Afternoon Bites: Aronofsky on George Washington, John Jacob Niles, Batman and Jay-Z, And More

“What I am sure of is this: Most readers hearing the news will not assume it was a deadlock. They’ll just figure it was a bum year for fiction. As a novelist and the author of an eligible book, I do not love this. It’s fine to lose to someone, and galling to lose to no one.” Ann Patchett on the lack of a Pulitzer for fiction this year.

• On the rediscovery of the music of John Jacob Niles by A Hawk & A Hacksaw.

• Matt Bell has a novel excerpt in the latest issue of Unsaid.

• Questlove talks to Brad Farberman about free jazz, Bruce Springsteen, and more.

• Darren Aronofsky is making a George Washington biopic.

• The Batman/Jay-Z team-up you never expected to happen has happened. (Kind of.)

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