LiveWire: Murakami appears in public after 18 years

Japanese author Haruki Murakami made his first public appearance in his homeland in 18 years last Monday,describing his newest novel

Murakami appears in public after 18 years

Japanese author Haruki Murakami made his first public appearance in his homeland in 18 years last Monday,describing his newest novel,which was an instant best seller,as a story that takes place in the real world,unlike many of his other novels. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage has attracted positive reviews,with readers spotting familiar Murakami themes such as people bonding through pain. Murakami said he decided to speak in public to honour his friend Hayao Kawai,a psychologist who died in 2007.

Queen Mirren reads the royal riot act

Actress Helen Mirren delivered another show-stopping performance as Queen Elizabeth after storming out of a London theatre dressed as the monarch to deliver an expletive-riddled tirade at a group of drummers ruining the play. Infuriated by loud drumming outside the Gielgud Theatre,where Mirren is portraying the queen in The Audience,she burst out in full costume to tell them to shut up last week. Footage captured on mobile phone showed an angry Mirren,attired in tiara and pearls,accosting the drummers.

Harper Lee sues her agent over copyright

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of To Kill A Mockingbird,Harper Lee,sued her literary agent,claiming he tricked her into assigning the copyright of her book to him. The lawsuit was filed in Manhattan against Samuel Pinkus,the son-in-law of Lees long-time agent,Eugene Winick,who had represented her for more than 40 years. According to the lawsuit,Pinkus in 2007 engaged in a scheme to dupe the then 80-year-old Lee into assigning her books copyright without any payment. It is the only novel that Lee ever published.