Posts by author
Ian MacAllen
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Ancient Prayer Book Moves Online
Just in time for Yom Kippur, a thousand-year-old prayer book for the holiday is to be put online. The ancient manuscript was discovered in Postat, Egypt.
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Book Preservation Isn’t Easy
Colonial era books are old by any standard, and that means they may not be in the best condition. Rare books are treasures, and with delicate care can be restored, like one botanical guide in University of Virgina’s rare book collection.…
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This Week in Indie Bookstores
Athens, Georgia is home to a new radical bookstore, Bombs Away Books. The anarchist bookshop not only sells books, but is a DIY music venue featuring punk shows. A specialty bookstore dedicated to self-published authors is ready to open in…
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Notable NYC: 9/19–9/25
Saturday 9/19: Jami Attenberg, Lauren Groff, Alice Sola Kim, Sara Novic, Chinelo Okparanta, and Julia Pierpont join Mellow Pages Library Summer Vacation for a blowout bookend event. Silent Barn, 2 p.m., Free. Marie Buck, Laura Elrick, Luke McMullan, and Rachel…
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Library Turns Tor Back On
The Kilton Public Library in Lebanon, New Hampshire had been offering patrons Tor software used to anonymize Internet usage. Then, the Department of Homeland Security contacted the library last week and requested the service be turned off, and the library complied. The action…
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Cheaters Sometimes Win
While the poetry world continues to grapple with the Best American Poetry controversy, perhaps its worth considering why anyone would try to game the system. Theodore Ross over at The New Republic explains how cheating is one of the best…
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Specialty Libraries Grow in Popularity
Public libraries have been growing into much more than just repositories of books. The New York Times finally gets in on the action and examines the various changes the public library system has undergone, especially the growth of libraries dedicated to specialty…
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Join Us at the Brooklyn Book Festival
This Sunday, September 20th, is the 10th annual Brooklyn Book Festival. The book festival includes readings, signings, and panel discussions free and open to the public. The festival features hundreds of writers as well as the big five publishers, indie…
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Rejection Makes Us Writers
Writers are constantly being judged by their work, and naturally that means a regular stream of rejection. But not all rejections are bad. Over at Vol. 1 Brooklyn, JS Breukelaar looks back at past rejections and considers why rejection is sometimes…
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Agency President Defends New Zealand Book Ban
Last week, New Zealand banned the novel Into the River, the country’s first ban in over twenty years. The country’s Film and Literature Board of Review banned the sale and distribution of the award winning book. Now, Don Mathieson, president…
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Clicking on This Story Won’t Pay Anybody
Noah Davis is running an experiment: how much will he earn off writing a news story about how much freelance journalists are paid. Like many freelance writers today, part of his compensation is based on the number of pageviews his…
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This Week in Indie Bookstores
The famed Parisian English-language bookstore Shakespeare and Company is set to open a cafe. The shop is partnering with New York restauranteur Marc Grossman, the man responsible for introducing juice cleansing to Paris. The Alabama Booksmith sells only signed copies.…