- I've got a feature–The Parent Trap and assorted sidebars–in this week's PW.
- Looking for a book tourney? Well, there are plenty. The Tourney of Books is in full swing, as is the DABWAHA (ballots due March 15 at midnight Central). And never forget the Battle of the Kids' Books, where the action starts today.
- The New Yorker had a new Steven Millhauser story in January, "Getting Closer," which I'm so excited about I'm saving it to read in an utterly relaxed state. (Read: By the pool in Florida.) I discovered this googling idly to see what Millhauser was up to. A perennial fave.
- Obituary for Jean Dinning, songwriter of "Teen Angel": "She got the title from reading a magazine article about juvenile delinquency that said good kids deserved a flattering name, like “teen angel.” She wrote half of the song, then jolted awake one night, as if someone had shaken her and handed her the rest of the words."
- Atlantis found in Southern Spain: What, you don't believe? There's a National Geographic special and everything. Speaking of deep and murky waters, the controversy over this Smithsonian shipwreck exhibit is v. interesting.
- Maggie Stiefvater with some wise process thoughts, on character and what you need to know at the beginning: "I guess what I'm trying to emphasize is that, as a writer, our job is the big picture. The wire coat hanger skeleton. You can always change the color of the clay you stick on the arms later. It's the skeleton you need, so you know how many limbs they have and whether they walk on two feet or all fours (as a werewolf author, maybe this is a bad metaphor to make). So if you're out there frantically checking out play-doh colors after my advice to know your characters, put the lids back on and go get the coat hangers instead. Big! Think big! It's really easy to get enmeshed in the details while both writing and editing. Big swathes first, then refine."
- The fabulous Jo Whittemore posts about token minorities at Diversity in YA.
- The Atlantic on nuclear reactor meltdowns (and how media coverage of them is flawed). I can't wrap my head around what is going on in Japan enough to try to write about it. Give if you can.