‘Hunger Games’ prequel novel coming in 2020
NEW YORK — A decade after seemingly wrapping up “The Hunger Games,” Suzanne Collins is bringing readers back to Panem. A prequel, set 64 years before the beginning of her multimillion-selling trilogy, is coming next year. The novel, currently untitled, is scheduled for release on May 19, 2020. Collins said...
WQED brings ‘Inquire Within’ to Scottdale LibraryVideo
WQED is bringing its “Inquire Within” program, in partnership with local libraries, to the Scottdale Public Library. The partnership empowers librarians to create innovative, imaginative programming using researched-based, parent-trusted content from PBS, according to the broadcast station. The library, at 106 Spring St., will kick off the June 17 program...
‘Makeover’ star Ty Pennington stops in McCandless to promote new book on managing his ADHD
Ty Pennington, the Emmy Award winning star of the shows “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and “Trading Spaces,” was on hand at Riverstone Books in McCandless on June 7 to talk about and sign copies of his new book “Life to the Extreme.” The humorous book focuses on difficulties Pennington encountered...
Ex-defense secretary Jim Mattis has book coming this summer
Former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis has a book coming out this summer, but he warns that it will not be a “tell-all” about President Donald Trump. “Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead” will be published July 16, Random House announced Tuesday. Co-written with Bing West, the book will be...
Edmund Morris, known for his biography of Reagan, dies at 78
DANBURY, Conn. — Presidential biographer Edmund Morris, best known for writing a book about the life of Ronald Reagan, has died. He was 78. Morris died Friday in a hospital in Danbury, Conn., a day after suffering a stroke, his wife, Sylvia Jukes Morris, told The Associated Press on Monday....
Lower Burrell’s Trinity United Christian Church pastor pens ‘The Call’
The printed word will be there for future generations. “I wanted a written record of this church, a first-hand account of the history here,” says the Rev. Cletus L. Hull III, pastor of Trinity United Christian Church in Lower Burrell since Jan. 1, 1996. Hull penned the 189-page “The Call,”...
Asian, Asian American heroes to power Marvel comics series
Asian superheroes — assemble. Marvel Comics is giving ink to an unprecedented team-up of its mightiest Asian and Asian American heroes, also known as the new Agents of Atlas. Established icons like martial arts master Shang-Chi and newbies like Wave, the newest Filipino superhero, will team up in a stand-alone,...
Author George RR Martin: ‘Game of Thrones’ finale was ending, also beginning
NEW YORK — What’s next for “Game of Thrones?” The author, whose work was adapted into the HBO series that drew a record-setting numbers of viewers for Sunday’s finale, says it’s “been a wild ride.” George RR Martin wrote on Monday that it “was an ending, but it was also...
Writers to collaborate with musicians at Hampton’s Steamworks Creative
Six writers and musicians will take the stage Friday at Steamworks Creative in Hampton to perform works based on each other’s work. “Words and Music – An evening of writers collaborating with musicians,” will be held from 8 to 10:30 p.m. at Steamworks, 4967 Route 8, Suite 6. Tickets are...
‘Caine Mutiny,’ ‘Winds of War’ author Herman Wouk has died
Herman Wouk, the versatile, Pulitzer Prize winning author of such million-selling novels as “The Caine Mutiny” and “The Winds of War” whose steady Jewish faith inspired his stories of religious values and secular success, died on Friday at 103. Wouk was just 10 days shy of his 104th birthday and...
Ligonier Valley Writers hold annual flash fiction contest
Ligonier Valley Writers is seeking submissions for its 15th Flash Fiction Contest. Deadline is midnight Aug. 15. No fees are charged and cash prizes are awarded, according to publicity director Judith Gallagher. Flash fiction means under 1,000 words. For submission guidelines, visit LVWonline.org. The stories are performed for Halloween, and...
Barack Obama’s book not expected to be released in 2019
Former President Barack Obama’s post-White House memoir isn’t expected to be released this year, setting up the likelihood that the highly anticipated book will drop during the 2020 campaign. Publisher Penguin Random House started alerting foreign partners and others about the status of Obama’s book on Tuesday. The former president...
