COSMIC, by MILLIONS author Frank Cottrell Boyce, fares pretty well over at ParentDish.

More comics to sift through over at Robot6.

The Washington Times really doesn’t appreciate the ballistics and military syntax errors in Stephen Hunter’s I, SNIPER: A BOB LEE SWAGGER NOVEL, but beyond that gives him his props.

There is a man called Dr. Vino (Tyler Colman to his friends and the tax-man) and he gives us A YEAR OF WINE: PERFECT PAIRINGS, GREAT BUYS,  AND WHAT TO SIP FOR EACH SEASON.

From the WarwickTV YouTube description:

In an exclusive interview for Warwick TV, Yaena Kwon talked to the the Irish author Colm Tóibín about his latest novel “Brooklyn” and his personal experiences:

Poet Christopher Reid bests favorite Colm Toibin to take the £30,000 Costa Book of the Year Award for A Scattering. (Bloomberg)

Harper’s Magazine editor Roger D. Hodge resigns; was possibly forced out. (GalleyCat)

Mark Athitakis chases down (the myth of?) the “typical” New Yorker short story. (American Fiction Notes)

Could Shakespeare have been a woman—and a Jewish one at that? (Globe and Mail)

Taylor Antrim explores why some memoirs work better as novels. (The Daily Beast)

Richard Holmes introduces readers to “the strange, captivating, haunted poems” of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. (The Guardian)

Condoleezza Rice shares details from her upcoming first memoir. (NYTimes)

Leo Hickman examines the best books on sustainability. (The Guardian)

“On this day in 1722 Daniel Defoe published Moll Flanders — or, more exactly, “The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders &c who was born at Newgate, and during a Life of continued Variety for Threescore Years, besides her Childhood, was Twelve Year a Whore, five time a Wife (whereof once to her own Brother), Twelve Year a Thief, Eight Year a Transported Felon in Virginia, at last grew rich, liv’d Honest, and died a Penitent.”" (Today in Literature)

“I like to write when I feel spiteful: it’s like having a good sneeze.”

-D.H.Lawrence

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Nancy Wherlin’s YA Fantasy, IMPOSSIBLE, scores four out of five at The Wassau Daily Herald.

The Guardian looks at funnyman Jonathan Ross’s newest endeavor, the vampire comic TURF.

Scientist Dan Agin, writing for The Huffington Post, is well-impressed by HERE BE DRAGONS: HOW THE STUDY OF ANIMAL AND PLANT DISTRIBUTIONS REVOLUTIONIZED OUR VIEWS OF LIFE AND EARTH.

And in advance of Valentine’s Day, here are two on relationships: COUPLES: THE TRUTH, by Kate Figes and NO MORE SILLY LOVE SONGS: A REALIST’S GUIDE TO ROMANCE, by Anouchka Grose.

From the Bloomberg YouTube description:

Apple Inc.s planned tablet computer is luring publishers with features that Amazon.com Inc.s Kindle and Sony Corp.s electronic readers lack, such as color photos, video and author interviews and a different pricing model. Bloomberg’s Cris Valerio reports.

Ursula Le Guin is to submit a petition to a US judge today signed by 365 other writers opposing the Google book settlement. (AFP)

University of Colorado associate professor Adam Bradley discusses his role in bringing Ralph Ellison’s unfinished novel to readers. (Boulder Daily Camera)

C. Max Magee chats it up with a real live book pirate. (The Millions)

Colm Toibin the odds-on favorite to win the Costa Book of the Year award for Brooklyn. (Reuters)

Eight litterateurs on Monday awarded the first Tagore Literature Awards. (The Hindu)

Toby Lichtig on the perils of reading at lunchtime. (Guardian Books Blog)

Nominations now being accepted for the 2010 Dayton Literary Peace Prize. (Dayton Literary Peace Prize)

HarperTeen launches inkpop, an interactive writing platform and community for teenagers. (Publishers Weekly)

Borders Group CEO Ron Marshall resigns. (GalleyCat)

“Fame is like a river, that beareth up things light and swollen, and drowns things weighty and solid.”

-Francis Bacon

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I AM OZZY by, well yeah, Ozzy Osbourne delivers the goods.

The next crop of children’s book is up at Publisher’s Weekly.

