Hopes for a last-minute breakthrough in negotiations between Hollywood studios and the Screen Actors Guild were dashed Tuesday when contract talks ended on a bitter note, fueling anxiety over the prospect of another strike. After three weeks of talks, studios walked away from the table, saying that negotiations were "thrust into reverse" by what they called "unreasonable demands."

SAG accused the studios of turning their backs on the guild to focus on contract talks with the smaller actors union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. "It's deeply troubling because we said we wanted to stay in the room and make a deal and our pleas were ignored," SAG President Alan Rosenberg said Tuesday night.

Actors are considering the studios' offer to resume talks May 28, about a month before their contract expires. Although they made some headway in negotiations, the parties could not bridge significant differences over how much money actors would receive from shows streamed online, the types of Web programs that would be covered under the contract and the use of clips on the Internet without actors' consent. Studios also balked at SAG's demands for higher pay for guest stars and other performers and for improved DVD residuals.

The first of six books, all centred around a small, vivacious, ginger-haired girl called Ugenia Lavender, is published today by Macmillan. Halliwell is full of ambitions for her young doppelganger, who she describes as summing up "what being young is all about". "She's streetwise, sassy, has a sense of humour but most importantly has a sense of right and wrong," she said. "I believe Ugenia can conquer the world, and I really hope people will love her as much as I do."

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The first of six books, all centred around a small, vivacious, ginger-haired girl called Ugenia Lavender, is published today by Macmillan. Halliwell is full of ambitions for her young doppelganger, who she describes as summing up "what being young is all about". "She's streetwise, sassy, has a sense of humour but most importantly has a sense of right and wrong," she said. "I believe Ugenia can conquer the world, and I really hope people will love her as much as I do."

In a dig at fellow celebrity-turned-author Katie "Jordan" Price, whose My Perfect Ponies was recently nominated for a Nibby award, Halliwell has been keen to emphasise that the writing of the books was all her own work. "I know there is a prejudice against celebrity authors, but if you read my stories you'll know they're not ghostwritten - only that I could be bonkers," she confessed to the Hello! Magazine website.

Gary Snyder, a poet known for his verse about nature and spirituality and a former member of the beat movement along with Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, has won the $100,000 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, awarded annually by the Chicago-based Poetry Foundation. "Gary Snyder is in essence a contemporary devotional poet, though he is not devoted to any one god or way of being so much as to Being itself," Christian Wiman, chair of the selection committee, said in a statement Tuesday.

"His poetry is a testament to the sacredness of the natural world and our relation to it, and a prophecy of what we stand to lose if we forget that relation." Snyder, who turns 78 in May, has published such collections as "Regarding Wave," "No Nature" and "Turtle Island," winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1975.

Scholastic announced today that it will create a children's book line from the BBC program Planet Earth. The company holds U.S. and Canadian English and French rights for the Planet Earth children’s books program and will publish and distribute the titles through its trade, school book club and school book fair channels. The books will be printed on 30% post-consumer waste recycled paper.

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The program will launch in September with the full-color, 48-page Planet Earth Scrapbook and Planet Earth Reader. The program will continue with three January 2009 publications (a second reader, a board book and scrapbook), followed in April 2009 by a full-color 98-page Guide to the Planet timed to coincide with Earth Day. The program will include paperbacks, board books, phonics books, novelty books and scrapbooks. It will target preschoolers, middle-grade students and teens. High-quality 30% post-consumer waste recycled paper will be used for all titles.

A student faces disciplinary action after two people threw green whipped cream pies at New York Times columnist and author Thomas L. Friedman as he began an Earth Day speech at Brown University. A video of the Tuesday incident posted on YouTube.com shows Friedman telling the audience, "It's great to be back here at Brown," shortly before Margaree Little, a senior English literature major, and an unidentified man storm the stage.

Friedman managed to avoid most of the cream, although his shirt and the back of his head were splattered and he appears to slip on cream on the stage. He left the stage to clean himself off before resuming his speech. He said Friday he was not pressing charges. "I'm leaving it for Brown to decide what kind of values they want to uphold on their campus," he said.

Little, who's scheduled to graduate in December, said she was undergoing disciplinary action by the dean's office and expulsion was "not off the table." She declined to identify the man who was with her or to say whether he was a Brown student.

