Taiwanese writer Egoyan Zheng wants the world to see that Taiwan has some top-class literary talent and is a match for its giant neighbor in terms of quality
By Ian Bartholomew
On Nov. 10, the winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize, a new component of the prestigious Man Booker International Prize (won this year by Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe), will be announced. The category for Asian authors includes works originally written in English, as well as translations. With the announcement of the shortlist on Oct. 25, Taiwan's Egoyan Zheng (伊格言) was knocked out of contention, but given the insignificant presence of Taiwanese literature internationally, he is amazed he got that far.

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Study abroad can be expensive, overpriced or affordable depending on how you go about it. Planning and taking care of the details ahead of time can help smooth the way
By Laura Pappano
In many parts of the world, college is cheap.

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Public speaking classes, required at many universities, prompt some students to drop out. Courses targeted at the shy, however, may help overcome fears and lead to higher grades
RACHEL AVIV
Christine Stuart, a communications professor at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), stood at the chalkboard and taught her students strategies for mingling at their forthcoming class party.

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Jeanine Basinger's new book explains how the US movie industry manufactured the rise and demise of superstars in the early 20th century
By William Grimes
On the roll call of names that made Hollywood shine in its golden age, Dennis Morgan comes well down the list. Yet Morgan, a vaguely handsome leading man with a pleasant tenor voice, generated solid box office returns from the mid-1930s right through the 1940s. Although overshadowed by the Gables and the Garbos, he was a star of medium magnitude with his own assured place in the entertainment universe.

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In 'The Uncommon Reader,' Britain's Queen Elizabeth II catches up on all the books she never read, ends up putting pen to paper and becomes a literary monarch
By Michiko Kakutani
Queen Elizabeth is known for loving her horses and her corgis. She has sat, reportedly, for more than 120 portraits, conferred some 400,000 honors and awards, met with a long parade of prime ministers and attended countless garden parties and receptions. She has frequently been described as an exemplary monarch, dedicated, dutiful and decent. And just as frequently described as a forbidding mother, chilly and withholding and given to playing ostrich whenever it comes to emotions.

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FICTION

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