Fans celebrate Jane Austen’s 250th birthday in Britain and beyond
LONDON — Fans of Jane Austen celebrated the acclaimed author’s 250th birthday on Tuesday with a church service in her home village, festive visits to her house and a virtual party for those paying tribute from afar. Thousands of enthusiasts around the world have already taken part in a yearlong...
Sophie Kinsella, author of the millions-selling ‘Shopaholic’ novels, dies at 55
LONDON — Writer Sophie Kinsella, whose effervescent rom-com “Confessions of a Shopaholic” sparked a millions-selling series, died Wednesday, her family said. She was 55 and had been diagnosed with brain cancer. The family said in a statement on Kinsella’s Instagram account that “she died peacefully, with her final days filled...
Love letters written 100 years ago inspired a book by Sewickley native
While searching through boxes after her mother’s death, Nancy Hayes Kilgore came across handwritten letters from her grandmother to her grandfather. As she read the words, she decided to type them into her computer. The more she documented the correspondence, an idea came to her about how the letters could...
Pope Leo XIV’s 1st full-length U.S. book, ‘Peace Be with You,’ to be released in February
NEW YORK — The first full-length book by Pope Leo XIV to come out in the U.S. will be published next year. HarperOne announced Wednesday that it had acquired world rights to “Peace Be with You! My Words to the Church and to the World,” scheduled for release on Feb....
Gov. Josh Shapiro says Kamala Harris’ descriptions of him were false and intended to sell books
Gov. Josh Shapiro lashed out over former Vice President Kamala Harris’ portrayal of his interview to become her 2024 running mate, calling Harris’ retellings “complete and utter (expletive)” intended to sell books and “cover her (expletive),” according to The Atlantic. Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s first-term Democratic governor now seen as a likely...
Lauren Graham and Amy Sherman-Palladino to release ‘Gilmore Girls’ book in 2027
NEW YORK — After years of advice books, children’s books and cookbooks inspired by “Gilmore Girls,” an upcoming work promises a more personal take on the beloved series. The co-writers are “Gilmore Girls” creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and star Lauren Graham. Celadon Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers, announced Wednesday that...
Long-time coach provides ‘GPS’ for youths in book detailing challenges from childhood
A McCandless resident, known to many in the North Hills as Coach Dave Gray, is celebrating the release of his debut book, “Next Point Wins: A Playbook for Future Champions.” The book details what it was like growing up as a foster child, finally being adopted, his challenges as a...
Monroeville author offers spicy and ‘delightfully cuckoo anthology’ for first book
On July 3, Heather Mohan and her childhood friend, Lisa Purdue, were chatting about life’s funniest moments. Mohan surprised Purdue — lovingly referred to as Quags, due to her maiden name Quaglieri — with a story her friend never heard before. The friends — who both graduated from Gateway and...
Dorseyville Middle School student author embraces fantasy fiction
A pint-sized student author continues to develop her creative writing skills as she transitions from Kerr Elementary School to Dorseyville Middle School in the Fox Chapel Area School District. Bella Gao, 11, lives in O’Hara and is a sixth-grader with a zest for writing fantasy fiction. While enrolled for four...
Atlantic’s Nicholas Thompson explores life, pain, and purpose in ‘The Running Ground’
When Nicholas Thompson isn’t busy overseeing The Atlantic magazine as CEO, he can often be found running to and from its lower Manhattan offices — or chasing records further afield. In 2019, he ran his fastest marathon in 2:29 and, in 2021, set the American record in the 50K for...
Carnegie Libraries across the country to receive $10K in celebration of U.S. 250th anniversary
The same week Scottish immigrant and industrialist Andrew Carnegie was inducted into the Pittsburgh Walk of Fame because of his philanthropy and commitment to learning through libraries, those libraries received a monetary gift. “As I was sitting at the Walk of Fame ceremony on Monday, I thought, every one of...
Here are 5 spooky things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Oct. 24-26
Halloween is next week, so everyone is partying spooky-style the next few days. Hurry up and finish your costume, then hitch a ride on a broomstick to a few of these weekend events. ZooBoo and Jack O’Lantern Extravaganza The Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium is pulling out all the stops for...
