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 ]
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Not only is the memoir by Solomon Northup now an Oscar-nominated film, but director Steve McQueen is encouraging schools to use the book as part of their units on slavery and the Civil War. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The organisers of the UK’s first YA literature convention has announced a range of authors... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The fifth annual Festival Neue Literatur begins in NYC on February 28 with a series of readings and discussions with German-language authors. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary agent David Godwin predicts that small publishers in India will soon be forced aside by monolithic publishing houses run overseas. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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British-Chinese author Xialou Guo, who was selected by Granta Magazine as one of Britain's best young novelists and was recently shortlisted for the Orange Prize, criticized American literature and also expressed concern that literature has become too ‘storytelling-driven.’ 'All the poetry, all... Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Korean literary agent Joseph Leo of KL Management says, 'Before asking why Korean authors fail to win the [Nobel], I want to ask them how many books you read a year.' Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At the Jaipur Literature Festival, UK-based Chinese writer Xiaolu Guo attacked English literature as overrated, while Jhumpa Lahiri praised translation. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Xiaolu Guo warns that English-language mainstream has warped a broader 'reading habit', on panel with Jhumpa Lahiri and Jonathan FranzenAmerican literature is "massively overrated", the award-winning author and film-maker Xiaolu Guo told the Jaipur literature festival – and fellow panellist and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2014 has been given to Cyrus Mistry for his novel... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Increasingly fixated on the stars of today, such as Hilary Mantel and JK Rowling, publishers are neglecting the experimenters who could save their industry tomorrow: the mid-list writersThe tickets sold out months ago. Long before the admiring reviews of the stage adaptation of Hilary Mantel's... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The unnamed protagonist in Jack London's 'To Build a Fire' gets into trouble while hiking in the frozen Yukon with his dog. Widely considered to be London’s best short story, 'To Build a Fire' captures the cold with painful accuracy. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jeremy Dooley created a new book--and an original font--to tutor tots on typeface.They say necessity is the mother of invention, but new parenthood isn't bad for coming up with new ideas either. "After my son was born, I found that his very simple books started me thinking about a lot of basic... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2014-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The unnamed protagonist in Jack London's 'To Build a Fire' gets into trouble while hiking in the frozen Yukon with his dog. Widely considered to be London’s best short story, 'To Build a Fire' captures the cold with painful accuracy. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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American author Kate DiCamillo has taken on the role US ambassador of young people’s... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An outstanding Irish writer of fiction will be chosen to promote Irish literature around the worldAs Ireland becomes the first country to exit the eurozone bailout programme, one of its writers can look forward to a period of prosperity with the creation of a laureateship award worth €150,000... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Stephen Hawking has gone to great lengths to promote science through books and videos, but he has been conspicuously absent in the software world -- until now, that is. The astrophysicist has just teamed up with Random House on Snapshots of the ... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When you’re shopping for gifts, try getting a recommendation from an actual human expert at your local bookstore, suggests Ross Ufberg of New Vessel Press. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Booksellers need to be careful when they assign a book a genre – as Costco learned when it categorized the Bible as 'fiction.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-11-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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US Circuit Judge Denny Chin says Google Books falls under fair use, while the Authors Guild calls it copyright infringement. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The print book business in Latin America remains dominant, but digital is rising. Are there lessons to be learned from the music business? Several Argentine music pros weigh in. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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