The inaugural winners of the Andrew Carnegie Awards for Excellence in Literature were announced last Sunday at the American Library Association's (ALA) annual conference. There were two prizes awarded, one for fiction and one for nonfiction. The Carnegie Award for Fiction went to Anne Enright for The Forgotten Waltz, and the Nonfiction Award went to Robert K. Massie for Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman. Many are familiar with the ALA's other prestigious awards, the Newbery and Caldecott, but those honors are awarded to children's and young adult books, respectively, and there was no prize for adult literature. The Carnegie Award now fills that void. The two winners were chosen by library professionals working in conjunction with adult readers. The selection process makes the Carnegie Award unique, as the majority of other major bo... [more Inaugural Carnegie Award Winners Announced]
Blog posts by Susan Benne
Susan is the Executive Director of the ABAA. She collects material on Brooklyn as well as ephemera and vernacular photography. Susan is focused on making the book trade diverse and equitable.
The following items have been reported stolen: Title : Anicii Manlii Torquati Severini Boethii De consolatione philosophiæ Libri v. (Anicii Manlii Torquati Severini Boethii Vita Iul. Martiano Rota scriptore.) Authors : Boethius, d. 524 Date of publication : 1625 Publisher : Amsterdam Description : 207 pp 32º.. Bears a red oval ownership stamp stating 'GRIII – BR.MUS' Title : Αι του Ανακρεοντος ?ωδαι, και τα της Σαπφους, και τα του Αλκαιου λειψανα Authors : Anacreon, 582 BC-485 BC Date of publication : 1751 Publisher : R. & A. Foulis, Glasgow Description : 75 p. ; 32º. Printed on silk of four different colours, sewn round the edge; bound in red velvet. Bears a red oval ownership stamp stating 'GRIII – BR.MUS' If you have any information on either of these items, please contact... [more Items Stolen from British Library]
Brazil announced yesterday that it will implement a new program called "Redemption through Reading" at four federal prisons. Inmates will have the opportunity to shave up to 48 days off their sentence each year by reading 12 works of literature, philosophy, science, or classics. Each prisoner will have four weeks to read a book of their choosing and compose an essay that is structurally and grammatically sound. A special panel will select a group of prisoners to participate in the new program. (It's unclear, but I am assuming that the same panel will evaluate the work prisoners submit.) The "Redemption through Reading" program aims to present a constructive solution to Brazilian penitentiary system's issue of overcrowding. Andre Kehdi, a Sao Paulo attorney who directs a book donation program for prisons, is very excited for the program, n... [more Brazilian Prisoners Can Shorten Sentences by Reading Books]
Follow the link for a list of The Worst Book Titles and Covers, courtesy of the website So Bad So Good. My personal fave of those listed is It's Not Going to Get Any Better When You Grow Upclearly a buoyant coming of age story. The list is brief, and perhaps a little juvenile, but still good for a laugh. I know other booksellers could supplement the list, so please add titles/links in the comments section below! [more Book Fails: Titles and Covers]
A 1924 first edition of Agatha Christie's Poirot Investigates was recently sold at auction for a whopping 40,630 ($63,195.90) because of its very rare dust jacket, on which the famed Detective Poirot is pictured. The collection of short stories was not Christie's first Poirot book, but it is the first to feature the detective's name in the title and a rare instance of his depiction. The drawing originally appeared in The Sketch, an illustrated British weekly that was the first to publish Christie's stories (and in all ended up published 49 of her tales between 1923 and 1924). The detective looks characteristically dapper in a morning suit with a bow tie, poised with his top hat and white gloves in hand. The dust jacket was slightly chipped but otherwise said to be in "remarkable fresh condition". Chris Albury, a representative from the D... [more Rare Agatha Christie Dust Jacket Picturing Poirot Auctioned]
