Give poets their privacy: Arvind Mehrotra

LONDON - Noted Indian poet Arvind Krishna Mehrotra has pleaded the poet’s right to privacy after an election for the Oxford University’s high-profile poetry professorship sank into chaos amid allegations of mud-slinging and conspiracy.

Alice Munro wins Man Booker International Prize

LONDON - Celebrated Canadian short story writer Alice Munro has won the Man Booker International Prize for 2009, beating a field that included India’s Mahasweta Devi, the judges announced Wednesday.

All-women Bhangra team steals Punjabi show in US (With Images)

YUBA CITY - West embraced East here as thousands mingled, ate and danced at the annual Punjabi American Heritage Festival.

Packaged politics is here to stay: Political Marketing in India (Book)

NEW DELHI - The recently concluded general election, in addition to being the world’s largest democratic exercise involving 714 million voters and costing over $2 billion, was also a marketing war, with political parties trying to woo voters with the latest media techniques and business strategies.

Anand Mahadevan’s novel inspired by 1987 train siege

NEW DELHI - Anand Mahadevan moved to the US from India when he was 17. But Tamil Nadu, where he grew up, stayed with him like a snapshot from childhood. Years later, the writer has managed to recapture some of it in his debut novel “Strike”.

Agatha Christie book with thickest spine breaks world record

LONDON - The world’s favourite detective fiction writer Agatha Christie keeps breaking world records even after her death. The latest record-breaker is the complete collection of Miss Marple stories with a spine that is over a foot thick.