Jonathan Lethem has been tapped to fill David Foster Wallace's old teaching gig at Pomona College, while editor Sean McDonald, best known for his work on James Frey's A Million Little Pieces, is heading to FSG to take Lorin Stein's old job, as Stein helms the Paris Review.
Let the buzz begin; Tom McCarthy's forthcoming follow-up novel to his much praised volume Remainder, the one-letter titled C, has already caused a stir in the book world. That's in part because of Peter Mendelsund's striking dot-dot-dash book jacket. The Knopf designer chats with McCarthy and Casual Optimist blogger Dan Wagstaff.
Five Chapters has run an excerpt from Julie Oringer's forthcoming fiction, Invisible Bridge, every day this week. Now catch up on all five.
There are a bevy of book events on both coasts to keep bibliophiles busy this weekend. Out west, the LA Times Festival of Books has a stellar program planned, including "The Art of the Critic" panel, moderated by David Ulin and featuring poet and Bookforum co-editor Albert Mobilio, The Tyranny of Email author John Freeman, The Possessed author Elif Batuman, and Salon critic Laura Miller, author of The Magician's Book. Back east, The London Review of Book's 30th anniversary celebration in New York continues with "The Author in the Age of the Internet;" and starting on Friday in Brooklyn, 177 Livingston is hosting a three-day rereading of Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener," by the theater-collective Group Theory, featuring participants including Paul Chan, Lynne Tillman, and Vivian Gornick. We'd prefer not to miss any of them.
