ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

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Modernizing China’s Ancient Writing System Has Always Been A Political Project

Through the centuries, the complexity of classical Chinese characters functioned as a powerful class barrier, since mastering reading and writing took so much work. Attempts to simplify it go back to the Ming Dynasty, but those efforts got serious, and contentious, throughout the 20th century. - The New Yorker

The Game’s Afoot: Why Did Conan-Doyle Sign A Pirate Version Of His Holmes Novel

Why did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle sign a pirate edition of “The Sign of the Four,” the second of the four Sherlock Holmes novels? Conan Doyle hated pirate editions. He was as famous for denouncing pirate publishers. - The New York Times

Writing Without A Plot, This Author Wrote One Of Barack Obama’s Favorite Books

Raven Leilani, author of Luster: "I knew I was going to write about Edie’s experience in the middle of this open relationship, but the book kept changing as I was writing." - The Guardian (UK)

In Britain, Indie Bookstores Had Another Fantastic Year

Can this last? "For the first time in almost a decade, more than 1,000 indies are open for business: it is a sector thriving against the odds." - The Guardian (UK)

Bookcore Is A New (Old) Look For A Weary New Year

"Bookcore is an amalgamation of the last five years of trends: normcore, gorpcore, dadcore, vintage, 1990s sportswear, American trad, Westernwear, Native American jewelry, pleats, dad caps, wide-legged trousers, oversized eyewear, Balmacaans, leather blazers, Patagonia, chunky sneakers, intentionally ugly shoes, etc." - LitHub

Martin Luther’s German Bible Is Now 500 Years Old

Some colorful facts surrounding one of history's most consequential translations: Luther wrote it while a fugitive; some first editions included woodcuts by Lucas Cranach; in the room where it was written there's a stain on the wall because Luther allegedly threw his inkwell at the Devil. - Deutsche Welle

The End Of Great Travel Writing?

Travel sections in bookshops have been reduced to “three feet of guidebooks and celebrity jaunts”. Meanwhile, travel books struggle to make the literary review sections of papers. - The Critic

Why Linguists Accept New Expressions And Usage That Grammarians Tend To Hate

"If the only reason we disapprove of something people are saying 'these days' is that we just find it off-putting, then we should consider a test: Could we defend our disapproval 100 years from now, to people who never knew an English without it?" - The New York Times

No, Norman Mailer Hasn’t Been Canceled By His Publisher, Says His Son

“They didn’t feel they were the right house to do this book right now. I don’t think they have any interest in trying to cancel Norman Mailer. You can’t cancel Norman Mailer.” - The Guardian

FBI Arrests Suspect In Fraud Case That Mystified The Publishing World

For five years, someone has been impersonating various publishing industry figures (dozens of them) in order to obtain not-yet-published manuscripts — which were never posted online or held for ransom, baffling people in the field. The suspect is Filippo Bernardini, a young employee of Simon & Schuster. - Vulture

Manuscript? With Words Created On Computers And Produced On Other Computers, What Is It?

A book nowadays is likely to have left its author’s computer to become a bunch of digital assets in Adobe InDesign. These digital assets are then published to e-book formats and onto paper in a globe-spanning process that might involve a specialized logistics firm, designer, and distributor. - PublicBooks

Meet The Founder Of America’s Largest Black-Owned Food Magazine

"The Objective editor Gabe Schneider talked to Whetstone founder Stephen Satterfield about U.S. food media, what values and frameworks define Satterfield and Whetstone's writing, and what it meant to be the only Black-owned food media company in print." - Nieman Lab

Random House Drops Norman Mailer Anthology, Skyhorse Picks It Up

Mailer's longtime publisher, Random House denies that it has dropped his work entirely (it continues to maintain his backlist), but passed the planned Mailer centennial collection to Skyhorse Publishing, which has picked up titles by Woody Allen, Blake Bailey, and Garrison Keillor abandoned by major houses. - AP

Sinclair Lewis, The Writer Who Nailed Middle America

He had a difficult personality, an unseemly personal life, and a late-life plunge in the quality of his work, writes editor Robert Gottlieb, but at his best — the 1920s novels that earned him a Nobel Prize — he captured what made the U.S. tick. - The New York Times

Lost Bronte Sisters Trove Was Going To Be Sold. Fans Saved It

Sir Leonard Blavatnik, the American-British-Ukrainian petrochemical-finance-entertainment mogul, put up half the money to buy it for the public a few weeks ago — with a little help from Prince Charles and thousands of small donations. - Washington Post

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