Posts by author
Ian MacAllen
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All About Banned Books
Americans love banning books, and the winners of this year’s most banned books have been announced by the American Library Association. John Green’s young adult novel Looking for Alaska takes the top spot, keeping Green in the top ten. He…
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Convincing People Plastic Is Paper
Amazon just announced its newest Kindle model—there are slight technological enhancements over its predecessor, but the bigger shift is in significant aesthetic changes meant to make the device feel more like a book. But plastic polymers are never going to have…
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More Money, More Problems
What happens when writers suddenly face a windfall? Bad things. That’s why the Whiting Awards include a financial planning workshop for winners. Winners of the 2016 Whiting Awards each received $50,000. For authors who are struggling as freelancers or adjunct…
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This Week in Indie Bookstores
A bookstore in mafia-controlled Sicily refuses to stock a book by the son of a jailed mafia “boss of bosses,” Totò Riina. P.S.Bookshop, a used bookstore in Brooklyn’s DUMBO neighborhood, is finally closing after a year-long struggle with higher rent.…
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Notable NYC: 4/9–4/15
Saturday 4/9: Moyra Davey and Gregg Bordowitz join the Segue series. Zinc Bar, 4:30 p.m., $5. Sunday 4/10: Leland Cheuk, Jay Deshpande, and Kerry Cullen join Sundays at Erv’s. Erv’s 2122 Beekman Place, 6 p.m., free. Monday 4/11: Jonathan Corcoran…
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YA Novels Help Parents Talk Sex
A discussion with your kid about the birds and the bees might be one of the more intimidating moments of parenthood, but YA novelists can lend a hand. When YA writers confront modern issues of sex, rape, consent, abuse, and gender, they help…
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Reading the Fine Print
Traditional publishers provide many services for authors, including fact-checking and obtaining permission for intellectual property. Self-publishing platforms don’t provide these services, and because of a recent court ruling, aren’t responsible for mistakes made by authors. The National Law Review looks…
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The Panama Papers: A Rumpus Roundup
Over the weekend, journalists announced a leak of 11.5 million files from the law firm of Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm specializing in corporations designed to take advantage of offshore tax havens. On April 1st, Mossack Fonseca sent a…
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This Week in Indie Bookstores
Beijing’s censorship crackdown on bookstores is being extended to Hong Kong’s airport. India Today looks at six must-see bookstores from across India. Take a look inside 2nd & Charles, the rapidly expanding used bookstore from Books-A-Million.
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The Literary Hustle
Even after authors finish writing their book, they have plenty of work to do to promote it. With so many books and limited space in media outlets, the literary hustle is a major part of any book launch. Over at…
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Notable NYC: 4/2–4/8
Saturday 4/2: Julian Talamantez and Sarah Wang join the Segue Series. Zinc Bar, 4:30 p.m., $5. Sunday 4/3: Sean Beaudoin, Teddy Wayne, Diana Spechler, and Robert Burke Warren join the Sunday Night Fiction series. KGB, 7 p.m., free. Monday 4/4:…
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Publishing Industry’s Diversity Limits Revealed
JK Rowling has published rejection letters she received writing under the name Robert Galbraith. Rowling has racked up book sales worth billions for the Harry Potter series, but set out to see if she could sell a novel without Potter’s help.…