All Chapter & Verse
J.K. Rowling will receive PEN free speech prizeThe Harry Potter author will be presented the 2016 PEN/Allen Foundation Literary Service award May 16 at the literary and human rights group's annual gala in New York.
Beatrix Potter: Newly-found story by 'Peter Rabbit' author will be released this fallA story by Potter titled 'The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots' was recently found and will be released by Penguin Random House in September.
My 'Updike year' – why I appreciate the man more now than everUpdike's works accompanied me to the doctor and the dentist, to campouts and picnics, summer vacations and office lunch hours.
Far out! How starry-eyed American utopians saw the worldThe author of ‘Paradise Now’ discusses the legacy of 19th-century super-dreamers.
Scholastic pulls slavery bookThe controversy has sparked a debate about producing children's literature that offers a nuanced view of slavery and that is able to ask uncomfortable questions without stifling a conversation on one of the nation's darkest chapters.
James Lee Burke on writing, inspiration, and what comes nextThere were 13 years in the middle of his career when James Lee Burke was out of print. 'I wrote all that time,' he says. 'I work every day.'
Are professional writers an endangered species? Philip Pullman says yes.A number of recent studies suggest authors are struggling financially.
Zarqawi: a martyr, his motives, and the ‘rise of ISIS’In interview, ‘Black Flags’ author Joby Warrick explains the bloody legacy left by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Best of 2015: 12 authors on remarkable transformationsThis year, I’ve interviewed many authors about moments of transformation for Q&A features in the Monitor. Here are some of my favorite answers.
Children's picture books that celebrate the glories of winterThis lovely new cluster of seasonal picture books are all focused – in different ways – on the magnificent cold and white of winter.
2015 fiction quiz: Can you recognize these opening lines?How many have you read? Test yourself by seeing if you can match first lines to the titles of the Monitor's favorite novels (and one collection of short stories) from 2015.
The most looked-up word in 2015? Socialism.Dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster attributes the popularity of the word 'socialism' to US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist.
5 surprising facts about Woodrow Wilson and racismBiographies provide insight into America's 28th president as the debate rages at Princeton University over Woodrow Wilson and his complicated legacy.
What to read while thinking of Paris? Pick up Montaigne, mon cher.Montaigne didn’t come to any clear conclusions about man’s place in the cosmos or the dimensions of his soul, but his essays gave us something almost as good: the story of one man sitting alone, thinking for himself, refusing to let some craven orthodoxy do his thinking for him.
Ta-Nehisi Coates packed the house at Davidson College talking on raceCoates – journalist, commentator, and National Book Award-winner – is seen by many as the voice of his generation on black America.
Are you truly thankful for the good books you already have?On Thanksgiving Day, after the dishes are cleared, scan your own home library and remind yourself how lucky you are to have so much great writing at your fingertips.
Mark Twain's turkey tale – perhaps the funniest in American literatureWhat Twain eventually learned, after an interminable time on the trail, is that turkeys have a genius for feigning injury.
How the Eiffel Tower outlasted its criticsAuthor Jill Jonnes on Paris landmark’s evolution into an enduring symbol.
Does reading self-help books make us more stressed?Does reading self-help books make a reader more stressed out and depressed – or are stressed, depressed people simply more likely to read self-help books? A study suggests either could be true.
Ta-Nehisi Coates, Adam Johnson take prizes at the 2015 National Book AwardsCoates' 'Between the World and Me' and Johnson's 'Fortune Smiles' won the nonfiction and fiction awards, respectively, at this year's National Book Awards. Johnson's work is the second short story collection in two years to win the fiction prize.
