IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Book of Morrison quotations is coming out in December
NEW YORK >> A book of Toni Morrison quotations is coming out in December. “The Measure of Our Lives: A Gathering of Wisdom” will draw from her whole body of work, including celebrated novels such as “Beloved” and “Song of Solomon.”
The foreword is by Zadie Smith, adapted from a tribute she wrote soon after the Nobel laureate died in August at age 88.
A publisher’s note describes the book as a distillation of her major themes, including “transcendence through imagination; the self and its discontents; the vicissitudes of love; the whirligig of memory; the singular power of women; the original American sin of slavery; the bankruptcy of racial oppression; the complex humanity; and art of black people.”
Books on white supremacist, Iranian refugees, honored
DAYTON, OHIO >> Books on a young white supremacist’s awakening and on Iranian refugees in Sweden are winners of awards celebrating literature’s power to promote peace and understanding.
Dayton Literary Peace Prize officials say Eli Saslow’s “Rising Out of Hatred” won for nonfiction and Golnaz Hashemzadeh Bonde’s “What We Owe” won for fiction.
Runners-up are Wil Haygood’s “Tigerland,” about an inner city Ohio school’s 1969 athletic triumphs, in nonfiction and Richard Powers’ Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Overstory,” about human impact on forests, in fiction.
Clint Eastwood’s ‘Richard Jewell’ gets AFI Fest premiere
LOS ANGELES >> Clint Eastwood’s film “Richard Jewell” is having its world premiere at the AFI Fest in Los Angeles in November.
The American Film Institute announced that the film had been added to a lineup for its annual film festival.
Eastwood directed the film, written by Billy Ray, about the true story of the security guard who went from hero to suspect after the 1996 Atlanta Olympic bombing that killed one woman. Paul Walter Hauser plays the title character. Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates and Jon Hamm co-star.
“Richard Jewell,” a Warner Bros. release, will open in theaters on Dec. 13.
Owners of Charlie Brown Christmas song sue Dollywood
KNOXVILLE, TENN. >> The copyright owners of the “Charlie Brown Christmas” theme song have sued Dollywood in federal court for copyright infringement.
News outlets report the complaint says the theme park named for country star Dolly Parton has used the song without permission in live Christmas performances since 2007.
The lawsuit says Los Angelesbased Lee Mendelson Film Productions is asking for $150,000 for every time the song has been used.