This post was written by Friday guest blogger Annie Reid.

Anne-Marie O’Connor hangs out with the acclaimed literati (“‘I’m 82 now,’ Mailer said to the poet, as if his advanced age was a surprise, even to him. ‘I’m 86!’ Ferlinghetti replied, as if he, too, couldn’t believe it”) and contemplates what the explosion of awards might mean for the reading public.

Whitbread Prize shortlist announced: Zadie Smith, Banville, Barnes out; Rushdie, Hornby, Ali Smith, Christopher Wilson and Rachel Zadok (discovered thanks to Richard and Judy) in.

British asshole – sorry, sorry, I meant “revisionist” – David Irving has been arrested in Austria under laws making it a crime to deny the Holocaust. While I’m too much of a die-hard free speech advocate to think this is a good idea, I must confess I did smile while reading the news.

Harper’s venerable editor, Lewis Lapham, is retiring.

MJ Rose talks about marketing erotica over at her blog. (Ripped off from someone – I think it was Bookslut.)