T.J. Stiles given nonfiction prize for his biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt.
Photo right: T.J. Stiles, author
The Associated Press electronically scanned the book, "Going Rogue," and, using software to highlight the most common words, created a "word cloud" that captures the book in a nutshell.
Blog: Artcetera
Stephen King called writing “a sort of telepathy” in which an author communicates with readers. And Audrey Niffenegger talked about eavesdropping in London.
From Sunday's paper
A mesmerizing master of the macabre, Stephen King finds inspiration for his 51st novel, "Under the Dome," in human frailty.
Five lovely stories about music and life from the beloved author of "The Remains of the Day."
1. THE GATHERING STORM, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. (Tor/TomDoherty, $29.99.) Book 12 of the Wheel of Time fantasy series.
Plans for some of the homes made famous in Sarah Susanka's "Not So Big" books are available online.
The Latest from the local scene
You might know Anthony Horowitz as the guy behind the BBC-TV series "Foyle's War." But kids know him as the author of the Alex Rider books, international best-selling adventure novels that have been called "the not-so-secret weapon" in getting boys to read. To launch his newest book, "Crocodile Tears," Horowitz has planned a series of events nationwide that allow kids to "be" Alex Rider by posing for a photo in front of a green screen and then uploading the photo to the Web. (And apparently the resulting pictures will look for all the world as if the kids are falling into the mouths of crocodiles.) The Twin Cities green screen event will be at 1 p.m. next Sunday at the Ridgedale Library, 12601 Ridgedale Dr., Minnetonka. Two autographed copies of "Crocodile Tears" will be raffled off.
Also ...
• If you've never heard Adam Hochschild speak, you need to get to the Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota on Tuesday. The author of "King Leopold's Ghost" will read at 7:30 p.m. -- and a graceful, intelligent speaker he is. He'll be there as part of the Edelstein-Keller Visiting Writers Series. Free.
•This week's literary scavenger hunt question: Which Minnesota poet ran for president five times and once said, "If any of you are secret poets, the best way to break into print is to run for the presidency"? This week's bookstores: Minnesota History Center Store, 245 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, and Lake Country Booksellers, 4766 Washington Square, White Bear Lake. Note that next Sunday's clue will not appear in the Star Tribune but you can find it online at http:// twincitieslit.wordpress.com
• First published in 1936, "Tales From a Finnish Tupa," by James Cloyd Bowman and Margery Bianco, has been re-released by the University of Minnesota Press. The Finnish folkstories were translated by Aili Kolehmainen.
• "Total Oblivion, More or Less," a novel by Twin Cities writer Alan DeNiro, will be published in December by Spectra.
News and views about Twin Cities arts and entertainment.

The poet comes home. A look, in words and video, at Minnesota's poet laureate.
See all 5 Books columns.
The new season: Five literary heavyweights are coming for the 10th season, with a theme of the big social novel. That’s certainly true of James Ellroy’s “Blood’s a Rover,” a giant political noir that tears into the conspiracy theories, eccentric behavior, paranoia and chaotic violence of the late 1960s. Read an interview with Ellroy in the Star Tribune Sept. 20, and see him live at the Fitzgerald Theater Oct. 7. Other big names in the 2009-10 lineup include Barbara Kingsolver (Nov. 11), Stephen King and Audrey Niffenegger (together on Nov. 18) and Monica Ali (May 19, 2010). All shows at 7 p.m. at the Fitzgerald Theater. Tickets are $20 per event ($18 for Star Tribune subscribers and members of Minnesota Public Radio and the Loft Literary Center) and are available through the box office at the Fitzgerald, 10 E. Exchange St., St. Paul, 651-290-1221. Season-pass buyers get all four shows for the price of three. Update: The King and Kingsolver appearances are sold out.
Here are some of Books Editor Laurie Hertzel's favorite sites and blogs. Got a literary link to share? E-mail Laurie.
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