A spokesperson for publisher Penguin Random House Canada said Munro, winner of the Nobel literary prize in 2013, died Monday at home in Port Hope, Ontario. Munro had been in frail health for years and often spoke of retirement, a decision that proved final after the author's 2012 collection, "Dear Life." - Washington Post (MSN)
"The videos often begin with … a person ripping the covers off a book. They are not vandals, however; they are bookbinders, taking part in a growing trend for replacing the covers of favourite works to make unique hardback editions, and posting about their creations on TikTok and Instagram." - The Observer (UK)
It used to be an underground hobby. People did it, but nobody talked about it—not only because it was embarrassing to admit that you coveted Charlton Heston’s slave collar from Planet of the Apes but also because, since such things were studio property, it was illegal to own them. - Wired
We'll never know what scripts by the great playwright disappeared forever because they were never printed and their manuscripts didn't survive. Yet there is solid evidence, including titles, of two currently lost Shakespeare plays. One of them, Love's Labours Won, was definitely printed, so there were once at least 200 copies. - Artnet
TV commercials have long stood as the cornerstone of modern advertising. This dominance was owed, in part, to TV’s capacity to reach vast and diverse audiences through ads that leverage sound, sight and motion to evoke emotional responses. These vast audiences aren’t tuning in anymore. - The Wall Street Journal
"It's true that developers’ motives are rarely altruistic: Many have found tax and other benefits to pairing up with dance companies. And not all of these unusual developer–company marriages have been entirely happy. Still, participants in four recent partnerships say their deals have offered remarkably good solutions to longstanding problems." - Dance Magazine
Krishna Thiagarajan, president and CEO of Seattle Symphony, said the Symphony’s search for Dausgaard’s successor began in earnest between one-and-a-half and two years ago, and today, it’s “really close announcing somebody.” - Seattle Times
"Lorenzo Prendini, an expert on arachnids at the New York-based museum, was held by police at Istanbul Airport while allegedly trying to take about 1,500 samples out of the country. … Prendini said the police had disregarded permits from the Turkish government." - AP
That signed Stravinsky photo will set you back £1,850. For a collection of eight lavishly illustrated Ballets Russes souvenir programmes or a copy of Porgy and Bess signed by George and Ira Gershwin, author DuBose Heyward and director Rouben Mamoulian – these cost £7,500 and £8,500 respectively. - Classical Music
"The Times checked in with multiple writers of varying experience levels spanning film and TV. … All said that they or their colleagues have struggled to find work for at least 12 months amid a contraction that has led to unstable production and employment levels across the industry." - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
"The complaint, dated April 23 and made public this weekend in Italian newspapers, alleged that staff faced health and security risks due to cost-saving and apparent profit-generating initiatives at the museum, including overcrowding and reduced security guards to keep tourists at bay." - AP
"The Iranian film director Mohammad Rasoulof has secretly fled Iran after he was sentenced to prison amid pressure over his latest film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, which is due to premiere at the Cannes film festival this week." - The Guardian
"Wagner, who turns 46 on May 21 and is a great-granddaughter of Richard Wagner, became co-head of the festival in September 2008, along with her half-sister Eva Wagner-Pasquier. Katharina then took over as sole head in 2015." A business manager will be hired to keep the festival within budget. - AP
"(Two octogenarians) entered the British Library in London on Friday morning and 'smashed the glass enclosure that surrounds the Magna Carta.' After this, the pair glued themselves to the document’s enclosure and held up a sign that said 'The government is breaking the law,' Just Stop Oil said." - CNN
John Catsimatidis, the supermarket mogul and perennial New York state Republican candidate who owns news/talk radio station WABC-AM, canceled Giuliani's one-hour weekday radio show after he refused to stop raising now-refuted claims about voting machines in the 2020 election. - Inside Radio
