Fantagraphics co-publisher Kim Thompson has passed away.

He was born in Denmark, but moved to the United States in the late 1970s where he edited The Comics Journal and Amazing Heroes. During his tenure at Fantagraphics, he worked with a wide range of influential artists and writers. His obituary shared some of his life’s work:

Among Thompson’s signature achievements in comics were Critters, a funny-animal anthology that ran from 50 issues between 1985 to 1990 and is perhaps best known for introducing the world to Stan Sakai‘s Usagi Yojimbo; and Zero Zero, an alternative comics anthology that also ran for 50 issues over five years — between 1995 and 2000 — and featured work by, among others, Kim Deitch, Dave Cooper, Al Columbia, Spain Rodriguez, Joe Sacco, David Mazzuchelli, and Joyce Farmer. His most recent enthusiasm was spearheading a line of European graphic novel translations.

(Link via Sarah Weinman, photo via Lynn Emmert)

Dr. Yemonja Smalls has created a children’s book entitled The Day It Rained. The story follows a youngster named Jamelah and how she comes to learn about Alzheimer’s disease.

Smalls hopes to raise $10,000 on Kickstarter to cover the costs of printing, shipping, marketing, and planning a book launch event. We’ve embedded a video about the project above–what do you think? Here’s more about the project:

“The book offers unique opportunities for open communication with young people about what it means to love someone with Alzheimer’s. While aimed at the elementary school-aged crowd, It is my goal to use the book to touch the hearts of not only the children who read it, but their families and caretakers as well.”

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Actor Michael Sheen has signed on to read Neil Gaiman’s newly released novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

This reading will air in July on UK’s Radio 4′s  ”Book at Bedtime” show. In an interview with RadioTimes, producer Heather Larmour explained:

We wanted somebody who could capture the intimate tone of the narrator as well as the different voices involved.

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Exploring the public domain Kunstformen der Natur, writer Casey Dexter turned a gorgeous 1904 illustration into part of an eye-catching book cover.

If you are looking for public domain images for your next book cover, we’ve created a list of free resources below. In a Reddit post, Dexter explained how he used the free Microsoft Paint and Pixlr to create the complete cover. Check it out:

I should also give credit to Ernst Haeckel, whose beautiful Kunstformen der Natur is in the public domain … the large text is in century gothic and my name is in century. I don’t know if they’re actually related in any way, but the title was a challenge because of the two big Os – it’s hard to get a default font that kerns properly with vowels like that, and century gothic seemed like one of the best. Century just happened to fit in well with the illustration, I thought. Maybe I’ll eventually get to go at it in Photoshop or something, all the text was done in MS Paint because for some reason there’s a really small text size limit on pixlr.

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Thriller novelist Vince Flynn has passed away. He was 47 years old.

If you want to remember the novelist, you can donate to one of the charities that Vince Flynn supported. His books included American Assassin, Kill Shot and The Last Man. The AP published his obituary today:

Flynn self-published his first book, “Term Limits,” in 1997 before landing a publishing deal. “Term Limits” became a New York Times bestseller … He averaged a book a year.

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With combined print and eBook sales, novelist Sylvia Day has sold more than 550,000 copies of Entwined with You in its debut week.

The third novel in her Crossfire series has topped bestseller lists around the country, but it also sold more than 235,000 eBook and print copies in the UK as well.  The formerly self-published novelist landed a book deal with Penguin’s Berkley Books imprint last year. Here’s more from the release:

Entwined with Your debuted as the No. 1 bestselling book on The New York Times (in the Trade Paperback, eBook, and Combined Print/eBook categories), USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Barnes and Noble lists, among others … In addition, ENTWINED WITH YOU debuted at No. 1 in Ireland, Australia, Spain, Denmark and Brazil.

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Television host and author Bill Nye has returned with his Bill Nye The Science Guy app.

Twenty years ago, Nye launched that popular science show for kids, writing a number of books as well: Bill Nye the Science Guy’s Great Big Book of Tiny Germs, Bill Nye the Science Guy’s Big Blue Ocean and more. AppNewser has more about the app:

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of his television show, Bill Nye The Science Guy has returned with a free app. TVNewser senior editor Alex Weprin discussed the Disney app on the Morning Media Menu today, talking about Nye’s legacy and the features on the app.

Bedtime Math founder Laura Overdeck thinks publishers need to help kids cope with math anxiety to fix an “emergency” situation. She’s created a website, an app and a new book dedicated to making math more enjoyable for young children: Bedtime Math: A Fun Excuse To Stay Up Late.

While researching her “Allergic to Algebra” TEDx talk (embedded above), Overdeck discovered that out of the Top 100 books for kids on Amazon, 27 were about the learning the ABCs but only 9 were about learning the 123s. She explained in a telephone interview:

I think there are some books out there that make math fun for kids. Those books just aren’t making it into the bestsellers or the high rankings on Amazon. This is something I’m keenly interested in. Why are those books not bubbling up to the top? Some of it is publishers need to be open to fun math books and understand that this is so important.

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Novelist Tess Gerritsen has declared war on Alzheimer’s, trying to raise $25,000 for The Scripps Research Institute.

The disease took her father’s life, so Gerritsen has a powerful stake in the future of this research. Readers can donate for a chance to star in an upcoming novel by the thriller novelist. Check it out:

I’m declaring war on Alzheimer’s. This war can be won, and our fiercest warriors are scientists. They’re tantalizingly close to understanding the mechanisms of this disease, and how it can be prevented … Join me in the battle — and win a chance at a unique prize: to name a character in a Rizzoli & Isles novel! Won’t it be fun to see yourself (or someone you love) chatting with Jane and Maura on the page? You might be a hero, or you might be a villain — you never know!

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Investigative reporter and author Michael Hastings has died following a car accident. He was working as BuzzFeed’s correspondent-at-large and a Rolling Stone contributor.

Hastings was the author of The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America’s War in Afghanistan and I Lost My Love in Baghdad. Hastings made headlines in 2010 for his Rolling Stone article “The Runaway General,” a story that ultimately cost General Stanley A. McChrystal his command. At Reddit, Hastings shared this advice for writers:

Mainly you really have to love writing and reporting. Like it’s more important to you than anything else in your life–family, friends, social life, whatever … Learn to embrace rejection as part of the gig. Keep writing/pitching/reading.