The book has topped the best-seller list on Amazon.com virtually from the moment Winfrey's choice was revealed, and it is the fastest-selling pick ever at Barnes & Noble Inc., according to a statement issued Thursday by Winfrey.

It's also a record shipment in a four-week span for any book by Penguin Group (USA), which has published such million sellers as Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat, Pray, Love" and Ken Follett's Winfrey-endorsed "The Pillars of the Earth."

"Ghost Brothers of Darkland County," a new Southern Gothic musical by Stephen King, the horror writer, and John Mellencamp, the musician, is to open in April 2009 at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta. In a recent interview in Rolling Stone Mr. Mellencamp said that if the musical, about the reverberations of a tragedy in small-town Mississippi, did well in Atlanta, it would head to Broadway.

"This contract is a new beginning for writers in the Digital Age," said Patric M. Verrone, president of the WGAW. "It ensures that Guild members will be fairly compensated for the content they create for the Internet, and it also covers the reuse on new media platforms of the work they have done in film since 1971 and in TV since 1977. That's a huge body of work that will continue to generate revenue for our members for many years to come as it is distributed electronically."

"The 2008 Minimum Basic Agreement is groundbreaking on many levels," said Michael Winship, president of the WGAE. "Not only does it establish Writers Guild jurisdiction in new media, it gives writers the same separated rights provisions in new media enjoyed by the creators of original TV and motion picture scripts, as well as residuals for the reuse of movies and television programs on the Internet and in new media. Those residuals will be based on 'distributor's gross' - real money for our members – that we'll be able to audit and monitor more effectively than ever before."

The contract breaks new ground for writers by:

establishing WGA jurisdiction over writing for new media

giving writers "separated rights" in new media content (separated rights are the contractual rights traditionally enjoyed by writers of original television and motion picture scripts)

establishing residual payments for new media reuse of covered material, including Internet downloads and ad-supported streaming of feature films and television programs

establishing "distributor's gross" as the basis for calculating new media residual payments

creating meaningful access to information and auditing tools that will allow the WGA to monitor the development of new media markets

Her plans for a life of poverty, however, went awry when she married at 17 and began writing at age 19. Steel has since sold more than 560 million books and on Tuesday will publish her 72nd novel "Honor Thyself." "I wanted to be a nun when I was young," Steel, 60, whose success has made her a regular on the New York Times bestseller list, told Reuters in a rare interview. "Religion is what keeps me going, I would be utterly lost without it."

Steel's life is quite a contrast with the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience taken by nuns. She has been married five times, has seven biological and two adopted children and splits her time between homes in San Francisco and Paris. But while she didn't choose to become a nun, religion has remained a strong part of her life.

"I was brought up a rabid Catholic and there have been times -- like when my son died and my (fourth) husband had left me -- I went to mass twice a day just to hang on," she said. "It's a very present support system for me." "It's not for everybody but it works for me," she said. Steel said she also used her writing as a refuge when her son Nicholas Traina committed suicide just over a decade ago at the age of 19. Traina had bipolar disorder, characterized by abrupt mood swings.

CEO Crispin Davis says "its advertising revenue model and the inherent cyclicality fit less well with the subscription-based information and workflow solutions focus of Reed Elsevier's strategy." He also said "broadly, print publishing is flat while online is growing at around 11 percent a year." Reed Exhibitions--currently a division of the RBI, which operates BEA and the London Book Fair--will be retained by the company.

While the company timed their sale of Harcourt assets perfectly last year, the RBI sale faces a far different marketplace. Davis acknowledged in a conference call that the sale may take some time, saying "Our approach is that we're not going to be rushed into it." He told analysts, "We don't have any particular buyer in mind, we do think there will be a wide and strong level of interest in this business both from strategic and private equity buyers, we are very open minded on who and when." Reuters says that Numis Securities estimates the division could sell for $2 billion.

The AMPTP was quick to weigh in Wednesday with a statement praising DGA members for ratifying "the sensible labor agreement." The statement also seemed to cast an eye toward the near future, as the AMPTP still faces what are likely to be contentious contract talks with the Screen Actors Guild.

