Musician Janis Ian beat out First Lady Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton, political commentator Rachel Maddow and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres for the “Best Spoken Word Album” Grammy award.

Ian narrated her own book for the win.

Audible released the audiobook edition of her nonfiction book, Society’s Child: My Autobiography, in June 2012. The hardcover print version of this book actually came out back in July 2008.

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The Grammy Awards nominations have been revealed for 2013.

Michelle Obama and Bill Clinton lead the Best Spoken Word Album Category for the prestigious music awards.

Follow the links below to listen to free audiobook samples of all the nominated audiobooks below…

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Author and The Rachel Maddow Show host Rachel Maddow has won the John Steinbeck Award.

Previous recipients included Joan Baez, Bruce Springsteen, Arthur Miller, Studs Terkel and Garrison Keillor. Maddow is the third woman to receive the prestigious award and the first recipient under the age of 40.

Thomas Steinbeck, son of the great John Steinbeck, had this statement in the release: “My father would have adored Rachel Maddow … Listening to Rachel Maddow is like listening to Walter Cronkite. We have that kind of trust in her. When I watch Rachel Maddow, I feel like I’m part of an alliance. I hope she’s in it for the long haul, because we really need her.”

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According to The Wrap, Arianna Huffington told unhappy bloggers “Go ahead, go on strike” at a conference yesterday–arguing that her site employs 183 journalists and that “no one really notices” the strike.

Here’s more from the article: “[Huffington] argued that blogging on the Huffington Post is equivalent to going on Rachel Maddow, Jon Stewart or the ‘Today’ show to promote their ideas. And, she said, there are plenty of people willing to take their place if they do.”

Earlier this week, Visual Art Source publisher Bill Lasarow called for unpaid HuffPo bloggers to strike. He stopped posting his publication’s content on The Huffington Post until the online site began to pay writers and separated editorial and promotional content.  What do you think?

It’s been one of the craziest weeks in recent memory for publishing. Here are a few highlights for your weekend reading pleasure.

In retaliation for a eBook pricing debate, Amazon removed the buy direct from Amazon button from many Macmillan books. In response, Macmillan took out a full-page NY Times advertisement (pictured) for “The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right” with a bold phrase at the bottom: “Available at booksellers everywhere except Amazon.”

More than 12,000 copies of a pop-up book written by comedian Ricky Gervais disappeared while in route to an Indiana warehouse–$240,000 worth of books are now missing.

We reported that Colum McCann will star in an upcoming documentary, and managed to shoot a short video about the novelist at a Granta party.

Friends and foes of MSNBC personality Rachel Maddow found out they will have to wait a little longer to read her book, as the anchor’s agent reported the book was delayed.

For GalleyCat Reviews, we began collecting a list of the most popular book reviewing sites on Twitter. Add yours before the directory is unveiled next week.

During the Fifth Annual America Booksellers Association’s Winter Institute Program, booksellers from around the country delivered a standing ovation for Macmillan’s stand against Amazon.

Finally, Tank Books turned a nasty habit into a winning habit–wrapping print editions of classic stories into cigarette packs that fit easily inside your pocket or purse.