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...
Saint Vincent prof pens book on generational workplace myths
Saint Vincent College faculty member Michael Urick has released a book addressing generational stereotypes and myths in the business world. More than a decade of research and two years of writing went into “The Generation Myth: How to Improve Intergenerational Relationships in the Workplace.” Published by Business Expert Press, it...
Sewickley Spa founder Dorothy Andreas pens leadership book
Dorothy Andreas, best known as founder of Sewickley Spa, has written a book, “Streamline Success,” which provides insight into how leaders can be more effective by managing relationships, time and situations faced in the service industry. Andreas, who left college at 19 to start her first business, has grown nine...
CIA may have used contractor who inspired ‘Mission: Impossible’ to kill RFK, book alleges
Robert Maheu was such a colorful character that it’s widely believed the television show “Mission: Impossible” was based on him and his private investigative agency. As an ex-FBI agent, the CIA asked him to handle jobs it wanted to steer clear of, such as lining up prostitutes for a foreign...
Reporter alleges Jill Abramson lifted material for her book
NEW YORK — Former New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson is facing allegations that she lifted material from other sources for her new book, “Merchants of Truth.” A Twitter thread posted Wednesday by Vice correspondent Michael Moynihan lists several examples of passages in “Merchants of Truth: The Business of...
Tarot expert, alumna among Pitt at Greensburg’s Written/Spoken series readers
Author/tarot expert Brittany Hailer will read from her new book, “Animal You’ll Surely Become,” and offer a limited number of tarot readings as part of the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg’s Written/Spoken series at 7 p.m. Feb. 4 in Village Hall. The event is free and open to the public....
Harrisburg children’s author to visit Greensburg
Children’s author Floyd Stokes will visit the Greensburg Barnes & Noble store Tuesday evening to read and sign his books. A resident of Harrisburg. Stokes has written more than 20 books including “Say Ahh! The Teeth Book,” “Popcorn Popcorn,” “Bullying is Bad,” “AJ The Rooster,” “We Are Money Smart” and...
New novel coming in April from ‘Fifty Shades’ author
NEW YORK — E L James is working up some new thrills. The author of the blockbuster “Fifty Shades” trilogy has an “erotic love story” coming out April 16, Vintage Books announced Thursday. It’s called “The Mister” and, according to Vintage, will again be a story of sex, wealth and...
Founder of Dead Poets Society is published, posthumously
PORTLAND, Maine — The late founder of the Dead Poets Society of America can be inducted to the society of fallen bards now that he’s now a published poet. Walter Skold visited the gravesites of more than 600 poets, and one of his criteria was that the subjects had to...
Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver dies at 83
NEW YORK — Mary Oliver, the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet whose rapturous odes to nature and animal life brought her critical acclaim and popular affection, has died. She was 83. Bill Reichblum, Oliver’s literary executor, said she died Thursday at her home in Hobe Sound, Florida. The cause of death was...
‘Space Barons’ book discussions slated at Westmoreland libraries
Readers are invited to explore a modern-day space race by registering for the One Book, One Westmoreland book discussion series at a participating library. Sponsored by the Westmoreland Library Network, the program focuses on “The Space Barons,” the story of billionaire entrepreneurs — including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Richard...
‘Paul Simon: The Life’ goes deep into the brilliance of the musicianVideo
Initially Paul Simon was quite reluctant about agreeing to a biography about his life and music. “Partially because of his private nature and, secondly, because he doesn’t like to do things, like interviews, that cut into time he might be using to work on his music,” explains Robert Hilburn, retired...
Poet explores native Alaskan roots, set to speak at Saint Vincent
Abigail Chabitnoy, a published poet and 2009 graduate of Saint Vincent College, will return to the college’s Unity campus on March 13, to kick off the spring semester of its 10th annual Visiting Writers Series. Chabitnoy will speak at 5 p.m. in the Luparello Lecture Hall at the Sis and...
