Halloween is almost here, and all GalleyCat readers should be planning their literary costume ideas. Below, we’ve collected five obsessive and brilliant costumes based on books or comic books.

What’s the best literary Halloween costume you’ve ever seen? Share all your ideas at the handy #literarycostumes hashtag created by Random House last year. They’ve already started a Pinterest page and a Facebook conversation dedicated to more costume ideas.

1. Make a wolf suit like Max from Where the Wild Things Are. For the child in your life, you can honor the legacy of the great Maurice Sendak with a homemade kid’s costume from Running With Scissors (photo embedded above).

Read more

In 2010, novelist Neil Gaiman created the “All Hallow’s Read,” literary holiday, a night to give someone you love a scary book.

The writer explained the new tradition in the video embedded above–what spooky book will you share with your friends and family? Here’s more from the official site:

Author Neil Gaiman made a guest appearance in JL8 the past few weeks, sharing some literary wisdom with a grade school-aged Superman and Batman.

Check out the bi-weekly web comic in reverse order on Tumblr. However, you can read the whole Gaiman series by following these links (in order): JL8 #69, then JL8 #70, then JL8 #71, then JL8 #72 and conclude with JL8 #73

Here’s more about the comic: “‘JL8′ is a side project of ‘Gifted’ creator Yale Stewart. A weekly webcomic, it follows the adventures of popular DC comic characters as children in elementary school. Mostly funny, with a dash of pathos, it should be an enjoyable read for any fans of DC Comics characters as well as people who enjoy the traditional syndicated comic strip. ‘JL8′ is not related to DC Comics in any way, and is created for the sole purpose of entertainment.”

Author Neil Gaiman posted “A Letter from a Scared Actress” on his site. In the letter, actress Anna Gurji explained how she was tricked (along with a crew of other actors) into participating in the film shoot that became Innocence of Muslims.

The director (who is now in hiding) took a seemingly harmless science fiction script about a comet falling in Egypt and re-dubbed original dialogue with offensive commentary about the life Muhammad. The film has since incited anger around world, and the Gurji wrote “I feel shattered.” Here is an excerpt:

It’s painful to see how our faces were used to create something so atrocious without us knowing anything about it at all. It’s painful to see people being offended with the movie that used our faces to deliver lines (it’s obvious the movie was dubbed) that we were never informed of, it is painful to see people getting killed for this same movie, it is painful to hear people blame us when we did nothing but perform our art in the fictional adventure movie that was about a comet falling into a desert and tribes in ancient Egypt fighting to acquire it, it’s painful to be thought to be someone else when you are a completely different person.

(Via)

Somewhere in NYC, a cop is listening to an angry short artist in heels spewing obscenities in four different languages #freemollycrabapple

— Warren Ellis (@warrenellis) September 17, 2012

Artist Molly Crabapple was arrested during Occupy Wall Street anniversary protests today. She recorded the incident on Twitter. UPDATE: She has been released, tweeting a photo and this message: “There are other brave people in jail now who are going to need #jailsupport too.”

The arrest of the Marvel and DC Comics artist instantly earned responses from writers online, getting online support from Neil Gaiman, Warren Ellis and journalist Laurie Penny. Ellis even launched a #freemollycrabapple hashtag on Twitter. Crabapple recently used Kickstarter to fund Shell Game, an political work inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Here’s more from Ellis: “Interestingly, what evidently happens is that NYPD insisted everyone get on the pavement, and once they were on the pavement they were arrested.  What I am pleased about is that Molly’s arrest wasn’t one of the violent ones – because nobody in the NYC power structure gives a s*** about sending the message that they will beat non-violent protestors to show how devoted they are to preserving the peace of breakfast in the financial district – and that, frankly, she gets to see the inside of a black maria and a cop shop.  Because that is going to give her a wealth of new stuff to draw angry, in the mode of her Shell Game pieces.”

A gunman attacked Sikh community members worshiping at Sikh Temple of Wisconsin near Milwaukee yesterday and many wonder how they can help the community recover.

Novelist Neil Gaiman shared a link to an IndieGoGo campaign to help the Milwaukee community and the group has already raised nearly $40,000. Here’s more about the fundraising efforts:

We are raising funds publicly and non-anonymously to ensure that there are no concerns about accountability and transparency.  We anticipate that the Milwaukee Sikh community will require substantial financial support, as an adjunct to the warmth and respect that Sikhs and friends of Sikhs will provide all over the world. It will take some time before the precise needs of the Milwaukee Sangat are enumerated.  We plan to work closely with the local Sikh community and doctors to determine the best way to distribute funds. One of the organizers has direct ties to the Milwaukee Sikh Sangat and has partnered with active members to determine the best way to distribute funds.

Read more

Author Neil Gaiman announced the title of his new “adult-skewing” book via Twitter. The Ocean at the End of the Lane will be released in summer 2013.

According to Entertainment Weekly, 2013 will be a busy year for Gaiman. He will also be publishing a picture book called Chu’s Day due out on January 8, 2013. A second Chu book has already been written, but no release date has been revealed. Follow this link to check out some of Adam Rex‘s illustrations from the book.

William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins, confirmed the news on their own Twitter page.

Read more

In a video announcement at San Diego Comic-Con, Neil Gaiman revealed that he will publish a new book in his beloved Sandman series.

We’ve embedded last week’s video announcement above–what do you think? Gaiman will work with Batwoman artist JH Williams III on the mini-series that will launch in 2013. The book is currently untitled.

Gaiman explained the story: “When I finished writing THE SANDMAN, there was one tale still untold. The story of what had happened to Morpheus to allow him to be so easily captured in THE SANDMAN #1, and why he was returned from far away, exhausted beyond imagining, and dressed for war. It was a story that we discussed telling for Sandman’s 20th anniversary… but the time got away from us. And now, with Sandman’s 25th anniversary year coming up, I’m delighted, and nervous, that that story is finally going to be told.”

Ray Bradbury died today, but writers around the world are reflecting on this great author’s legacy. President, science fiction fan and author Barack Obama shared this tribute:

For many Americans, the news of Ray Bradbury’s death immediately brought to mind images from his work, imprinted in our minds, often from a young age.  His gift for storytelling reshaped our culture and expanded our world.  But Ray also understood that our imaginations could be used as a tool for better understanding, a vehicle for change, and an expression of our most cherished values.  There is no doubt that Ray will continue to inspire many more generations with his writing, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.

Read more

Should there be a ratings system for young adult books?

Brigham Young University professor Sarah Coyne studied the 40 YA books that topped the New York Times bestseller list in the summer of 2008, identifying 1,500 “profane words” in the books.

She explained her thoughts at U.S. News: “I think we put books on a pedestal compared to other forms of media … I thought long and hard about whether to do the study in the first place—I think banning books is a terrible idea, but a content warning on the back I think would empower parents.”

Read more