Maxim Biller
Maxim Biller’s pen is mighty sharp. The Berlin-based fiction writer and dramatist has become infamous in Germany for writing about the country from a Jew’s point of view. Critics both extol and denigrate his writing, and women—word has it—swoon when he
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Jared Cohen
At 26, Jared Cohen is probably one of a select few who can keep his job on the State Deparment’s Policy Planning Staff—where he’s the youngest member—and go underground in the Middle East, partying with Hezbollah members in Lebanon and checking out the
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Kevin Coval
Kevin Coval’s spoken word obsession began early, when he discovered hip-hop rhythms in his haftorah portion. Since then, he’s been honing his skills—writing radical, intelligent verse with working-class narratives—and giving intense live performances all
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Sloane Crosley
Sloane Crosley spent more than six years as a publicist for a major book publisher, baby-sitting authors during press tours and sending advance copies to cranky critics across the land. But this spring, Crosley hopped the fence with the witty I Was Told
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Rivka Galchen
After an acclaimed 2007 New Yorker story, Rivka Galchen, who has a medical degree in psychiatry, published Atmospheric Disturbances and Other Sad Meteorological Phenomena about a shrink who becomes convinced that his wife is an imposter. But it’s also about
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Sarah Glidden
Sarah Glidden has been kicking around the self-publishing scene for a couple of years, landing her first print review in Heeb’s Hollywood Issue and eventually, a deal with Vertigo Comics. Her latest mini, a black and white photocopied pamphlet bearing the
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Mitch Kaplan
In the age of Amazon.com and the muchhyped “death of print media,” Mitch Kaplan, proprietor of Books and Books, continues to defy doomsayers. His bookstore’s status as a cultural hub and bibliophile destination has caused countless A-list writers to brave
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Dan Nadel
Dan Nadel’s comics and artbook publishing company, PictureBox, produces gloriously psychedelic avant-garde-yet-enjoyable books and posters from the likes of punk-comix visionary Gary Panter, Paper Rad (a what-if-the-Muppets-took-acid-instead-of-Manhattan art
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Simon Rich
Simon Rich likes animals—he likes to get into their heads. Dalmations: “Hey, look, the truck’s stopping. Did they take us to the park this time? No—it’s a fire. Another horrible fire. What the hell is wrong with these people?” The 24-year-old comic
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John Burnham Schwartz
John Burnham Schwartz’s acclaimed latest novel, The Commoner, is told from the viewpoint of the Crown Princess of Japan. It’s a graceful performance, made satisfying by the author’s knowledge of Japanese history and his wicked way with plot twists. With
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