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Academy Award-winning actress Reese Witherspoon will serve as the narrator for the audio edition of Go Set a Watchman.

Cademon Audio, a HarperAudio imprint, will release the audiobook on July 14th. The print edition of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird sequel will be published on the same day.

Witherspoon (pictured, via) had this statement in the press release: “As a Southerner, it is an honor and privilege to give voice to the Southern characters who inspired my childhood love of reading, Scout and Atticus Finch. I am eager for readers to be transported to a pivotal time in American history in the manner that only Harper Lee’s gorgeous prose can deliver.”

Liz Smith, the “patron saint of literacy,” was unable to host Tuesday night’s gala at Cipriani in New York for Literacy Partners, the organization she helped found in 1974. Though Smith felt under the weather, her fellow board of directors, as well as honorees Robert Thomson and Barbara Taylor Bradford (pictured, at right), along with writers Tom Brokaw and Ali Wentworth (pictured, below), aptly filled in for her. Resilience emerged as the recurring theme of the evening, much like Smith herself.

Literacy Partners student Matthew Brown represented one of the evening’s highlights. The 75-year-old detailed his lifelong struggle to read, which he overcame with the organization’s help. He then sang his own resounding rendition of the Sinatra hit, “My Way,” to a standing ovation.

Taylor Bradford received the Lizzie award for her devotion to literacy in the U.S. and the U.K. She spoke about her prolific writing career, starting at a regional newspaper in England. “I had a little bit of toughness, even at age 16,” she said. By age 20 she headed to Fleet Street, and never forgot the lessons of needing to answer the \"who, what, where, when and why’s.\"

Thomson was honored for his philanthropy and commitment to the literacy cause, and joked that he also wants “numeracy partners for fiscally challenged executives.” On a more serious note, he spoke about the challenges that those who can’t read face every day, when words become enemies, leading to social isolation. “No one among us can always find the right words. Cracking the code of language is crucial,” he added.

Thomson also piqued the audience’s curiosity by bringing a book to the stage that he said was Harper Lee’s much anticipated ‘prequel sequel’, though it turned out to be her bestseller, To Kill A Mockingbird. “I’ve read the manuscript, and I think it will resonate,” he told the crowd.

Brokaw and Wentworth read passages from their upcoming books, both due out later this spring. Wentworth’s tale, Happily Ali After, describes humorous scenes from her life based on well-known sayings. She disagrees with the famous Love Story quote about never having to say you’re sorry. “Love has always meant saying I’m sorry repeatedly,” she said. An example: when her family planned a trip to Spain but upon arrival at JFK airport discovered that their girls’ passports had expired.

Brokaw’s forthcoming memoir, A Lucky Life Interrupted, recounts his deeply personal journey battling multiple myeloma, a treatable but incurable form of cancer. He spoke about first experiencing symptoms and then being diagnosed at the Mayo Clinic. “I went from the delusion of being ever young. It was a way of life that I couldn’t believe was slipping away from me,” he said. He ended on a more upbeat note now that his cancer is in remission, citing “renewable cycles of life.” The book concludes with these words: \"Life–what’s left–bring it on.”

(Photos courtesy of Billy Farrell Agency)

What’s the most popular book in Australia?

According to the results of Dymocks Bookstore’s booklover’s 101 survey, that honor belongs to Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief. More than 15,000 bibliophiles participated in this survey.

Here’s more from The New Daily: “This year 17 Australian books made the list, including AB Facey’s A Fortunate Life and Anh Do’s The Happiest Refugee…Ms Higgins said 35 books on the list have been made into successful films – including the recent Hollywood hit Fifty Shades of Grey.” We’ve linked to free samples of the top ten books below.

Free Samples of Australia’s Top 10 Favorite Books

01. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

02. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

03. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

04. Magician by Raymond Feist

05. The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien

06. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

07. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

08. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

09. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

10. The Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling

Harper Lee’s health has become the target of widespread scrutiny since the announcement of Go Set a Watchman. In response to claims of possible elder abuse, Alabama State Officials launched an investigation earlier this year.

