Here is the latest Book News from Yahoo News.
‘Harry Potter’ author’s chair sells for $394,000 in NY
The chair on which British author J.K. Rowling sat to write the first two volumes of her best-selling “Harry Potter” series sold at auction in New York on Wednesday for $394,000. The modest, 1930s-era oak chair was part of a mismatched set of four that Rowling was given for free when she was a single mother living in subsidized housing in the Scottish city of Edinburgh. Heritage Auctions said it sold for $394,000, including taxes — nearly 14 times the price that it last fetched at auction in 2009.
American children’s author wins Astrid Lindgren prize
American children’s author Meg Rosoff on Tuesday won the 2016 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for young people’s literature, the organisation announced. “Meg Rosoff’s young adult novels speak to the emotions as well as the intellect. Rosoff was born in Boston in 1956, attended Harvard University and later published her first book “How I Live Now” in 2004.
Chair used by ‘Harry Potter’ author J.K. Rowling up for auction
A wooden dining chair used by author J.K. Rowling while she wrote the first two “Harry Potter” books is up for grabs at auction in New York and is expected to fetch tens of thousands of dollars. Hand painted and signed by the novelist, the oak chair comes with a letter marked as having been sent by “Owl Post”, in which Rowling described the chair’s history. “It was given to her with a group of chairs and this was the most comfortable,” James Gannon, director of rare books at Heritage Auctions, told Reuters.
Chair J.K. Rowling used to write Harry Potter books to sell at auction
A chair J.K. Rowling used to write the first two volumes of her best-selling Harry Potter series is set to sell at auction in New York on Wednesday. Pre-auction bidding via the Internet had reached $65,000 on Monday for the modest 1930s-era oak chair on which Rowling, 50, sat while writing “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” published in Britain in 1997, and “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” (1998), the first two of seven volumes. “This was the comfiest one, which is why it ended up stationed permanently in front of my typewriter, supporting me while I typed,” Rowling wrote in a letter accompanying the chair, the auction house conducting the sale, Heritage Auctions, wrote on its website.
Virginia governor vetoes bill to label books ‘sexually explicit’ in schools
By Gary Robertson RICHMOND, Va. (Reuters) – Virginia’s governor vetoed a bill on Monday that would have made the state the first in the country to require that parents be notified if students were assigned readings labeled “sexually explicit.” A mother’s objection to Toni Morrison’s novel “Beloved” being taught in her son’s classroom helped spur the legislation that would have given parents more control over classroom materials. “This requirement lacks flexibility and would require the label of ‘sexually explicit’ to apply to an artistic work based on a single scene, without further context,” Governor Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, said in a statement. The measure would have made Virginia the first U.S. state to mandate that schools notify parents if teachers planned to use the labeled materials, according to the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.
Hungarian Nobel Literature Prize winner Imre Kertesz dies
Hungarian author Nobel Literature Prize winner Imre Kertesz has died aged 86 early Thursday in Budapest after a long illness, his publisher said. The Holocaust survivor, who won the Nobel in 2002, passed away at his home, the director of Magveto Publishing, Krisztian Nyary, told AFP. In an interview in 2013, Kertesz revealed that he had Parkinson’s disease.
Jim Harrison, novelist of the wild, dies at age 78
Jim Harrison, the American novelist and poet who explored the natural world in such works as “Legends of the Fall,” has died, his publisher confirmed Sunday. A heavy drinker, smoker and self-described manic depressive, Harrison’s fictions were extensions of his love of wild places, and his passions as a hunter, fisherman and cook.
JK Rowling posts publisher rejection letters to inspire authors
“Harry Potter” author JK Rowling has publicly aired two rejection letters she received for her first novel using the pseudonym “Robert Galbraith” in a bid to encourage young writers to persevere against the odds.
Book signed by Anne Frank up for auction in New York
A book of fairy tales owned and signed by German-born Jewish diarist Anne Frank before she perished in the Holocaust will go on sale in New York valued at $20,000 to $30,000, an auction house said Wednesday. The well-worn edition of Grimm’s fairy tales in German, which includes favorites Snow White and Hansel and Gretel, belonged to Frank and her sister Margot before they went into hiding in 1942 to escape the Nazis. Frank wrote her name and that of her sister on the fly leaf, said Swann Auction Galleries, which will conduct the sale on May 5.
Surviving Shakespeare script urges empathy for foreigners
The only surviving play script including William Shakespeare’s handwriting, and containing a passionate speech against xenophobia, is being put online to mark the 400th anniversary of the bard’s death, the British Library announced Tuesday. The script is a section from a controversial play that revolves around how statesman Sir Thomas More quelled a 1517 anti-foreigner uprising in London by asking the rioters to imagine themselves being banished to live abroad. The 164-line scene has been attributed to Shakespeare, one of several writers brought in to rework “The Book Of Sir Thomas More”.
