Center for the Book Publications List

Authors and Writing

Authorship in the Information Age: Reflections of Graziella Tonfoni (2013)
Author: Graziella Tonfoni; edited by John Y. Cole
Description: 27 p. Viewpoint No. 32. An unpublished discussion of research in the digital age. The manuscript, which includes quotations from the 31 previous Center for the Book Viewpoints, and accompanying research material are available in the Center for the Book office.
Links: News release (October 5, 2011)

Books in My Life (1985)
Author: Robert B. Downs
Description: 19 p. Viewpoint No. 14. Downs, a distinguished author and librarian, discusses the books which have had the greatest effect on his life in an essay published as part of the Library’s “Books Make a Difference” project.
Links: LC catalog entry | Full text through HathiTrust | LCIB coverage (issue 44.51)

Born to Trouble: One Hundred Years of Huckleberry Finn (1985)
Author: Justin Kaplan
Description: 23 p. Viewpoint No. 13. A lecture co-published with the Florida Center for the Book discussing the history of the censorship of Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” on the centennial of the book’s publication. Reprinted 1988.
Links: LC catalog entry | Full text through HathiTrust | LCIB coverage (issue 44.18)

Earth, Stars, and Writers (1992)
Author: Philip Levine, Orlando Patterson, Norman Rush
Description: 37 p. Lectures by poet Philip Levine, historian Orlando Patterson, and novelist Norman Rush, winners of the 1991 National Book Award. Part of The National Book Week Lecture series, co-published with the National Book Foundation.
Links: LC catalog entry | News release (January 19, 1993)

The Historical Novel: A Celebration of the Achievements of Herman Wouk (1999)
Author: Edited by Barbara A. Paulson
Description: 118 p. Remarks from a May 15, 1995 symposium and tribute to Herman Wouk organized and sponsored by the Center for the Book. Speakers included Robert Caro, Mary Lee Settle, George Garrett, William Safire, Martin Gilbert, and David McCullough.
Links: LC catalog entry | News release (November 23, 1999) | LCIB coverage (issue 58.12)

In Search of a Voice (1991)
Author: Charles Johnson, Ron Chernow
Description: 36 p. Lectures by novelist Charles Johnson and historian Ron Chernow, 1990 National Book Award winners. Part of The National Book Week Lecture series, co-published with the National Book Foundation.
Links: LC catalog entry | LC catalog entry for audio recording

Mr. Baldacci Goes to the Library: Author-Lawyer Writes Best-Seller Set at Library (April 2007)
Author: John Y. Cole
Description: Article from LCIB issue 66.4 (p. 90-91) describing the research and publication of Baldacci’s novel “The Collectors” (published by Warner Books, 2006), which is set in the Library of Congress.
Links: Full article | Video of Baldacci’s Books & Beyond lecture (October 17, 2006)

The Open Door: When Writers First Learned to Read (1989)
Author: Compiled by Steven Gilbar
Description: 125 p. Essays by 29 writers describing their first encounters with the printed word, published by David R. Godine in association with the Center for the Book.
Links: LC catalog entry | LCIB coverage (issue 48.49)

The Politics of Silence (1993)
Author: Paul Monette
Description: 21 p. Lecture by author Paul Monette, 1992 National Book Award winner for nonfiction. Part of The National Book Week Lecture series, co-published with the National Book Foundation.
Links: LC catalog entry | LCIB coverage (issue 53.3)

Public Lending Right: A Symposium at the Library of Congress (December 1983)
Author: John Y. Cole
Description: Article from LCIB issue 42.50 (p. 427-432) reporting on an international symposium hosted by the Center for the Book to study the merits and demerits of establishing a “public lending right” system in the U.S. that would compensate authors for the multiple uses of their book in libraries.
Links: Full article

Writing in an Era of Conflict (1990)
Author: Richard Rhodes, Thomas Friedman
Description: 31 p. Lectures by two National Book Award winners for nonfiction, Richard Rhodes (1987) and Thomas Friedman (1989). Part of The National Book Week Lecture series, co-published with the National Book Foundation.
Links: LC catalog entry