TODAY: In 1937, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is published.
- To speak is to be misunderstood: Minna Zallman Proctor on parenting and parents. | Literary Hub
- On Stephen King’s birthday, 12 literary writers reflect on how the king of horror has influenced them. | Literary Hub
- Peter Cozzens on a history of violence and betrayal: a deeper look at the 19th century Indian wars. | Literary Hub
- Attica Locke on her roots, the blues, and cowboy boots. |Literary Hub
- “Prediction is dangerous: but The Hobbit may well prove a classic.” Read C. S. Lewis’s 1937 review of J. R. R. Tolkein’s first novel. | Book Marks
- Legendary New Yorker reporter Lillian Ross, famous for pieces like her 1950 profile of Ernest Hemingway, has died at 99. | The New York Times
- “Her gaze is clearly still the sensitive instrument it has always been, sharply attuned to the local particulars and the broader implications.” Dana Spiotta visits Joan Didion at home. | Vogue
- The Art of Fielding author Chad Harbach is being sued by writer and former college baseball player Charles Green, who alleges that Harbach’s substantially copies plot points from his screenplay-turned-novel, Bucky’s 9th. | BuzzFeed News
- Opioids and refugees: William Brewer and Javier Zamora on writing for damaged communities. | Literary Hub
- “The fact is, a river of piss runs through art history.” On a book investigating the popularity of the pissing figure in painting and sculpture. | The New Yorker
- When Oscar Wilde was an advocate for women wearing pants. | Atlas Obscura
- “There may be more to learn from the radical hopes of 1917.” Two new books offer an alternative vision of Russia’s October revolution. | The New Republic
- Disco and the disaster imaginary: Talking MacArthur Park with Andrew Durbin. | Literary Hub
- Chelsea Handler and Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards will both present special awards at next month’s Pen Center USA Literary Awards Festival. | Entertainment Weekly
Also on Literary Hub: Solving a 100-year-old murder mystery, the Rosh Hashanah dinner that sparked ten years of WWII research, and an excerpt from Alice McDermott’s The Ninth Hour.
