Book news, reviews, and musings 5 October 2010

News, Reviews, and Musings is a new daily feature. Feel free to chime in, or to tweet/email us if we've missed something that you'd like to see featured.

News and features

Rest in peace Stephen J Cannell, a well-known and popular author who recently lost his battle with cancer.

HarperCollins Australia will reprint Jonathan Franzens Freedom after a small number of printing errors was found in the final edition.

The Nobel committee has chosen this years Literature Prize recipient, but their lips are sealed until the 7th of October.

Orbit Books has announced a live Skype event with best-selling Sci Fi (and literary) author Ian M Banks on the 6th of October. More details can be found here.

Were running a giveaway of Jandy Nelsons fabulous The Sky is Everywhere. Click here to enter.'Were also running a giveaway of Lara Morgans Genesis: The Rosie Black Chronicles #1. Click here to enter.

Dont forget to check out our newest posts: competition round ups, new releases, book reviews, and more!

Interviews

Kids Book Review chats to author JE Fison about her newly released Hazard River series.

Author and editor Nick Mamatas answers some questions about literature in translation.

Cynthia Leitich Smith interviews author Matthew J Kirby about his book The Clocckwork Tree.

Galaxy Books subjects author Neal Asher to some difficult questions.

Reviews

The always erudite Charles Tan reviews Haunted Legends, edited by Nick Mamatas and Ellen Datlow, and finds it a mixed bag. Interestingly, Tan points out, many of the stories are written from a cultural tourist point of view.

Library Lurker reviews Life, After by Sarah Darer Littman.

Fabulous Aussie review site Auslit looks at Glitter Rose, a collection of short stories by veteran author Marianne De Pierres.

Musings

Adventures in Childrens publishing gives us a great set of fabulous YA/MG openings.

Nyssa at A Writer Goes on a Journey ponders ebook pricing and the Australian context.

Over at the Random House Australia blog, Stephen Hawking asks how we understand the world in which we find ourselves. Im glad he has the answers, because I dont!

James Walker tells us we should always judge an award winning book by its judge.

Just for fun

Everyone needs a fancy-pants cupcake bookmark. Yum

Author birthdays

Happy birthday to Clive Barker and Peter Ackroyd!

Quote of the Day

We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves'already. ' J.K. Rowling

Beautiful book cover of the day