The New York Times takes a look at Henry E. Scott’s SHOCKING TRUE STORY: THE RISE AND FALL OF CONFIDENTIAL, ‘AMERICA’S MOST SCANDALOUS SCANDAL MAGAZINE’.

Amy Bloom peddles a bit of sunshine in her latest collection, WHERE THE GOD OF LOVE HANGS OUT.

Author Michael Kimmage digs for the deep contemplation, and impressed The New Republic in the effort, in THE CONSERVATIVE TURN: LIONEL TRILLING, WHITAKER CHAMBERS, AND THE LESSONS OF ANTI-COMMUNISM.

From the WSKG YouTube description:

WSKG is proud to present the PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest open to children in Kindergarten through Third Grade. Rules and entry forms are available online at wskg.org click on the PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest logo. Entries must be received by 5pm on Friday, April 2nd, 2010.

Author, Melanie Benjamin, hits the scene with her historical novel and debut, ALICE I HAVE BEEN, to much buzz.  The story is an inspired what-if speculation on the life of Alice Liddell, muse to Lewis Carroll and template for one of the most recognizable characters in all of literature - the very Alice who tumbles down the rabbit hole into Wonderland.  The book is climbing lists and gathering speed, so it’s quite nice to catch Ms. Benjamin before she’s too busy for us.

We’d 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?

Melanie: Many years ago, I had an idea for a parenting essay; I tossed it off, sent it to a local parenting publication, and was offered my own column.  I thought publishing was so simple - little did I know how hard it would be in the ensuing years!  The ease of that first publication credit did not prepare me for the inevitable rejection that’s part of every author’s life.

AuthorScoop: Tell us about your latest release.

Melanie: ALICE I HAVE BEEN is a book of historical fiction, about the life of Alice Liddell, the little girl who inspired Lewis Carroll’s ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND.  It’s also about their friendship; how it gave the world Wonderland, but also changed their lives forever in ways that were both beautiful and tragic.  It haunted Alice through her long, eventful life - which included a rumored romance with a prince of England, and sending all three of her sons off to fight in World War I - until, near the age of 80, she finally seemed able to embrace her literary legacy.

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

Melanie: Two things - reading is the primary one.  I really do believe the best education a writer can get is a lifelong love of reading, particularly in the genre they wish to write.  Second is my ability to look forward, not back; I don’t get too attached to my words and if something doesn’t work out, I toss it - even whole manuscripts! - if I think it’s not working out.  Then I begin something new.  This ability has really saved my career.

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

Melanie: Afternoon and after dinner.  I’m not a morning person!

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

Melanie: Read, read, read!  Read everything you can, read what’s being published today.  And also - respect.  Work hard at the craft of writing, give it years of study and practice as you would any other artform.  The Internet has made it all too easy to think we’re all writers; the ease of seeing your words instantly on a screen or a blog can lull a person into thinking she doesn’t have to work that hard.  We all do.

ALICE I HAVE BEEN is in bookstores now and available at online retailers, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com for both delivery and Kindle or Nook download.

Mary Ann Gwinn profiles the ‘high priestess’ of steampunk, Cherie Priest. (Seattle Times)

A teacher gets his due after being commended by his former pupil, award-winning novelist Sarah Waters. (Milford Mercury)

Martin Amis steps in it… again. (Telegraph)

McCrum looks back at the golden age of magazine fiction and explores why it will never be repeated. (The Guardian)

Texas tosses out children’s author Bill Martin from curriculum after confusing him with philosophy professor Bill Martin. (Dallas Morning News)

Will Oxford get a poet laureate? (BBC)

Michael Zelenko chats it up with author Sasa Stanisic. (The Rumpus)

Ofer Aderat talks to 106 year-old Alice Herz-Sommer, one of the few surviving friends of Franz Kafka. (Haaretz)

Nick Martens has a bit of fun with the Oxford English Dictionary. (The Bygone Bureau)

“On this day in 1759 Robert Burns was born in Alloway, Scotland, and on this night lovers of Burns or Scotland or conviviality will gather around the world to celebrate the fact.” (Today in Literature)

“Most people do not believe in anything very much and our greatest poetry is given to us by those who do.”

-Cyril Connolly

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Patti Smith’s JUST KIDS delivers on all the implied promise of turmoil and rockbottom that you’d expect from the Godmother of Punk’s memoirs.

