Happy National Poetry Month! All throughout April, we interviewed poets about working in this digital age. To end the month, we spoke with writer Marilyn Singer.

Throughout her publishing career, Singer has written more than ninety books (fiction, nonfiction, and poetry) for children and young-adults. Check out the highlights from our interview below…

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The European Commission has approved the merger of Penguin and Random.

The Commission ruled that they were not concerned with unfair competition, “because the merged entity will continue to face several strong competitors.” This was one of the major hurdles facing the merger of the publishing companies owned by Bertelsmann and Pearson. Here’s more from the release: 

The Commission assessed the impact of the transaction on the upstream markets for the acquisition of authors’ rights for English language books in the European Economic Area (EEA) and worldwide, and on the downstream markets for the sale of English language books to dealers in the EEA, in particular in the UK and Ireland. The Commission found that on both types of markets the new entity Penguin Random House will continue to face competition from several large and numerous small and medium sized publishers. As regards the sale of English language books, the merged entity will furthermore face a concentrated retail base, such as supermarkets for print books and large online retailers for e-books, like Amazon. In addition, the Commission’s investigation revealed no evidence that the transaction would lead to risks of coordination among publishers in relation to the acquisition of authors’ rights and the sale of English language books to dealers.

Penguin Young Readers Group will publish a memoir entitled This Star Won’t Go Out: The Life & Words of Esther Grace Earl. The book will posthumously publish journal entries, fiction pieces, personal letters and sketches written by a fan of young-adult author John Green.

Green dedicated The Fault in Our Stars  to her and will write an introduction to Earl’s book. Her family and friends will also contribute photos and essays. In a blog post, Green shared her story:

I am so glad that I knew Esther, and that she was a nerdfighter, and that through Esther’s family and This Star Won’t Go Out we can still decrease suck with her. But I am also really pissed off that she died … Esther inspired the story in the sense that I was very angry after her death and wrote constantly, with a focus and passion I hadn’t known since I was rewriting Looking for Alaska in 2003. And Esther helped me to imagine teenagers as more empathetic than I’d given them credit for. And her charm and snark inspired the novel, as did her idea of incorporating an author she liked into her Wish.

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Penguin Group (USA)’s Viking imprint will publish Elizabeth Gilbert‘s new novel, The Signature of All Things, on October 1st.

Before the release date hits, the book needs “a face.” To resolve this matter, Gilbert and her publisher invite the public to vote for their preferred cover design. Visit Gilbert’s Facebook page to pick one of three choices. Please note that a deadline has been set for March 24th.

Here’s more from Gilbert’s announcement: “We are turning to you for this decision because, frankly, we were unable to agree amongst ourselves. (Anyone who has ever worked in publishing knows what I’m talking about here: Disputes over book covers can get REALLY INTENSE.) I got so tired of debating over ‘what the reader wants’ that I decided instead to just try asking you guys directly.” The image embedded above features all three covers–which one would you choose?

Blogger Josh Hanagarne wrote The World’s Strongest Librarian, a memoir profiling his journey battling Tourette’s Syndrome and finding solace as both a librarian and strongman.

Penguin Group (USA)’s Gotham Books imprint will release the book in May. We’ve embedded the book trailer above–what do you think?

Here’s more about the book: “Meet Josh Hanagarne. He’s 6’7”. He’s a librarian at the Salt Lake City Public Library. He trains with kettlebells. He has Tourette’s Syndrome. Books and strongman training have literally saved his life.”

Penguin Books will publish a new book from the British television presenter/model Alexa Chung in the U.S. in November.

In the book, Chung will will share her tips on style and things like how to decide what to wear. Titled, It, the book will include writing, drawings, and photos from the Fuse News anchor. The author will also share personal photos in the book. To get a feel for the types of photos Chung likes to take, you can check out her Instagram and Tumblr pages.

Here is more about Chung from the press release: “She is the recipient of numerous style awards, including the British Style Award, voted for by the public, which she has won three years in a row. She was recently appointed Young Style Ambassador for the British Fashion Council.”

Today Penguin USA released its year-end report, counting a $156 million operating profit for the year.

The publisher also gave readers a peek at Thomas Pynchon‘s upcoming novel, Bleeding Edge. Publication is set for September 17th. Here’s more from Penguin Press: “it is 2001 in Silicon Alley, New York City, in the lull between the collapse of the dot-com boom and the terrible events of September 11.”

In addition, Elizabeth Gilbert will also publish a novel in October, “infusing her inimitable voice into a story of love, adventure, and discovery.” In May, Charlaine Harris will end her Sookie Stackhouse series with Dead Ever After. (Via Sarah Weinman)

The Department of Justice has closed its investigation into the merger of Penguin and Random House, removing a major roadblock in the merger process. The publishers hope to close the deal by the second half of the year.

Parent companies Pearson and Bertelsmann revealed the news in a statement, noting that the DOJ ended the investigation “without conditions.” Nevertheless, the merger still faces scrutiny from other groups. Here’s more from the release:

The proposed merger is currently under review by the European Commission, the Canadian Competition Bureau and various other antitrust authorities around the world. Pearson and Bertelsmann continue to expect the transaction to close in the second half of 2013, after all necessary approvals have been received. Following completion, Bertelsmann will own 53% and Pearson 47% of Penguin Random House. It will encompass all of Random House and Penguin Group’s publishing units in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa, as well as Penguin’s operations in China and Random House’s publishers in Spain and Latin America.

Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, will be publishing a middle-grade novel called The Creature Department by Robert Paul Weston.

The author has teamed up with an Academy Award-winning special effects group called Framestore. Together, they have worked on “an array of visual assets” that will accompany this book on different platforms. This includes a special Creature Department app.

The Facebook page has more: ”The Creature Department follows the adventures of Elliot and Leslie as they help the incredible creatures of DENKI-3000 make a series of wondrous new inventions in an effort to save not only their factory, but all of creaturedom!”

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Hachette Book Group, Penguin and Simon & Schuster have launched Bookish, nearly two years after the site was first announced in May 2011.

The site will recommend books and let readers shop for books. It also shares book excerpts and features essays from its editors and authors (we’ve included some excerpts below).

According to Digital Book World sources, the publishers have invested “about $16 million” in the new venture. Bookish also counted the participation of 16 other major publishers, including Random House, Inc., Scholastic, HarperCollins Publishers and Perseus Books Group.

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