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Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is hitting the road to promote her new memoir, ‘Lovely One’
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is embarking on a high-profile, nationwide tour to promote her new memoir, “Lovely One.” Jackson, 53, is using the book, publisher Random House says, to trace her family’s rise from segregation to her confirmation as the first Black woman on the nation’s...
Book review: ‘Steel City’ novel a vivid journey through Pittsburgh’s industrial heyday
In the late 19th century, Pittsburgh was in many ways the center of the universe. From steel to electricity to food, the innovators and barons of America’s biggest industries called the Steel City home. In his debut novel, “Steel City: A Story of Pittsburgh,” William J. Miller Jr. transports the...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Aug. 9-11
After a long, rainy week, it’s time to relax and enjoy some downtime. From performances to parties, from celebrity appearances to festivals, Pittsburgh is jumping this weekend. Join in the fun with these events. Idina Menzel at the Benedum Center Broadway legend — and real-life Disney princess — Idina Menzel...
West Leechburg native pens trilogy of books about his international aerospace career
Most jobs don’t result in your car being destroyed by debris from an exploding rocket. But for Daniel Kovalchik, formerly of Allegheny Township, Leechburg and West Leechburg, a workday in 1997 turned tragic at Cape Canaveral, Fla., when the launch of an unmanned Delta II rocket experienced a failure, sending...
Ligonier Valley Writers invite public to picnic at Unity farm
The Ligonier Valley Writers are setting a new scene for the organization’s annual picnic this year. On Aug. 11, attendees will gather under a pavilion at the Jamison Farm in Unity for a feast of potluck dishes and local literature. After holding the picnic for many years at St. Michael’s...
Melania Trump to tell her story in memoir, ‘Melania,’ scheduled for this fall
NEW YORK — Former first lady Melania Trump has a memoir coming out this fall, “Melania,” billed by her office as “a powerful and inspiring story of a woman who has carved her own path, overcome adversity and defined personal excellence.” It’s the first memoir by Trump, who has been...
‘Hillbilly Elegy’ generates high interest at Westmoreland, Allegheny libraries
Since former President Donald Trump announced Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate, Vance’s memoir has generated attention at local libraries. The 2016 book, “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” tells the story of Vance’s family roots in Kentucky, his upbringing in Middletown, Ohio,...
Ernest Hemingway fans celebrate the author’s 125th birthday in his beloved Key West
KEY WEST, Fla. — Ernest Hemingway spent the 1930s in Key West, Florida, and more than six decades after his death, fans, scholars and relatives continue to congregate on the island city to celebrate the author’s award-winning novels and adventure-filled life. Hemingway Days started in 1981 with a short-story competition...
Here are 5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: July 12-14
From bombastic battle demonstrations to silent parties, a variety of events will be taking place around Pittsburgh this weekend. It’s always a good time to try something new. Find an activity to fit into your busy summer schedule here! Quiet Reading Party Haven’t managed to finish that beach read just...
Monroeville author goes ‘noir’ with 1st mystery novel
Don Ammon of Monroeville grew up writing short plays performed by other children in his neighborhood. By the time he graduated from Penn-Trafford High School, he’d read all 86 of Agatha Christie’s mystery novels and was ready to move to Devonshire, England, to do exactly what Christie was doing. That...
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer shuts down 2024 presidential talk but doesn’t hide ambitions in timely book launch
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is releasing a new memoir at a particularly fraught moment, both for herself and for the Democratic Party. Set for release Tuesday amid the frenzy over President Joe Biden’s recent debate performance, “True Gretch” won’t do much to dispel questions about her national...
What was the 1st ‘American novel’? On this Independence Day, a look at what it started
NEW YORK — In the winter of 1789, around the time George Washington was elected the country’s first president, a Boston-based printer quietly launched another American institution. William Hill Brown’s “The Power of Sympathy,” published anonymously by Isaiah Thomas & Company, is widely cited as something momentous: the first American...
Millvale author’s book dives into Pittsburgh’s storied boxing history
Douglas Cavanaugh of Millvale has been a big boxing fan since he was a kid back in the 1970s. By the early 1990s, he was deep into the sport’s history and writing about its present, getting his first story published in 1993. “I wrote about mob-controlled lightweight champion Ike Williams,...
