Shine A Light

From The Guardian: Author Neil Gaiman says he’s going to take time off from social media to work on his day job, “making things up.”

From Publishers Lunch:
The American Booksellers Association has announced a popular set of Indies Choice Award winners for 2013:
Fiction: The Round House: A Novel, by Louise Erdrich (Harper)
Nonfiction: Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, by Cheryl Strayed (Knopf)
Debut: The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey (Little, Brown)
Young Adult: The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green (Dutton Children’s). John Green also won their “Indie Champion Award”
Middle Grade: Wonder, by R.J. Palacio (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
Picture Book: Extra Yarn, by Mac Barnett, Jon Klassen (Illus.) (Balzer + Bray)
In each category they named five honor books as well–including recent Pulitzer-winner The Orphan Master’s Son, plus five books first previewed in last year’s Publishers Lunch Buzz Books 2012 (The Dog Stars; The Orchardist; The Yellow Birds; Every Day; and The Last Dragonslayer).

From Publishers Lunch: The Hugo Award nominations have been announced. (Click link for full list.) Nominees include:

Best Novel

• 2312, Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit)
• Blackout, Mira Grant (Orbit)
• Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance, Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen)
• Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas, John Scalzi (Tor)
• Throne of the Crescent Moon, Saladin Ahmed (DAW)

Best Novella

• After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall, Nancy Kress (Tachyon Publications)
• The Emperor’s Soul, Brandon Sanderson (Tachyon Publications)
• On a Red Station, Drifting, Aliette de Bodard (Immersion Press)
• San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats, Mira Grant (Orbit)
• “The Stars Do Not Lie”, Jay Lake (Asimov’s, Oct-Nov 2012)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form (787 nominating ballots cast)

• The Avengers, Screenplay & Directed by Joss Whedon (Marvel Studios, Disney, Paramount)
• The Cabin in the Woods, Screenplay by Drew Goddard & Joss Whedon; Directed by Drew Goddard (Mutant Enemy, Lionsgate)
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro, Directed by Peter Jackson (WingNut Films, New Line Cinema, MGM, Warner Bros)
• The Hunger Games, Screenplay by Gary Ross & Suzanne Collins, Directed by Gary Ross (Lionsgate, Color Force)
• Looper, Screenplay and Directed by Rian Johnson (FilmDistrict, EndGame Entertainment)

Today the world says goodbye to Pope Benedict XVI, born Joseph Ratzinger in Bavaria. As he steps down, he will also step out of his red Prada shoes and into some nice, practical brown shoes to become the emeritus pope.

He is, of course, well loved around the world as the head of the papacy, but what I want people to remember is that he’s been a prolific author.

Although he will be “hidden away from the world,” I wish him peace, health, and joy.

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Learned Owl Book Shop employee Kate Schlademan has purchased the Hudson store from former owner Liz Murphy. Kate takes over as of March 15.

You can send congratulations to Kate on Twitter @LearnedOwl.

From The New York Times: The story behind Dr. Seuss and his closet full of hats

From The Guardian: Why was Agatha Christie investigated by MI5?

From the Associated Press:
Hilary Mantel wins 2012 Costa Book of the Year

LONDON (AP) — Two-time Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel has snagged the top honor at the Costa Book Awards for her novel “Bring Up the Bodies.”

The British writer’s blood-soaked Tudor saga, which won the Booker last year, defeated four other titles shortlisted for the 25,000 pound ($39,400) prize for 2012’s book of the year.

Accepting her prize at a London ceremony on Tuesday, Mantel alluded to her recent successes by saying she was “not going to apologize” for winning another award.

“I’m happy and I shall make it my business to try to write more books that will be worth more prizes,” she said.

Dame Jenni Murray, who chaired the judging panel, said Mantel was a unanimous winner and her book stood “more than head and shoulders— on stilts— above the rest.”

Other works shortlisted for the top Costa prize included “The Overhaul,” from Scottish poet Kathleen Jamie, and “The Innocents,” a first novel from Francesca Segal.

“Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes,” written by Mary Talbot and drawn by her husband, Bryan, was also in the running, along with “Maggot Moon,” a children’s book from severely dyslexic writer and illustrator Sally Gardner.

All of the writers on the shortlist — Mantel included — will take home 5,000 pounds.

The awards, known until 2006 as the Whitbread Book Awards, were established in 1971 and recognize “outstanding and enjoyable books” by writers based in the U.K. and Ireland.

From Publishers Lunch: The longlist has been announced for the biannual Booker International prize, to be awarded May 22. The candidates:

• UR Ananthamurthy (India)
• Aharon Appelfeld (Israel)
• Lydia Davis (USA)
• Intizar Husain (Pakistan)
• Yan Lianke (China)
• Marie NDiaye (France)
• Josip Novakovich (Canada)
• Marilynne Robinson (USA)
• Vladimir Sorokin (Russia)
• Peter Stamm (Switzerland)

From Publishers Lunch:

The National Book Critics Circle has announced finalists in six categories. The winners will be announced on February 28. For the full list of nominees, click here. Here are a few categories:

FICTION

• Laurent Binet, HHhH. tr. by Sam Taylor (FSG)
• Ben Fountain, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (Ecco)
• Adam Johnson, The Orphan Master’s Son (Random House)
• Lydia Millet, Magnificence (Norton)
• Zadie Smith, NW (Penguin Press)

NONFICTION

• Katherine Boo, Behind the Beautiful Forevers (Random House)
• Steve Coll, Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power (Penguin Press)
• Jim Holt, Why Does the World Exist? (Norton)
• David Quammen, Spillover (Norton)
Andrew Solomon, Far From the Tree (Scribner)

POETRY

• David Ferry, Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations (University of Chicago Press)
• Lucia Perillo, On the Spectrum of Possible Deaths (Copper Canyon Press)
• Allan Peterson, Fragile Acts (McSweeney’s Books)
• D. A. Powell, Useless Landscape, or A Guide for Boys (Graywolf Press)
• A. E. Stallings, Olives (Triquarterly: Northwestern University Press)

From The Guardian: Wodehouse and Fitzgerald — Emblems of a lost age

(Thanks to Paula Krapf for the link. Check out her All Books Daily.)

From the Associated Press: Hilary Mantel wins best-novel Costa Book Award

LONDON (AP) — British writer and two-time Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel has been named novelist of the year at Britain’s Costa Book Awards for “Bring Up the Bodies.”
Mantel’s achievement Wednesday for her blood-soaked Tudor saga makes her the first author to win both the Costa novel award and Booker Prize in the same year.
The Costa Book Awards carry a 5,000 pound ($8,125) prize and are given in five categories: novel, first novel, biography, poetry and children’s book.
Other winners included Scottish poet Kathleen Jamie for “The Overhaul,” and Francesca Segal for her first-novel “The Innocents,” which is set in a tightly-knit Jewish community in northwest London and modeled on Edith Wharton’s “The Age of Innocence.”

“Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes,” written by Mary Talbot and drawn by her husband, Bryan, won the biography category, marking the first time a graphic work has won a Costa award. Severely dyslexic writer and illustrator Sally Gardner won the children’s book prize for her fifth novel, “Maggot Moon.”
The five winners are now shortlisted for the 25,000 pound grand prize of 2012 Costa Book of the Year which will be announced Jan. 29 in London.
The awards, known until 2006 as the Whitbread Book Awards, were established in 1971 and recognize “outstanding and enjoyable books” by writers based in the U.K. and Ireland.

From the BBC News: A manuscript containing a previously unknown fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen has been discovered in Denmark. The article gives a link to an English translation of the very short Andersen story, “The Tallow Candle.”