Over the last several decades, a quiet revolution has taken place in American fiction: The novels recognized by major literary prizes have largely abandoned the present in favor of the past. Contemporary fiction has never been less contemporary. - The Nation
Here's a look at the enormous development in the field since the 1980s, including the spread of cultural tourism far beyond the big cities, the increasingly active participation of indigenous Australians, and why the arts and tourism need each other and must work together. - ArtsHub (Australia)
The Pitlochry “theatre in the hills” is known for its unique ensemble and repertory practice: across the summer season actors appear in three or four daily changing productions, learning the parts simultaneously. - The Guardian
She earned money by writing and reading letters for illiterate neighbors in their village, and Pedrito noticed that what Mama said aloud didn't always match what was written in the letters — she improvised things to make the recipient happy. Years later he recognized the huge lesson she was teaching him. - The Guardian
Cohasset, a Butte County community atop a ridge north of Chico, is home to about 400 residents and the site of a 26-year-old annual dance and yoga retreat. It took place on a 26.5-acre property that featured hand-built huts, lavender fields and manzanita trees they danced with. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
The numbers bear out a dire situation for satellite TV. Just 13 million U.S. households subscribe to it, a decrease of about 15.3 percent from last year. - The New York Times
While subscriber numbers are tanking, programmers prop up revenues by raising carriage fees for their channels—the aforementioned “higher contractual rates.” Instead of making TV bundles more attractive through choice and flexibility, the industry has chosen to fleece whoever hasn’t reached their personal breaking point through routine price hikes. - Tech Hive
Late night, it appears, is now firmly in belt-tightening mode. Or as one veteran late night producer says, “there’s definitely a new reality when it comes to budgets.” - The Hollywood Reporter
The Emmy- and Tony-winning actor will become artistic director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre, a well-regarded company located near his birthplace in the highlands of Perthshire. He begins the job this January and his first fully-programmed season will be in 2026. - BBC
"It's strange that we don't still really know the answers to questions like when do children have a proper distinction between the past and the future, given that this seems to structure the entire way that we think about our lives as adults." - BBC
Yes, Raygun (civilian name: Dr. Rachael Gunn), the Australian academic whose singularly odd performances and (ahem) perfect score made her one of the viral sensations of the Paris Games, is — due to quirks in the rules of competitive breaking's governing body — temporarily leading the sport's rankings. - The Wall Street Journal (MSN)
"The StraightForward Foundation ... acts like a pro bono literary agency. It connects Russian authors, writing about sensitive topics, to publishers abroad, who publish their work in different languages. The foundation only requires that the authors agree to post the Russian versions of their manuscripts online for free for readers back home." - NPR
In October 2023, OPB's environmental reporter filed a public records request for documents about Portland's Clean Energy Fund. City officials denied it, and she appealed to the D.A. He ruled in her favor; OPB sued to keep the documents confidential; that case has now been dismissed. - Jefferson Public Radio (Ashland, Oregon)
"Vance George, who led the Chorus for 23 years, called the Symphony’s proposal to slash up to 80% of the group’s budget 'simply awful,' in a letter addressed to Symphony CEO Matt Spivey on Sept. 4." - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
Under a settlement agreement, the School Board of Nassau County (along the border with Georgia, about 35 miles northeast of Jacksonville) must restore access to 36 titles with LGBTQ content which it had ordered removed. The authors of one of those books were plaintiffs. - AP
