👓 How The "Lit Shot" Became The Trend For Authors To Announce Book Deals On Twitter | BuzzFeed News

Read How The "Lit Shot" Became The Trend For Authors To Announce Book Deals On Twitter (BuzzFeed News)
Hard-to-read screenshots of paywalled book industry websites dominate Literary Twitter.

👓 The unexpected question I ask myself every year | Ben Werdmüller

Read The unexpected question I ask myself every year by Ben WerdmüllerBen Werdmüller (Ben Werdmüller)
Okay, but seriously, how can I get to work on Doctor Who? It's a dumb question, but my love for this show runs deep - I've been watching it since I was five years old at least. As a non-aggressive, third culture kid who couldn't fit in no matter how he tried, growing up in Britain in the eighties an...

👓 Why novelist Mark Haddon lost faith in Twitter | Financial Times

Read Why novelist Mark Haddon lost faith in Twitter by Mark Haddon (Financial Times)
The platform brought the writer closer to readers — but at a cost. Here he explains why he stepped back

👓 ‘BH90210’ Showrunner, Multiple Writers Quit Fox Series Revival (EXCLUSIVE) | Variety

Read ‘BH90210’ Showrunner, Multiple Writers Quit Fox Series Revival (EXCLUSIVE) by Joe Otterson and Matt Donnelly
There is drama behind the scenes of Fox’s upcoming “Beverly Hills 90210” revival that is worthy of — well, “Beverly Hills 90210.” Showrunner Patrick Sean Smith and multiple senior-level writers have quit the six-episode series, which is titled “BH90210.” The exact reason for the exodus is unclear. One source said the dispute was over interference from two of the show’s lead actresses, while another noted that the writers were unhappy with one of the executives overseeing the project. Paul Sciarrotta has been named the new showrunner along with series’ creators Chris Alberghini and Mike Chessler. Sciarrotta, a member of the show’s writing staff, is currently under an overall deal with CBS Television Studios, which is producing the series.

👓 Seona Dancing | SeonaDancing.com

Read Biography Seona Dancing (web.archive.org)
Seona Dancing was a 1980s British pop group best known for providing Ricky Gervais with his first taste of fame. The band was formed in 1982 by aspiring pop stars Bill Macrae and Ricky Gervais. Their single "More to Lose", released in 1983, only made it to number 70 on the Billboard charts, and the band quickly disbanded in 1984. A year later, in 1985, a DJ from 99.5 DWRT-FM in Manila in the Philippines started playing a song called "Fade" by Medium (also billed as "Medium" by Fade). It became a runaway hit, and the angsty theme song for many Filipino teenagers in the mid 1980s. Eventually, the identity of the song was revealed as "More to Lose" by Seona Dancing. Bill Macrae faded into obscurity, but years later Ricky Gervais found new fame as the co-writer and star of the hit BBC comedy The Office.
He definitely had a different look when he was young!

👓 Why Are So Many Longtime L.A. Bookstores Closing? | Hollywood Reporter

Read Why Are So Many Longtime L.A. Bookstores Closing? (The Hollywood Reporter)
Despite the recent shuttering of Circus of Books, Caravan Book Store and Samuel French, bookstore experts say the end for the city's brick-and-mortar stores isn't nigh: "There is a sea change happening, and it is noteworthy."

👓 CommentPress Core | GitHub

Read IFBook/commentpress-core (GitHub)
CommentPress Core is a WordPress plugin for creating and debating social texts in social contexts. It replaces all previous plugins (standalone and multisite) and includes the default theme.
I’m totally going to play around with this plugin!

👓 PRH Offers Direct Sales to Orphaned Bookstores

Read PRH Offers Direct Sales to Orphaned Bookstores (PublishersWeekly.com)
In response to Baker & Taylor closing its retail wholesale business, Penguin Random House has launched the Indies Express Program to transition B&T indie bookstore accounts to direct sales.

👓 Five Picassos went missing from the L.A. Times. What happened to them? | LA Times

Read Five Picassos went missing from the L.A. Times. What happened to them? (LA Times)
The Times' former parent company once had a 110-piece art collection, but now the works by Rufino Tamayo, Milton Avery, Richard Diebenkorn and Pablo Picasso are gone — including some under strange circumstances.
Fascinating story…

👓 Stanford community outraged at SU Press defunding, over 1,000 sign petitions | Stanford Daily

Read Stanford community outraged at SU Press defunding, over 1,000 sign petitions by Elise Miller (The Stanford Daily)
A flurry of critical letters, petitions and tweets came in the wake of the announcement of the University’s decision to discontinue funding for Stanford University Press, the primary printing ope...
This must be a big story in the ed space for me to have seen/read multiple stories and scrolled past several others…

And, yes, shame on Stanford.

👓 How a University Can Sell Its Soul: HASTAC's Stanford Origins and the University's Current Decision on Stanford University Press | HASTAC

Read How a University Can Sell Its Soul: HASTAC's Stanford Origins and the University's Current Decision on Stanford University Press by Cathy Davidson (HASTAC)
“Austerity” When You Are Wealthier Than Just About Anyone

👓 The Demands of Positive Celebrity Coverage | Jezebel

Read The Demands of Positive Celebrity Coverage (The Muse)
It’s been a rough week to be a star, and a rough week to be someone who listens to what stars have to say. At least, that’s what social media tells me. Some of the most famous people making music today—Ariana Grande, Cardi B, and Justin Bieber (as well as Lizzo, a darling of critics and her fans but not quite of superstar status... yet?)—have shared their thoughts online regarding the state of media in 2019. None of it advocates for a free press, much less even contends with that notion. The gist is that journalism should be service journalism that primarily serves the powerful and their images.

🎧 LifeWay Christian Closing Brick-And-Mortar Bookstores | NPR

Listened to LifeWay Christian Closing Brick-And-Mortar Bookstores from NPR

LifeWay Christian Stores plans to close all of its locations by end of the year and move all of the company's retailing online. Its bricks-and-mortar division has been losing money since 2013, and the company says it has tried just about everything to keep the business going, including overhauling several stores last summer and experimenting with features like coffee bars.

👓 Trump Lives by Ratings. He Won’t Like This One. | New York Times

Read Trump Lives by Ratings. He Won’t Like This One. (New York Times)
The E-Score measures awareness and appeal of individuals in the public eye. President Trump was most often described as “aggressive” and “mean,” according to his scores from December.