Frank McCourt, the beloved raconteur and former public school teacher who enjoyed post-retirement fame as the author of “Angela’s Ashes,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning “epic of woe” about his impoverished Irish childhood, died Sunday of cancer.

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An Egyptian civil servant who was sentenced to three years’ jail for writing a satirical poem about the country’s President is expected to be freed on appeal.

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A controversial biography of author Muriel Spark which she tried to suppress is to finally be published.

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A new literary prize set up in honour of Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter is launched.

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Seven years after winning the Man Booker Prize for “Life of Pi,” Yann Martel has sold a manuscript featuring a donkey and a monkey in an allegory about the Holocaust.

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THEY came from Brazil, Ghana and many US states in honour of the Gathering 2009. Today, The Scotsman publishes the winners of the poetry contest held to celebrate Scots from a

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The Falcon Theatre presents the Troubadour Theater Company’s Oedipus the King, Mama!, a melding of Sophocles’ ancient Greek play and Elvis Presley culture, beginning Aug. 12 in Burbank, CA.

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Headstrong Bella is in love with a vampire. Zoey has a crescent moon seared onto her forehead, the mark of a fledgling bloodsucker. Sixteen-year-old Ever can hear people’s thoughts. Calliope is, reluctantly, Death’s daughter.

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DENVER | The Christian book business, optimistic that a little literary escapism might be an antidote for readers in hard times, is turning to bonnets, buggies and bloodsuckers. Even as Christian publishing suffers during the recession — one study found net sales for Christian retailers were down almost 11 percent last year — several publishing houses are adding or expanding fiction lines with …

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Want to reply to a comment’ Hint: Click “Reply” at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to

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Australia recovered from stage fright at the most celebrated theatre in world cricket to fight its way back into the second Test.

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Marlowe aside, writers are probably the last people you’d expect to find in a bar brawl. But next Tuesday, the Old Queen’s Head in Islington, north London will be the venue for Europe’s first “Literary Death Match”. Courtesy of Opium, an American literary magazine, the death match has become a feature of the cultural calendar in cities across the US, featuring such esteemed participants as Tom …

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Frank McCourt, author of best-seller Angela’s Ashes, is gravely ill with meningitis and is unlikely to survive, his brother says.

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Sir David Walker is currently a senior adviser to US bank Morgan Stanley having resigned his previous role in 2005 as Chairman of Morgan Stanley International with executive responsibility for the bank’s activities in Europe the Middle East and Africa.

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A SOUTH Queensferry landlord is looking for a “pub poet” to represent the region in a national competition.

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What to expect at Latitude Festival – apart from sheep

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Why the Latitude festival has established itself as a haven for the performing arts.

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The widow of former Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger started out writing children’s books but her books for adults included her frank correspondence.

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A church is donating a rare 1502 hymnal to a Manchester University library, where church members say it can receive better care.

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The term sounds like a make-your-own-course title for a sixth-year undergrad at a progressive college but Facebook Lit has been my creative challenge and my job for a year.

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A controversy erupted last week in Chicago after it was publicly revealed that a noted anti-Islam blogger had been invited to an American Library Association panel.

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An Egyptian civil servant was sentenced to the maximum sentence of three years in jail Tuesday for a poem he wrote satirizing President Hosni Mubarak, who has been in power since 1981, the AFP reports. The penalty for insulting a head of state in Egypt is a jail sentence of anywhere between 24 hours and 3 years. According to AFP:

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“GI Joe,” is the biography of Dr.

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Fire has caused $100,000 damage to a building at the national theatre at St Kilda, although the theatre itself has not been damaged.

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Books by both atheists and ex-theists are all the rage these days and I am especially interested in the stories of the latter and think…

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Bob Mitchley offers his first book “Breaking Through,” a new poetry compilation. The book was published, says the author, “to remind everyone how their existence is enhanced by the loving and powerful touch of God, whose presence can be sensed in every season of their lives.”

