Weekend Round-Up 5/25/08

News from the publishing industry from the last week (or so):

1. “Little Orphan Artworks” - The New York Times - 5/20/08
An op-ed piece from Stanford University law professor Lawrence Lessig about the possible reform in Congress of the copyright law regarding orphan works.

2. The 2008 National Indie Excellence Awards have been announced.

3. Published authors can upload and format their published books into Kindle format at Amazon.com.

4. “B&N Mulls a Borders Buy” - Business Week - 5/21/08
Barnes and Noble considering taking over Borders bookstores.

5. “Who killed the literary critic?” - Salon.com - 5/22/08
“Has the role of the professional critic become obsolete in an age of book clubs, celebrity endorsements and blogs?”

6. Publishers Weekly is cutting pay to its book reviewers, effective June 15. You can read more at my friend Kevin Allman’s blog.

7. “Lessing: Nobel win a ‘disaster’” - BBC News - 5/11/08
Doris Lessing gives her views on winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2007.

Photo by GiniMiniGi