In a dramatic series of Facebook posts, novelist Anne Rice declared that she is no longer a Christian.

Check it out: "I quit being a Christian. I'm out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of ... Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen."

Rice wrote Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession, a memoir about her own conversion to Christianity--making the post a bit more surprising.

In another post, Rice also admitted, "I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being 'Christian' or to being part of Christianity." So far, her posts have drawn nearly 2,000 comments and well over 3,000 "likes." (Via Gawker)

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Thanks to the magic of Facebook, our calendar is now packed with events around the country--find readings and signings near you in our regular Booked feature.

Author Michele Carlo is inviting the whole world to join her at two release parties for her book, Fish Out of Agua. The first will be in Brooklyn on August 10th (Tuesday) from 7pm to 10pm at the Powerhouse Arena. The second will be in Manhattan on August 25th (Wednesday) from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at the Tenement Museum.

The Annie Oakley Festival at Sailwinds Park located in Cambridge, MD will be having a book signing on August 7th (Saturday) featuring authors Judy Reveal, Diane Marquette, Hal Wilson, Jody Panzenhagen and Terry White.

David Jedeikin will be signing copies of his travel memoir, Wander the Rainbow, at Books Inc. located in the Castro District of San Fransisco, CA on August 12th (Thursday) starting at 7:30pm.

Urban fantasy author Harry Connolly is having a book signing event for his second novel, Game of Cages, at Magnolia's Bookstore in Seattle, WA on September 4th (Saturday) at 1pm.

To get your events posted, visit our Facebook Your Next Literary Event page for more information.

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After nearly eight years, independent bookseller Michele Lonergan is closing her Michigan bookstore, Tree House Books.

In August, the bookstore will host a liquidation sale, selling books at a 30 percent discount. Last year eastern Michigan lost a great independent bookstore when Shaman Drum closed in Ann Arbor. According to mlive.com, the bookstore was once named the best west Michigan bookstore by Lake Magazine.

Here's a sad quote from Lonergan: "We have some wonderful memories of standing room only author events and costume parties, and of course, our midnight Harry Potter events. The one thing the staff has agreed that we will miss the most of all is YOU,our loyal fellow book-loving customers. We want to thank you for your committed patronage, for believing in an independent bookstore when you could get your books cheaper at Walmart." (Via Publishers Lunch)

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Artists and Artisans new agent, Gwendolyn Heasley moonlights as an author and offers a unique perspective and empathetic ear for her clients. In today's interview she discusses exactly what she's looking for, why having an agent who is also an author is an advantage and the importance of self-promotion for her authors.

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What does an 83-year-old former Cuban president do during retirement? Publish your autobiography series is as good of an option as any. Fidel Castro is currently penning the first volume of his memoirs, The Strategic Victory. Barbara Walters interviewed Fidel Castro in the 20/20 episode embedded above from YouTube.

The Guardian reports: "Over 25 chapters Castro recounts, using maps, photographs and diagrams, how his outnumbered rebels routed the dictator and paved the way for their triumphant march into Havana on 1 January 1959. "The defeat of the enemy offensive after 74 days of incessant combat marked a strategic turning point in the war," according to excerpts from an article Castro published on a state website this week."

Earlier in the week, GalleyCat reported on two other world leader-turned-authors. Gordon Brown is preparing a tome on current global financial issues. Pope Benedict XVI has written a children's book entitled, The Friends of Jesus.

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What can the publishing industry learn from a bunch of DIY 'zine makers and punk rock fans from the 1980s? A lot.

Today's guest on the Morning Media Menu was rock journalist and publisher Ian Christe--talking about his indie press, Bazillion Points. Christe explained how his press assembled Touch and Go: The Complete Hardcore Punk Zine '79-'83, a collection of writing from Michigan-based punk fans. He also shared advice for aspiring rock writers.

He explained his fascination with zine culture: "There's something about the documentation of 1981 and 1982--what the look was. What these people were doing with scissors and tape and Xerox machines. Sometimes writing a record review and cutting and pasting each strip individually over a dark photograph of Elvis Presley--it completely decimates anything that can be done with Adobe Creative Suite. Everything we see now is so cool and stylized and slick. This was an elementary school teacher who was sneaking in at night to use the Xerox machine at school with sheaf of dirty papers in his pocket."

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In the Funny or Die video embedded above, actor Joshua Jackson staged a mini-festival outside Comic-Con to celebrate fan fiction writers who love his Dawson's Creek character, Pacey Witter.

