British foreign secretary steps in over missing Hong Kong booksellers
On Monday we reported that a fifth bookseller had gone missing in Hong Kong in what appears to be a move by the Chinese government to silence dissenting voices in… Read more »
Winner of the 2015 Stephen Spender Prize withdraws entry
There’s trouble at the Stephen Spender Prize—this year’s winner, Allen Prowle, has withdrawn his entry and returned his prize money after being accused of plagiarism. The Stephen Spender Prize rewards… Read more »
Merriam-Webster’s word of the year is “ism”
Merriam-Webster has revealed its word of the year and, in what appears to be a fast-growing tradition, it is not technically a word. Merriam-Webster’s word of the year is a… Read more »
The scientific theory behind what makes Dr. Seuss funny
A psychology professor at the University of Alberta claims to have found the scientific answer to that age-old question: why is Dr. Seuss so funny? Chris Westbury was conducting research… Read more »
The 100 best British novels, as chosen by international critics
In this season of “Best of” lists, BBC Culture has outdone everyone. Rather than produce a list of the best books of the year, BBC has compiled a list of… Read more »
Every 16-year-old in Sweden is getting a copy of We Should All Be Feminists
What’s the difference between a 16-year old in Sweden and a 16-year old in Britain? In Britain, the government is planning to axe the study of gender equality and patriarchy… Read more »
Amazon Anonymous shames Amazon’s tax dodging ways in new spoof ad
Amazon Anonymous—the anti-Amazon campaigning group—celebrated ‘Cyber Monday’ in a unique way this year. The collective hired a ten-foot van to drive around central London carrying a fake Amazon advertisement that read: “Amazon… Read more »
Waterstones turning a profit, and Daunt’s plan seems to be working
Waterstones is set to make a profit for the first time in five years—that is, if the chain continues to do well over Christmas. Waterstones’ managing director, James Daunt, told The… Read more »
The best of the worst honored in this year’s Bad Sex Awards
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Literary Review has announced the finalists for the best literary prize around: the Bad Sex Awards. The Bad Sex Awards have taken… Read more »
Germaine Greer’s 30,000-word love letter to Martin Amis and his “tobacco hair”
Last week, MobyLives wrote about the correspondence of Ernest Hemingway, who, before he died, issued explicit instructions that his letters were not to be published after his death. A seven-volume… Read more »