Little, 22, said Friedman's brand of environmentalism is a "sham" because she believes he supports things like biofuels that reduce the availability of food and displace thousands in Haiti and other developing nations. Friedman, an environmentalist, has written about taking a careful approach and ensuring biodiversity is preserved in areas where biofuel crops are grown.

The Screen Actors Guild and the majors have completed four days of bargaining with vague indications of progress as both sides remained cordial -- despite the tough issues facing negotiators. SAG and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers issued a joint statement early Friday evening that said negotiations had concluded for the day and would resume Saturday.

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Both sides have stressed that their primary concerns have to do with paying actors for work performed or re-used in new-media platforms. And SAG president Alan Rosenberg has emphasized that the new deal must take into account the unique concerns of actors.

Dylan, the most acclaimed and influential songwriter of the past half century, who more than anyone brought rock from the streets to the lecture hall, received an honorary Pulitzer Prize on Monday, cited for his "profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."

It was the first time Pulitzer judges, who have long favoured classical music, and, more recently, jazz, awarded an art form once dismissed as barbaric, even subversive. "I am in disbelief," Dylan fan and fellow Pulitzer winner Junot Diaz said of Dylan's award. Diaz's "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao," a tragic, but humorous story of desire, politics and violence among Dominicans at home and in the United States, won the fiction prize. Diaz, 39, worked for more than a decade on his first novel - "I spent most of the time on dead-ends and doubts," he told The Associated Press on Monday - and at one point included a section about Dylan.

"Bob Dylan was a problem for me," Diaz, who has also published a story collection, "Drown," said with a laugh. "I had one part that was 40 pages long, the entire chapter was organized around Bob Dylan's lyrics over a two year-period (1967-69). By the end of it, I wanted to throttle my like of Bob Dylan."

They work long hours, often to exhaustion. Many are paid by the piece - not garments, but blog posts. This is the digital-era sweatshop. You may know it by a different name: home. A growing work force of home-office laborers and entrepreneurs, armed with computers and smartphones and wired to the hilt, are toiling under great physical and emotional stress created by the around-the-clock Internet economy that demands a constant stream of news and comment.

Of course, the bloggers can work elsewhere, and they profess a love of the nonstop action and perhaps the chance to create a global media outlet without a major up-front investment. At the same time, some are starting to wonder if something has gone very wrong. In the last few months, two among their ranks have died suddenly. Two weeks ago in North Lauderdale, Fla., funeral services were held for Russell Shaw, a prolific blogger on technology subjects who died at 60 of a heart attack. In December, another tech blogger, Marc Orchant, died at 50 of a massive coronary. A third, Om Malik, 41, survived a heart attack in December.

Other bloggers complain of weight loss or gain, sleep disorders, exhaustion and other maladies born of the nonstop strain of producing for a news and information cycle that is as always-on as the Internet. To be sure, there is no official diagnosis of death by blogging, and the premature demise of two people obviously does not qualify as an epidemic. There is also no certainty that the stress of the work contributed to their deaths. But friends and family of the deceased, and fellow information workers, say those deaths have them thinking about the dangers of their work style.

The pressure even gets to those who work for themselves - and are being well-compensated for it. "I haven't died yet," said Michael Arrington, the founder and co-editor of TechCrunch, a popular technology blog. The site has brought in millions in advertising revenue, but there has been a hefty cost. Mr. Arrington says he has gained 30 pounds in the last three years, developed a severe sleeping disorder and turned his home into an office for him and four employees. "At some point, I'll have a nervous breakdown and be admitted to the hospital, or something else will happen." "This is not sustainable," he said.

CBS, the home of the most storied news division in broadcasting, has been in discussions with Time Warner about a deal to outsource some of its newsgathering operations to CNN, two executives briefed on the matter said Monday. Over the last decade, CNN has held on-again, off-again talks with both ABC News and CBS News about various joint ventures but during the last several months, talks with CBS have been revived and lately intensified, according to the executives who were granted anonymity because of the confidential nature of the negotiations.

