In a Book Forum essay, Washington Post book columnist Michael Dirda argued that bestseller lists generally support established authors and rarely help lesser-known writers. Dirda offered this solution: “A writer can only be on the best-seller list once.”

Dirda (pictured, via) explained: “As a result, the list would stay fluid, avoiding the sclerosis caused by the wearisome reappearance, year after year, of the usual suspects. At the same time, readers would start to pay more attention to reviews, whether in print or online, if only to learn that a favorite author had brought out a new book. The best-seller list itself would be transformed into a showplace for the hot, the exciting, the deserving.”

The New York Times bestseller list currently includes Ann Brashares, David Baldacci, and Charlaine Harris. These authors have all enjoyed the NYT spotlight on multiple occasions. Do you think Dirda’s solution would benefit the industry as a whole?

Scholastic has partnered with SCVNGR, a location-based mobile gaming application platform, to create this is teen, a smartphone and Facebook-focused program to connect teens with some of their favorite teen fiction writers and books.

SCVNGR will develop book-related challenges at participating bookstores for this is teen users to solve with their smartphones; users will win points  and also enter prize sweepstakes. The Facebook page will launch on April 26th along with Meg Cabot‘s new paranormal trilogy, Abandon. The ‘this is teen Live‘ tour will hit New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, and Miami with authors Meg Cabot, Libba Bray, and Maggie Stiefvater starting May 24th.

Vice president of marketing Stacy Lellos had explained: “Our goal with ‘this is teen‘ is to create a destination and a community for readers—a virtual book club experience where the conversation starts with books. ‘this is teen‘ is about going where teens are and harnessing the connectivity of Facebook, the in-world exploration of SCVNGR, and the intensity that exists between readers and their favorite authors in order to create a fully interactive, reader-driven experience.”

This week Caroline Kennedy appeared at a New York City Barnes & Noble to celebrate National Poetry Month and promote the release of her new book, She Walks in Beauty: A Woman’s Journey Through Poems. Poet Sharon Olds (who has two pieces in Kennedy’s book)  joined her onstage.

Kennedy (pictured, via) explained why she took on this project: “One of the reasons why I worked on this book is because so many people think of poetry as a solitary art form; one poet writing alone and the reader far away. But, I think what we all see here today is that poetry can really be of value for a community … And since poems are meant to be heard, reading a poem really starts a conversation.”

Olds read several poems including “Leap Before You Look” by W.H. Auden, “to my last period” by Lucille Clifton, her own “High School Senior.” One fan requested “i carry your heart with me (i carry it in” by e.e. cummings, and Olds complied. Kennedy concluded the evening by personally reading “Chocolate” by Rita Dove.