REMEMBERING SURVIVAL: INSIDE A NAZI SLAVE-LABOR CAMP by Christopher Browning is a study of a lesser-discussed facet of the Holocaust: Jews forced to manufacture munitions for the Nazis.

Andrew Porter reaps accolades from The Christian Science Monitor for his newest collection of short stories, THE THEORY OF LIGHT AND MATTER.

The Economist isn’t convinced of Ronald Asmus’ objectivity, but still praises THE LITTLE WAR THAT SHOOK THE WORLD: GEORGIA, RUSSIA, AND THE FUTURE OF THE WEST.

From the CCCB YouTube description:

Orhan Pamuk, writer, Nobel Laureate in Literature 2006 opened the CCCB cycle of debates “Thinking the future” giving a lecture about the future of the museum and the novel. After the lecture, the audicence asked him about some interesting issues: his last novel “The Museum of Innocence”, the Turkey accession to the EU or the future of the books in the Internet era etc.

Kate Christensen talks dirty with Jami Attenberg. (The Rumpus)

Sarah Crown profiles E.L. Doctorow and catches him in a fascinating state of mind. (The Guardian)

An interesting little slideshow of books that, at one time or another, were banned. (The Independent)

Robert McCrum discovers the most popular Indian author you’ve (probably) never heard of: Chetan Bhagat. (The Observer)

In case you missed em: The National Books Critics Circle announced the finalists for its 2009 awards. (National Books Critics Circle)

Patrick Gillespie makes some waves with his treatise, “Let Poetry Die.” (PoemShape)

The dark side: “the literary masters of misery who delight in desolation.” (The Independent)

R.I.P. Abraham Sutzkever, poet. (NYTimes)

On this day in 1670 English playwright William Congreve was born. (Today in Literature)

“No passion in the world is equal to the passion to alter someone else’s draft.”

-H G Wells

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Sierra Club Books presents a striking and moving treatise on mining with COAL COUNTRY: RISING UP AGAINST MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL MINING, edited by Shirley Stewart Burns, Mari-Lynn Evans, and Silas House.

Beth Powning’s THE SEA CAPTAIN’S WIFE struggles to capture a full endorsement at The National Post, but still, there seems to be a good bit to recommend it.

The New York Times isn’t as keen on Joshua Ferris’  sophomore effort, THE UNNAMED, as they were of his first, THEN WE CAME TO THE END.

A GOD WHO HATES by Wafa Sultan takes on human rights issues in the Syrian Muslim world from the perspective of one of their own, who happens to be a woman and a doctor.

From GalleyCat’s description:

In the YouTube video statement embedded below, Author Solutions CEO Kevin Weiss asked the leaders of the Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America and the Science Fiction Writers Association (SFWA) to “engage in a direct conversation with me and some of the other folks at Author Solutions at their convenience.”

In recent months, members of some writing associations criticized major publishers for creating partnerships with Author Solutions–believing that the self-publishing company should not mix with traditional publishers. Weiss identified these three writers associations as “the three writers guilds who have expressed the greatest objections” to Author Solutions’ partnerships with major publishers.

On Twitter, SFWA president Russell Davis had this statement: “We will be responding in an appropriate manner as soon as possible.” Scores of Twitter writers have already weighed in for and against the video.

Neil Gaiman’s Graveyard Book not hitting silver screens any time soon. (LATimes)

Andrew Motion kicks off the Guardian and the Observer’s series of pamphlets on the great Romantic poets with  John Keats. (The Guardian)

Carol Rumens kicks off her companion posts, drilling down to a selected work by each featured Romantic, starting off with Keats’ “On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer.” (Guardian Books Blog)

Jason Boog rounds up the latest gossip on the Apple Tablet. (GalleyCat)

The National Book Critic Circle will announce the finalists for the NBCC awards in autobiography, biography, criticism, fiction, nonfiction and poetry tonight in New York City. Follow the announcement on Twitter at http://twitter.com/bookcritics. (Critical Mass)

Kitty Kelley takes on Oprah April 13. (Publishers Weekly)

Hollywood Reporter likes James Franco’s take on Ginsberg, but sees the film’s genre-bending as a little unfocused. (Reuters)

Bollywood gets in on the act at Jaipur Literature Festival. (NDTV)

Evan Maloney sees white over the Australian writers stamp series. (Guardian Books Blog)

On this day in 1930, Derek Walcott was born on St. Lucia. (Today in Literature)