Our negotiations with DGA proved beyond any doubt that when both parties are prepared to bargain seriously, groundbreaking new media labor pacts can be reached without resorting to harmful and unnecessary strikes," the AMPTP said.

The figure includes wages lost by writers and other entertainment industry workers when the strike shut down production, according to Jack Kyser, chief economist of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

His Tuesday estimate also represents damage done to Hollywood-dependent businesses such as limousine services and caterers in the area.

The Writers Guild of America strike began Nov. 5 and ended Feb. 12, after union members reviewed a tentative contract deal and voted to return to work.

After years of resisting the newsroom cuts that have hit most of the industry, The New York Times will bow to growing financial strain and eliminate about 100 newsroom jobs this year, the executive editor said Thursday. The cuts will be achieved by "by not filling jobs that go vacant, by offering buyouts, and if necessary by layoffs," said the executive editor, Bill Keller. The more people who accept buyouts, he said, "the smaller the prospect of layoffs, but we should brace ourselves for the likelihood that there will be some layoffs."

The Times has 1,332 newsroom employees, the largest number in its history; no other American newspaper has more than about 900. There were scattered buyouts and job eliminations in The Times' newsroom in recent years, but the overall number continued to rise, largely because of the growth of its Internet operations. Shares in The New York Times Company rose almost 5 percent Thursday after the newsroom staff reductions were reported, closing at $18.84, up 86 cents.

The Times Company has made significant cuts in the newsrooms of some of its other properties, including The Boston Globe, as well as in non-news operations. Company executives say the overall head count is 3.8 percent lower than it was a year ago. But with the industry's economic picture worsening, the company is under increased pressure from shareholders -- notably two hedge funds that recently bought almost 10 percent of the common stock -- to do something dramatic to improve its bottom line.

For 2007, it recently reported earnings of $209 million on revenue of $3.2 billion. Newspaper industry ad revenue fell about 7 percent last year, and 4.7 percent at The Times Company, and executives around the industry have projected that 2008 will be equally bad. Other large newspapers have made much bigger cuts, proportionally, than those The Times is planning; some newsrooms are more than 20 percent smaller than they were early in this decade.

Even so, eliminating jobs has grown harder "because the low-hanging fruit is gone, and so is some of the higher-hanging fruit," Mr. Keller said. And he suggested that the cuts could not help but affect the newspaper's journalism. "To meet our budget goals, we will have to do a little less, and every time we do less, we cede a bit of advantage," he said. "Our challenge will be to set our priorities in such a way that we do less in the areas that damage our competitiveness least."

While its ways are sometimes criticized as opaque, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences took a big step towards openness yesterday, passing a motion that will allow Harvard to freely distribute scholarly articles produced by FAS professors. The motion, which passed easily at yesterday's Faculty meeting, grants Harvard a non-exclusive copyright over all articles produced by any current Faculty member, allowing for the creation of an online repository that would be "available to other services such as web harvesters, Google Scholar, and the like."

Professors can still submit a written request to waive the application of the policy and maintain control of their copyright even if the policy is applied, allowing them to have the articles published in scholarly journals. Robert Darnton '60, director of the University library, emphasized the motion's importance in opening up Harvard’s resources. "This is a way of sharing the intellectual wealth of Harvard, which is for the public good," he said. "We think it can make a very important difference in the way scholarly communication in the new digital age."

Writing can resume immediately. If you were employed when the strike began, you should plan to report to work on Wednesday. If you're not employed at an office or other work site, call or e-mail your employer that you are resuming work. If you have been told not to report to work or resume your services, we recommend that you still notify your employer in writing of your availability to do so. Questions concerning return-to-work issues should be directed to the WGAW legal department at 323.782.4521 or the WGAE's assistant executive director Ann Toback at 212-767-7823.

The decision to begin this strike was not taken lightly and was only made after no other reasonable alternative was possible. We are profoundly aware of the economic loss these fourteen weeks have created not only for our members but so many other colleagues who work in the television and motion picture industries. Nonetheless, with the establishment of the WGA jurisdiction over new media and residual formulas based on distributor's gross revenue (among other gains) we are confident that the results are a significant achievement not only for ourselves but the entire creative community, now and in the future.

