“Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.”

-C.S. Lewis

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NATURAL ELEMENTS, by Richard Mason gets the lukest of warm receptions at The New York Times.

The Daily Peleton scours the literary globe for books about cycling, and occasionally finds one.  This time, an easyread novel, THE RACE, by Dave Shields.

The Trades enjoyed EDGAR & ELLEN: GRAPHIC NOVELTY - A COMIC COLLECTION.

Publishers Weekly’s web exclusives this week includes four starred selections amongst the goodies.

Editor’s note: From March 15th to March 28th, Afternoon Viewing will present parts 1 through 14 of the Academy Award-nominated documentary “A Sense of Life”. Previous installments here.

From the YouTube description:

Director Michael Paxton profiles writer and thinker Ayn Rand, a Russian-born author who championed the ideals of capitalism, individualism and reason, and gained notoriety for Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. Through a mix of interviews and movie clips, Paxton chronicles the popular writer’s life, not her controversial philosophies. Actress Sharon Gless narrates the film, which received an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary.

Former Ingram executive Peter Clifton and industry analyst Mike Shatzkin’s new company Filedby, Inc. has launched a new site that features 1.8 million author pages, something of an IMDB for authors. Check it out here.

PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature, to be held in New York City from April 27th through May 3rd, has announced its schedule and lineup of authors.

In a new piece at Prospect Magazine, Kenan Malik talks to Hanif Kureishi about the Rushdie fatwa and why a book like The Satanic Verses would likely not be written today.

The Coen brothers will adapt Charles Portis’ True Grit for the screen, departing from the 1969 John Wayne version by focusing on Mattie Ross’ P.O.V.

Today in Literature: On this day in 1892, Walt Whitman died.

“There’s only one person who needs a glass of water oftener than a small child tucked in for the night, and that’s a writer sitting down to write.”

-Mignon McLaughlin

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Britain’s government gets scooped in A VIEW FROM THE FOOTHILLS: THE DIARIES OF CHRIS MULLIN.

The Christian Science Monitor requests that you think for yourself while reflecting on POEMS FROM THE WOMEN’S MOVEMENT, edited by Honor Moore.

Baseball, war, and coming of age for author Jim Lehrer’s 19th protagonist, OH, JOHNNY.

And it’s reported to be well worth it to have Pete Dunne to pay attention for you in PRAIRIE SPRING: A JOURNEY INTO THE HEART OF A SEASON.

Editor’s note: From March 15th to March 28th, Afternoon Viewing will present parts 1 through 14 of the Academy Award-nominated documentary “A Sense of Life”. Previous installments here.

From the YouTube description:

Director Michael Paxton profiles writer and thinker Ayn Rand, a Russian-born author who championed the ideals of capitalism, individualism and reason, and gained notoriety for Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. Through a mix of interviews and movie clips, Paxton chronicles the popular writer’s life, not her controversial philosophies. Actress Sharon Gless narrates the film, which received an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary.

Sana Krasikov wins the Sami Rorr Prize for Jewish Literature for her debut short story collection, One More Year.

Fictionwise has launched a beta version of its eReader app for the Blackberry.

Tennessee Williams literary festival kicks off in New Orleans.

The New York Times presents five literary heavyweights discussing the legacy of Sylvia Plath.

The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the richest prize in children’s literature, goes to The Palestinian Tamer Institute for Community Education.

Today in Literature: On this day in 1957, U.S. Customs agents seize 520 copies of Allen Ginsberg’s Howl on the grounds of obscenity.

“Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man.”

-Sir Francis Bacon

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Science geeks, alert!  URANIUM: WAR, ENERGY, AND THE ROCK THAT SHAPED THE WORLD, by Tom Zoellner is reported as wonderful.

Nikola Tesla makes a guest appearance in Samantha Hunt’s novel, THE INVENTION OF EVERYTHING ELSE.

The opposition speaks in RED HOT LIES: HOW GLOBAL ALARMISTS USE THREATS, FRAUD, AND DECEPTION TO KEEP YOU MISINFORMED, by Michael R. Fox, PhD.

And then for fun, you can read Allen Barra’s, YOGGI BERRA: ETERNAL YANKEE.

Natasha Bennett is a short story author and novelist based in Victoria, British Columbia. Her debut novel, War of the Soulites (Lyrical Press), is slated for release in May.

AuthorScoop would like to thank her for taking the time to be part of our “5 Minutes Alone” interview series.

AuthorScoop: What was your very first publication credit?

Natasha: I submitted a flash fiction story to the website MicroHorror.com, who accepted it right away. I didn’t get any money out of it, but I was thrilled. A few months later I earned my first five dollars submitting a story to Fear and Trembling. I still have that framed somewhere.

AuthorScoop: Tell us about your latest release.

Natasha: War of the Soulites is a dark science fiction novel and the first in a trilogy. In my novel, Earth is unified under a corrupt government, and shortly afterwards the planet is almost destroyed by a race of mysterious aliens called the Soulites. The main focus of the novel is on a ship named the Vigilant, which is crippled during the attack and lost in hostile territory. What makes the book unique is that some members of the Vigilant are corrupt, some try to murder each other, and others are slaves. Somehow, the crew have to work together against impossible odds.

