Following days of rumors, Yahoo has acquired Tumblr for $1.1 billion. The press release made the new relationship clear: “Per the agreement and our promise not to screw it up, Tumblr will be independently operated as a separate business.”

Tumblr has served as a source of countless book deals and many writers keep work on the site. If you want to know how to build a better page, read our Tumblr Tips for Writers post with writing advice from Tumblr literary outreach Rachel Fershleiser. Here’s more about the deal:

With more than 300 million monthly unique visitors and 120,000 signups every day, Tumblr is one of the fastest-growing media networks in the world. Tumblr sees 900 posts per second (!) and 24 billion minutes spent on site each month. On mobile, more than half of Tumblr’s users are using the mobile app and do an average of 7 sessions per day … The deal offers unique opportunities for both companies. Tumblr can deploy Yahoo!’s personalization technology and search infrastructure to help its users discover creators, bloggers, and content they’ll love. In turn, Tumblr brings 50 billion blog posts (and 75 million more arriving each day) to Yahoo!’s media network and search experiences. The two companies will also work together to create advertising opportunities that are seamless and enhance the user experience.

The literary publisher and calligraphy expert Louis Strick has passed away. He was 87 years old, leaving behind a lifetime of books, art and writing scholarship.

Westport Now published an obituary about his long and varied career. Here is an excerpt:

In the late 1960s Strick began importing calligraphic art supplies, distributed through his Pentalic Company. By making special nibs, pens and instruction books widely available, Strick spearheaded a revival of the calligraphic movement in America;. He also established the Calligraphy Workshop, a school on lower Fifth Avenue. In the late 1970s, Strick purchased the Taplinger Publishing Company, bringing out works of literary fiction as well as volumes on modern art, reflecting two of his passions.

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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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