Smatterings

The Sydney Morning Herald profiles award-winning crime writer Garry Disher.

Sara Paretsky reveals the connection between V.I. Warshawski and Isaac Bashevis Singer to Nextbook’s Sara Ivry.

After the Australian raised allegations about the veracity of Ishmael Beah’s memoir A LONG WAY GONE, the author fires back a statement refuting the allegations. 

Reuters talks with Canadian writer Russell Banks about his new novel THE RESERVE.

A.L. Kennedy takes the overall Costa Prize.

John J. Miller looks at why David Gemmell’s fantasy novels sell in massive quantities after his death in 2006.

Sara Blask reports from the Iceland bookstore where the late chess champion Bobby Fischer used to hang out. (via)

HuffPo’s Rachel Sklar tracks the media coverage of Heath Ledger’s death, which was and still is, to put it mildly, wall-to-wall.

Garth Risk Hallberg pontificates on the amateur reviewer over at Slate.