The Writing Workshop

Slaughterhouse-Five Pulled from Public School for Having Non-Biblical Values

In a rather horrible act of censorship, a Missouri area high school has pulled two books, including Kurt Vonnegut's classic Slaughterhouse-Five, from the curriculum, thanks to a complaint by a local college professor. The professor (who apparently doesn't have anything to do with the school) issued the complaint last year, stating the books taught values that were contrary to Biblical values. Um, yeah.

Three books were part of the original complaint - Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, Sarah Ockler's Twenty Boy Summer, and Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak(a National Book Award Finalist). Ocker's book was also condemned and pulled, while Anderson's book was allowed to remain in the curriculm.

While the school board voted on the measure, it did more than just remove the books from the curriculum. The two books were also pulled from the school library.

The whole thing appears to be a huge mess, if what the locals in the comments section are saying is true. Apparently, the English teachers were against the change, and when the original complaint was made, they voted against removing the books from the curriculum. The school board then created a second committee (which is referenced in the article, but no one is sure who made up this second committee), which recommended the censorship of the two books.

Frankly, I can understand thinking long and hard about which books should be part of any curriculum. It's something I do as a professor, and there have been times when I've choosen completely wrong. The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin produced some very confused papers this year, for example.

But I'm against cenorship in all forms, especially this sort of faux religious attack on literature. Slaughterhouse-five is graphic, yes, but it's not worthout morals. It is about war, after all. High schoolers are not children - I wouldn't recommend Vonnegut to a fifth grader - and they shouldn't be treated as such. This was apparently part of the 12th grade English course. In 12th grade, I was 18 years old. In other words, old enough to go to war myself. Why should I be protected from that reality if it could be my own reality by law?

Children don't need protection from art. And for religious reasons? At a public school? Please don't get me started on the separation of church and state. Furthermore, I read about quite graphic violence in a Christian book when I was much younger than the students affected by this ban. It was called The Chronicles of Narnia. All I got from it was the great battles and heroics. Somehow, as a fourth grader, I missed all that Christian allegory. Whoops.

Man Booker Prize Longlist Announced

The Man Booker Prize longlist was announced this week. The Booker Prize is awarded yearly to the best novel produced by an author of the British Commonwealth or Ireland. It is pretty much considered British publishing's top award. The Guardian has their analysis of the top picks.

The longlist (among which the winner will be chosen) is as follows:

• Julian Barnes' The Sense of an Ending
• Sebastian Barry's On Canaan's Side
• Carol Birch's Jamrach's Menagerie
• Patrick deWitt's The Sisters Brothers (pictured)
• Esi Edugyan's Half Blood Blues
• Yvette Edwards' A Cupboard Full of Coats
• Alan Hollinghurst's The Stranger's Child
• Stephen Kelman's Pigeon English
• Patrick McGuinness' The Last 100 Days
• AD Miller's Snowdrops
• Alison Pick's Far to Go
• Jane Rogers' Testament of Jessie Lamb
• DJ Taylor's Derby Day

It's worth noting that there were a few snubs (none that I recognized, though, to be honest) and four debut novels among the list. I'm wondering if Tea Obreht's Orange Prize winhad an effect there - Obreht's win at 25 years old pleasantly shocked the literary world and drew a bunch of attention for the author and for the award. Perhaps the Booker is jealous?

Also worth noting is that several of the books are from smaller presses. The Bookseller, a great website for British publishing news, chronicles how several of these presses are trying to deal with their books' new fame and the subsequent demand. In fact, when I linked to Amazon for the books above, I found two of the books listed as out of print and several others as having ebooks not ready yet to be published.

Also interesting is that the book most people are expecting to win, Alan Hollinghurst's A Stranger's Child, won't even be published until October - the same month the winner is announced. Conspiracy theory, anyone?

The Five Best San Diego Comic Con Twists (So Far)

In San Diego this weekend, one of the most important media events of the year is happening. Once upon a time, it was a small little comic book convention called the San Diego Comic Con. When TV and movies realized that comic books were becoming the hottest properties around, Hollywood invaded and the giant celebrity/media/publishing force that is SDCC was born. I've never gotten to go, but I do miss my Chicago Comic Con days, though. I used to force my father to go with me - he liked looking at all the cosplayers, people dressed up in costumes like their favorite characters.

