Robert Jordan, RIP:
Well-known fantasy writer Robert Jordan passed away on Sunday. Despite my own longstanding interest in this genre, I haven't read much of Jordan's work, and so am not in a position to say much about it here. However, he was widely regarded as one of the most prominent and successful post-Tolkien writers in the field. For more information on his life and writings, see here.
UPDATE: It turns out that the actual day of Jordan's passing was September 16, not today. I have corrected the post to remove this inaccuracy.