Good things keep happening to Gotham author Diablo Cody, author of last year's novel Candy Girl.

"Juno", the hit comedy starring Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner has been awarded an Academy Award for Best Screenplay, as written by Diablo Cody.

Juno

Academy Award

Diablo Cody

Candy Girl

screenplay

awards ceremony

books

Penguin Books

There Will Be Blood, the movie inspired by Upton Sinclair's novel Oil!, won the 2008 Academy Awards for 'Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role and Achievement in Cinematography '.

Daniel Day-Lewis was awarded the Academy Award for his riveting performance as Daniel Plainview, the center of an epic tale about family, greed, religion and oil.

Robert Elswit was awarded the Academy Award for Cinematography.

Written in 1927, Oil! described the early days of the California oil industry, and proved to be highly entertaining story featuring a cavalcade of characters including senators, oil magnets, Hollywood film starlets, and a crusading evangelist.

View more information on Upton Sinclair's Oil!

There Will Be Blood

Academy Awards

Upton Sinclair

Oil!

awards

ceremony

books

Penguin Books

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The idea for my novel, The Fiction Class, came to me when I was at a funeral for someone I didn't know. Not only didn't I know the deceased, I didn't know anyone at the funeral (except for one person, and she was busy.) So, I was sitting in the pew, beginning to get that anxious feeling I get when I think I should be doing something friendly, but can't think what, and out of nowhere a woman launched herself at me and began to tell a story about her mother.

It was a funny story, and as soon as she had done, I shot back with a story about my own mother; then another woman came along and told a story about hers and soon there was a cluster of us, all of us bonding over our mothers, laughing and forming friendships. (Actually, none of us knew the deceased, but that's another novel.)