California Literary Review

When I’m 64: social worker is literary hit – after 20 years of trying: From churning out a first novel between shifts as a social worker to being listed for two of the most prestigious literary prizes; Gaynor Arnold still can’t think of herself as a critically acclaimed author. [Independent]

Book Sales in Europe Are Gaining in Tough Times: As the recession leaves other media industries in tatters, the oldest mass medium of all is holding up surprisingly well. [NYT]

Academic ‘discovers’ six works by William Shakespeare: Dr John Casson claims to have unearthed Shakespeare’s first published poem, the Phaeton sonnet, his first comedy, Mucedorus, and his first tragedies, Locrine and Arden of Faversham. [Telegraph]

Controversial novel of early Christianity wins the ‘Arabic Booker’: Beelzebub, which purports to be the autobiography of an Egyptian-born monk who witnesses early Christian disputes in Alexandria as the city adopts the new religion, has caused a storm of upset in Egypt, where it has been denounced by the Coptic church as offensive, and described as the Arabic version of The Da Vinci Code. [Guardian]

Twilight’s teen vampires boost French sales of Wuthering Heights: Wuthering Heights is enjoying an unexpected renaissance in France after Stephenie Meyer fans picked up on repeated references to the novel in Eclipse, the third volume in the bestselling Twilight saga. [Guardian]

Alan Moore: an extraordinary gentleman: Novelist, magician and ‘guru of the graphic novel’ Alan Moore talks to Steve Rose about Watchmen, the dark side of Hollywood and the morality of pornography [Guardian]

Forgotten Authors No.27: Georgette Heyer: Georgette Heyer is not entirely out of print but, for someone who was one of the most popular writers in the country, she has fallen into a strange and rather airless niche market. Heyer was a literary phenomenon who wrote bestsellers throughout her career, without ever giving an interview or making any kind of public appearance. [Independent]

‘Odd Man Out’ author Matt McCarthy’s accuracy is questioned: He defends the veracity of his book, which details his brief time in the minors. His ex-manager says ‘it’s just flat-out wrong.’ [Los Angeles Times]

The Kindle 2: a thin read: “Without books, we might melt into the airwaves, and be just another set of blips.” With characteristic eloquence, John Updike wrote those words in 2000, when bemoaning the growing popularity of what he coolly referred to as “electronic text-delivery systems.” [San Francisco Chronicle]

Book Critics Circle Honors Bolaño: Stories and scholarship from around the world were honored by book critics Thursday night, including works about the ancient and modern Middle East, and a novel, Roberto Bolaño’s “2666,” that’s set in Mexico. [Washington Post]