From Publisher’s Lunch today, quoting a report from The Guardian:

Thirteen people have been arrested in Turkey as part of an investigation into an ultra-nationalist gang reported to be planning the assassination of Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk. According to reports in the Turkish press, the author of international bestsellers including My Name is Red was targeted as part of a campaign to sow chaos in preparation for a military coup, scheduled for 2009.

Happier news:
Amanda Eyre Ward’s wonderful novel, Forgive Me, described by Bookmarks as “a page-turner with deep moral underpinnings,” just came out in paperback yesterday.

Farewell Edwards:
Even though I’m rooting for Barack Obama, I was sad to see Edwards drop out of the race. I believe he is truly progressive, and truly concerned about poverty in the U.S. I respect him for acknowledging that his early support of the Iraq war was a mistake. I believe that if Edwards hadn’t run on the losing ticket with John Kerry, he might have had a much better chance in this race. I think that while his mild-mannered demeanor probably makes him a good person to be around, it didn’t play well in the media, especially against Obama’s charisma and Hillary Clinton’s powerful persona.