Here's my top 5 moments so far:

1. A woman dressed as Batgirl, with her daughter dressed as Spoiler, harrasses every DC comic panel she can for their lack of female characters in central roles and a lack of female creators. With the DC reboot having 52 new series launching, there are only 2 noted female creators so far. Of the new series, the vast majority of them are staring men. Sadly, the woman was mostly laughed at by the editorial panels - proving once again that DC Comics has no idea what they're doing when it comes to diversity.
2. Fables creator Bill Willingham announced a new series in his Fables universe: Fairest. After the success of the mini-series starring Fables favorite princess/spy/shoe store owner Cinderella, Fairest will star several of the female Fables princesses in an anthology-style ongoing, starting with Cindy and Sleeping Beauty. The first arc will be drawn by fan-favorite Phil Jimenez, known most for his work on Wonder Woman.
3. SDCC is also known for its swag: there are many toy, comic book, and film memorbilia exclusives only available at the convention. It's also known for its great deals. The best, and most hilarious, offering this year has to come from comic book publisher IDW, who offered a great swap: trade in any book in the Twilight series and get a free copy of their award-winning 30 Days of Night, a vampire horror story about a town so far north that night lasts a whole month during winter. How awesomely evil is that?
4. Archie Comics announced that the mini-series starring Riverdale's first out gay teen, Kevin Keller, has been selling so well, he's going to be getting an ongoing. Keller's mini-series has brought a lot of attention to the publisher, who has said that despite publishing "children's comics", only 7 subscriptions have been canceled due to Kevin's coming out. And in a story placed in the future? Kevin will get married.
5. There was a suprise guest at the Spider-Man panel on Saturday, wherein a giant fan of Spider-Man, dressed as the hero, ran to the microphone to give a heartfelt speech about his love for the character. It was an ultimate act of dorkiness, but that's only fitting: the guy under the mask was The Amazing Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield.

Goodreads, Jennifer Egan, & First Book Fight Illiteracy

Goodreads, the ever-growing and quite popular book social media website, has partnered with charity First Book to fight childhood illiteracy. For every 10,000 Goodread members that add Jennifer Egan's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Visit from the Goon Squad to their online bookshelf (saying they've either read it or going to read it), Goodreads will help First Book donate 1,000 books to the program.

Frankly, this is just a wonderful idea. Childhood illiteracy is a big problem all over the world and even here in America. With school libraries shrinking and public libraries closing, children need the easy access to books that just doesn't exist anymore.

And children aren't going to log online to find an ebook - it's my firm belief that children especially need traditional books. Can someone do a study on how it helps them concentrate when it's not on a screen and doesn't have a connection to the internet? Cause even having the little bit of educational psychology training that I have, I could see a correlation.

As far as Goodreads goes, I've just started to really work with the site, connecting my reviews at the PFS Book Club to my profile on Goodreads and starting to explore the site, which features trivia, the ability to connect your bookshelf to your friends, offers reviews, lists of book recommendations, and generally seems to be improving every day. For a book fan, I haven't seen a better social media platform.

I also suggest joining the Goodreads Book Club, which will feature live chats with Egan herself. You can also become my friend on Goodreads by visiting my profile.

Penguin Classics Launches iPhone App - Review: Boring!

Penguin Classics has launched a new app for the iPhone and iPod Touch (no iPad option yet). The app lists the entire line of Penguin Classics. The app makes suggestions for the user based on profile information when you shake the iPhone, has numerous quizes (with scores that can be shared on Facebook), and a connection to the Penguin Classics store. The launch video is below.

The Classics line is nice - you probably read a few of their editions in high school or college English classes. They are the books with expired copyrights, so Penguin can produce very low cost versions, without paying any royalties to authors or their descendents.

But this app is enjoyable for about ten minutes. While it has search features, a list of "essential classics", and quizes to enjoy, it all just seems so basic. I mean, I know it's a free app, but geez, this is boring. Plus, the feature that connects the app to the Penguin website is often not working - several of the books I tried to "Purchase" came up with a 404 message (meaning the website was missing).

Also, the Purchase feature purchases a physical copy of the book - not an ebook. I mean, seriously? What's the point of having an e-reading capable device have a purchasing button that allows you to just go online and purchase a normal copy of the book? At least have the option of buying the ebook. Otherwise, it's a waste of time and space. I have a feeling this app won't be on my iPod for very long.

New George RR Martin Game of Thrones Book Leaks Early

The latest Song of Ice & Fire book A Dance with Dragons by fantasy writer George RR Martin, which the popular HBO TV series Game of Thrones is based on, was released early by Amazon Germany last week, causing quite the hubbub. At least 180 books were shipped before the mistake was caught.

Normally, if a book leaks early, it's not that big of a deal. Sure, fans are excited, but it's not like reading fans tend to be in-the-moment, first-in-line types. That culture is shifting a bit thanks to the internet, however. And thanks to Harry Potter, as well, which inspired many bookstores to stay open until midnight for the first time ever upon the release of the last several books in the series.

With rabid fans ready to devour any new information about a longrunning series and with easy access to such spoilers through the internet, Martin and his publishers have taken the strange course of trying to persuade fans to not visit fansites, as they may contain spoilers. Online news magazine Slate notes how odd this is.