During his satirical San Diego Comic-Con skit, Jackson read from actual fan fiction stories about his character. There are more than 1,000 fan fiction stories about Dawson's Creek on FanFiction.net, and most of them focus on his character, Pacey.

Here's more about the project from MTV: "For any fans that doubted the authenticity of this gathering, the actor revealed that the Pacey-Con fan fiction was the real deal, written by real 'Dawson's' fans. Unfortunately, Comic-Con security wasn't necessarily convinced: Jackson was thrown out of the San Diego event."

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CBS News and Simon & Schuster's Scribner imprint have teamed up to build an enhanced ebook edition of Rick Perlstein's 2008 book, Nixonland. It is Simon & Schuster's first enhanced eBook.

The new edition provides a unique solution to a dilemma for publishers--where and how can they find relevant video material for a satisfying enhanced eBook? The book will feature 27 video segments woven into the original text, CBS News stories that illustrate historic moments in the book. The text also includes a bonus interview between Face the Nation anchor Bob Schieffer and Perlstein. Available in the iBookstore, the enhanced eBook retails for $15.99.

Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy had this statement: "Since the first digital books were published, many have wondered when we would be able to add to the reading experience by exploiting the full capabilities of digital media. That moment is now, and we are especially pleased that for Nixonland, our first enhanced ebook, we are able to partner with our colleagues at CBS News to offer readers a book that combines to superb effect a critically acclaimed bestselling work with the gold standard of broadcast journalism."

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And the beat of self-published-to-book-deal success stories goes on. Author Raymond Bean never thought he'd have such success as a middle grade author. As a teacher, he was frustrated by the lack of books for boys and decided to create a book that he believed boys would read. The result? Sweet Farts and although some have criticized books like his as using the lowest common denominator to lure boys into reading, Bean believes books like these just might be the recipe booksellers and educators have been looking for.

In our in-depth interview with Bean today, he discusses his rise to success, how he bagged a top agent after years of rejections and his suggestions to other authors who want to follow in his path.

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Last night, with typical Amazon timing, Amazon unveiled a $139 edition of the Kindle eReader. It will be smaller, cheaper, and have higher resolution.

We liveblogged Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' appearance on Charlie Rose over at eBookNewser--follow this link to read our coverage to learn more about the new Kindle (pictured above).

Earlier this week, we showed you how to cover your Kindle with a newspaper case. If this price war strategy works, demand for those covers (and other accessories) could explode.

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Are you planning a literary event? Post the details on our Facebook wall so we can help spread the word.

We launched our Facebook page last week and started to build a directory of the best publisher pages on Facebook. Now we want to revive our literary events calendar--using Facebook to keep the calendar straight.

Visit our wall and add your event.

To show you how it's done, we posted about an upcoming Greenlight Bookstore event--the Blogger/Author Pairing of Marcy Dermansky and Lizzie Skurnick.

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That picture of a sleeping bookworm melted the hearts of publishing professionals, writers, librarians, and readers around the country yesterday.

New mother, copywriter, and concept designer Adele Enersen started taking whimsical pictures of her sleeping baby at the blog, Mila's Daydreams. Meet Enersen in this Offbeat Mama interview.

Here's more from the creator: "This blog is my maternity leave hobby. While my baby is taking her nap, I create scene around her and take quick snap photos. I use only few minutes per picture, including creating idea, implementation and editing, 'cause I don't want to disturb her sleeping and most of my time is for my family. My camera is small and inexpensive Canon IXUS 750."

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Publishing is a highly collaborative industry. Many will agree: behind every bestseller is a strong team of bestseller-makers.

Recently, some writers have decided to ally with several other authors in marketing efforts. One pioneer of this method is Daylle Deanna Schwartz, author of Nice Girls Can Finish First (2009).

She explained in a mediabistro.com article: "When I meet a writer I like, I reach out and offer what I know about promoting a book. Others do that for me. I'll invite someone to be a guest on my blog, 'Lessons from a Recovering DoorMat,' if their topic is suitable. Sometimes writers email me for advice and I can do the same... I've also gotten online contacts for sites that I can syndicate my blog to. These contacts are hard to find on your own."

Earlier this week, GalleyCat reported on Book Bloggers' Convention's directory of book bloggers. The rise of book bloggers' prominence proves to be an excellent marketing channel.

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Author and blogger Christian Lander has inked a deal to publish Whiter Shades of Pale: The Stuff White People Like from Coast to Coast from Seattle's Sweaters to Maine's Microbrews with Random House Trade Paperbacks.