The New York Times reports that the case “has been closed and no evidence of abuse or neglect had been found.” No details have been revealed the Alabama Human Resources Department is “prohibited by law from discussing the inquiry’s findings.”

The Alabama Securities Commission, one of the groups who also participated in this inquiry, had revealed their findings back in March and judged Lee to be mentally sound. Lee’s literary agent, Andrew Nurnberg, issued a public statement around the same time to denounce the accusations.

Harper has revealed the cover to  Go Set a Watchman, the highly anticipated new work from To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee.

The book will be available on July 14th and is currently available for presale on Amazon. It is a kind of sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird, however it was finished earlier. It features Scout as an adult woman, who has flashbacks to her childhood.

Alabama state officials opened an investigation following complaints about Harper Lee possibly suffering from elder abuse. The New York Times reports that Lee’s literary agent, Andrew Nurnberg, has issued a statement about this issue to denounce these claims.

Here’s an excerpt: “The fact that she is hard of hearing and suffers from some macular degeneration (entirely common for someone in their late 80s) has no bearing whatsoever on her quick wit or of speaking her mind on all manner of things. That she chose many years ago to lead a quiet life away from the world at large (the last time she spoke to the press was, I believe, in 1964) is her prerogative and should be respected. She was surprised when the manuscript, which she had presumed long lost, was found last August and she is both delighted and enthused that it will now be published.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nurnberg has been overseeing the negotiations for international rights to the To Kill a Mockingbird sequel. The Alabama Securities Commission recently announced that they have interviewed Lee; they found her to be both mentally sound and aware about the publication of Go Set a Watchman. This organization has cut off its involvement with this inquiry. (via The Associated Press)

Alabama state officials opened an investigation following complaints about Harper Lee possibly suffering from elder abuse. The New York Times reports that Lee’s literary agent, Andrew Nurnberg, has issued a statement about this issue to denounce these claims.

Here’s an excerpt: “The fact that she is hard of hearing and suffers from some macular degeneration (entirely common for someone in their late 80s) has no bearing whatsoever on her quick wit or of speaking her mind on all manner of things. That she chose many years ago to lead a quiet life away from the world at large (the last time she spoke to the press was, I believe, in 1964) is her prerogative and should be respected. She was surprised when the manuscript, which she had presumed long lost, was found last August and she is both delighted and enthused that it will now be published.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nurnberg has been overseeing the negotiations for international rights to the To Kill a Mockingbird sequel. The Alabama Securities Commission recently announced that they have interviewed Lee; they found her to be both mentally sound and aware about the publication of Go Set a Watchman. This organization has cut off its involvement with this inquiry. (via The Associated Press)

Harper Lee has become the subject of many debates since the announcement of her forthcoming To Kill a Mockingbird sequel. Many wonder if Lee had actually given her consent for the publication of Go Set a Watchman.

According to AL.com, the Alabama Securities Commission and the state’s human resources department have initiated an investigation to examine whether or not elder abuse has taken place. This inquiry was launched because a number of conflicting reports have surfaced about the 88 year old author’s current state of mental health.

Here’s more from The New York Times: “Through a HarperCollins spokeswoman, Mr. [Michael] Morrison said the company was aware of the state’s inquiry but had not been contacted by investigators. Andrew Nurnberg, the agent handling international rights for Watchman, has brushed off reports that Ms. Lee is somehow being taken advantage of as ‘nonsense.'”

Author Harper Lee is “happy as hell” about the publication of her second novel. HarperCollins issued a statement from the author’s attorney in which shared Lee’s response to her upcoming book Go Set a Watchman.

The Associated Press has the scoop:

In the statement given to the publisher by Lee’s attorney, Tonja Carter, the author says “she is alive and kicking and happy as hell with the reactions of ‘Watchman.'”