We hope to build upon the extraordinary energy, ingenuity, and solidarity that were generated by your hard work during the strike.

Come May 12, the U.S. Postal Service "will adjust prices" for first-class stamps and other services. Stamps - including the "Forever" stickie - will rise a penny, to 42 cents. You can buy 41 cents Forevers until then.

A post card will rise one Lincoln head, to 27 cents. And purveyors of periodicals will pay more.

Coming next month: a price-hike announcement for Express Mail, Priority Mail, Parcel Select and International Mail.

And you can set your watch by future increases. Quoth the Postal Service:

"Consistent with The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, we will adjust our mailing services prices each May. By law, these prices can increase on average no more than the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index. We plan to provide 90 days' notice of the new prices each year, to help mailers prepare for the change."

Moving one step closer to ending the 4-month-old strike, the board of the Writers Guild of America unanimously blessed this morning the tentative accord reached last week with the studios.

The endorsement paves the way for writers to return to work on Wednesday, pending a vote by the guild's membership to lift the strike order on Tuesday. The guild's 10,500 movie and TV writers covered by this contract are expected to ratify the new three-year agreement within 10 days.

Hollywood's top show runners, however, can return to work Monday in their capacity as producers, which includes hiring crews and getting their series ready to shoot. The strike shut down more than 60 shows and idled thousands of production workers who are anxious to return to their jobs.

*****

Many had expected the strike to end Monday. But at a well-attended membership meeting at the Shrine Auditorium on Saturday night, Patric Verrone, president of WGA, West, told 3,500 writers that the board would not lift the strike without letting them vote on it Tuesday.

The strike, which began Nov. 5, remains in effect until the governing boards of the two writers' guilds gauge the sense of their membership this weekend and decide whether to end the walkout. The boards are expected to meet as early as Sunday, and the strike could be over by Monday morning.

A memorandum sent to some writers guild members summarized a four-hour meeting on Friday in which union leaders briefed a group of 300 strike captains. According to the memorandum, the guild boards and negotiating committee are expected to recommend the tentative deal unanimously, but they are withholding action to end the walkout until after Saturday’s scheduled meetings.

In their e-mail message, Patric M. Verrone, president of the West Coast guild, and Michael Winship, his East Coast counterpart, said: "Much has been achieved, and while this agreement is neither perfect nor perhaps all that we deserve for the countless hours of hard work and sacrifice, our strike has been a success."

While approval appears likely, members have warily debated the expected agreement all week, and they are certain to scrutinize the details closely at the Saturday meetings. A guild spokesman on Saturday morning declined to confirm plans for Sunday board meetings.

3:30 PM: Immediately after meeting with the strike captains, Dave Young and other WGA negotiators went back to continue working on a draft of the deal language. Said one WGA strike captain, "We were told that the other side's lawyers just keep chipping away and making changes in order to gain a few crumbs more favorable. This is a dangerous game they're playing. It's Russian roulette."

2:15 PM: I'm told the WGA leadership spent from 10 AM to 2:15 PM today briefing strike captains point by point about the deal. I'm told among the bad news is that the negotiated writer-mogul terms still call for that 17-day window for ad-embedded TV show streaming. But one prominent strike captain describes the good news to me like this: "This is a decent deal if the distributors gross turns out to be a real number. There are some protections in there, and some good points, that I didn't expect them to be able to negotiate. On Saturday, I'll be speaking in favor of the deal. Writers need to let go of some dreams. It's not a resounding and humiliating defeat of the companies. But it also doesn't let the networks and studios treat the Internet like the Wild Wild West."

Here's the magazine's statement: "After much consideration, and in support of the writers and everyone else affected by this strike, we have decided that this is not the appropriate year to hold our annual Oscar party. We want to congratulate all of this year's nominees and we look forward to hosting our 15th Oscar party next year." This year's fete was supposed to be held at Craft.

Hollywood's striking writers and major studios have reached the outlines of a new employment contract, resolving key sticking points over how much writers should be paid for work that is distributed over the Internet, people familiar with the negotiations said Saturday. A final contract could be presented to the Writers Guild of America board as early as Friday, according to three people close to the talks who asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential.

