The first trailer is up for the long-awaited screen adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkein’s, THE HOBBIT.

From the Guardian description:

Poet and novelist Simon Armitage has been writing about Britain for decades now. In the latest in our National Conversations series of interviews, Armitage talks to John Harris about the obstinate nature of poetry and the culture of violence in Britain that he believes precipitated the UK riots:

Karen A. Chase’s new memoir, BONJOUR 40

From the YouTube description:

Relativity has released the official trailer for James McTeigue’s upcoming film “The Raven” starring John Cusack, Luke Evans, Alice Eve and Brendan Gleeson.

Inspiring Author TV presents an interview with Australian poet and publisher, Chris Mansell:

Have a sneak peek at, THE WHITE ASSASSIN, Hilary Wagner’s upcoming sequel to, NIGHTSHADE CITY.

AbeBooks responds to the “I Hate Reading” Facebook page:

The ladies from Girls in the Stacks interview Harper Teen authors Veronica Roth, Ellen Schreiber, Tara Hudson, Amy Plum & Aprilynne Pike during the Dark Days of Supernatural Tour:

From the WTOP Radio description:

WTOP’s Shawn Anderson and Hillary Howard speak to best-selling author and award-winning journalist Sebastian Junger about his experience covering war.

From the Open Road description:

May has been designated both Jewish American Heritage Month and Latino Book Month. What better way to celebrate than with a new video featuring Open Road author Rafael Yglesias, who happens to be a product of both cultures? “Both my Cuban and Jewish heritages are equally significant to me,” explains Yglesias. Watch the well-known author of Fearless speak about his experience growing up in a half-Jewish, half-Latino family—”I tend to see many more similarities in those cultures than they see in each other”—and learn which family member Yglesias considers the most classic “Jewish mother” he ever met—it may surprise you!

UPDATE: Ms. Carroll has responded to an article in Dublin’s Metro Herald (reproduced here via Broadsheet.ie) with goodnessgraciousme outrage at the accusation of plagiarism.

“I wasn’t lifting expressions from TV shows - I haven’t even seen Sex and the City for years.”

Ms. Carroll asserts that we live in ‘a pop culture’ and that these expressions have creeped into everyday use.

“…who knows what is original anymore?”

The Metro Herald has expanded on the the list of awfully similar lines and scene set-ups to include excerpts from the American sitcom, Will & Grace, as part of the pop culture machine that seems to serve as a spoon-feeding Muse to Ms. Carroll’s efforts.

***

(originally posted May 23, 2011)

At the intersection of a reader’s nearly photographic memory and a chick-lit author’s quippy prose, we find a question that feels almost rhetorical: how is this okay?

Irish author, Claudia Carroll, is coming under scrutiny for passages in her novel, PERSONALLY I BLAME MY FAIRY GODMOTHER, passages that eagle-eyed reader-writer-blogger Charlee Iddon recognized as lifted, almost verbatim, from popular television and literature sources - ‘Sex and the City’, ‘Friends’, and the ‘Bridget Jones’ series.

From the post at Before Charlee’s 30:

Here are just a few examples, and believe me when I tell you, they are the tip of the iceberg:

Carroll writes:
My top tip is to destroy all photos of you as a couple where he looks hot and you look happy it could set the whole recovery process back months if you happen to stumble across it at a weak moment

Anyone that watches Sex and the city will remember this line (book and show):
my top break up rule - destroy all pictures where he looks sexy and you look happy if you happen to stumble across it in a weak moment it could set the recovery process back by months

Carroll: I’ve always thought the witch in Hansel and Gretel is a deeply misunderstood woman. She builds her dream home and two brats come along and eat it?

SATC: But the witch in Hansel and Gretel — she’s very misunderstood. I mean, the woman builds her dream house and these brats come along and start eating it

<snip>

Carroll: I think she realises that there’s rock bottom followed by another 500 feet of crap before you finally arrive at where I’m at right now.

Friends: I really thought I just hit rock bottom. But today, it’s like there’s rock bottom, then 50 feet of crap, then me

But no one watches Friends or Sex and the City any more do they? Oh they do? Well Carroll obviously doesn’t think that matters, but then they are American and she is Irish maybe she thinks it doesn’t count if they are on a different continent.

Oh no she also likes to plagiarise closer to home:

Bridget Jones: He’s just a big knob head with no knob

Carroll:
He’s a big nob head with no nob (oh but she left the K off, that makes it different surely? Erm NO!)

Plagiarism is a serious accusation and, on the surface, these similarities appear brazen. As the social media sites buzz with speculation, AuthorScoop will keep a cyber-eye out and will update with any response from Ms. Carroll’s camp (or any other interested party’s) as it becomes available.

From the University of Chicago description: