Topic: Joyce Carol Oates

Jonathan Safran Foer: "I'm not so interested in the comforting kind of religion"

Jonathan Safran Foer spoke on God, prayer, writing, and film adaptations at Calvin College's Festival on Faith & Writing.

3 stand-out 2011 novels by award-winning writers

Three new works by three award-winning writers look at love, regret, and memory in this month's fiction roundup.

Nobel Prize in Literature 2011: The surprising top 4 favorites

The winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature – one of the highest awards a writer can receive – will be announced on Thursday. Here’s a somewhat surprising look at the top four contenders.

Syrian poet Adonis leads the pack in betting for 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature winner

Thomas Pynchon is the American author closest to top, but still considered a long shot with odds of 16 to 1.

Bestselling books the week of March 17, 2011, according to IndieBound*

What's selling best in independent bookstores across America.

Bestselling books the week of 3/3/11, according to *IndieBound

What's selling best in independent bookstores across America.

Bestselling books the week of 2/24/11, according to IndieBound*

What's selling best in independent bookstores across America.

J.R.R. Tolkien as fictional character – fair use or a step too far?

The Tolkien estate hopes to block the publication of “Mirkwood," a novel somewhat critical of J.R.R. Tolkien.

A Widow’s Story

After 48 years of happy marriage, Joyce Carol Oates experiences widowhood.

Who's your dead mentor?

Five reasons why an author from the past may do more to energize your writing than any of today's hip young marvels.

Joyce Carol Oates makes them laugh, makes them squirm, in Boston

Joyce Carol Oates was sometimes abrupt as keynote speaker and interviewee at the 2010 Boston Book Festival.

Alexander McCall Smith: the incredible productivity of a writer

Alexander McCall Smith has four books coming out in 2010 – the equivalent of "War and Peace" and then some.

Beyond Elmore Leonard: 10 rules for writing

The Guardian asked a cluster of well-known authors for their tricks of the trade. Some of their answers may surprise you.

Mentors, Muses & Monsters

Well-known writers recall the big names they encountered on the way up – both those that helped them and those that hindered.

"Thanks, Herta Muller!" The Nobel prize lifts a small press

The bets are on for the 2009 Nobel prize for literature

The Gravedigger's Daughter

Music's Spell

A pocket-sized collection of poems about the power of music.

Is writing really that painful?

Odds favor Amos Oz for Nobel Prize in Literature

"Art in America"

A sweet, scruffy antihero uses drama to heal a town.

"How Fiction Works"

America's top literary critic shares the secrets of the books he loves.