Prize-winning novelist Anita Brookner dies aged 87
Anita Brookner, the author and art historian who won the 1984 Booker Prize for fiction, has died at the age of 87, it was announced Tuesday. The novelist, who won the Booker for her novel “Hotel du Lac”, died peacefully in her sleep on Thursday, according to a notice of her death in The Times newspaper. The only child of secular Polish Jews who settled in London, Brookner was born in 1928.
Los Angeles Times reveals Annual Festival of Books line up
Over 500 authors, actors, experts and luminaries including Buzz Aldrin, Carrie Brownstein, Arianna Huffington and James Patterson are scheduled to appear at this year’s two-day event, taking place from April 9
Pat Conroy, author of ‘Prince of Tides’, dies at 70
Pat Conroy, who turned tales of his painfully dysfunctional family into best-selling novels such as “The Great Santini” and “The Prince of Tides,” died on Friday at the age of 70, his publishing company said. Conroy, who had announced in a Feb. 15 Facebook post that he had pancreatic cancer, died at his home in Beaufort, South Carolina, surrounded by family and loved ones, said Todd Doughty, a spokesman for Doubleday. “The water is wide and he has now passed over,” said his wife, novelist Cassandra King Conroy.
Latest Hillary Clinton bio for kids highlights successes and failures
As Hillary Clinton sets her sights on becoming the first female president of the United States, the Democratic front-runner has found herself in another role – the subject of children’s books. In “Hillary Rodham Clinton: Do All the Good You Can,” author Cynthia Levinson charts her rise from her youth in Park Ridge, Illinois, to her work as a U.S. senator and secretary of state. Levinson brought Clinton’s story this week to fourth graders at Cold Spring Elementary School in suburban Washington, whom she found were paying close attention to the presidential race. “I hope kids enjoy the book, and I hope that it’s thought-provoking for them,” said Levinson, who went to Wellesley College with Clinton and interviewed mutual acquaintances and the former first lady for the book.
Pope answers kids’ tough questions in first book for children
By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis, who has penned weighty encyclicals and decrees, has taken a stab at the simpler side of his job with a book for children to answer such questions as “What did God do before the world was made?” That question was put to him by 8-year-old Ryan K., from Canada. The book, called “Dear Pope Francis,” was a brainchild of Father Antonio Spadaro, a priest and editor of the Italian Jesuit journal Civilta Cattolica who was the first person to interview Francis after his election in 2013. Spadaro brought the pope the 31 drawings and questions by children from around the world and Francis dictated his responses in simple language.
Harper Lee’s second novel tops 2015 US bestseller list
Harper Lee’s second novel “Go Set a Watchman” topped the US bestseller list in 2015, selling 1.6 million copies more than half a century after her Pulitzer-winning first book was published. The figures were based on US print unit sales reported to Nielsen since the novel was published in July, snapped up by avid fans who for decades thought the reclusive author of “To Kill a Mockingbird” would never publish another word. Pre-orders turned it into an instant bestseller at many retailers the moment its release was announced by publishers HarperCollins last February.
Missing Hong Kong publisher returned to China ‘voluntarily’: wife
By James Pomfret and Rain Liang HONG KONG (Reuters) – A publisher of books critical of China’s leaders who went missing in Hong Kong last week has traveled to China voluntarily, his wife said on Tuesday, as Britain reminded its former colony of its commitment to press freedom. Four other associates of the publisher that specializes in selling and publishing gossipy political books on China’s Communist Party leaders have been unaccounted for since late last year. The disappearances and China’s continued silence have stoked fears of mainland Chinese authorities using shadowy tactics that erode the “one country, two systems” formula under which Hong Kong has been governed since its return to China in 1997.
Monkey cannot own copyright to ‘selfie,’ U.S. judge says
By Andrew Chung NEW YORK (Reuters) – A rare crested macaque that took a now internationally famous “selfie” cannot own the copyright to the photograph because he is not human, a U.S. judge ruled in a suit brought by animal rights group PETA on behalf of the monkey. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals brought the case in September on behalf of the seven-year-old monkey Naruto against British photographer David Slater, who self-published the photo in a wildlife book. Naruto, who resides on a reserve in Indonesia, took the image and several others in 2011 using a camera left unattended by Slater, the suit said.
Shunned by establishment, Israeli novel on taboo love flourishes
A love story between an Israeli Jew and a Palestinian Muslim has become an unlikely bestseller, after Israel’s education ministry refused to allow the book in the high school curriculum. Dorit Rabinyan’s “Gader Haya,” which means “Borderlife” in English, was left off courses last week in a bid to avoid encouraging relationships between Jews and Arabs, sparking a ferocious backlash by Israeli cultural figures and a buying frenzy. The country’s main fiction chart announced on Friday that the book had shot to the top as a bestseller in book stores and online.