The tentative deal came after two weeks of talks that culminated in a marathon bargaining session Friday that was attended by News Corp. President Peter Chernin, Walt Disney Chief Executive Robert A. Iger and Writers Guild of America negotiators David Young, Patrick M. Verrone and John F. Bowman. Progress had been made in previous meetings on payment for work sold online, but Friday's session saw a breakthrough on the most contentious issue: compensation for the free streaming of films and TV programs over the Internet.

*****

Attorneys from the studios and the guild were meeting over the weekend to discuss contract language for the proposed agreement, which would need to be ratified by the union's 10,500 members. Even before a vote by members, the strike would probably be called off if board members strongly endorse the deal.

There are some issues that have yet to be resolved, including defining what qualifies as promotion on the Internet. The debate centers on the extent to which networks can run video clips and other materials on their websites to promote TV programs before paying writers.

*****

Writers made some important concessions of their own earlier when they dropped demands to unionize work on animated movies and reality TV shows -- both of which had been viewed as non-starters by the studios. The agreement was negotiated on the studio side by Chernin and Iger, who had been designated by the heads of the other studios to negotiate on their behalf.

A new survey from Carat, a media communications company, found that the Hollywood writers' strike is not driving viewers away from TV but is affecting their viewing patterns, with 72 percent of respondents watching the same amount of prime-time TV than before the strike, 25 percent of people watching less and 3 percent watching more.

The survey also discovered that in addition to their typical television viewing, consumers are changing what they watch during prime time. For example, they are willing to watch different genres, watch repeat episodes and channel surf to hunt for different programs. Sixteen percent of respondents said they would continue to watch their favorite TV shows in repeats for the next three to six months and among those viewers, 21 percent said they would never lose interest. For those viewers who said they "would not" or "may not" continue to watch their favorite shows in repeats, the top choice was to go online (54 percent), followed by channel surfing until they found something else interesting to watch (51 percent). Additionally, viewers who are not willing to continue watching repeats of their favorite shows are also open to expanding their use of other entertainment options such as online (54 percent), DVDs (80 percent), magazines (30 percent) and video games (20 percent).

Informal talks between representatives of Hollywood's writers and production companies eliminated the major roadblocks to a new contract, opening the prospect of a tentative agreement between the parties as early as next week, according to people who were briefed on the situation but requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak.

*****

The agreement may come without renewed formal negotiations between the parties, though both sides still need to agree on specific language of key provisions. If that process goes smoothly, an agreement may be presented to the governing boards of the striking Writers Guild of America West and Writers Guild of America East by the end of next week, the people said.

The breakthrough occurred Friday after two weeks of closed-door discussions between the sides. Even if approved by leaders of the guilds, a deal would require ratification by a majority of the more than 10,000 active guild members.

*****

A final sticking point had been compensation for television programs that are streamed over the Internet after their initial broadcast. Companies were seeking a period during which they could stream such shows without paying a residual, and wanted to peg payments for a year of streaming at the $1,200 level established in the directors' contract. Writers were seeking 1.2 percent of the distributors' revenue from such streams as a residual. How that issue was finally resolved in the informal talks remained unclear as of Saturday afternoon.

And what about the resigned middle view, that this strike is just a harbinger of more labor battles? "There is something deep and profound going on in the country as a whole. There's a major change in technology that's ongoing, and we're adapting to it in a business negotiation," says writer-director David Koepp (Spider-Man, Jurassic Park), who's editing his new film Ghost Town when he's not picketing. Summarizing the major debate between the studios and the writers, Koepp says, "There is a philosophical disagreement over the ownership of the Internet. No one fully understands what the impact of the technology will be. Rather than one big seismic negotiation, there is going to be a series of negotiations over the next 10 years as the technology shakes out. The rhetoric on both sides can get rather hysterical because people don't understand what the parameters" of the new business model are.

These are the times when the masses need their opiates. Oops. Only 1,000 hours of Law & Order reruns are available. What about 300-pound dancing-singing celebrities trying to kill each other on a desert island? At least politics has come to the audience's rescue, providing the best soap opera/reality show on the airwaves. Who knows, maybe the populace is turning out in droves because the election is becoming the best show in town, and interactive to boot.