Virginia Giuffre memoir details alleged abuses inside Jeffrey Epstein circle
This story contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find disturbing. The soon-to-be released memoir from Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s accusers, posthumously sheds light on the infamous financier’s abuses from the perspective of one of his most vocal victims. “She wanted all her suffering to have accomplished something,...
‘Visionary’ writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai wins 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature
STOCKHOLM — Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature, the award-giving body said on Thursday, “for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art”. “Laszlo Krasznahorkai is a great epic writer in the Central European tradition that...
‘Mormon Wives’ star Mayci Neeley turns pain into purpose in debut memoir
A star tennis player, an unplanned pregnancy, a deadly car crash, a new beginning. Sounds like the plot of a tear-jerking movie, no? Welcome to the last decade or so for “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Mayci Neeley. The 30-year-old reality TV personality – whose calm demeanor separates...
As Peanuts turns 75, Charles Schulz’s comic is more poignant than ever
SANTA ROSA, Calif. − Jeannie Schulz has a wicked sense of humor. The 86-year-old widow of Charles Schulz, creator of Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the rest of the not-so-merry Peanuts gang, has become the conservator of his legacy. Schulz is among the owners of Peanuts Worldwide, through which all partnerships...
A piano, a pregnant woman and a prison: Raymond Chandler’s ‘Nightmare’ is revealed
NEW YORK — In his dreams, Raymond Chandler could conjure tales as unsettling as some of his greatest novels, as if haunted by the spirits of Kafka and Edgar Allan Poe. “Nightmare,” a brief and rarely seen sketch published this week in The Strand Magazine, finds the author of “The...
Harris says leaving reelection decision to Biden was ‘recklessness,’ but defends his abilities
WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Kamala Harris says it was “recklessness” for Democrats to leave it to President Joe Biden to decide whether to continue seeking another term last year, but she defends his ability to do the job, according an excerpt of her new book. Harris, in an excerpt...
Charlie Sheen talks his road to sobriety ahead of release of his memoir, ‘The Book of Sheen’
Charlie Sheen said fatherhood quickly occupied his life when he got sober eight years ago. “It turned into just an interesting daily grind of just sudden responsibility and, you know, having to answer the call and it was amazing,” Sheen said Monday, telling an audience that once he “finally put...
Anthropic to pay authors $1.5 billion to settle lawsuit over pirated books used to train AI chatbots
NEW YORK — Artificial intelligence company Anthropic has agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle a class-action lawsuit by book authors who say the company took pirated copies of their works to train its chatbot. The landmark settlement, if approved by a judge as soon as Monday, could mark a...
Fox Chapel author details ‘The Rebirth and Rise of Duquesne University Football’
It was 1969 when a group of college-aged boys gathered in St. Martin’s Hall at Duquesne University to ignite a grassroots effort to return football to the Bluff. Fox Chapel resident Sam Costanzo helped draw up the game plan – and said it was sheer industriousness and passion that led...
Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre wrote a memoir. Months after her death, it’s coming out
NEW YORK — A posthumous and “unsparing” memoir by one of Jeffrey Epstein’s most prominent accusers, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, will be published this fall, publishing house Alfred A. Knopf said Sunday. “Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice” is scheduled for release Oct. 21, the publisher...
John Fetterman’s memoir, ‘Unfettered,’ is latest offering in Library of Congress
“Unfettered” — described by its publisher as an unapologetic account of the unconventional life of U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, as written by Fetterman — will become part of the canon of the literal Library of Congress when it comes out on Veterans Day. It’s Fetterman’s maiden memoir, but the second...
Sen. John Fetterman to release ‘Unfettered’ memoir this fall — looking at political and health battles
NEW YORK — A long-rumored and “unapologetic” memoir by Sen. John Fetterman will be released this fall, his publisher said. Crown, an imprint of Penguin Random House, announced Wednesday that “Unfettered” is scheduled for Nov. 11. The book’s price is listed at $32. In the memoir, the Democrat will open...
Author of ‘Fine Young People,’ a Sewickley-set novel, to visit Penguin Bookshop
In the pages of the book “Fine Young People,” readers meet Frankie, who is a good daughter, a loyal best friend and a model student in her final semester at an elite Catholic prep school. Frankie’s hockey player classmate Kyle Murphy takes his life after posting a cryptic message about...
