Rilla Askew published the essay “The Tornado That Hit Boggy” in TriQuarterly. Her latest book, KIND OF KIN, was published by Ecco on January 8, 2013.

Writer and artist Shelley Jackson (Patchwork Girl, Half Life, Skin) has launched her newest project, “Snow,” which was covered in the Los Angeles Times. “What would we do without Shelley Jackson?” asks David L. Ulin, Los Angeles Times Book Critic. “Snow” consists of a story inscribed entirely in snow which is available as a Flickr stream.

James Scott’s THE KEPT was featured on NBC New York’s “Bill’s Books” segment on January 14 and was called the “best book of the year” by host Bill Goldstein. It was also reviewed in The Toronto Star, which said, “Brooding and intense right up until the final paragraph…The Kept is a highly accomplished first novel and a pleasure to read.” Harper published the book on January 7, 2014.

Olivia Laing’s THE TRIP TO ECHO SPRING was reviewed in Vanity Fair, Slate, The Petoskey News, and People, which gave it 4/4 stars and called it a “beautiful, fascinating meditation.” Vanity Fair called it “an extraordinary journey” and said, "Laing’s blend of reportage, analysis, and self-discovery is to be savored.” Slate said, “Laing’s writing is beautiful, her insights frequently surprising and powerful.”

Danielle Steel has been awarded the prestigious French Legion of Honor joining other Americans who received the award such as Julia Child and Bob Dylan. Her most recent novel, WINNERS, was published by Delacorte Press on October 29, 2013.

Olivia Laing’s THE TRIP TO ECHO SPRING is a January 2014 Amazon Editor’s Best Book of the Month pick (Biography & Memoir). The author was also interviewed on the December 29, 2013 edition of the Inside the New York Times Book Review Podcast. Picador published the book on December 24, 2013.

Victoria Wilson’s biography of Barbara Stanwyck received a great review in the January 5, 2014 issue of the New York Times Book Review. The reviewer, Molly Haskell, praises Wilson for “providing context of extraordinary breadth, taking in not only Stanwyck’s life…but also the world through which she moved.” The author was also interviewed on the Inside the New York Times Book Review podcast. Simon & Schuster published the book on November 12, 2013.

Robert Hilburn’s biography of Johnny Cash reached the New York Times Hardcover Non-Fiction bestseller list for the week of January 5, 2014 and Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times called it one of her 10 favorite books of 2013, saying that Hilburn “writes persuasively about Cash’s trajectory as an artist — his place in a changing country music scene, his mythologizing of American life, and his eclectic influences (including gospel, blues and traditional folk).”

Ted Thompson’s THE LAND OF STEADY HABITS was reviewed by Publishers Weekly, which called the book an “acutely written first novel” and said, “Thompson is a master at dramatically pitting one character against another…[he] proves to be as keen an observer of this social scene as his literary forebears, Cheever and Updike.” Little, Brown will publish the book on March 25, 2014.

James Scott’s THE KEPT was reviewed on the front page of the New York Times Arts section and in Macleans. The Times praised the “author’s sparse, elegant prose” and said, “It is a haunting narrative, salvaged by precise language that never overreaches or oversells…The plot unfolds with a weighty languor reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy.”