William Morris Endeavor agent Erin Malone negotiated the deal with senior editor Jill Schwartzman. The book will come out this fall. Back in 2008, Lander's big book deal for Stuff White People Like raised eyebrows--but the title had a good run at the bookstore. Lander (pictured, via) is now working as a staff writer on MTV's animated series, Good Vibes.

Here's more about the book: "an hilarious 'Ph.D. in white culture,' featuring anthropological illustrations and regional breakdowns that delineate the seemingly subtle differences between white people across the US and all over the globe."

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Author Hephzibah Anderson appeared on The Colbert Report recently to promote her new book, Chastened: The Unexpected Story of My Year Without Sex.

This kind of stunt nonfiction has definitely proven to be a popular hit. A.J. Jacobs' The Year of Living Biblically explored life as an obsessive devotee to the Old and New Testament. Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project chronicled a year in a woman's life in the pursuit to increase everyday happiness. Anderson has worked at publications including Observer and the Daily Mail.

The Huffington Post has more about her appearance: "Anderson made her decision after seeing an ex-boyfriend shopping for an engagement ring and realizing no man had told her he'd loved her for ten years. She found that abstaining allowed her to discover what she actually wanted from sex and awakened her to how much pressure was being put on women to have sex without emotion."

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Here at GalleyCat Reviews, we are obsessed with the art of underlining passages in digital books.

After months of domination by William P. Young, Dan Brown, and the Bible, the hardboiled work of Stieg Larsson has finally cracked the top five on Amazon's Most Highlighted Books of All Time List. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo unseated Malcolm Gladwell, rising to #4 on the list.

This milestone comes on the heels of news that Larsson has joined Amazon's new "Kindle Million Club"--selling one million books on Amazon's device. Fans of Larsson have highlighted some fascinating quotes. 171 Kindle users have already underlined this sentence: "He surprised himself with this sudden burst of emotion after almost forty years."

Back in April, Amazon launched a "Popular Highlights" section that showcases the book passages underlined by Kindle readers--a 21st Century twist on literary quotation. Check out more strangely popular passages from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo below.

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Skyhorse Publishing acquired Arcade Publishing's assets at the price of $548,000 in an auction. Publishers Weekly reports that Skyhorse is "thrilled" with the addition of Arcade's list--which includes major authors like Octavio Paz, Samuel Beckett, and Elie Wiesel.

GalleyCat reported back in June 2009 when Arcade Publishing filed for bankruptcy. The company was founded in 1988 by Richard Seaver and his wife, Jeannette. After his death in 2008, the press struggled in the midst of the tough economic climate.

The article explains: "A Skyhorse spokesperson said the publisher is considering using the Arcade name for its more literary titles, but had not reached a final decision. The company will announce in the next few weeks when Arcade titles will be available to the trade."

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Carola Hicks, British historian and biographer, has passed away at age 68. Her resume included college professor, research fellow, museum curator, and of course, published author. She has published several nonfiction works.

Hicks first gained wide audience recognition for her 2001 publication, Improper Pursuits: The Scandalous Life of Lady Di Beauclerk. According to the Guardian: "[Improper Pursuits is] a gripping account of an 18th-century aristocrat, an earlier Lady Diana Spencer ... Carola's biography illuminated 18th-century artistic life and exposed the consequences of transgressive behaviour by women."

Hicks earned her PhD on "the animal style in English Romanesque art" at Edinburgh University. A Renaissance woman to the core, she enjoyed a plethora of interests including theater, ice-skating, gardening, photography, and botanic drawing.

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MSNBC political analyst and journalist Richard Wolffe has sold an untitled book about the Barack Obama presidency to Random House's Crown Publishing Group.

Publication is set for November 16, 2010--immediately after what promises to be a contentious mid-term election season. It will follow up on Wolffe's 2009 book, Renegade: The Making of a President.

Here's more from the release: "[The book] will be based on exclusive and extensive interviews with President Obama and White House Staff and will be an in depth study of the Obama Administration at work... The book will have a first printing of 100,000 copies."

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A lot of attention has been given to Kindle bestselling authors like Joe Konrath and Karen McQuestion who have struck gold by landing publishing deals. However, there are other routes to success for independent publishers.

Jeremy Robinson, author of The Didymus Contingency, self-published the novel and quickly became Lulu.com's #1 fiction bestseller and sold thousands of copies on BarnesandNoble.com. The hype landed him a literary agent at Trident Media Group. But his real success came after he decide to podcast episodes of his next novels, Beneath and Kronos. In today's interview, we talk with Robinson about why he decided to create self-financed audio books, how that lead him to a major deal and why he would do it all over again.

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