Broadly speaking, the executives described conversations about reducing CBS's newsgathering capacity while keeping its frontline personalities, like Katie Couric, the CBS Evening News anchor, and paying a fee to CNN to buy the cable network's news feeds. Another possibility, these people said, would be that CBS would keep its correspondents in a certain region but pair them with CNN crews. But, these people cautioned, no deal was imminent. Through a spokesman, CBS declined to comment. A CNN spokeswoman said, "we don't comment on speculative business matters."

For CNN, a deal with a broadcast network would mean a new revenue stream without having to add much in additional costs. For CBS, an arrangement with a cable channel would allow it to cut costs while maintaining the CBS News brand, although in a much pared down fashion. CBS is mired in last place amid the continuing struggles of Ms. Couric, who was given a $15-million a year contract, to attract new viewers.

Publishing officials are reluctant to discuss sales figures, but say that they have seen double digit increases in ebook sales since the Kindle's release, and renewed interest in downloads for the Sony Reader. Sales for the most popular ebooks are in the hundreds, comparable to the number for the Reader, which came out in 2006.

"The Kindle has increased awareness. Publishers have told me that in some cases the Sony numbers were double or triple what they had been," says Michael Smith, head of the International Digital Publishing Forum, which tracks ebook sales. Selling through Amazon.com for $399 (£199), the Kindle is thinner than most paperbacks and weighs 0.29 kg. It can hold some 200 books, along with newspapers, magazines and an entire dictionary.

The Kindle has been praised for the selection of texts available -- more than 100,000 books, blogs and newspapers -- and for the speed of delivery, which averages less than a minute. Fans include authors such as Toni Morrison, Michael Lewis and Neil Gaiman.

A fire on Saturday caused about $20,000 in damage to the home of Tom Clancy, a best-selling author of political thrillers, authorities said. Firefighters were called to Clancy's Calvert County, Maryland, home about 12:15 p.m., said Lt. Fred Holzberger of the Prince-Frederick Volunteer Fire Department.

Clancy and his family were home at the time, but no one was injured, Holzberger said. He said the fire started on the deck and reached the home. The blaze was extinguished in about 20 minutes. The fire is under investigation by the Maryland fire marshal's office

I didn't even know there was a film being made. For years! Not only two or three or four or five -- for almost 20 years. I didn't even know Erik was making a film all those years. I thought Erik was an odd little fanboy, superannuated elf if you will, who would come by periodically and push a camera in my face. I consider that part of the job. When I'm at home, I'm a writer. When I'm out on the road, you do what has to be done. You sit for four hours and sign books or answer silly questions or people want to take a photo and you do it. It's just part of the rigor. When Erik said, about two years ago, "It's about time you know what we're doing here: We're doing this movie," I still couldn't grasp it. And I'm not a slow pony! I get things pretty quickly. I thought, maybe this guy is going to sell it to the Sundance Channel, or it'll be on the History Channel or something.

I don't care much one way or another about it. I'm about as celebrated or as famous as I care to be, but what the hell? Can't do any harm, he seems a nice chap. When I went to look at the first cut, it was as if -- the trope that is most specific, I think, is the scene in "Tom Sawyer" where everybody thinks he and Huck are drowned and he comes back and he goes to the church where they're having the funeral service for him and he's up in the loft listening to all the wonderful things people are saying about him. It's an out-of-body experience. Last night, for instance, in the theater, I sat there and I looked at the movie with no vested interest. I don't look and say, "Gee I had a pimple that day," or "Gee, I wish somebody hadn't said that." I look at it as a movie about this funny, weird old guy. And I think, "That's a funny, weird old guy. I'd love to know him. He's really funny."

Doubleday has acquired North American rights to bestselling Shadow of the Wind author Carlos Ruiz Zafon's new book, following an intense seven figure auction that came to a head when Doubleday's publisher, Steve Rubin, found himself facing off against Deb Futter, the new editor-in-chief of Grand Central Publishing's adult division whom Mr. Rubin trained in the ways of the business when she worked for him. Both Mr. Rubin and Ms. Futter were apparently in the auction-- conducted by Tom Colchie on behalf of Spanish-based literary agent Antonia Kerrigan-- until the very end.

Ms. Futter and had been working at Doubleday for many years, and serving as deputy editorial director there when she left for her new job. She started at Grand Central in January.

