Timothy Schaffert’s first novel is to be published by BlueHen, a new literary division of publishing giant Penguin Putnam, in June 2002. The Phantom Limbs of the Rollow Sisters is about sisters damaged by abandonment. Schaffert, managing editor of the Omaha Reader says his day job is like a baby squalling in the next room, "a distraction from creativity, certainly, but an important distraction."

Continue ReadingOmaha Reader ME Signs Book Deal

Stay tuned this fall for a good read in the Chicago Reader. A federal judge ordered the city to release "five banker's boxes" of confidential police documents to the alternative newsweekly by August 30. The materials were sealed after the city settled a lawsuit filed by a woman who accused a police officer of rape. In an e-mail to AAN News, Reader Editor Alison True reports that in his written opinion (Download PDF Here), U.S. District Court Judge Ruben Castillo "commended" the Reader and reporter Tori Marlan "for their thorough investigative reporting and ongoing pursuit of truth in these types of misconduct cases."

Continue ReadingChicago Reader Wins Release of Files in Police Rape Case