When the U.K. newspaper the Sunday Times outed J.K. Rowling as the author of detective novel The Cuckoo's Calling earlier this year, computer scientists were among the first people called in. Although the novel was published under the pen name Robert Galbraith, two computational scholars––including Duquesne University's Patrick Juola––were tasked with confirming or denying whether the novel belonged to the Harry Potter author, or one of three other possible writers. That Juola succeeded (his conclusions were later confirmed by Rowling herself) speaks volume about the the potential that algorithms and computer science can have, even with application to a field as notoriously subjective as literature. Which raises an interesting question: Can we use software to help us think about literature? Reverse Engineering J.K. Rowling To explore that question, we should first look at how the Juola cracked Rowling's writing style. To begin the process, Juola loaded 1,000–word samples of The Cuckoo's Calling in to his self–designed Java Graphical Authorship Attribution Program (JGAAP), along with several other texts, including The Casual Vacancy, Rowling's first post–Harry Potter novel. A freely available Java–based, modular program for textual analysis, categorization, and authorship attribution, JGAAP analyzed the texts on four different variables: word–length distribution, the use of common words like "the" and "of," recurring–word pairings, and the distribution of "character... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'
[ Fast Company | 2013-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
One of the country's top publishers has turned to a man from the editorial side to run its business. Michael Pietsch, the editor of Keith Richards' Life, David Foster Wallace's The Pale King and the many novels of James Patterson, has been named CEO of Hachette Book Group. Mr. Pietsch has headed... Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2012-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The success of 'Harry Potter, 'Twilight' and other has created a halo effect for the entire genre. And kids aren't the only ones doing it.For years, the book industry has been mired in debates about the plight of independent booksellers, the rise of Amazon and the fate of print as it struggles... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the market for a new e-reader? One could certainly do worse than Sony's Reader line. The company's been packing features onto its devices, and the already leaked latest entry is no different, with upgrades over its predecessor, packed into a newly redesigned body with bigger, better looking... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Fifty Shades of Grey' has passed the 'Harry Potter' books and 'The Da Vinci Code' to become the country's bestselling book. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J K Rowling will be appearing at two public events this autumn to discuss her first novel for... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If you’re a Slovenian fan of J.K. Rowling, and you’re eager to get your hands on the first available copy of her forthcoming novel, The Casual Vacancy, you’re probably going to have to read the book in English. This will also be the case in Italy, Finland, and several other countries. And the... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The final book in The Hunger Games trilogy is coming to the big-screen in two parts starting in 2014. Lionsgate Films announced today that The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 will be released November 21, 2014, and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 will follow on November 20, 2015. The... Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2012-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Little, Brown has released the cover for J K Rowling's first adult novel, The Casual Vacancy... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J.K. Rowling's 'Book of Spells' will allow players to wave wands and cast spells using Wonderbook technology. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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All the books in the Harry Potter series will arrive in the Kindle lending library – free for Amazon Prime members – on June 19. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harry Potter has joined the Kindle lending library.Amazon.com announced Thursday that on June 19, the ebook editions of J.K. Rowling's seven Potter novels will become part of the Kindle service available to Amazon Prime subscribers. Members can download a book for free once a month. Amazon's... Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2012-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Members of the Amazon Prime subscription program will be able to read "Harry Potter'' ebooks for free through the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, a move intended to encourage consumers to buy Kindle devices. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2012-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Major retailers are already discounting J K Rowling's forthcoming The Casual Vacancy by 50%... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J K Rowling's The Casual Vacancy is to be published in Germany by Carlsen and Ullstein,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J K Rowling's first adult book, The Casual Vacancy, will have a more traditional digital... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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JK Rowling's first book for adults will be a "blackly comic" novel set in an idyllic English town where all is not what it seems, her publisher says. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2012-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J K Rowling's new novel for adults is to be titled The Casual Vacancy and will be published... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Harry Potter theme park in Orlando, Fla., more than lived up to its hype for this fan. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The "Harry Potter" series, which has conquered mediums from books to movies, is finally available in ebook format. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The literary genre is white-hot in Hollywood, with filmmakers bidding on unpublished books and paying as much as $1 million for the rights to relatively modest sellers.The back-to-back blockbuster successes of "Harry Potter," "Twilight" and now "The Hunger Games" have turned the hunt for fresh... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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