Emma Watson’s Feminist Book Club Is Officially Open for Business
Emma Watson’s feminist book club is now open for fans and feminists to join. After announcing plans to start a book club on Twitter Wednesday, Watson made good on her promise by launching a group on Goodreads.com named “Our Shared Shelf,” a suggestion made to the actress by a fan on Twitter.
In new book, Pope Francis explains vision of compassionate Church
By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis calls in a new book for Roman Catholic leaders to be compassionate shepherds to a “wounded humanity”, not lofty scholars quick to condemn and exclude people who don’t obey Church teachings. The book, “The Name of God is Mercy,” breaks no new ground but is a compelling restatement of the themes of Francis’ papacy told in simple, breezy language in a freewheeling conversation with veteran Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli. In the 150-page book, Francis also repeats his often-quoted “Who am I to judge?” statement about homosexuals, saying that “people should not be defined only by their sexual identities.” The question-and-answer book, to be released on Tuesday, coincides with the Jubilee Year of Mercy, during which the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics are called on to seek forgiveness and forgive.
Hit novel series ‘The Guardians’ looks for TV, film deal
Young adult adventure series “The Guardians” is being prepared for conversion to a movie or TV format. Haitian-born US author Lola StVil has written 10 volumes in the paranormal romantic fantasy series “The Guardians,” including two two-parters and a pair of short story collections.
‘The Innocent Killer’ to get UK and Commonwealth release
The hit documentary might be available to all Netflix subscribers around the world, but until now, the book that inspired “Making a Murderer” was only available in the US.
French author Michel Tournier dies at 91
Michel Tournier, a major French literary figure in the latter half of the 20th century, died Monday at the age of 91 in his home near Paris, his family and the local mayor told AFP. “He died at 7:00 pm (1800 GMT),” surrounded by his loved ones, said his godson Laurent Feliculis, whom the author considered his adopted son. Tournier’s death was confirmed by the mayor of Choisel, a village of some 550 residents southwest of Paris where Tournier, a devout Catholic, had lived for the past 50 years.
Links between slavery, environmental damage are cause for hope, author argues
By Ellen Wulfhorst NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Human slavery and environmental destruction go hand in hand, a complex but encouraging combination that could make efforts to eradicate the global woes easier to focus and succeed, a leading expert argues in a new book. Enforcing and funding existing anti-slavery laws, which are universal, will lead naturally to protection of the environment, writes Kevin Bales, author of “Blood and Earth: Modern Slavery, Ecocide and the Secret to Saving the World.” “These two problems, this ancient and terrible problem of slavery and this newer concern that we have about climate change, are actually so tightly linked together that the solutions are fitting both of them,” Bales told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an interview this week.
McKay seeks to keep financial misdeeds topical in ‘The Big Short’
By Marie-Louise Gumuchian LONDON (Reuters) – As turmoil in world markets revives memories of the 2007-2009 financial crisis, “The Big Short” director Adam McKay says he wanted to tackle the misdeeds of Wall Street in an entertaining but hard-hitting way, to ensure they are not forgotten. The movie, which has earned five Oscar nominations including best film and best director, is based on the best-selling book by Michael Lewis “The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine”. It stars Steve Carell, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt as outsiders who foresaw the credit and housing crisis that led to massive job losses and recession.
Pope Francis answers children’s questions in new book
Pope Francis has written his first book for children, replying to 30 probing letters from children around the world and due for release by a US publishing house in March. Chicago-based Loyola Press, a Jesuit imprint, came up with the idea and got the go-ahead from the pontiff. “Dear Pope Francis” will be published on March 1 in English.
Ben Stiller to make directorial TV debut with romcom on Showtime
According to Variety, Stiller will bring the story to Showtime, which tells the story of a book work who falls in love with a young, materialistic Korean-American against the backdrop of a tech-obsessed society, grappling with a financial crisis and the erosion of American values.
First children’s book in 14 years wins UK’s Costa prize
Britain’s Frances Hardinge became the first children’s author since Philip Pullman 14 years ago to win the prestigious Costa Book of the Year award in London Tuesday. Hardinge’s “The Lie Tree” is a 19th century detective novel in which teenager Faith tries to uncover the truth about her father’s mysterious death. The last children’s novel to do so was Pullman’s “The Amber Spyglass” in 2001.
