School programs and libraries often encourage reading by holding summer programs that offer rewards to top readers. For example, finish 10 books... Read & Discuss
A new submission model—wherein writers must buy a book if they want their work to be considered for publication—is shaking up the literary... Read & Discuss
I used to be anti-emoticon. For years, I thought of smiley faces as the mark of an immature writer—the kind who punctuates a sentence with seven... Read & Discuss
One can be assured of very few things these days. But I will hazard three certainties for the next three months. Tomatoes will ripen. People will... Read & Discuss
Many people assume I am a guardian of grammar. The typical plane-ride conversation goes like this: “What do you do?”” “I am an English professor”... Read & Discuss
How The Fountainhead weaseled its way into the canon. Recently, a plea appeared on my twitter stream: “I'm begging for book money again: We are... Read & Discuss
There are so many different definitions of plagiarism—and so much written about it—that it can be hard to separate original writing from things... Read & Discuss
What one forgery scam can tell us about the tradition of author signatures—and where we go from here.
This week’s column comes from one of... Read & Discuss
With J.D. Salinger, how can we separate the author from his writing? And now that he's dead, should we even try? I have written about J.D.... Read & Discuss
How we can help Haiti move forward, through understanding.
By now we all realize that poverty, not just the Richter Scale, contributed to the... Read & Discuss
How Kate Roiphe silenced a serious discussion about sexism.
We should be past this by now—it's 2010—but it appears the question of sexism amongst... Read & Discuss
Ten years of literary innovation, fudged memoirs, and digital reading.
The Aughts saw the birth of readerly social networking, a flowering of... Read & Discuss
A holiday shout-out to the Tudors, independent magazines, and charitable giving.
I have been going through a Tudor phase. It started when I... Read & Discuss
What we don't know about early America
Sometimes I think my conception of Revolutionary America was imprinted on my brain by Schoolhouse Rock,... Read & Discuss
Halloween + Literature = Edgar Allan Poe, right?
If you would like to get to know the author better this weekend, you have an astounding number... Read & Discuss
What could we gain by abandoning the test's timed essay? Better writers.
“Although most people’s goal is to be happy at all times, being... Read & Discuss
Is the combination question mark and exclamation point a sign of the times?
On Monday I discovered the interrobang, and I have been thinking... Read & Discuss
Richards Powers wrote his new novel by dictation. Does that affect the quality?
Richard Powers’ new novel, Generosity, was published this week.... Read & Discuss
Tina Brown’s new imprint will focus on fast books. Can they stack up?
Speed writing seems to be the flavor of the week. First we were graced... Read & Discuss
Some say 2009 will be the novel’s best year ever—no thanks to The Lost Symbol.
What makes literary news? A new Dan Brown novel! Brown, the... Read & Discuss