Lee revealed plans to publish the new book this week and the sequel to “To Kill a Mockingbird” came out in 1960. Since then, presages for the book shot up to No. 1 on Amazon.

HarperCollins announced that a sequel for Harper Lee’s beloved novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. One day after this revelation, the book, entitled Go Set a Watchman, has claimed the No. 1 spot on the Amazon Best Seller list. Readers will have to wait until the July 14th release to meet the adult Scout Finch.

Hugh Van Dusen, Lee’s editor at HarperCollins, sat for an interview with Vulture to discuss the forthcoming book. Van Dusen confirmed that it was written before To Kill a Mockingbird and that the manuscript will likely be published as Lee wrote it back in the 1950’s. He also came to Lee’s defense and quashed the rumor that she is a recluse. He feels that people confuse Lee’s infamous distaste for publicity with a predilection for solitude.

Van Dusen explained: “There’s this rumor about her that’s been prevalent for decades that she’s a recluse, which is absolute nonsense. She’s not a recluse. When my wife and I went to visit her in hospital after the stroke to see her, the room was filled with wonderful women friends of Nelle’s who were all caring for her and helping her and comforting her. She’s not a recluse at all.”

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Harper Lee has revealed plans to publish a second book.

The To Kill a Mockingbird author revealed today that Harper would publish Go Set a Watchman this year. The book will be available on July 14th and is currently available for presale on Amazon.

The book is a kind of sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird, however it was finished earlier. “In the mid-1950s, I completed a novel called ‘Go Set a Watchman,'” stated Lee. “It features the character known as Scout as an adult woman, and I thought it a pretty decent effort. My editor, who was taken by the flashbacks to Scout’s childhood, persuaded me to write a novel (what became `To Kill a Mockingbird’) from the point of view of the young Scout.  I was a first-time writer, so I did as I was told.”

Will You Read Harper Lee’s New Book?

What fiction books do you typically like to recommend? Designer David McCandless created an infographic called “Novels Everyone Should Read” for his new book, Knowledge is Beautiful.

Some of the titles featured in this image include To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, and Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. We’ve embedded the entire graphic below for you to explore further. (via The Huffington Post)
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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

BookVibe has examined 80 million Twitter posts from the past 12 months. Quartz reports that the data shows that the most popular book on the Twittersphere is The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

Green’s hit young adult novel was mentioned in 1.2 million tweets. The books that made it onto the top 10 list are a mix of recently published hit titles and classic icons of literature; several of them have inspired highly successful film adaptations.

According to the article, “recent research suggests that film adaptations of books have the ability to influence people to read, so while critics may bemoan the latest adaptation of a book for the silver screen, the halo effect does increase the book’s readership which, at the end of it all, is exactly what the author wants.” Below, we’ve featured the full top 10 list—what do you think?

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Have you ever made a bucket list for books? Gumtree.com has created an infographic called “12 Books You Should Read Before You Die.”

Some of the classic titles being featured include The Catcher in The Rye by J.D. Salinger, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. We’ve embedded the entire graphic after the jump for you to explore further. (via The Mile Long Bookshelf)
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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

HarperCollins has published an enhanced eBook edition of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.

The company released the normal To Kill a Mockingbird eBook back in July 2014. The enhancement features on this digital book include a radio interview with Lee, footage from the 1962 film adaptation, audiobook clips performed by Sissy Spacek, and snippets from the Hey Boo documentary with appearances from Oprah Winfrey, Tom Brokaw, and Anna Quindlen.

According to The Associated Press, “HarperCollins spokeswoman Tina Andreadis says the new Mockingbird edition had received 6,500 pre-orders, far more than for the usual ‘enhanced’ book. She says the publisher has sold 80,000 copies of the regular eBook, a figure comparable to print sales. Total worldwide sales exceed 30 million copies since the book’s 1960 release. Both eBook editions are priced at $8.99.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Banned Book Week started yesterday.