A new ‘Hunger Games’ book — and movie — is coming
NEW YORK — Inspired by an 18th century Scottish philosopher and the modern scourge of misinformation, Suzanne Collins is returning to the ravaged, post-apocalyptic land of Panem for a new “The Hunger Games” novel. Scholastic announced Thursday that “Sunrise on the Reaping,” the fifth volume of Collins’ blockbuster dystopian series,...
Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont to host Washington County crime novelist
As a fourth-generation resident of Washington County’s Smith Township, author Annette Dashofy has spent her whole life in Southwestern Pennsylvania. It should come as no surprise, then, that the region’s rolling hills and bucolic countryside have served as the setting for many of her books. The latest, “What Comes Around,”...
Monroeville resident, optometrist adds ‘author’ to list of achievements
Monroeville resident Dr. Elisa Beth Haransky-Beck holds many titles, including optometrist, wellness practitioner, consultant, coach, somatic yoga instructor, educator and speaker. She founded Sustainable Monroeville in 2009 and Vegan Spirituality-Southwest PA in 2019. Along with several organizations, such as the League of Women Voters and Protect Penn Township and Trafford,...
Independent booksellers continued to expand in 2023, with more than 200 new stores opening
NEW YORK — Three years ago, Erin Decker was a middle school librarian in Kissimmee, Florida, increasingly frustrated by the state’s book bans and worried that she couldn’t make a difference remaining in her job. So, she and fellow librarian Tania Galiñanes thought of a way to fight back. “We...
German author Jenny Erpenbeck wins International Booker Prize for tale of tangled love affair
LONDON — German author Jenny Erpenbeck and translator Michael Hofmann won the International Booker Prize for fiction Tuesday for “Kairos,” the story of a tangled love affair during the final years of East Germany’s existence. Erpenbeck said she hoped the book would help readers learn there was more to life...
TribLive reporter pens book chronicling punk band Brainiac
In May 1997, an Ohio punk band called Brainiac, on the verge of exploding into popularity, saw their dreams deferred by the sudden death of frontman Tim Taylor. TribLive reporter Justin Vellucci wrote a comprehensive, engaging chronicle of the band in “Brainiac,” published by J-Card Press and available now through...
Soulful singer Michael McDonald looks back in his new memoir, ‘What a Fool Believes’
NEW YORK — Something stopped Michael McDonald from telling his story publicly — him. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer with multiple Grammys just didn’t think he had one. McDonald, a member of both Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers who became a singular soul solo artist with such...
Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world’s most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history’s most honored short story writers, has died at age 92. A spokesperson for publisher Penguin Random House Canada said Munro, winner of the Nobel literary prize in 2013,...
Book review: Anonymous public servants are the heart of George Stephanopoulos’ ‘Situation Room’
The biggest challenge for an author tackling the history of the Situation Room, the basement room of the White House where some of the biggest intelligence crises have been handled in recent decades, is the room itself. As a setting, it’s pretty underwhelming. In “The Situation Room: The Inside Story...
Murrysville library seeks area writers for local author fair
Murrysville Community Library staff wants to give local authors a chance to connect with local readers, and will host its first-ever author fair next month. “At the end of our summer reading program last year, the one thing we got a lot of was requests for more literary events,” said...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: May 10-12
Craving music? Good food? Some shopping? Don’t let the weekend go to waste. Here are a handful of fun things to do in Pittsburgh. Pittonkatonk Get ready to enjoy some free live music without boundaries. Starting at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Vietnam Veterans Pavilion in Schenley Park, Pittonkatonk is...
Jayne Anne Phillips’ novel ‘Night Watch,’ Eboni Booth’s drama ‘Primary Trust’ among Pulitzer winners
NEW YORK — Stories of race, slavery and the Civil War, real and invented, were winners this year for the Pulitzer Prizes. Jayne Anne Phillips’ “Night Watch,” a mother-daughter saga set in a West Virginia asylum right after the war, was cited for fiction. Jacqueline Jones received the history prize...


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