1. The Washington Writers Conference. DC’s premier authorial event (featuring Bob Schieffer, Alice McDermott, E.J. Dionne, John A. Farrell, Kathy MacMillan, Peter Cozzens, Caroline Kitchener, and others) is upon us! Click here to sign up RIGHT NOW or register tomorrow morning (5/5) at the door!


2. Terry Zobeck’s review of Fools and Mortals: A Novel by Bernard Cornwell. “I suspect Cornwell’s fans, who seek thrilling historical action and adventure, will be disappointed with Fools and Mortals, while new readers drawn by the Shakespeare connection will be disappointed by the shallowness of the characterizations and plot.”


3. An Interview with Richard L. Hasen. Kenneth Jost’s Q&A with the author of The Justice of Contradictions: Antonin Scalia and the Politics of Disruption scored big numbers last month. Who knew there were so many Supreme Court nerds out there?


4. Drew Gallagher’s review of Noir: A Novel by Christopher Moore. “In keeping with the noir style, there are many divergent plotlines that ultimately have to be tied up, and Moore’s solution — no spoilers here — is unique to the genre. But anyone who has ever laughed their way through one of his novels knows that unique is what he does best. The Good Book, Shakespeare, and now noir will never be the same.”


5. Julie Christine Johnson’s review of The Wild Birds: A Novel by Emily Strelow. “The novel weaves three separate strands of time and place: the Farallon Islands, off the coast of Northern California, in the late 1800s; the Willamette Valley in a two-decade span from the end of the hippies to the beginning of grunge; and the Mojave Desert in the early 1940s. Uniting these landscapes and eras is a silver box sheltering a collection of birds’ eggs — a talisman that carries with it the strength of a mother’s love and the fragility of hope.”

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