For those of you who don’t know,

“Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.” –American Library Association

Here at Lee & Low Books, we’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite banned/challenged titles (in no particular order).

1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee – banned for use of racial slurs and profanity.
2. Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling – banned for depictions of witchcraft and wizardry/the occult.
3. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie – banned for racism, sexually explicit language, and profanity.
4. The Kite Runner by Khaleid Hosseini– banned for depictions of homosexuality, profanity, religious viewpoints, and sexual content.
5. Our Bodies, Ourselves by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective – banned for language and “promoting homosexuality.”
6. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck– banned for profanity and sexual references.
7. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’engle – banned for offensive language and use of magic.
8. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury – banned for language. 
9. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck – banned for profanity, racial slurs, and “blasphemous language”,
10. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley – banned for sexual content.
11. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky – banned for drug usage, sexually explicit content and unsuited to age group
12. Summer of my German Soldier by Bette Greene – banned for language and racism.
13. The Giver by Lois Lowry – banned for “religious view point, suicide, unsuited to age group, and sexually explicit content.”
14. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – banned for “violence, sexually explicit content, and being unsuited to the age group.”
15. Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich– banned for “drugs, inaccurate, offensive language, political viewpoint, and religious viewpoint”
16. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things by Carolyn Mackler – banned for “offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group.”

Here are some other resources for Banned Book Week:

ALA: Frequently Challenged Books of the 21st century

Banned Books that Shaped America

Book Challenges Suppress Diversity

When Harper Lee was asked what advice she’d give a young writer, she wrote: “Well, the first advice I would give is this: hope for the best and expect nothing. Then you won’t be disappointed.” And she went on to say: “You must come to terms with yourself about writing. You must not write “for” something, you must not write with definite hopes of reward. People who write for reward by way of

Children notice and point out differences all the time, and it’s natural. But hopefully as we mature, we learn that all individuals are unique and that everyone is “different.”

While To Kill a Mockingbird is a favorite book of pretty much everyone who has read it, it's important to remember that it continues to be subversive and challenging to the status quo. The protagonist is a young girl named Scout and except for her father, all the main characters in the book are marginalized [...]

Author Harper Lee's lawsuit against the Monroe County Heritage Museum has ended. A federal judge on terminated the dispute on Thursday in an agreement that has not been made public. The Guardian has the scoop: "In a statement, museum attorney Matthew Goforth said the agreement was confidential. He apologized on behalf of the museum for any suggestion 'that Miss Lee is not in control of her own business affairs', as some have publicly suggested. 'To the extent that such an inference has been made, that inference is not proper and it is the museum's opinion that Miss Lee is very much in control of her business affairs,' the statement said." Lee filed a lawsuit against the museum claiming that they used her book To Kill a Mockingbird to profit through the sale of souvenirs and even using her book's title as their web address.  

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Naming a novel is painstaking, agonizing, delicate. But does the title matter? It certainly feels consequential to the author. After several years' battle with your laptop keyboard, after 100,000 words placed so deliberately, you must distill everything into a phrase brief enough to run down the spine of a book. Should it be descriptive? Perhaps [...]

Ridley Pearson is a New York Times best-selling author with over 45 novels published in 22 languages in 70 countries. He has had his novels adapted to both network television and the stage. Ridley has earned a reputation for writing fiction that "grips the imagination."

Harper Lee has come around on eBooks, and will finally allow To Kill a Mockingbird to be published digitally.

“I’m still old-fashioned. I love dusty old books and libraries. I am amazed and humbled that Mockingbird has survived this long. This is Mockingbird for a new generation,” she explained in a statement. Harper Collins will be publish the eBook on July 8th.

The news comes a year after Lee sued her literary agent for alleging that he received undeserved royalties from her book. The suit was settled in September. (Via The Guardian).

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

#1.#2.#3.#4.#5.#6.#7.#8.#9.#10.Alex Palmer

This piece originally ran in Writer’s Digest magazine. For more from WD, check out the latest issue