BTW News Briefs

Kurt Vonnegut Dies at 84

Kurt Vonnegut, considered a key figure in 20th-century American literature, died April 11 at 84. He had suffered brain injuries resulting from a recent fall at his Manhattan home, said his wife, photographer Jill Krementz. Vonnegut's more than a dozen books, short stories, essays, and plays, including Slaughterhouse-Five, Cat's Cradle, and most recently A Man Without a Country -- offered elements of social commentary, science fiction, and autobiography via dark humor and satire.

Vonnegut was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, attended Cornell briefly and went on to study anthropology at the University of Chicago. His experience as a soldier during World War II, and being a prisoner of war, is thought to have significantly affected his later work, although Vonnegut had always denied this connection. His work was sometimes the target of censorship; some of his books were banned and burned for suspected obscenity. He took on censorship as an active member of the PEN writers' aid group and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Vonnegut is survived by his wife and their adopted daughter, Lily; three children he had with his first wife; and his sister's three children, whom he adopted after she died.

37 Libraries to Host the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Knight Bus Tour

On April 11, Scholastic announced the 37-library tour schedule for the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Knight Bus Tour. The Knight Bus, based on the triple-decker bus described in the Harry Potter books, will launch on June 1, from New York City. It will travel to 37 libraries across the country over a seven-week period, ending back in New York at Scholastic headquarters to kick off the release of the seventh and final book in the series at 12:01 a.m. on July 21.

In each location where the bus stops, fans will be invited to board the Knight Bus and share, on video, their thoughts and feelings about the Harry Potter books. Select video clips from each location will be uploaded for viewing on www.scholastic.com/harrypotter. Additionally, each person will receive a unique username and password so that they can view their own video online.

To view the complete Knight Bus current tour schedule (subject to change), visit www.scholastic.com/harrypotter.

Plimpton Prize Awarded to Benjamin Percy

On April 10, Graywolf Press announced that author Benjamin Percy's short story "Refresh, Refresh" was selected to receive the Plimpton Prize given by The Paris Review. The $10,000 prize is awarded to the best work of fiction published in The Paris Review in a given year by a new voice in American literature. Annie Proulx will be presenting the prize to Percy at a celebration on April 23 in New York.

Graywolf Press publisher and director, Fiona McCrae said upon announcement of the prize, "We are proud to be publishing a wider selection of his work, a short story collection, Refresh, Refresh this fall. These stories define the complex emotions of our society's relationship to the Iraqi war and the dramatic changes inherent to the modernization of our nation's last frontier."

The Plimpton Prize honors The Paris Review's longtime editor, George Plimpton, who presided over the magazine for fifty years, until his death in September 2003. The prize will be awarded annually for the best piece of fiction by a newcomer to appear in The Paris Review that year. Prior recipients include Malinda McCollum, Yiyun Li, and John Barlow. This year the Plimpton Prize committee of The Paris Review Board of Directors was made up of Peter Matthiessen, Jeanne McCulloch, and Robert Silvers.