Maurice Sendak, the author who introduced millions of children worldwide to mischievous Max and his monsters in "Where The Wild Things Are," died Tuesday, his publisher said. He was 83.

Author Maurice Sendak, a forever favorite of children around the world for his magical stories and inventive illustrations -- including his classic "Where The Wild Things Are" -- died Tuesday at the age of 83.

TOKYO (Reuters) - In the world of Dan Chaon's stories, nothing is quite what it should be -- or perhaps it's the way it always was, and nobody saw it clearly before.

My point exactly. So let's lay those particular grumblings to rest, and stop disparaging Oates for her superhuman work ethic, shall we? Because Oates is not only a prolific writer but a fine one - entertaining, skillful, always writing with one finger on the cultural pulse, often brilliantly so.

Mrs. Stone, who for decades lived in a farmhouse in Goshen, died Nov. 19 of natural causes at her home in Ripton, her daughter Phoebe Stone said. She was surrounded by her daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Award-winning poet Ruth Stone, who drew imagery and inspiration from the natural sciences, has died at age 96 in Vermont, her daughter said on Thursday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jesmyn Ward won the National Book Award for fiction on Wednesday for "Salvage the Bones," about a poor Mississippi family confronting Hurricane Katrina, while Stephen Greenblatt took the nonfiction prize for "The Swerve: How the World Became Modern."

LONDON (Reuters) - Veteran journalist and former Reuters editor Mary Gabriel spent eight years poring over the personal lives of Karl Marx and his aristocratic wife Jenny.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Young adult novelist Lauren Myracle said on Monday she had withdrawn her latest novel "Shine" from the 2011 National Book Awards after being told it had been short-listed by mistake.

(Reuters) - Organizers for the National Book Awards on Wednesday announced the 20 finalists for 2011's honors, which are among the most prestigious in U.S. publishing.

Swedish poet Tomas Transtroemer, whose simple but mystical imagery addresses themes of nature, history and death, won the 2011 Nobel Literature Prize on Thursday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Urban poet Philip Levine was named on Wednesday as the 18th poet laureate by the Library of Congress, which praised his writing for plain-spoken lyricism about working class Americans in Detroit.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Mae is a Las Vegas blackjack dealer, working amid the rattle of dice and whisper of cards, roaming the desert with a rifle in her time off.

Philip Roth, America's most decorated living novelist, on Wednesday won the fourth Man Booker International Prize, but the award sank into controversy with one of the judges resigning in protest.

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - U.S. novelist Philip Roth, lauded for books such as the controversial "Portnoy's Complaint," won the biennial Man Booker International Prize on Wednesday for a body of work stretching over more than half a century.

WASHINGTON (Reuters Life!) - Actress Meryl Streep, singer-songwriter James Taylor and author Joyce Carol Oates are among the cultural luminaries named as recipients of prestigious White House awards for the arts and humanities.

Coming in at 52 of 75 cities leaves room for Las Vegans to improve ? but then, they may not want to. So, Las Vegas checks in at No. 52 on a new ranking of the nation's 75 most literate cities. Are you surprised that we placed so high - and feel free to treat this as an essay question - or a little peevish at being dissed? (Or simply relieved that we beat Bakersfield, No. 73?)

Patti Smith a winner at National Book Awards for nonfiction work 'Just Kids'. The winners seemed stumped at the National Book Awards.

Not a contender: Jonathan Franzen's 'Freedom' bypassed for National Book Award. It's the Great American Snub.

Updike fans, scholars gather in eastern Pa. conference to encourage study of Updike's work. Rabid fans of the "Rabbit" novels have been meeting over the weekend in the author's former eastern Pennsylvania stomping grounds for the first international conference of the John Updike Society.