Book News & Features

Use The Books, Fans: 'Star Wars' Franchise Thrives In Print

10:56am July 16, 2013

by NPR Staff

More than 200 novels, the Star Wars' book series spans 25,000 years, from the beginning of the Jedi Order to 40 years beyond where the original trilogy left off. According to The Wall Street Journal's Alexandra Alter, the books help keep fans interested between movies.

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Rowling says writing under a pseudonym was a "liberating experience."

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Aparecium! J.K. Rowling Revealed As 'Cuckoo' Mystery Author

6:54pm July 15, 2013

by NPR Staff

The Cuckoo's Calling, a debut mystery supposedly by a former British military man, was in fact written by Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling, working under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. The novel received positive reviews when it came out earlier this year.

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Scholastic started out in 1920 as a four-page magazine written for high school students. Above, an early issue published in September 1922.

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How Scholastic Sells Literacy To Generations Of New Readers

6:13pm July 15, 2013

by Lynn Neary

Scholastic began as a four-page magazine for high schoolers in 1920. Today, the publisher of Clifford the Big Red Dog, The Magic School Bus, Harry Potter and The Hunger Game, has grown into a $2 billion business, and one of the biggest children's book publishers in the world.

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'Empire Falls' Author Richard Russo Gives E-Publishing A Try

3:44pm June 29, 2013

by NPR Staff

The author admits he was once weary of e-book publishing, but when he found himself writing a novella — too short for a book, too long for a magazine — he decided to test it out. He says he's happy with the experience, both economically and artistically.

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In 'Sisterland,' Familial Fissures And A Pair Of Psychic Twins

5:34am June 27, 2013

by Sloane Crosley

Curtis Sittenfeld's Sisterland, about a pair of adult psychic twins in St. Louis, is more about sibling rivalry than the supernatural. Reviewer Sloane Crosley says Sittenfeld handles the psychic realm with a light and logical touch that keeps the book artfully within the bounds of believability.

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At a San Jose, Calif. library, a young reader browses a shelf of books featuring a variety of main characters: ducks, hens, white kids, black kids. Libraries help drive demand for children's books with nonwhite characters, but book publishers say there ar

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As Demographics Shift, Kids' Books Stay Stubbornly White

11:14am June 25, 2013

by Elizabeth Blair

Nearly a quarter of all public school kids are Latino, but only 3 percent of kids' books are by or about Latinos. There's a similar dearth of Native American, black and Asian characters. Why? One editor says librarians, with their high demand for multicultural books, don't drive best-seller lists.

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Apple: Price-Fixing Charges 'Not True'

4:29pm June 04, 2013

by Laura Sydell

Lawyers for Apple will be back in court again Tuesday defending the company against government charges that it conspired with publishers to fix e-book prices. All the major publishing houses settled months ago with the Justice Department. In opening statements, Apple's lawyer said the company won't settle because it did nothing wrong.

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Arthur Geisert's Thunderstorm follows a tempest in the rural Midwest.

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Arthur Geisert's 'Thunderstorm' Celebrates Life On The Prairie

11:39am June 03, 2013

by Rebecca Hersher

The award-winning children's book author has written more than two dozen books set in the American heartland. He's most famous for his intricate illustrations of the Midwest — sprawling prairie, family farms and his signature mischievous pigs.

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Pearl Buck was born in West Virginia but spent much of her childhood in China, where her parents worked as missionaries.

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A Lost And Found 'Wonder': Pearl S. Buck's Final Novel

6:15pm May 25, 2013

by NPR Staff

Before her death in 1973, Pearl S. Buck wrote one final novel. But The Eternal Wonder languished in a Texas storage unit for decades until its discovery last fall.

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Anthony Marra is a Stegner fellow and a recipient of the Whiting Writers' Award.

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From A Debut Writer, A Polished, Passionate, Must-Read Book

9:00pm May 06, 2013

by Meg Wolitzer

Anthony Marra's debut novel, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, takes place in war-torn Chechnya — a world of perpetual violence, fear and exploding land mines. But reviewer Meg Wolitzer says the characters are so vivid and the language so brilliant you want to stay there.

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