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Good Life actor Richard Briers launches a £3.5m restoration project for Newcastle’s Theatre Royal.

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Escaping from danger – real, imagined, physical, mental, social or scientific – seems to be the main theme running through the current crop of books for teenagers. Angela McAllister’s The Runaway (Orion, £6.99) is a spooky, atmospheric tale set in the earliest years of the 19th century, against a distant backdrop of fear of Napoleonic invasion. Megan, riddled with guilt about the death of her …

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Schools tell us about their creative schemes, from a poetic X Factor to homespun sci-fi … and a fair bit of sewing We’ve seen Godzilla, some very animated Victorians and (beam me up, Sir) a sci-fi movie called Stor Truk, about the adventures of a Tesco van. Our Creative Summer project kicked off last month with poetic luminaries Michael Rosen and John Hegley, who wrote about their experiences, …

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Premium Article ! Your account has been frozen . For your available options click the below button.

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The historic Tivoli Theatre in Aberdeen has a new owner who plans to spend £5m restoring it to its former glory.

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Daniel Radcliffe the Harry Potter actor has been unveiled as a published poet.

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Academic, author and Aboriginal affairs advocate Professor Larissa Behrendt has been named Indigenous Person of the Year.

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TWICE UPON A TIME **** DUNDEE REP

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One of Europe’s biggest book fairs this week will have to contend with the economic crisis in Spain as well as its traditional battle to knock down the walls between high- and low-brow literature.

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Assistant Minister of Education and Skills Development, Kavis Kario has slammed South African poet Mzwakhe Mbuli for criticising President Ian Khama at the launch of ruling party chairman Daniel Kwelagobe a week ago.

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I’ve just finished Hilary Mantel’s ‘Wolf Hall’, which is such a magnificent evocation of a man (Thomas Cromwell) and an era (the Boleyn period of Henry VIII’s reign) that I find I’m unable to do what I usually do as soon as I’ve finished a novel – i.e. pick up another one.

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Queensland’s poet-in-residence says she is hoping to be inspired during a visit to the state and to share ideas with local poets.

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Poetry was an apt way to describe the fall 2009 runway show from the house of Valentino, an elegant visual dissertation on the art of haute couture on Wednesday, July 8, in Paris.

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Kaduna — Dr Abubakar Imam, the late literary giant was the pioneer of Hausa literature and for this reason, a one day colloquium is not enough to adequately celebrate his writings and contributions to literature, Dr Ibrahim Malumfashi, a lecturer with the Uthman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto has said.

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Hilary’s advice Those of us with long memories can remember just how bad things were before these centralised teaching directives came in. A lot of children, mine included, had no decent grounding in the basics of literacy and numeracy, and many with learning difficulties were left to flounder and sink.

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Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen has petitioned Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to be allowed to return home 15 years after fleeing death threats by Islamic militants, a report said Wednesday.

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September 10th has been set as the release date for ‘Rick Rubin: In The Studio’ by Jake Brown, an in-depth look at the legendary producers career to date.

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Paul MacInnes finds himself unravelling when faced with Bruno’s sexual energy

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Author Dan Brown is moving

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The malfunctions on the new system’s first day caused delays for patrons waiting at the branches, and impeded access to personal accounts online.

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The “digitally disadvantaged” will get help understanding the computer world with almost $6 million in new funding.

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TORONTO – Two theatre heavyweights convicted of a massive fraud spanning nearly a decade should be spared jail time and instead embark on speaking tours to inspire and instil ethics in students, their lawyers told court Tuesday.

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E and D Readership and Development agency, which also operates as Soma, will this week organise a three-day literary festival as part of activities to commemorate its first anniversary, it said yesterday in a statement.

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As a cultural beacon for the U.S. for over two centuries, New York is known for its artist communities and the works they dedicate to their urban muse. But while Dublin has James Joyce, the debate continues over NYC’s greatest chronicler.

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