McSweeneys Internet Tendency has launched its second annual columnist contest. The online arm of David Eggers' publishing house is asking for submissions of a column of up to 2,000 words plus descriptions of three additional columns. The winner will write a 'semi-regular' column for the site.

The deadline for submissions is Friday 10 September.

For full details click the link.

This week has seen two telling announcements for the future of online dictionaries and their print siblings. The Oxford English Dictionary has stated that the new edition will not appear in print form. The new online version, which has been in production for some twenty years, will be launched in December and will include the Historical Thesaurus of the OED. Access to the online dictionary comes at a relatively high price - an annual subscription costs £205 plus VAT.

Also this week, Macmillan has launched 16 apps for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, using content from the Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners. The apps include US and UK pronunciation, vocabulary tests as well as the usual definitions.

The fourth Troubadour International Poetry Prize is open for submissions. This year the prize will be judged by Gwyneth Lewis and Maurice Riordan.

Prizes: 1st £1000, 2nd £500, 3rd £250, and 20 prizes of £20 each, plus a spring 2011 coffee-house poetry season ticket and a prizewinners' coffee-house poetry reading with Gwyneth Lewis & Maurice Riordan on Monday 29 November 2010 for all prize-winning poets.

Deadline for submissions: Friday, 15 October 2010.

Days after the news broke that the Wiley Agency and Random House had called a truce in their battle over ebook rights, Penguin are reported to be in discussions with Wiley on the same issue.

According to various news sources, including The Bookseller and Publishers Weekly, the focal point of Wiley's discussions with RH has been royalty rates.

Contrary to initial suggestions that Wiley had backed down after Random House called a halt to all new agreements with Wiley on English language titles, The Bookseller and PW are reporting that agreement was reached on a new royalty sliding scale, that could range between the standard 25% and 40%, depending on sales. No details are available about the issues being discussed by Wiley and Penguin.