Haruki Murakami has won the second Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. “The €35,000 (£23,000) prize, which is awarded to new collections published in English during the last 12 months, is the world’s richest short story prize.”
Tag: 09.25.06
Publishing Comics Online First, Then In Print
“For generations of Americans, comic books were the first real page-turners. But the audience for their digital counterpart, called Webcomics, has for the most part been limited to a niche group of comic book creators and their most ardent followers. Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, the chairman of Platinum Studios, a privately held California entertainment company that develops and adapts comics for other media, wants to change that. … Mr. Rosenberg plans to begin publishing Platinum’s comic books online before they go to press for traditional distribution through stores and newsstands.”
Thais Pressured Yale Not To Publish Book
“A new and comprehensive history of the Thai modern monarchy, written by an American journalist, Paul M. Handley, and banned in Thailand, argues that in his 60-year reign King Bhumibol Adulyadej has generally exercised a preference for order over democracy. … The book’s publisher, Yale University Press, said it came under heavy pressure from the Thai government not to publish it. The director of Yale University Press, John Donatich, said the pressure included a visit to New Haven by a delegation of Thai officials, including the cabinet secretary general, Bowornsak Uwanno, and the Thai ambassador to the United States, Virasakdi Futrakul.”
Incoming Equity Director Patrick Quinn, 56
“Patrick Quinn, a former president of the Actors’ Equity Association who was about to become its first new executive director in 25 years, died yesterday at his country home in Bushkill, Pa. He was 56 and lived in Manhattan. … His tenure was to begin on Oct. 5. He would have succeeded Alan Eisenberg, who has held the position since 1981.”
The Not-So-Great Side Of Shakespeare
“The proposition that not all Shakespeare is Shakespeare-great was put forward by Frank Kermode in his recent book on the bard’s language. Kermode came out and said what most audiences secretly think – a lot of Shakespeare is impossible to understand.”
Why Is Most Art For The Blind About Touching?
“This is not how people see a work of art; they can take in the whole of it at a glance. I feel I want the same. Perhaps this is a failing in me. Many totally blind people assure me that they can get an enormous amount from this kind of experience, both examining and creating it.”
Questions About LA’s Center Theatre Group Direction
Questions concerning Michael Ritchie’s “artistic vision for the Ahmanson Theatre, the Mark Taper Forum and the Kirk Douglas — three unique spaces demanding customized leadership — are mounting. Having begun with a promise to make the Ahmanson more a showcase for world premieres, he’s backed off in the new season with a lineup mostly of touring Broadway shows. As for his two other spaces, the message has been murky.”
Cantrell: Toronto Opera House Gets It Right
Toonto’s new opera house is a gem, writes Scott Cantrell. “Architecturally, the Four Seasons is generic modernism understated to a fault. But an inaugural Canadian Opera Company production of Wagner’s complete Ring of the Nibelung this month showed off well-nigh ideal acoustics for opera: almost eerily transparent but also spacious, with an even frequency response and a good balance between stage and pit.”
Art Smuggler Offers Mysterious Masterpiece In Return For Time Off
“A convicted antiquities smuggler has offered to return a previously unknown ancient masterpiece known as ‘Object X’ to Italy in exchange for reducing the jail time and fines he faces for supplying loot to U.S. museums.”
Mona Lisa 2
An early copy of Leonardo’s Mona Lisa is being shown in London for the first time in more than 100 years. “The reproduction is thought to have been traced from the original by a French artist, who has not been identified, a century after Leonardo created his masterpiece between 1503 and 1516. Copies of famous paintings were made in those days as it was often difficult to see originals and required long trips.”