AuthorScoop: Aside from your own hard work, who else do you feel has contributed to your success?

Natasha: There are a lot of people I have to thank. My mom edited my book from start to finish. My brother Campbell pointed out a few technical flaws, and my fiancee James was my sounding board for ideas. The good people of Lyrical Press took a chance on me and published my book. When I told about a hundred people I planned to write a book, not one of them said it was a stupid idea. Instead I got a lot of encouragement. There’s too many people for me to thank.

AuthorScoop: At what time of day or night do you do your best writing?

Natasha: It’s difficult to say, because I’m always on the move. A typical day for me will be jotting some notes on the bus while going to work. Later at night I’ll move those notes to my laptop. The weekends are usually spent promoting my book, so I try to fit time in whenever I can.

AuthorScoop: Finally, what advice would you give to new or unpublished writers?

Natasha: A lot of writers say to never give up, and that is certainly the best advice I can think of. It took me five years to bring War of the Soulites from concept to publication. Along the way I met many writers who were too eager to sell their work, and ended up being involved in contracts they hated. So my advice is, research your publisher. Make sure the genre is right for them, and that the people you are working for have a good reputation. Otherwise you might regret it.

Editor’s note: From March 15th to March 28th, Afternoon Viewing will present parts 1 through 14 of the Academy Award-nominated documentary “A Sense of Life”. Previous installments here.

From the YouTube description:

Director Michael Paxton profiles writer and thinker Ayn Rand, a Russian-born author who championed the ideals of capitalism, individualism and reason, and gained notoriety for Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. Through a mix of interviews and movie clips, Paxton chronicles the popular writer’s life, not her controversial philosophies. Actress Sharon Gless narrates the film, which received an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary.

Happy 90th birthday, Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas presents a Web exhibition focused on the works of Sanora Babb, entitled “Stories from the American High Plains“.

Hector Tobar, writing for the L.A. Times, explores the literary outpost of Librería Hispanoamérica.

With a musical version of Shakespeare in Love on the way, Robert McCrum offers up some other suggestions for literary biographies.

Today in Literature: On this day in 1882 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow died at the age of 75.

“All the fun is in how you say a thing.”

-Robert Frost

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All I have room for is the title and to say that USA Today thought it was pretty good - WAR IN THE BOARDROOM: WHY LEFT-BRAINED MANAGEMENT AND RIGHT-BRAINED MARKETING DON’T SEE EYE-TO-EYE - AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT.

Jehan Sadat details her vision as influenced by her late husband in, MY HOPE FOR PEACE.

Oi.  Another all-title one.  Deep breath, here goes: MELTDOWN: A FREE-MARKET LOOK AT WHY THE STOCK MARKET COLLAPSED, THE ECONOMY TANKED, AND GOVERNMENT BAILOUTS WILL MAKE IT WORSE.  Oh, and it’s by Thomas E. Woods, Jr.

And just in time to get you in the mood for Spring training, Bruce Weber brings up AS THEY SEE ‘EM: A FAN’S TRAVELS IN THE LAND OF UMPIRES.

Editor’s note: From March 15th to March 28th, Afternoon Viewing will present parts 1 through 14 of the Academy Award-nominated documentary “A Sense of Life”. Previous installments here.

From the YouTube description:

Director Michael Paxton profiles writer and thinker Ayn Rand, a Russian-born author who championed the ideals of capitalism, individualism and reason, and gained notoriety for Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. Through a mix of interviews and movie clips, Paxton chronicles the popular writer’s life, not her controversial philosophies. Actress Sharon Gless narrates the film, which received an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary.

R.I.P.: Nicholas Hughes, son of Sylvia Plath and her “baby in the barn“, commits suicide at age 47…

…The Times’ Erica Wagner tries to make sense of it all.

Writing as performance art: Gawker marvels at the “porn for the literary voyeur” inherent in Etherpad’s Time Slider (hit the link for a time-lapse view of essayist Paul Graham banging out a piece, so to speak). 

Salem News looks beyond Nathaniel Hawthorne at Essex County’s rich literary history.

Financial Times presents an interview with Iain Sinclair.

“If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing.”

-Benjamin Franklin

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Tim Gautreax’s, THE MISSING, doesn’t fare too well at The Daily News.

All you ever wanted to know about HERBERT HOOVER but were afraid to ask is revealed by biographer William E. Leuchtenburg.

WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU, a novel by Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant warms the light literary shelf this Spring.

Learning to savor the grape with the hip and shaggy-haired is the way to go.  Matt Skinner shows you how with HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE: THE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TO ENJOY WINE.

Editor’s note: From March 15th to March 28th, Afternoon Viewing will present parts 1 through 14 of the Academy Award-nominated documentary “A Sense of Life”. Previous installments here.

From the YouTube description:

Director Michael Paxton profiles writer and thinker Ayn Rand, a Russian-born author who championed the ideals of capitalism, individualism and reason, and gained notoriety for Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. Through a mix of interviews and movie clips, Paxton chronicles the popular writer’s life, not her controversial philosophies. Actress Sharon Gless narrates the film, which received an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary.