New Republic's New Owner, F. Scott Fitzgerald's Crack-Up, and More

Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—from publishing reports to academic announcements to literary dispatches—for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today's stories:

The New York Times has more on the Justice Department's potential lawsuit against Apple and several publishers over e-book pricing.

Meanwhile, paidContent discusses Apple's tactical response to the alleged conspiracy.

Chris Hughes, a cofounder of Facebook, has purchased a majority stake in the New Republic. The venerable magazine is almost a century old, and has published numerous acclaimed writers, including George Orwell, Virginia Woolf, and Philip Roth. (New York Times)

And at the New Republic, critic Ruth Franklin revisits Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, and ponders if the seminal novel is also about childbirth.

Academy Award-winning actress Reese Witherspoon has purchased the film rights to Cheryl Strayed's new memoir, Wild. (Strayed is profiled in the March/April issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.) (Oregonian)

Author and book blogger Andrew Shaffer tells the story of Kiana Davenport, a writer whose publishing contract Penguin canceled, which resulted in a returned advance. Davenport recently signed with Amazon's Thomas & Mercer imprint. (EvilReads)

For the American Scholar, author Patricia Hampl details how F. Scott Fitzgerald’s essays chronicling his mental collapse anticipated contemporary memoir.

In case you missed National Proofreading Day yesterday, GalleyCat explains how to check your grammar online.

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