Occupy by Noam Chomsky

"Easy to read, affordable, loaded with photos and practical advice for activists, "Occupy" is another vital contribution from Chomsky to the literature of defiance and protest, and a red-hot rallying call to forge a better, more egalitarian future....[an] excellent read." - Alternet

Google Lit Trips

Google Lit Trips are free downloadable files that mark the journeys of characters from famous literature on the surface of Google Earth. At each location along the journey there are placemarks with pop-up windows containing a variety of resources including relevant media, thought provoking discussion starters, and links to supplementary information about "real world" references made in that particular portion of the story

2012 James Beard Foundation Book Awards winners

Winners of the 2012 James Beard Foundation Book Awards include:

Cookbook of the Year: Modernist Cuisine by Nathan Myhrvold with Chris Young & Maxime Bilet (The Cooking Lab)

American Cooking: A New Turn in the South: Southern Flavors Reinvented for Your Kitchen by Hugh Acheson (Clarkson Potter)

Baking and Dessert: Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Britton Bauer (Artisan)

Beverage: Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes, & Formulas by Brad Thomas Parsons (Ten Speed)

Cooking from a professional point of view: Modernist Cuisine by Nathan Myhrvold with Chris Young and Maxime Bilet (The Cooking Lab)

General cooking: Ruhlman's Twenty by Michael Ruhlman (Chronicle)

Focus on health: Super Natural Every Day: Well-Loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen by Heidi Swanson (Ten Speed)

International: The Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfert (Ecco)

Photography: Notes from a Kitchen: A Journey Inside Culinary Obsession by Jeff Scott and Blake Beshore (Tatroux)

Reference & scholarship: Turning the Tables: Restaurants and the Rise of the American Middle Class, 1880-1920 by Andrew P. Haley (University of North Carolina Press)

Single subject: All About Roasting by Molly Stevens (Norton)

Writing and literature: Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton (Random House)

Cookbook hall of fame: Home Cooking and More Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin

2012 Miles Franklin Literary Award shortlist

Finalists have been named for the $50,000 Miles Franklin Literary Award, which honors a novel of the highest literary merit and "must present Australian life in any of its phases." This year the judges were authorized "to use their discretion to modernize the interpretation of Australian life beyond geographical boundaries to include mindset, language, history and values." A winner will be announced June 20 in Brisbane. This year's shortlisted titles are:

* Blood by Tony Birch
* All That I Am by Anna Funder
* Foal's Bread by Gillian Mears
* Cold Light by Frank Moorhouse
* Past the Shallows by Favel Parrett

2012 Arthur C. Clarke Award winner

The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers has been declared the best science fiction novel of the year and the 26th winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award. Published by Sandstone Press, the novel is set in a near-future world living in the aftermath of biological terrorism and the release of the MDS (maternal death syndrome) virus. Narrated by 16-year old Jessie Lamb, the novel follows her decision to volunteer for an experimental programme to carry an immune embryo to term, a choice she can’t hope to survive

2012 Orion Book Award winner

Author and biologist Carl Safina's The View from Lazy Point: A Natural Year in an Unnatural World won the Orion Book Award, which is given "in recognition of the book's success in addressing the human relationship with the natural world in a fresh, thought-provoking, and engaging manner."

2012 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for humour writing winner

Admired for its offbeat combination of neurotic humour, shocking violence and traditional Western storytelling, one of this year's most-talked-about books, Patrick deWitt's The Sisters Brothers, has earned the 2012 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for humour writing and TD Bank Group's $15,000 cash prize. The announcement was made at the Leacock Luncheon at the Mariposa Inn in Orillia, Ontario. Michael Hill, President of the Stephen Leacock Associates, pronounced the winner before a standing-room-only audience that included nominated authors, representatives from Canada’s publishing industry, honoured guests, sponsors and media

2012 Crystal Kite Winners

The Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators announced winners of the 2012 Crystal Kite Member Choice Awards for 15 regional divisions. The prizes are a regional complement to SCBWI's annual Golden Kite Awards, which are given in four children’s literature categories:

Africa: Finding Aunt Joan by Jenny Hatton, illustrated by Joan Rankin (Jacana Media)

Australia/New Zealand: The Last Viking by Norman Jorgensen (Fremantle Press)

California/Hawaii: Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku by Lee Wardlaw, illustrated by Eugene Yelchin (Henry Holt)

Southeast: Cleopatra's Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter (Arthur A. Levine Books)

Mid-South: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (Philomel Books)

Mid-East/India/Asia: Orchards by Holly Thompson (Delacorte Dell)

Midwest: Bluefish by Pat Schmatz (Candlewick)

Southwest: Black & White: The Confrontation Between Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Eugene "Bull" Connor by Larry Brimner (Boyds Mills Press)

New England: Pearl by Jo Knowles (Henry Holt Books for Young Readers)

New York: Thelonius Mouse by Orel Protopopescu (FSG)

Atlantic: The Absolute Value of Mike by Kathryn Erskine (Philomel Books)

Texas/Oklahoma: Mine! by Patrice Barton (Random House Children’s Books)

Americas: Witchlanders by Lena Coakley (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)

U.K./Europe: Dark Parties by Sara Grant (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

West: The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson (Delacorte Dell)

Palgrave Pivot

Launching globally in Autumn 2012 and publishing across the Humanities, the Social Sciences and Business, Palgrave Pivot introduces an innovative new format for scholarly research. Liberating scholarship from the straitjacket of traditional formats and business models, Palgrave Pivot offers authors the flexibility of publishing at lengths between the journal article and the conventional monograph

Barnes & Noble deal gives Microsoft Door to E-Books

Barnes & Noble Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are teaming up to create a new Barnes & Noble subsidiary that will house the digital and college businesses of the bookseller and include a Nook application for Windows 8. The companies said Monday that they are exploring separating those businesses entirely. That could mean a stock offering, sale, or other deal could happen