English readers are the worst served in the world in terms of international literature, according to The Economist. Apparently only 3% of the total annual combined number of books published in America and Britain were translated from another language, with fiction only accounting for 1%. The same cannot be said for continental Europe, where in 2008 14% of books sold in France and 8% of book sold in Germany were translations. However the partiality for English translations is across the board: two out of three Eurupean translations are from English and they account for 40% of all novels published in France. Publishing specialists say that the scarcity of literature translation is "a cultural crisis" showing no signs of improvement. The Peirene Press is an independent publishing house in London that is trying to change that prognosis. Joining the ranks of other publishers like New York's Europa Editions and Rochester University's Open Letter, Peirene works to expose English readers to foreign literature. One way it does so is by publishing three English translations of novellas by nationally celebrated European writers. Peirene recently published a translation of Pia Juul's The Murder of Halland, which won Denmark's highest literary honor, the Danske Banks Litteraturpris. Peirene was named Newcomer of the Year in 2011 by the Independent Publishers' Guild and had two of its titles longlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. The press captured the attention of, and a su... [more Peirene Press Helps English Readers Missing Out on Foreign Literature]

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"]

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]

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]

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]

'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 as "a nation of shopkeepers", but Jean Pierre-Osenat, head of the auction house that handled the sale, said that Napoleon "really had a great admiration for England, the rules and history." Osenat went on to say that it's a misconception that Napoleon hated the English; rather, that Napoleon was a staunch military man and the French interests differed from that of the English. Napoleon's English lessons were not purely a tribute, however, ego was involved as well. "Of course, he was always very worried about his image. He wanted to read what was said about him in the English press," Osenat added. The letter is revealing, and shows a different... [more Napoleon Letter Penned in English Sold at Auction]

London booksellers Adrian Harrington and Jonathan Kearns focus on the physical nature of the book in this informative video. Inspired by the slideshow of the scariest French children's books published recently by The Guardian, a rundown of the most terrifying children's books from across the globe. Lev Grossman on walking and reading&at the same time. Bingo, Haruki Murakami style. [more Friday Roundup]