New York, February 24: Condoleezza Rice has struck a deal with Crown Publishers to give the lowdown on her story in print. The deal is reported to be worth at least $2.5 million.

Pennsylvania, February 1: Jan. 27, 2009 will be remembered as the date of demise of a writer, bard, novelist, columnist and critic - John Hoyer Updike.

Massachusetts, January 28: John Updike, the man of letters, known for his expertise in fiction, criticism, short stories, essays and novels died on Tuesday of lung cancer, in Massachusetts. He was 76.

New York, January 27: Neil Gaiman has received the John Newbery Medal for making the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature with ‘The Graveyard Book.’

New York, United States, December 29: The real life was in reality, reel life only! This is what best explains the cancellation of the release of Rosenblat's memoir, 'Angel at the Fence'. Scheduled to come out in February, the love story, which blossomed in one of the concentration camps during the World War II turned out to be bogus.

New York -- The National Book Award for non-fiction was bestowed on Annette Gordon-Reed in New York Wednesday night for her book, "The Hemingses of Monticello."

Gordon-Reed's book tells the multigenerational story of the family of Sally Hemings, a black slave owned by President Thomas Jefferson and alleged to have had at least one child by him.

In accepting the award, Gordon-Reed talked of "the journey that black people in this country have been on" since the Hemingses were owned by Jefferson, The Washington Post reported. With the election of Barack Obama as president, she added, all of America is "on a great journey now."

The fiction award went to Peter Matthiessen for his "Shadow Country," a 900-page novel based on Florida pioneer, murderer and murder victim Edgar J. Watson.