Alison Rich, the executive director of publicity at Doubleday, confirmed that Mr. Rubin had acquired the book, and that Doubleday editor-in-chief Bill Thomas will edit. Ms. Rich would not comment on the size of the advance.

Borders Group Inc., the bookstore chain that put itself up for sale last week, rose the most ever in New York trading after Goldman, Sachs & Co. said Barnes & Noble Inc. would benefit from buying it. Borders rose $2.18, or 43 percent, to $7.25 at 4:02 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, the biggest gain since the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company sold shares to the public in May 1995.

The bookseller put itself up for sale last week, halted its dividend and borrowed money from William Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management LP because it wasn't able to get bank financing to remodel stores and pay for new technology. Pershing is Borders's largest shareholder and holds the second- largest stake in Barnes & Noble.

"We see improved prospects for a deal," Matthew Fassler, a New York-based analyst with Goldman Sachs, wrote in a report today. "Barnes & Noble could generate significant accretion from an acquisition of Borders." Barnes & Noble may add more than 10 percent to profit if it paid as much as $13 a share for Borders in an all-cash transaction, Fassler said. An all-stock transaction of as much as $10 a share might also add at least 10 percent to profit, he said. "Closing stores and sending a chunk of the volume to surviving nearby stores would drive further accretion," he said.

IDW Publishing announced that it will expand its hit comic series Angel: After the Fall with special interim issues, a new spinoff miniseries and new artists. The series, which picks up the story of the TV series Angel from the end of the fifth season, has sold out several first printings of its five issues so far. Issues six, seven and eight will begin a special three-part stories-within-the-story adventure, "First Night," IDW said.

Issue six looks at Spike (featuring art by David Messina), Connor (art by Stephen Mooney) and Lorne (art by industry legend John Byrne). All the stories in the issues will feature a framing sequence starring Betta George (the breakout star of the Spike: Asylum miniseries), illustrated by Tim Kane.

Spike will get his own miniseries in July, Spike: After the Fall, written and illustrated by Brian Lynch and Franco Urru. The four-part series begins in July and picks up Spike from the end of "First Night" and explores his changing relationship with Illyria.

"Putting Looney in the Toons" will return to the big screen some of the short cartoons Avery and Maltese worked on together as well as selected highlights from their prolific individual careers in animated theatrical films. The screenings will be complemented by audio presentations of rare recorded interviews with both Avery and Maltese discussing their careers with film historian Joe Adamson. In addition, the evening will feature a panel discussion with Brenda Maltese Moulthrop, daughter of Michael Maltese, and several of Avery and Maltese's collaborators, including Martha Sigall, Jerry Eisenberg and Don Jurwich.

Avery and Maltese, both born in 1908, crossed professional paths at the Warner Bros. animation studio back when it was Leon Schlesinger Productions. Avery began his career at Walter Lantz's Universal cartoon studio, working on Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. In 1935 he moved to Warner Bros., where he would create Daffy Duck and crystallize the personality of Bugs Bunny. From 1941 to 1954 Avery directed cartoons for MGM, introducing audiences to Screwy Squirrel, Droopy Dog and a whole new style of animated humor. In 1954 he initiated his final theatrical cartoons for Walter Lantz, including several Chilly Willy classics. Maltese began at Warner Bros. in 1937 and actually appeared on camera as a studio guard in "You Ought to Be in Pictures," a 1940 Porky Pig short. After working with Avery and many other Warner Bros. directors, Maltese would go on to collaborate primarily with Chuck Jones, writing and storyboarding some of the most memorable Warner Bros. cartoons ever made, including "What's Opera Doc?," "Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century" and "One Froggy Evening."

A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can't wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans...

Assume conservatively that your True Fans will each spend one day's wages per year in support of what you do. That "one-day-wage" is an average, because of course your truest fans will spend a lot more than that. Let's peg that per diem each True Fan spends at $100 per year. If you have 1,000 fans that sums up to $100,000 per year, which minus some modest expenses, is a living for most folks.

One thousand is a feasible number. You could count to 1,000. If you added one fan a day, it would take only three years. True Fanship is doable. Pleasing a True Fan is pleasurable, and invigorating. It rewards the artist to remain true, to focus on the unique aspects of their work, the qualities that True Fans appreciate.