Free Comic Book Day: Western Pa. shops celebrate with freebiesVideo
Free Comic Book Day is happening Saturday and shops across Western Pa. are taking part in the promotion. The day launched in 2002 as a way for comic creators and comic book stores to get fans, new and old, interested in comic books. They also encouraged fans to share a...
Pittsburgh bookstores to celebrate Independent Bookstore Day
In this age of glowing screens and digital discourse, there’s something comforting about the printed word. No batteries. No wires. No pop-up ads. Just you, the page, and the words. And just as every book can be unique, bookstores — indie bookstores, to be sure — are special, too. And...
Nora Roberts sues Brazilian author, cites ‘multi-plagiarism’
NEW YORK — Best-selling novelist Nora Roberts is suing a Brazilian writer for copyright infringement, alleging that Cristiane Serruya has committed “multi-plagiarism” on a “rare and scandalous” level. In papers filed Wednesday morning in Rio de Janeiro, where Serruya lives, Roberts called her romance books “a literary patchwork, piecing together...
Prince memoir ‘The Beautiful Ones’ coming out in the fall
NEW YORK — The memoir Prince was working on at the time of his death is coming out Oct. 29. Random House confirmed Monday to The Associated Press that “The Beautiful Ones” will combine Prince unfinished manuscript with rare photos, scrapbooks and lyrics. First announced just weeks before his 2016...
‘Seven Doors’ by Vandergrift author is journey of redemption
Spending months in a hospital on an antibiotic made David Krajci tired most of the time. “So, I was always sleeping,” he says. “And when I would wake up, I would remember my dreams and would tell them to my wife Lori. She would write it all down, and by...
Stephen Colbert donates $400K from book to N.C. hurricane relief
RALEIGH, N.C. — “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert has donated proceeds from his Hurricane Florence-related book to disaster-relief efforts in North Carolina. The Raleigh News & Observer reported Thursday that the comedian sent a check for $412,412 to Gov. Roy Cooper. The governor posted a “thank-you” on Facebook. Colbert...
‘Idlewild’ author researching book on Western Pennsylvania’s lost amusement parks
Area amusement parks have provided visitors thrills and summertime memories for more than a century. Pittsburgh-based writer and historian Jennifer Sopko hopes to reclaim some of that legacy for parks that have vanished from the Western Pennsylvania landscape. She is seeking stories, photos and documents for a proposed book on...
Polish priest apologizes for burning of ‘Harry Potter’ books
WARSAW, Poland — A priest in northern Poland who led a public burning of books that included titles from the “Harry Potter” series and other items parishioners wanted destroyed has apologized, saying the ritual was not intended to condemn specific authors, religions or social groups. The Rev. Rafal Jarosiewicz called...
Author James Patterson donates $1.25M to classroom libraries
NEW YORK — James Patterson’s latest gift for literacy is a $1.25 million pledge to classroom libraries. On Tuesday, the best-selling author announced the fifth installment for his Patterson Partnership, formed in coordination with Scholastic Book Club. Patterson is giving $250 each to 4,000 teachers around the country to help...
‘Harry Potter’ books burned at Catholic parish in Poland
WARSAW, Poland — Priests at a Catholic parish in northern Poland have burned books, including the “Harry Potter” series, and other items that their owners said had evil forces. Images from the burning at Gdansk’s Mother of Church parish on Sunday were posted on Facebook by a Catholic foundation that...
Nirvana manager waited 25 years to write his Kurt Cobain book
“Danny, he’s dead.” It was March 4, 1994, and David Geffen, the record mogul who had signed Nirvana just three years earlier, was calling band manager Danny Goldberg to share the terrible news: Kurt Cobain had overdosed on a powerful sedative while in Rome. Strangely enough, it was a false...
Barbara Bush blamed Trump for ‘angst,’ new book reveals
WASHINGTON — Barbara Bush says Donald Trump caused her “angst” during the 2016 election and led her to question whether she was still a Republican in the months before she died. The late former first lady’s thoughts about Trump were revealed in excerpts published Wednesday in USA Today of an...
Westmoreland Cultural Trust interim CEO shares stories of female Marines
Current Westmoreland Cultural Trust interim CEO and retired Marine Nancy P. Anderson will showcase her book, “The Very Few, The Proud Women in the Marine Corps, 1977-2001,” at 6:30 p.m. March 19 at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. Her appearance in Village Hall is part of the campus’ Women’s...
