NYT Books

In this excerpt from “August Wilson: A Life,” the playwright, on the cusp of stardom, is polishing off his latest play, “Fences,” at the O’Neill writers’ conference.

“Have you ever smoked a joint and read Toni Morrison’s ‘Sula’ in a very hot bath, reveling in a single, rich paragraph for what feels like an hour?” says the novelist, whose new book is “Time’s Mouth.” “If not, may I suggest you try it?”

In W.B. Laughead’s 1916 logging industry pamphlet, a minor Midwestern folk hero underwent a major growth spurt.

In a widely read book, he detailed gruesome biological experiments on people at a secret Imperial Army site in occupied China before and during World War II.

The adaptation of the popular Nicholas Sparks romance novel, with music and lyrics by Ingrid Michaelson, had a well-reviewed run last year in Chicago.

For the children’s book creators Doug Salati, Brian Floca, Sophie Blackall, Rowboat Watkins, Johnny Marciano and Dasha Tolstikova, the light-filled space has become much more than just a place to work.

Some publishers balked at the title but, just shy of its first birthday, “I’m Glad My Mom Died” has stood the test of time.

Many writers are looking for ways to capture the everyday realities that the government keeps hidden — sometimes at their own peril.

As a journalist she covered issues affecting women, then turned to writing about housekeeping in handbooks and a syndicated newspaper column.

The move to acquire the publisher, one of the five largest in the country, comes after the government blocked a deal last year on antitrust concerns.