For your weekend reading pleasure, here are our top stories of the week.

They included how The Great Gatsby changed Haruki Murakami’s life, a steamy book cover that generated strong sales and a viral bookstore sign (embedded above).

1. This Is a Bookshop Sign Goes Viral

2. The Cover That Launched a Thousand iBookstore Sales

3. Why Haruki Murakami Translated The Great Gatsby

4. Author Gives Fake Writing Assignments to Online Cheaters

5. Hyperbole and a Half Author Returns with Illustrated Essay on Depression

6. Free Sites To Promote Your Book

7. Successful query letters for literary agents

8. Bret Easton Ellis Addresses David Foster Wallace Comments

9. Tsundoku: Illustrated Definition of a Book Lover’s Problem

10. Best Writing Music of 2013, So Far

Science fiction novelist Matthew Mather led our Science Fiction Self-Published Bestsellers list with CyberStorm this month (he also spoke at our course for indie authors).

Our weekly self-published bestsellers list is often dominated by the popular genres of romance and erotica. In an effort to help GalleyCat readers find other kinds of independent authors, we will offer regular genre-focused bestseller lists for other kinds of indie writers.

To keep the list fresh, we’ve highlighted three top books from four different marketplaces. If you are an author, check out our new online course–finish your book with the help of bestselling independent authors.

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Here are some handpicked titles from our Coming Attractions page. Want to include your book? Just read our Share Your New Book with GalleyCat Readers post for all the details.

Buyer, Beware by Diane Vallere: “Out-of-work fashion expert Samantha Kidd is strapped. But when the buyer of handbags for a hot new retailer turns up dead and Samantha is recruited for the job, the opportunity comes with a caveat: she’s expected to find some answers.” (March 2013)

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Five writers have already been selected as candidates for the 2013 Nobel Prize, the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy revealed via a Twitter dispatch today. Who do you think made the top secret list of finalists?

The Nobel Prizes in other disciplines will be revealed between October 7 and October 14. “According to tradition,” the Nobel Prize for Literature date will be revealed at some point in the future. Here is the short and sweet tweet:

5 candidates have been selected for 2013 #NobelPrize in #Literature according to Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy.

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Pearson has laid off 19 employees, part of the publishing company’s ongoing shift.

When asked about the cuts, the company offered this statement:

Pearson’s businesses continue to shift from traditional print models to digital products and services. As our business needs have shifted, we’ve had to make difficult but necessary decisions about staffing. This week, we notified 19 employees that their positions will be ending with Pearson in the next month.  Thirteen of these employees are based in Upper Saddle River. We know that this is a challenging situation and we’ll be doing all that we can to support them through this transition.

Ever since we launched our directory of people looking for writers groups, we have found hundreds of writers looking for different kinds of writing support.

These invaluable groups can motivate you to write more, critique your work or even help you publicize your work.

To help our readers find support, we will occasionally spotlight a writers group looking for new members. If you are looking for an online writing group, you could try Australian Writers Rock! a giant writing community on Facebook.

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Jenny Han has inked a deal for her “semi-autobiographical” young adult novel. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers will publish To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before in April 2014.

Publisher Justin Chanda negotiated the deal with Folio Literary Management senior vice president Emily Van Beek. Executive editor Zareen Jaffery will edit the manuscript. Here’s more from the release:

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters…

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New York Times senior staff editor John Williams will write a new column for the paper’s Book Review called “Open Book,” providing “a window onto the literary landscape.”

You can also follow Williams on Twitter.

This column will replace the weekly “Up Front” column, but the magazine will include occasional pieces about the magazine’s writers and online material.

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A teenaged writer in Ireland has been published on stamps around his country. We’ve embedded the special stamp above, containing a complete 224-word story.

Composed by then 17-year-old writer Eoin Moore, the short short story was created in Dublin’s Fighting Words program for young writers.  Kids in the program submitted their work, trying to convey “the essence of Dublin” with just 224 words.

The stamp celebrates “Dublin’s permanent designation as UNESCO City of Literature.” You can purchase the stamp at this link.

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Cary Goldstein has been named the executive director of publicity and senior editor at the Simon & Schuster imprint.

Previously, Goldstein had served as publisher of Grand Central Publishing’s Twelve imprint. In his new post, he will manage the operations of the publicity department and oversee the acquisitions of fiction and nonfiction projects.

A number of other publishing houses also announced new hires and promotions this week…

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