There’s an interesting line about fountain pens in the movie Duplicity. Conniving CEO Dick Garsik (played by Paul Giamatti) is reading a handwritten draft of a memo by a rival company head. The memo bears bad news and the flustered Garsik stops at one point, turns aside to his employees, and says:

“I mean, who the hell writes with a fountain pen anymore? How fricking pretentious is that?”

He’s being a little harsh, for sure, but the line raises some good questions. Do people still use fountain pens regularly, as they did several years ago when the pens were enjoying a resurgence in popularity? Or, has that time passed? And, if so, has there been a resulting slowing of sales? [Read more…]

Chris Riddell knows drawing.

He’s illustrated more than 100 children’s books, among them the Edge Chronicles, Muddle Earth, Goth Girl and Ottoline series. He has worked with some of the biggest names in fantasy fiction, including Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. And he’s even been a political cartoonist for 20 years.

Now he’s been named Children’s Laureate of the UK. [Read more…]

You’ve probably heard the term “poison pen” before.

There was a recent article in The Times reporting that actress Claire Forlani is being sued by an antiques dealer over a “poison pen” note about him that she sent to friends. People Magazine used it in a headline this summer to describe a letter that Tori Spelling’s mom wrote to “Middle-Aged Reality Show Stars (Like My Daughter).” [Read more…]