Kurt Vonnegut offers his top eight tips for writing a short story in the following video. After the jump, see more writing tips from Henry Miller, George Orwell, Margaret Atwood, Neil Gaiman, and William Safire. Video and other lists via OpenCulture Henry Miller (from Henry Miller on Writing) 1. Work on one thing at a time until finished. 2. Start no more new books, add no more new material to “Black Spring.” 3. Don't be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly on whatever is in hand. 4. Work according to the program and not according to mood. Stop at the appointed time! 5. When you can't create you can work. 6. Cement a little every day, rather than add new fertilizers. 7. Keep human! See people; go places, drink if you feel like it. 8. Don't be a draught-horse! Work with pleasure only. 9. Discard the Program when you feel like it–but go back to it the next day. Concentrate. Narrow down. Exclude. 10. Forget the books you want to write. Think only of the book you are writing. 11. Write first and always. Painting, music, friends, cinema, all these come afterwards. George Orwell (From Why I Write) 1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. 2. Never use a long word where a short one will do. 3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. 4. Never use the passive where you can use the active. 5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivale... [more Vonnegut and Other Great Authors Offer Writing Tips]

One of my favorite Magic Hat bottle caps [more "A classic Book is worth a Look"]

A UK first edition of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four has recently gone missing from a NY shop.  The copy was in jacket and had distinctive markings that include staining to the boards and a chip from the jacket base.  If you have any information on this item, please contact Jonathan Smalter at 585-265-9295 or yesterdays.muse@gmail.com. [more Missing: UK First Edition of 'Nineteen Eighty-Four']

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 book awards are judged by writers and critics. “In many ways, librarians are the first book critics many readers come into contact with, and hence we are deeply thankful for their insight and guidance,” said Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York and a former president of the New York Public Library. “The Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction take that notion one step further and place the librarians' seal of approval on these wonderful books.” Both Enright and Massie will receive a medal and $5,000. Each finalist receives $1,500; both fiction and non-fiction finalists are listed after ... [more Inaugural Carnegie Award Winners Announced]

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 Judith Barnes, Collection Security Co-ordinator, British Library at Judith.barnes@bl.uk or +44 (0) 20 7412 7821 [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, noting that it allows a person to "leave prison with a more enlightened and with an enlarged vision of the world." "Without doubt they will leave a better person," he said. Reading books will help shorten Brazilian prisoners' sentences Reading offers Brazilian prisoners quicker escape [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 Dominic Winter auction house, noted the rarity of the dust jacket, particularly because readers of that time period would often remove the jacket and throw it away after purchasing a book. "There might be some others with the Christie family but for collectors this was probably the only chance they would have of owning one," he said. Christiaan Jonkers of Jonkers Rare Books concurred that "it is very uncommon to find this in a dust wrapper" and that he "know of only two others in existence." The book had a pre-sale estimate of �3,000-�5,000, but frenzied bidding by collectors and dealers quickly drove the price up. The previous record for a Ch... [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 includes contact information for the authorities in Italy working on the case: http://www.ilab.org/eng/documentation/786-massive_thefts_at_the_girolamini_library_in_naples.html In the meantime, colleagues with specific questions or further information relating to possible forgeries tracing back to De Caro or books they may have sold to De Caro may contact me. The ABAA Security Committee will collect what information it can to help investigations move forward. With thanks, Garrett Scott ABAA Security Chair garrett@bibliophagist.com [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]