Electric Literature is a quarterly that strives to offer literary fiction for contemporary consumers, via paper, blog, Kindle, iPhone, YouTube, Twitter and audiobook. Writers such as Michael Cunningham, Colson Whitehead and Lydia Davis have been featured.
Check out their Twitter feed, YouTube channel and Facebook page.

There's been a lot of controversy over the proposed Google Books settlement, with many players getting involved in the litigation, pro and con. Here's a good summation of what's happening, called The Google Books Settlement: Who is Filing and What are They Saying?

Twitter isn't just a way to keep track of what your friends and family are doing. You can also use Twitter feeds from writers to improve your skills. This page, from OnlineColleges.net, has tips and advice for business and creative writers, journalists and reporters, bloggers, even editors and proofreaders.

The Kindle e-book reader from Amazon has captured a lot of media attention lately. Here are some examples that describe the Kindle, provide some background and discuss content for the device: a Wikipedia page, a YouTube video and a blog called the Kindle Reader.

Book Glutton is a Web 2.0 site for books. After setting up an account, you can read a book online, add annotations and comments, chat about a text, join discussion groups and invite friends to participate. Here's a YouTube video to show how it works.

Just about everybody is using Twitter these days, including authors. Here's a page from the Mashable site, with links to the tweets of 100+ fiction writers. They're organized by topic, such as Children's and Young Adult, General Fiction and Mystery, Crime, etc.

Red Room is the website of the Red Room Writers Society. The site offers author information and blogs, book reviews, bookclub and book events, even videos and podcasts.

There's a lot of great blogs out there for writers of all types, including bloggers. They can help you unlock the creative process, provide encouragement, assist on marketing your work and let you know what other writers are up to. Some good examples are Writing White Papers, Top 100 Creative Writing Blogs and 15 Must-Read Blogs for Blog Writers.

Google's long-term project of digitalizing millions of library books reached a proposed settlement last year. Here's a description of the project from Google, a blog post that details the settlement and an editorial on the topic from Library Journal.

Videos are a great way to learn more about a book. While intended for promotion, these videos are often creatively shot and directed, with interesting music and graphics. Here are two websites that provide a sampling, AuthorBytes and Expanded Books.

Have you always wanted to write but never found the time? A First Pages writing workshop can help you get started. Offered at many Hennepin County Libraries in collaboration with the Loft Literary Center, classes are free and offered by Loft presenters. Topics include memoir writing, poetry, tips for getting started, creative writing for business writers, and more.

For anyone who's ever wanted to write a novel but needs a little help getting started: November is National Novel Writing Month at NaNoWriMo.org. Join thousands of participants in starting and completing a 50,000-word novel by November 30.

The 2008 Minnesota Book Award winners were announced on April 12: 

Genre Fiction
Thunder Bay by William Kent Krueger
Novel & Short Story
The Last Communist Virgin by Wang Ping
General Nonfiction
The Art of Subtext: Beyond Plot by Charles Baxter  
Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
The Florist’s Daughter by Patricia Hampl
Minnesota
Land of Amber Waters: The History of Brewing in Minnesota by Doug Hoverson
Poetry
Willow Room, Green Door by Deborah Keenan 

More information about the Minnesota Book Awards.

CliffsNotes and SparkNotes offer lots of free online literature guides, as well as study guides for other subjects, including history, science, business, psychology, and more. SparkNotes also offers free test preparation books and other materials.

Saturday, October 13, 2007 
10:00 am to 5:00 pm 
Minneapolis Community & Technical College

The Twin Cities Book Festival is a celebration of books and reading that is free and open to the general public. The seventh annual Twin Cities Book Festival will feature an Exhibit and Book Fair showcasing a wide range of publishers, literary organizations, booksellers, and more; Readings and Talks by renowned authors from near and far; Book Arts Activities sponsored by the Minnesota Center for Book Arts; Rain Taxi’s annual Used Book Sale and Literary Magazine Fair; and much more!

The Minnesota Book Awards winners were announced Saturday. Congratulations to Hennepin County librarian Maureen Millea Smith! Her novel, When Charlotte Comes Home, won in the Novel & Short Story category.

Other winners:
Readers' Choice Award
Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence by Matthew Sanford
Autobiography, memoir, creative nonfiction
Spirit Car: Journey to a Dakota Past by Diane Wilson
Children's
Tomorrow, the River by Dianne E. Gray
General Nonfiction
Shameful Act: the Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility by Taner Akcam
Genre fiction
Copper River by William Kent Krueger
Poetry
The Curator of Silence by Jude Nutter
Young adult
The Book of One Hundred Truths by Julie Schumacher

Learn more information about the awards from The Friends of the St. Paul Public Library website.

Celebrate poetry in April by signing up to get a poem every day in your email from Poetry Daily or Poets.org. Learn more about National Poetry Month...

The Minnesota Book Awards website has a great collection of resources for writers in Minnesota, including links to Minnesota literary organizations, publications, educational and funding opportunities, as well as national and other general resources for writers. From The Friends of the St. Paul Public Library website.

You can find lists of children's literature awards on KidLinks, including the 2007 Caldecott and Newbery Awards, plus more awards for outstanding books.