Nick Wilding of Georgia State University has announced on the EXLIBRIS mailing list his findings pointing to forgeries of Galileo material that appear to trace back to Marino Massimo de Caro, currently under arrest for thefts from the Girolamini Library in Naples. Dr. Wilding raises further questions about books that have recently passed through the trade bearing the the library stamp of Federico Cesi. (The text of Dr. Wilding's statement on EXLIBRIS is below.) The ABAA has been in touch with Dr. Wilding and will be offering further updates as they are available. The RBMS Security Committee blog will also carry updates on the Girolamini Library scandal as it develops: http://www.rbms.info/committees/security/theft_reports/theft_reports_2012.shtml An earlier update on the developing scandal from ILAB President Arnoud Gerits incl... [more Update: More on Girolamini Theft]
A small exhibit at the University of South Carolina at Columbia is currently displaying Joseph Heller's workstation. Heller's desk, lamp, and the typewriter on which he composed many of his major works are set up in the Ernest F. Hollings Library, providing students and library visitors the unique opportunity to sit at his desk and even type on his well worn Smith-Corona. USC at Columbia has one of, if not the, largest collection of Heller's papers, manuscripts, and other memorabilia. The exhibit will be on display in the Irvine Department Rare Books and Special Collections until December 20. SC library shows 'Catch 22' author's writing tools [more Heller Exhibit at USC Columbia Displays 'Catch 22' Workstation]
This item was still reported missing as of June 11, 2019. The following item has been reported stolen: Title : Sylva Frutetum Authors : STEPHANUS, Carolus Date of publication : 1538 Publisher : Estienne, Paris Description : STEPHANUS, Carolus. Sylva. Frutetum Collis. Paris: Franciscum Stephanum, 1538. First Ed. Small 8vo. (ii); 2-(57) pages. Woodblock device on title depicting a vine. Eighteenth century red morocco with gilt roll-borders, neatly rebacked and recornered, al edges in gilt, marbled endpapers. With the armorial bookplates of the Duke of Sussex, and Professor Cornelius Paine. A clear and concise treatise on the trees, bushes, plants and herbs found growing in woods, in thickets and on hillsides. There was a sequel mentioned in the text, devoted to fields and meadows including marsh and water meadows, and embracing inter alia m... [more Stolen: First Edition 'Sylva Frutetum']
'The Emperor Napoleon in his study at the Tuileries', Jacques-Louis David A rare letter written by Napoleon written in English was auctioned off in an intense bidding war in Paris last Sunday, with Paris' Museum of Letters and Manuscripts taking home the letter for €325,000 ($405,000). The selling price was five times what was estimated prior to the auction. It is one of only three (surviving) English-language letters written by Napoleon. The letter was written in 1816, while Napoleon was being held captive by the British on the island Saint Helena following his defeat at Waterloo. It was a homework exercise the deposed emperor sent to his English teacher for correction, and was sealed with an imperial eagle wax stamp. Some may find it surprising that Napoleon was studying the language of his nemesis, England, a land he once dismissed ... [more Napoleon Letter Penned in English Sold at Auction]
Update: All the items were recovered. The following items have been reported stolen: 1. Title : Iustini ex Trogo Pompeio historiae cum multis memorabilibus in margine. Addito insuper indice: quo facilius notatu clariora repiri possint: nuper emdatae. (includes: Lucii Flori gestorum Romanorum liber primus.) Authors : Trogus, Pompeius Description : Format: fol. Imprint: Venetiis : Impressum per Ioannem Tachuinum de Tridino, 1512. Current shelfmark: BCL.S10 Earlier shelfmark: With a label or stamp carrying an earlier shelfmark: Stall J /Shelf 34 /Book 7 Ownership marks: With a crude stamped cross, most likely on the title page, with arms of equal length running horizontally and vertically in relation to the title page 2. Title : De lingua latina. Authors : Varro, Marcus Terentius Description : Format: fol. Imprint: Parma : , 11 Dec. 1480. No... [more UPDATE: Thefts from the National Library of Scotland]