Great Regulars: [Mo Yan] also hit back at his fellow

Chinese author Liao Yiwu, who last year called him a "state writer" who failed to keep his distance from the government. "I know he envies me for this award and I understand this. But his criticism is unjustified," Mo told Der Spiegel, adding that since he won the Nobel, his critics "use magnifying glasses to look for my flaws and they even distort the meaning of my poems". One particular poem attacked by Liao, he said, is not praising a disgraced party official, but is actually satire.

from Alison Flood: The Guardian: Mo Yan dismisses 'envious' Nobel critics

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Robert Caro's "magisterial" fourth volume in his ongoing biography of Lyndon Johnson, The Passage of Power, took the biography prize, while DA Powell's Useless Landscape won the poetry award. The collection is "at once erotic and wickedly witty, spiritual and profound", and "captures growing up and also growing up gay", said judges.

from Alison Flood: The Guardian: National Book Critics Circle award goes to Ben Fountain

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Damian is not the first Robin to die. Dick Grayson's replacement, Jason Todd, was killed by the Joker--although he was brought back to life in 2005. "You can never say never in a comic book . . . Batman will ultimately always have a partner," [Grant] Morrison said.

from Alison Flood: The Guardian: Batman Inc. kills off Robin

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