Basically, the internet has been all abuzz with real and fake spoilers, flooding fansites while the publisher and author-run sites are being heavily moderated. All this is fine and good, but if people want their spoilers, they're going to have their spoilers. And I don't think that the fans who are searching the internet for spoilers are going to not buy the book now that they have them. They're already fans, after all.

It will be interesting to see how the series' new popularity, thanks to the critically successful and popular with the audiences TV Show, will affect its sales in the first week. There's little doubt that this will the best-selling book for the majority of July.

I do find it hilarious that the Kindle edition price is set at $35, with an Amazon price discount to making it $14.99. And that there's a note from Amazon saying that Random House Digital set the price. I mean, really? If I'm going to pay 15 bucks for a book, I want an actual book. You're not going to attract new fans that way. Hopefully they'll lower the price in a year or so, like they do with paperback releases.

On a related note, Charlaine Harris, author of the Sookie Stackhouse novels, which are the inspiration for HBO's other novel-based fantasy series True Blood, recently made a great comment about the TV adaption on her Facebook page. Both Harris and Martin have been strong supporters of their TV show adaptions, and many Song of Ice & Fire fans believe it was the show's success that finally made Martin finish the next book in the series (it took him six years to do so).

JK Rowling Announces Pottermore: Genius or Awful?

JK Rowling has officially announced Pottermore. Entertainment Weekly has a breakdown of what we know so far, but here's the video announcement so you can see what she says herself. (Is Rowling so British cool in this video or what?)

Basically, it's going to be a place for Rowling to sell her ebooks, give out all the inforamtion she's been hoarding about the Potter world, and build an inclusive world for fans. Rowling has always been amazing at reaching her fans, even despite her relatively few public appearances, and I think Pottermore is just another way for her to comtinue to do the same sort of thing. Entertainment Weekly also has the first screen shots, but not much more information.

I, for one, am all about it. It's not surprising that the author with so little to lose (unless Rowling murders someone in cold blood, I'm pretty sure the love for Harry Potter won't be going away anytime soon) would be one of the first to venture into the new, interactive online experience territory. Her world was deep and complex and she has claimed to have hundreds of notebooks filled with information about the Potter world that she's willing to share. (Like that "Dumbledore is gay" tidbit she dropped a while ago.) This interactive, social media network would be a great place to share that sort of information.

The Guardian is singing Rowling's praises today, stating their belief that Rowling is a marketing genius and that the Potter ebooks will be the fasting selling ebooks this year. Wired Magazine is even going so far as to say that Pottermore will be book publishing's Radiohead moment. In other words, Pottermore will be when the book publishing world embraces the digital experience and never looks back. Everything will be changed forever. (I'm not going to disagree with them, because it could be true. Also, notice that it's definitely an author doing this - not her publishers.)

The great thing, I think, is that Rowling will be paying reverse royalties, according to most sources, to Scholastic and Bloomsbury (her American and British publishers, respectively) for the ebooks. It's almost a shame, though, because I thought it would have been great if Rowling had been able to retain the e-rights for herself, without having to pay the publishers anything. That would have been great.

Now, as usual, there are some distractors. Apparently a few of the British booksellers are angry with Rowling (whose praises they normally sing), because she's stolen some of their revenues by taking her ebooks into her own marketplace. It's an amazing move, and while I can see the booksellers' point, especially since traditional bookstores are having such a hard go of it, I still think having Pottermore be an interactive world is enough of a trade-off for me. All in all, I just can't wait for a chance to try it out.

Tea Obreht is the Youngest Winner Ever of the Orange Prize for The Tiger's Wife

Tea Obreht won the Orange Prize this week at a ceremony in London, taking home the honor and a 3,000 pound prize. Her book, The Tiger's Wife, tells the story of a doctor in the midst of the Balkan war.

The Orange Prize is awarded annually to a book written in English by a woman and is decided by a small committee. You can learn more about the Orange Prize at their website. 

Obreht is the youngest winner of the prize ever, at only twenty-five. This is also her debut novel, another rare feat when it comes to literary prizes. Obreht is known also for her short stories. She is a Serbian-American, having been born in Belgrade and having moved before the war took place. She is excited, however, and was quoted as saying, that the book rights were recently purchased for a translationinto a Serbian langauge, one that her grandmother can read.

Frankly, Twitter absolutely exploded when Obreht won. Like, literally, all of sudden everyone was talking Obreht and The Tiger's Wife and I had no idea what was going on because I had forgotten that the Orange Prize was being awarded that day and I had never heard of Obreht. People were so excited about the win that Obreht ended up trending in Twitter - that's how many people, even ones outside the publishing industry, were talking about it.

I think it's a great and well deserved win. All too often the literary community refuses to acknowledge talent in its raw form and only goes for lifelong accolades. For Obreht, at the beginning of her career, I'm sure she could actually use that prize money. Here's a rather lengthy review and analysis of the book by Open Letters Monthly, if you're interested in learning more about the book.