Critical Notes

Steve Wasserman considers Amazon’s influence on bookselling and the publishing industry in the Nation. Heller McAlpin reconsiders Donald Hall’s Life Work, “an inspiring paean to absorbing, fulfilling work,” for the

At BEA this week? At Library Journal, Barbara Hoffert gathers up which publishers are giving away what galleys where, along with details n authors’ signing schedules. Laura Miller, as part

Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes, whose work pioneered the “Boom” in Latin American literature in the mid-20th Century, died last week at 83. Marcela Valdes delivers an extended obituary and appreciation;

The death of celebrated children’s author Maurice Sendak inspired a flood of appreciations from the Los Angeles Times, NPR, Christian Science Monitor, Publishers Weekly, the Guardian, the Barnes & Noble

What distinguishes a book review in a newspaper or magazine from a user review on Amazon? Researchers at the Harvard Business School are studying the matter. Among the findings: “Expert

Last weekend marked the 17th annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, which attracted plenty of big names, including NBCC nonfiction winner Steve Lopez, fiction finalist Dana Spiotta, National Book

Last week’s news that there would be no Pulitzer Prize awarded in fiction produced an avalanche of commentary. Here’s a sampling of what people were saying last week: Laura Miller,

“It’s not a question of liking or disliking him. I’m trying to explain how political power worked in America in the second half of the 20th century, and here’s a

What impact has Amazon had on the publishing industry, from taxes to indies to employees? The Seattle Times takes a look in a four-part series. Denise Low launches a new

“The truth is, women who write literary fiction frequently find themselves in an unjust world, even as young single women are outearning men in major American cities and higher education