Michael Janairo

Category: News

  • Bringing the world to the U.S.

    It is no secret in the book world that far more books are translated into other languages than into English. Having lived in Japan (a nation that seems to devour far more literature than the U.S.) in my early 20s and then returning to the U.S., I’ve seen this firsthand — a marked provincialism of America as a symptom of the country’s complacency of empire.

    The NEA seems to be trying to help to change this with the first grants for translation, which were recently announced. The news can be found here.

    The National Endowment for the Arts offers the NEA International Literature Awards to provide American readers with greater access to quality foreign literary work in translation. The NEA conducts this initiative together with partner governments, with the first awards focusing on the literature of Greece and Spain. The NEA announces today that the 2007 award recipients are three nonprofit literary presses that will translate and publish a work from these countries and promote the book to American readers. The three American presses that each will receive a $10,000 NEA award are Archipelago Books of Brooklyn, NY; Dalkey Archive Press of Champaign, IL; and Etruscan Press of Wilkes-Barre, PA.

    As you could probably guess, $10,000 is a drop in the bucket, but at least it’s a start.

  • For lovers of mysteries…

    … the Edgar Awards has a new Web site.

    The Edgars are the top awards from the Mystery Writers of America:

    Mystery Writers of America is the premier organization for mystery writers, professionals allied to the crime writing field, aspiring crime writers, and those who are devoted to the genre. MWA is dedicated to promoting higher regard for crime writing and recognition and respect for those who write within the genre.

  • Nothing sells like controversy

    The AP’s top-notch books reviewer and writer Hillel Italie reports that the Newbery Award-winning children’s book that has started a controversy about the word “scrotum” — The Higher Power of Lukcy — has climbed the sales ranks at Amazon.com.

    His story is here.

    The blog Media Bistro weighs in on it here.

  • News of LA Times book review

    In what appears to be another sign of the downsizing of books coverage at daily newspapers, here’s a blog speaking about the transformation of a biggie:

    The LA Times book review section is a changin’?

    For further info, here’s a Salon.com article from 2001.

    Or check out this previous post of mine.

    And don’t forget National Book Critics Circle President John Freeman’s essay on why book reviews matter. The link is here.

  • The McCovert professor

    mcjob.jpg

    I recently got a notice about this interesting looking book from a University at Buffalo professor:

    Management Professor Uncovers Fast-Food Business Lessons
    “My Secret Life on the McJob” Chronicles Undercover Experiences at 7 Fast-Food Restaurants
    Jerry M. Newman, Ph.D.,
    University at Buffalo School of Management

    Author, “My Secret Life on the McJob”

    What really happens after you place an order for a Big Mac or a Whopper with cheese?

    Jerry M. Newman, Ph.D., SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor in the University at Buffalo School of Management, knows because he worked undercover in seven fast food restaurants across the country, observing operations from the top down — from the biggest management whoppers to the smallest fries at the fry station.

    Newman has chronicled his experiences in a new book, “My Secret Life on the McJob: Lessons from Behind the Counter Guaranteed to Supersize Any Management Style” (January 2007, McGraw-Hill).

    Newman’s book reveals what molds employees working for the country’s fast-food producers. In spite of the high turnover and repetitive tasks, the workers consistently produce, aren’t afraid of hard work and thrive under pressure. And the super-sized mega-burger companies boast steady profits in return. How do fast-food managers tease success out of employees to boost the bottom line?

    “My Secret Life on the McJob” takes readers behind the scenes at Burger King, Wendy’s, Arby’s, Krystal and McDonald’s — and serves up, with keen insights into management techniques, wise lessons that can be applied to companies with 6,000 locations, or just six employees.

  • Events for Thursday, Feb. 22

    Calvin Sims, of The New York Times, presents Headline: “Black Man Hails Taxi in New York”

    Thursday, February 22, 11:30 a.m., Stockade Building, Room 101. Free.

    Calvin Sims was named Director of Television Development for The New York Times in March 2005. In this role, he develops and produces current affairs documentaries and programming and serves as a liaison between the newspaper, its television division, the Discovery Times channel, and strategic partners. Sims joined Times Television in 2003 as editorial producer, after 18 years as a reporter and national and foreign correspondent for the newspaper, reporting from Los Angeles, South America, Japan, Korea and Indonesia.
    During his presentation, he will discuss racial perspectives in today’s society.

  • Book cover flap flap

    Media Bistro reports on authors upset with their publishers’ designs for book covers.

    Friday’s item on the novelist who rejected his book cover drew a response from another beleaguered St. Martin’s author, historical maritime mystery writer Joan Druett. On her website, she’s launching a light-hearted contest to see who can identify the greatest number of technical errors in the painting that’ll appear on the dust jacket of her next novel, Deadly Shoals, which we’ve reproduced below. (She includes relevant passages from the manuscript to give readers a hint about what to look for.)

    Here’s the link to Joan Druett’s Web site.

  • 2007 Tournament of Books

    Head-to-head action of big-titles in search of the best. Cast your votes today. Go here.

  • A poet speaks

    On his blog, Dan Wilcox gives a report of a poetry reading he gave on Feb. 17 with Mary Panza at the Behind the Egg reading series.

    With all the good-will energy of Dan Nester & Erik Sweet putting this series together why aren’t more poets there? Where are the poets who have already read in this series? Where are the poets who have been invited to read in the upcoming weeks (I know Joe was in Florida)? “Where Were the Professors?” is not just about the Professors anymore.

    The next event will feature R.M.Englehardt, Poet Essence, and Joseph Krausman on Saturday, March 17, at Point 5: 383.5 Madison Avenue, Albany, NY.