The 2009 Nobel Prize in literature was awarded today to Romanian-born German writer Herta Mueller (Müller). Born August 17, 1953, Mueller is a highly prolific novelist and essayist whose works portray the human destruction of the Romanian dictatorship and the rootlessness of the political exile. Her novels include “The Land of Green Plums” and “The Appointment.”

Russia's prominent filmmaker Eugeny Tashkov is shooting a movie about this country’s iconic writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

“No man was more foolish when he had not a pen in his hands, or more wise when he had”—Samuel Johnson.

It may sound like fiction or maybe satire but Australian writer Harry Nicolaides, 41, was sentenced today to three years in a Thailand prison for slandering the nation’s royal family.

Award-winning humor author David Sedaris issued an urgent plea today to locate the four French taxi horns used ninety years ago in the historic Carnegie Halll premiere of American composer George Gershwin’s symphony “An American in Paris” -- so they can be tooted once again this weekend to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the debut of what is perhaps Gershwin’s most famous work.

Gladwell: "People are experience rich and theory poor. People who are busy doing things as opposed to people who are busy sitting around, like me, reading and having coffee in coffee shops."

Michael Crichton, the best-selling author of such hits as "Jurassic Park" and "The Andromeda Strain," has died of cancer at the age 66, his family said.

Today’s MSN headlines let our friend Ben know that one of Silence Dogood’s and my favorite authors, Tony Hillerman, just died. Tony Hillerman is the author of a series of mysteries set in the Four Corners region of the Southwest and starring fictional Navajo Tribal Police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee.

It was a rare occasion in Los Angeles: a party for successful, world-famous writers without any screen credits. In fact, no screenwriters were invited. And it was an atypical location: a small, no-name restaurant on the edge of Hollywood, devoid of producers, directors, or paparazzi. Yet these authors – a group of serious writers considered by many to be a vanishing breed – seemed to be truly enjoying their opportunity to be with their peers.

"Infinite Jest" writer David Foster Wallace died of hanging himself, his wife reported suicide to police.

Nobel prize winning Russian novelist Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who was forced into exile for books strongly critical of the Soviet government, has died at 89. His son said Sunday Solzhenitsyn died of heart failure while Russian news reports said he suffered a stroke.

This year "Golden Apricot" film festival dedicates one of its anniversary programs to Armenian American writer William Saroyan’s 100 anniversary. Golden Apricot international movie festival will take place in Yerevan, Armenia July 13-20.