise with some specifics about the book that will appeal to potential readers.”
Poet Gary Snyder has been awarded the $100,000 Wallace Stevens Award from the Academy of American Poets. Snyder began his career as a West Coast beat poet, and most recently published Back on the Fire, a book of essays about the ecological effects of controlled fires in California. He’s currently a professor at University of California-Davis.
The Miami Book Fair International has announced the full line-up for the seven-day-long festival. With more than three hundred participants, we’re glad the Miami New Times has taken the time to alphabetize the list.
New York Times publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger died last weekend at the age of eighty-six. Sulzberger led the paper for thirty-four years, radically expanded its reach and influence, and has the final honor of earning the longest NYT obit we’ve ever seen.
David Foster Wallace’s drafts, scribblings and outlines for The Pale King are now available for public perusal at the Harry Ranson Center at the University of Texas, Austin.
