New Global Version Of EU’s ‘European Capital of Culture’

The World Performing Arts Capitals, a joint project of the International Theatre Institute and UNESCO, “twin a major metropolis like London or New York with a smaller city or town, similar to those selected for the European Capitals of Culture, or a major city with limited budget as found in Africa, Latin America, Asia and parts of Europe.” (Another report says that the first two cities selected are Shanghai and Wrocław, Poland.) – The Stage

Walter J. Minton, Publisher Who Dared To Print ‘Lolita’, Dead At 96

As president of G.P. Putnam’s Sons, Minton published such classics as Lord of the Flies, The Godfather, and The Spy Who Came In From the Cold, and he was “among the first to recognize the potential of mass-market paperbacks … But he was perhaps best known for books that challenged the nation’s prevailing notions and legal definitions of pornography.” – The New York Times

Where’s The Stolen Gold Toilet? There Are Few Clues But Lots Of Theories

“The police are still looking for the missing john — an artwork called America by Maurizio Cattelan — but, so far, they remain empty-handed. … Six people had been arrested in connection with the theft, only to be released later without charge.” Local residents have any number of ideas about what’s happened to America, and the common thread to all of them is that no one takes the incident seriously. – The New York Times

2019 National Book Awards Go To Susan Choi, Sarah Broom, Arthur Sze, László Krasznahorkai

Choi took the fiction prize for her novel Trust Exercise, while the nonfiction award went to Sarah M. Broom’s memoir The Yellow House. Winning the young people’s literature category was Martin W. Sandler’s 1919: The Year That Changed America; Arthur Sze’s Sight Lines took poetry honors. The award for translated literature went to author Laszlo Krasznahorkai and translator Ottilie Mulzet for Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming. – The Guardian

West Virginia Public Library Removes Gay Storybook; Author And Publisher Hit Back

Prince & Knight by Daniel Haack was pulled from West Virginia’s Upshur County public library earlier this week, according to local press reports, after a local church minister called it … ‘an intentional leading of children into sin.’ … [Haack said that] anyone concerned the book could ‘turn someone gay’ should remember ‘all the gay adults who grew up only reading about straight romances.'” – The Guardian

This Year’s Classical Nominations For Grammys

Andrew Norman’s “Sustain” earned Grammy nominations in two key categories: contemporary classical composition, where composer Norman will square off against Julia Wolfe, Caroline Shaw and Wynton Marsalis, among others; and orchestral performance, where the nomination went to the Los Angeles Philharmonic and conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who performed “Sustain” as part of the orchestra’s landmark centennial season. – Los Angeles Times