US TV star Trevor Noah pens book on apartheid childhood
South African comedian Trevor Noah, the host of America’s “The Daily Show”, will release a book about being the child of an illegal mixed race relationship under apartheid, his publishers said Wednesday. Noah, who grew up in the township of Soweto, shot to fame last year as the surprise choice to host the nightly satire show, taking over after Jon Stewart’s celebrated 16-year stint. A child of a then prohibited relationship between a black woman and a white Swiss father, Noah has often joked about his upbringing as a mixed-race boy among black children in Soweto where both Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu once lived.
Adult coloring book craze booms in US
Intricate adult coloring books are the latest lifestyle craze to grip the United States, generating millions of fans, booming sales and libraries falling over themselves to host workshops. Walk into any New York bookstore, and you’ll find them artfully laid out on tables or filling entire shelves. Dover Publications, which prints dozens of coloring books, decreed August 2 as National Coloring Book Day, sponsoring parties and hosting an online group discussion board for tips on how to throw a successful bash at home.
‘Alice in Wonderland’ in the spotlight at 49th California International Antiquarian Book Fair
From February 12-14 thousands of book lovers, rare book dealers and scholars will converge at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, southern California for the 49th California International Antiquarian Book Fair. Recognized as one of the world’s largest exhibition of antiquarian books, this year’s theme will be “A Wonderland of Books” in honor of the 150th anniversary of the publication of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” with a special exhibition devoted to the author. It feature collections from 200 booksellers from the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers who will represent five centuries of printing.
New ‘Harry Potter’ book arriving this summer
Published by Scholastic, the latest book in the wizardry series is in essence a script to the upcoming Jack Thorne play of the same name. “As the U.S. print publisher, Scholastic introduced Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World to American readers nearly 20 years ago and experienced firsthand the anticipation and excitement of the publication of each of the books over the years.
Potter play already a bestseller five months ahead
The script of a new Harry Potter play, which is due to be published on July 31 following its world premiere in London, was already a bestseller on the British version of Amazon on Thursday. “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” will officially open in the West End on July 30, while the script will come out on the following day. The play tells the story of Harry Potter 19 years after the last book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”.
Bruce Springsteen memoir coming in September
Rock legend Bruce Springsteen will explain his rise to fame and the struggles behind his songs in a memoir to be released in September, his publisher announced Thursday. The book will be entitled “Born to Run,” named after Springsteen’s 1975 song that both marked his rise to fame and lyrically explained his drive to get out of his home in Freehold, New Jersey. “Writing about yourself is a funny business,” Springsteen, 66, said in a statement.
Jimmy Carter becomes Grammy star again
In the book, Carter describes his rise in politics and his stinging election defeat to Ronald Reagan in 1980. Since leaving the White House, Carter has been an ardent champion of peacemaking efforts and global health and development, and has been increasingly outspoken in support of left-wing causes. Carter also won a Grammy in 2007 for “Our Endangered Values: America’s Moral Crisis,” another audio version of a book on his political views.
‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ author Harper Lee dies: official
American novelist Harper Lee, famous for her masterpiece “To Kill a Mockingbird” and for shunning the fame it brought her, has died aged 89, officials in her hometown said Friday. Lee’s 1960 novel, which earned her a Pulitzer Prize, came to define racial injustice in the Depression-era South and became standard reading in classrooms across the world. “Mockingbird” tells the story of a black man wrongly accused of raping a white woman and the courageous lawyer, Atticus Finch, who defies his community to defend him.
Egypt jails author for two years over sexually explicit novel
An Egyptian court has sentenced an author to two years in jail for public indecency after excerpts of his sexually explicit novel were published in a literary newspaper. A chapter from Ahmed Naji’s novel Istikhdam al-Hayat, or Using Life, was serialized in a state-owned literary newspaper and a case was brought against him last year by a private citizen who claimed the excerpt caused him distress and heart palpitations. In the initial ruling the court said it acquitted Naji because freedom of expression was enshrined in the constitution, adding that morality was subjective.
Umberto Eco’s last book to be released Friday
The last book from Italian literary giant Umberto Eco, who died last week, will be published on Friday, his publishers said. Chronicles of a Liquid Society” is a collection of essays that have appeared in Italian weekly L’Espresso since 2000, publishers La Nave di Teseo said Sunday. The main title is the first three words of Canto 7 of “Inferno”, the first part of Dante Alighieri’s 14th century epic poem “Divine Comedy”.
Scarlett Johansson narrates ‘Alice in Wonderland’ audio book
Scarlett Johansson has lent her voice to an audio version of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. The Hollywood star teamed up with Audible.com and her sister, narrator and director of the project, Vanessa Johansson, on the audiobook. “Having grown up loving the story of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and reading many books aloud with Vanessa, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to share my love for Alice with an audience,” the actress says.
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