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" The Wall Street Journal is free today, thanks to a sponsorship deal with Phillips. This would be a great day to check out all the articles that are usually behind a paid wall, especially for freelancers who are working on any kind of business article. To see the WSJ for free, click here. Enjoy! "

Stephen Hawking Writing New Book
From: www.writerswrite.com

" Cambridge University physicist Stephen Hawking is planning on writing another book: only this time he's going to discuss why the universe was created, not just how.

Stephen Hawking, the Cambridge University physicist who wrote the bestselling "A Brief History of Time," is planning a new book for Bantam Dell Publishing that will examine how and why the universe was created.

"The Grand Design," which is expected to be released in the fall of 2008, will be co-written by Leonard Mlodinow, a physicist and author who collaborated with Hawking on "A Briefer History of Time," which was published last year.

"Around two-third of the world's population lives in Asia while 90 percent of the world's culture is western. That's a huge anomaly and anomalies have a habit of correcting themselves," Hong Kong-based writer Nury Vittachi told Reuters.

"It's already happening. There are literary festivals in Hong Kong, Ubud and Shanghai. Publishers are coming here. At one time there were no literary agents here, but now it's opening up," said the shaven-headed author who has written more than 20 books, including a successful series about a Feng Shui detective, C.F Wong. With literary agents and publishers heading there, not surprisingly the Asian equivalent of the Booker prize is going to be launched this year.

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The Ubud festival was launched three years ago after the 2002 Bali bombing that killed 220 people, mostly foreigners. "Literature is a way of healing wounds," said Janet De Neefe, the organizer of the Ubud festival.

"Last year we had a session on terrorism. This year we have one on Islam. It's such a misunderstood faith. We're addressing all the issues with grey areas." For the authors, it was a chance to discuss the trials and tribulations of writing from an Asian perspective and thereby shatter some of the misconceptions about their cultures, religion and history.

Sci-Fi:What's the most difficult challenge in writing a series that reflects such a dire future for the world as we know it?

Terry Brooks: I know the situation is dire, but so are most of those which form the core stories in the Shannara series, not to mention Word/Void. So this is really nothing new. World-ending scenarios are familiar stomping ground. But I think of myself as an optimistic writer. I don't write stories when the last line blows up the world. I write stories in which the threat of destruction is met and overcome by unexpectedly brave and determined people who are otherwise as ordinary as you and I.

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Sci-Fi: Do you think the best fantasy should offer more than just an opportunity to escape the grim realities of the world? What's the most important thing fantasy should do?

Terry Brooks: Fantasy should always, always reflect some integral part of our own world and humanity. You start by telling a good story, and then you work in the part that involves holding up a mirror to ourselves. This is who we are-dwarves, trolls, demons and the rest. Don't think we aren't. Read this and think about how we are in our own lives. Maybe we can improve just a little.

Roberts is in the middle of a typically busy year. Her latest romantic suspense book, "Angels Fall," came out July 11. Later this year will bring the release of a futuristic crime novel, written under the pseudonym J.D. Robb, and three romantic fantasy paperbacks, "The Circle Trilogy," in successive months. There's also a new J.D. Robb novella published as part of an anthology.

How does she do it? Is she some kind of machine? Roberts laughs. "I often say I'm not a machine. I think I have a really strong work ethic, plus I really love the work. I think if you love what you do, you do a lot of it. I have a lot of discipline ... and I have a fast pace," the 55-year-old author says. "I had nine years of Catholic school, and grew up in an Irish Catholic family, with parents who expected you to do what you were told and do your job," Roberts says. "And while I'm extremely lapsed, I still have the core of Catholic guilt. ... If I just blew off a day and didn't have a really good reason, I would feel guilty about that. I mean, it would just not be worth it to me."

The glossy magazine aims to be more irreverent and "far less rah-rah than alumni mags that answer to their institutions," writes the New York Post. While it aims to be a lifestyle magazine for the well-to-do - the median household income of a Harvard alum is $200,000 - the hope is that most Harvard grads have a serious competitive streak.

In other words, according to the article, founders and Harvard grads Bom Kim and Dan Loss are hoping the group will find it hard to resist a publication that sizes up their peers.

In September, 02138 will publish a list of the "Harvard 100," or the 100 most influential alumni.

Each issue of the new magazine will feature a different country as its theme. Magazines are sold accompanied by trinkets supposed to derive from that country, while Hello Kitty will provide information about the history and culture of the country in the spotlight.

The magazine will also include features about the Hello Kitty Museum, which contains all of the thousands of different types of Hello Kitty merchandise that has been produced since the cat character first appeared in 1975.

The first issue will focus on Britain, where Hello Kitty is supposed to live, and is accompanied by a charm bracelet and jewelry pouch modeled on Victorian England styles. The inaugural issue sells for 990 yen, while future issues will cost 1,890 yen apiece. There are plans to issue 50 editions.