"When? Where? How?" Margaret Atwood Considers the Burning Questions of the Writing Life - Literary Hub

Mom! I want that book.

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today when he heard clapping and cheering. Following all the joyous noise, took him to the Literary Hub site. There he discovered a post by Margaret Atwood was causing all the jocularity.

 

The post is an excerpt from Margaret Atwood's book, Burning Questions. The post also includes an audio of the same excerpt for those who prefer that instead.

To read (or listen to) the post tootle over to Margaret Atwood

Fiction prize renamed in honour of Margaret Atwood and late partner Graeme Gibson - The Guardian

 Panzer made a stop at The Guardian site today. With a little digging in the posts he found one about the renaming of the Writers Trust of Canada fiction prize.

 

Laughed so hard I fell off the desk.

According to Alison Flood's post, the Writers Trust of Canada has changed the name of their fiction prize to the Atwood Gibson prize. Margaret Atwood shares some funny stories in the post about early fund-raising activities for the Writers Trust.

 

Panzer says, "This little kitty didn't know they were two of the original founders of the Writers Trust of Canada."

 

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to Atwood-Gibson Prize

Amazon Breaks Embargo of 'TheTestament' - Various Sources

Panzer was eating his lunch when his food bowl began shaking from all the screaming and shouting coming from the Catosphere. Getting into the Panzermobile, he discovered the noise was coming from different directions. Our busy kitty visited the Publishers Weekly site and The Guardian site and discovered both have posts about Amazon and The Testament embargo. Panzer told you yesterday about Amazon breaking the embargo on Margaret Atwood's new book.

According to the Publishers Weekly post by Claire Kirch, the American Booksellers Association (ABA) has been trying to convince the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Amazon for violating antitrust laws. The ABA now wants to use Amazon's shipment of Margaret Atwood's new novel before the embargo conclusion as new fuel in that argument.

It was an accident.

According to The Guardian's post by Alison Flood, Amazon shipped 800 pre-ordered copies of the novel to buyers by accident. The post includes a quote from Amazon which says "a technical error" caused the books to be shipped early. A quote from Atwood's publisher Penguin Random House says the error "has now been rectified."

Panzer says, "Looks like this kerfuffle* will be around for a while."

Note: These are large posts. Panzer hopes you still have that RV you borrowed for yesterday's posts, because you'll need it and its cooking and sleeping facilities for today's reading selections.

To read the Publishers Weekly post tootle over to ABA
To read The Guardian post tootle over to Amazon
To read Panzer's previous post tootle over to Booksellers

* Yes, it's a word. Google it. Tee hee hee

Indie Booksellers Incensed as Amazon Breaks 'Testament' Embargo - Publishers Weekly

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today, when the Panzermobile was buffeted and shaken by crying and screaming and gnashing of teeth. Following all the noise took our brave kitty boy to the Publishers Weekly site. There he found a post about online book retailer Amazon's latest mess with bricks and mortar bookstores.

 According to Claire Kirch's post, Margaret Atwood's new novel The Testament, the sequel to The Handmaiden's Tale, is scheduled to go on sale September 10. Publisher Penguin Random House (PRH) required bookstores to sign an embargo contract agreeing not to sell the book before that date. It turns out, as soon as Amazon got the books delivered to their warehouse they began mailing copies to their customers who pre-ordered it. Bricks and mortar bookstores immediately complained to PRH. As soon as Amazon realized what had happened, the company stopped the book deliveries.

I bet somebody is looking for a new job.

Panzer says, "Umm ... Were they all sent from just one warehouse? ... If so ... Then ... Maybe it was a mistake."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Amazon

Margaret Atwood's Rescue Cat - The Walrus

Flying cats and cats with feathers.

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he happened upon The Walrus site. It didn't take any digging at all to find a post about the Rescue Cat comics.

In her post Margaret Atwood explains her return to comics with the Angel Catbird series published by Dark Horse Comics. As Ms. Atwood points out, this isn't your usual Sunday newspaper comics. After reading the post and comic strip samples there, it's obvious these must be shape shifters caught between shifting. If you want to see how Angel Catbird came to be, the beginning is included in the post. You'll also learn a lot about Ms. Atwood's lifelong enjoyment of comics and love cats.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Let's see ... There's Angel Catbird and Cate Leone and Count Catula. The comics look interesting. Where can I get a copy?"

Note: This is a l-o-n-g post. Bring a thermos of tea and three muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Rescue Cat

Authors and Their Day Jobs: Infographic - Galleycat

I don't want to go.

Panzer made a quick trip into the Catosphere today before his trip to the vet for a checkup. Our anxious kitty boy found an interesting infographic at the GalleyCAt site.

Have you ever wondered what day jobs authors like Stephen Kind or Margaret Atwood or Douglas Adams had before they became famous? Maryann Yin found an infographic that lists twenty authors and what they did to pay the bills.

Panzer says, "Hmmm ... A school janitor? That's kind of scary."

Note: This is a short infographic. You'll only need a cup of tea for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to day jobs