The Morning News Tournament of Books has us on the edge of our seats. Wednesday's competition—between the formidable novelists Hillary Mantel and Nicholson Baker—was a thrill (Mantel's Wolf Hall won by a nose). On Thursday, Marlon James edged out Victor Lavalle. And soon, we'll get to know the literary taste of motivational speaker and party rocker Andrew W.K. Place your bets now: the winner will be announced on April 5.

Referring to e-books, The Village Voice proclaimed, "OK, here comes the flood." In 2000.

Though best-known as a writer of high-minded YA fiction, Philip Pullman is

In publishing, it helps to know people in high places: Vanity Fair's interactive Bookopticon sorts out how ten up-and-coming authors are connected in the industry.

Pomona College is trying to fill David Foster Wallace's former teaching position. The top candidates—Chris Abani, Edie Meidav, and Jonathan Lethem—have infinitely large expectations to live up to.

But out your PJs: Tonight, Bookforum contributor Wayne Koestenbaum and Jeff Dolven discuss the "poetics of sleep" from bunk beds.

From an interview with Mary Gaitskill, in which she talks about literary film adaptations, the JT Leroy controversy, and Nabokov's The Original of Laura: "it’s a travesty to have published it. Nabokov was a perfectionist. I don’t even want to read it, frankly." (At

Emily Gould's Tumblr page is mainly devoted to cute kitties, but also contains what she swears is her last response to a book review, ever; a rebuke of Ana Marie Cox's review of Gould's forthcoming memoir And the Heart Says Whatever.

Does your favorite periodical pass the "droop test"?

Former Soft Skull Press boss and publishing guru Richard Nash's vision of the e-book future: Big publishers will disappear, but "long-form text-only narrative will continue to thrive."

OR Books has rejected Amazon's distribution offer. According to OR's Colin Robinson, "We can do a better job finding

Sherman Alexie has won the 2010 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for War Dances, a collection of short stories and poems. The highlight of the collection, the title story, was published in the New Yorker in August.

Last night's event at Brooklyn's Greenlight Bookstore bodes well for Beatrice.com Ron Hogan's new author-meets-blogger series. Novelist Victor Lavalle read from his excellent new book, Big Machine, and chatted with blog queen Maud Newton about "horror" in fiction, finding his character's voice, and his own childhood days spent skipping church to go to the arcade. We'll be back at Greenlight on Wednesday, when authors/musicians Rick Moody and Wesley Stace (aka John Wesley Harding) read from their recent work and play music.

Has the iPad been naughty? Apple has demanded that companies with early access to the tablet computer subject it to strict, dominatrix-style treatment: "The companies must agree to keep the iPad hidden from public view, chained to tables in windowless rooms." And—no suprise here—Amazon wasn't given an early iPad, though they plan to have a Kindle iPad app ready shortly after the April 3rd release date.

This morning at 10:30am, Susan Howe, BOMB’s Poetry Contest judge, will be live on the Internet.

The American Prospect explains why the National Enquirer shouldn't win a Pulitzer Prize

Apparently, penning manifestos is terribly fatiguing. David Shields recently dismissed novelist Myla Goldberg’s forthcoming novel, The False Friend, based solely on a short catalog description. "No offense to her; I haven’t read her work." When pressed by interviewer Edward Champion, Shields explained, “I’ve read enough of her other book. I’ve flipped pages. . . . I was like, ‘What does this have to do with the advancement of culture? You know, nothing.’" Is this an example of what Reality Hunger's catalog copy means when it boasts that "Shields takes an audacious

Bookforum's HQ is jazzed-up over the sunny weather, the arrival of our new print issue, and the apropos sight of Beckett in shades, sandals, and shorts. There hasn't been this much jittery excitement in the office since Stumptown coffee opened a few blocks away.

Signing Statement: Nicholson Baker's Flirty Fan.

Over at the Washington Post: "The least-accurate political memoirs ever written."

The evidence, provided by author Frank Owen, is conclusive: Gerald Posner is a "journalistic vampire." Advice for Posner: Don't threaten to punch Owen in the nose.

Amazon and Apple are in the midst of a high-stakes scrap over e-book pricing. Apple's iPad hasn't been released yet, but the buzz surrounding its hypothetical book app has reduced Amazon to drastic tactics.

Elizabeth Benedict, editor of the anthology Mentors and Muses, sums up her feelings about e-books in six words. (We need only two words, the

Why did Harper's web-wiz Paul Ford quit? The Awl's Choire Sicha investigates; talk of rats, sinking ships, and "consulting" ensues.