This Week's Headlines

Authorized Protests It could have been taken verbatim from an Orwell novel, or from a George Romero movie. It could have been 1992 Belfast, or 1969 Prague, under the full weight of the Iron Curtain. But it was Pittsburgh, in 2009, with the Democrats in control of Congress and Obama in the oval office. For two days last month, Pittsburgh, my Pittsburgh, was transformed and fortified into a totalitarian police state. Read More Eating as Memory, Writing as Record It’s as simple as a broken baguette with goat cheese. Sautéed eggplant smashed with roasted garlic, basil, and sundried tomatoes. Bright yellow curry vivid against a white porcelain bowl. It is a smoothed tablecloth, the snapping of a plum’s skin under your teeth, your mother’s hands. It is sensation, communication, sociology. It is me remembering you every time I bite into a grilled cheese sandwich. Read More
Blog of the Week Our first ever “Blog of the Week” award goes to Backstory, a site we feel strikes an admirable balance of showcasing excellent writing and providing online marketing opportunities for authors. On Backstory, authors are invited to share the specific people, places, and incidents that inspired their latest fiction, from lost loved ones to prophetic fortune cookies. Read More
Literary Spotlight

Kate Jacobs is the New York Times-bestselling author of Comfort Food, Knit Two, and The Friday Night Knitting Club, which has over 1 million copies in print. A former journalist, she was also a freelance editor at Lifetime Television’s website. Read More