Some smatterings

Judy Blume has been named as a distinguished author of letters by the National Book Foundation. As she was a fairly strong influence upon our childhood reading, this is very cool. (Her books for adults, though…)

More awards: Joseph O’Connor is the beneficiary of this year’s Irish Post Literature Award for the mega-selling STAR OF THE SEA.

Marc Acito, the syndicated columnist whose musically-tinged first novel is just out, is interviewed over at PopMatters.

Need your Gabo fix? Well, the time’s getting closer, as Max Magee (of the Millions blog) reports, because a new novella from Gabriel Garcia Marquez will be available in stores next month. No word, however, when the translated version will appear in North American countries.

Jiro reports that the Murder Most Cozy fanzine is ceasing publication with issue #53. Evidently it’s been in existence for 9 years, though perhaps a bit shamefully, we’ve never seen a copy nor read it. Still, it’s always a shame when a mystery zine shuts down.

The Knuckle End is a new, all-Scots short story anthology based on the process of slaughtering meat, is now available, featuring works from Louise Welsh, Zoe Strachan and Anne Donovan.

Calling all playwrights: a Liverpool duo is sponsoring a contest whereby you can write and produce a play in six weeks. Sounds rather taxing to me…

Nicholas Clee (late of the Bookseller) warns against the current fad for children’s fantasy novels in the Independent. Will the genre go the way of chicklit, which is still kicking, but seen as overdone and as having had its day? Time will only tell.

Nextbook interviews Howard Jacobson about his penchant for comic satire, what it means for him to be Jewish, and what he’s working on now.

And finally, some people really do watch too many movies. I mean, really.