Good news in the book reviews department:

National Public Radio has expanded the book coverage on its website, adding weekly book reviews, and has hired six new book reviewers—including a graphic novel reviewer—and added more features to an already existing lineup of author podcasts, critics' lists and other book-focused content.

Strange but true…

The suit, filed by Larry Townsend's attorney for copyright infringement, stems from a dispute over unpaid fees allegedly owed the author by his distributor, the Oklahoma-based Nazca Plains Corp. Nonetheless, the suit charges that Mitzel, along with over 40 other booksellers…infringed on Townsend's copyright by selling the author's books in his store.

Lazy consumers, who don’t want to click more than once to make a purchase, are supplying Amazon the weapon of destruction with which to bend publishers to its will. The online retailing giant has adopted “the literary equivalent of a nuclear option for rebellious publishers who balk at its demands”—disabling the “buy now with 1 click” icon.

Ooooo, nasty ugly.

The gloves are off as Derek Walcott viciously attacks fellow Nobel Prize winner VS Naipaul in his recently premiered poem, Mongoose. The piece is “a fast-paced, savagely humorous demolition of Naipaul's work and personality that begins with the opening salvo: 'I have been bitten, I must avoid infection/Or else I'll be as dead as Naipaul's fiction.' Ouch! And it gets better.

The controversy over plans to put recommended age ranges on the covers of children's books ignited at the Hay festival yesterday, with authors speaking both for and against proposals due to be implemented by a wide group of children's publishers later this year.

Question is, is this really about the kids, or are there hidden agendas here?

The Danish writer who commissioned cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, igniting violent protests across the Muslim world, says he can't find a publisher for his latest work, a translation of the Qur'an.

Go figure.

An NY literary landmark and intellectual oasis since 1927, The Strand has always been a hip, independent and romantic symbol of the city’s literary status. Nowadays, though, it’s become the scene of ire, rife with allegations of racial discrimination and accusations of tyranny. Is the independent and world’s largest used bookstore morphing into a corporate entity that cares only for profits?

Women stop reading serious literature and turn to 'chick-lit' after having children, research suggests. Mothers were shown to swap novels and non- fiction for lighter reads including celebrity autobiographies by the likes of Victoria Beckham and Jordan.

Winners of this year's Nebula Awards, presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, were announced this evening, Saturday April 26, 2008. Best novel: Michael Chabon - The Yiddish Policemen's Union. Click through to see short story and cinema winners.