A week after British publisher Orion announced (prematurely) that they'd be putting out a memoir by rapper Eminem, an American publisher has acquired rights to the book's stateside release. Dutton announced today that the book will come out in fall of 2008, and that it'll be "every bit as raw and uncensored as the man himself."  read more »

We once had the pleasure of meeting Ian McEwan, the ever-more popular author of Atonement. (For the record, he Culture Czar will always favor his creepy classic, Enduring Love. A hot air balloon was never so memorable!) Mr. McEwan struck us as outrageously smart and outspoken (he’s been a staunch critic of the war on terror); he also had that impeccable grace the English seem to come by so easily. So perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that Mr. McEwan hates what you’re reading right now: blogs.  read more »

This past January, Gunter Thielen wrapped up his six year tenure as C.E.O. of Bertelsmann AG, the German corporation that owns the largest American publishing operation, Random House Inc.; today the Bookseller reports that Thielen has been named chairman of the company’s supervisory board.

Bertelsmann was most recently in the news when a German magazine reported (without citing sources) that it had offered Rupert Murdoch a billion dollars for HarperCollins, the book publishing arm of News Corp.  read more »

Being in the book business hasn't been an easy game this year. Store shutterings, profit nose-dives, the folding of book review sections, and even literacy itself is on the decline. Harry Potter couldn't save them this year either.  read more »

Kindled by Amazon's e-book service and the decline of good book reviewing, The New Republic's first-page editorial attacks The Battle of the Book.  read more »

Ann Coulter's new book, If Democrats Had Any Brains They'd Be Republicans, hits bookshelves today, and as is his wont, George Gurley sat down with the self-proclaimed right-wing polemicist for a long chat [UPDATED: read the complete interview here].

George gave us a few bits of wit and wisdom from his interview, while the television is going wild about the beminiskirted babe.  read more »

'At a certain age, it just doesn’t matter what people think of you.' And yet, in final bid for immortality, 'The Dark Prince' launches 600-page missile into the Beltway.  read more »