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In Memoriam
Karl Kroeber
1926-2009
Featured Author
Ted is a journeyman writer and laboratory research drone. He lives on the north coast of Indiana, not far from Chicago.
Featured Book
Ohio farm boy John Rayburn comes face-to-face with his doppelganger from another universe, resulting in a worlds-spanning adventure to get back home again.
Speakers’ Bureau
Request a SFWA Author to speak at your school, library, or public event. (learn more)
Nebula Awards®
Awards for excellence in genre-themed writing and dramatic media. (visit site)
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SFWA Blog
How semantics can help you! Part 3
As part of her continuing series on How Linguistics Can Help You, Juliette Wad discusses that ubiquitous genre activity making up words.
Tags: Juliette Wade, semantics, world building
Judge grants preliminary approval to Google Book Settlement
U.S. District Judge Denny Chin has granted preliminary approval to the revised Google Book Settlement, which was filed on Friday. He has set the date for the fairness hearing on February 18th, 2010.
Tags: Google Book Settlement
SFWA Statement on Harlequin’s vanity press imprint
Until such time as Harlequin changes course, and returns to a model of legitimately working with authors instead of charging authors for publishing services, SFWA has no choice but to be absolutely clear that NO titles from ANY Harlequin imprint will be counted as qualifying for membership in SFWA.
Tags: Harlequin, Russell Davis, self-publishing, vanity press
MWA Weighs In On Harlequin Horizons
Today, Mystery Writers of America (a sponsor of Writer Beware, along with the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America) issued this announcement to its members:
Tags: Harlequin, MWA, Mystery Writers of America, Writer Beware
Harlequin Horizons: Another Major Publisher Adds A Self-Publishing Division
Writer Beware’s Victoria Strauss analyzes Harlequin Horizons and the trouble it presents for authors.
Tags: Harlequin, victoria strauss, Writer Beware
Paul Di Filippo and Sheila Finch Join Campbell Award Jury
Paul Di Filippo and Sheila Finch have accepted appointment to the jury for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for the best SF novel of the year. In 2009, Paul A. Carter retired from the jury after having bravely served for many years, almost since the Award’s inception.
Agent Inbox
Yesterday, PW reported on the launch of AgentInbox, a new service from collaborative writing website WEbook.
“AgentInbox is a service that connects publication-ready authors with reputable, vetted literary agents,” says the service’s FAQ for writers. Writers enter their book’s “vital stats,” including title, genre, query letter, and all or part of the manuscript (there are several tutorials to help with the polishing process). They can then check AgentInbox’s roster of participating agents and choose which ones they’d like their submission to go to. WEbook staff pre-screens submissions, then forwards them on to the agents chosen.
Tags: agents, submissions, victoria strauss, Writer Beware
Revised Google Book Search Settlement Filed
On Friday, Google, the Association of American Publishers, and the Authors Guild filed a revised version of the Google Book Search Settlement. It’s now up to Judge Denny Chin to set dates for a notice period, an objection hearing, and the final Fairness Hearing.
Tags: victoria strauss, Writer Beware
Nebula Nomination Period has opened
In January of 2009, SFWA adopted a new set of Nebula Rules. This year is their first in effect so we thought we’d review the process for those who are curious.
Tags: Michael A. Burstein, Nebula, Ted Kosmatka
Wanna Be a Virtual Author’s Assistant?…Maybe Not
As readers of this blog know, I’m fascinated by the strange phenomena that flourish at the fringes of the publishing world. So I was thrilled recently to discover yet another example: an online course that teaches people how to become Virtual Author’s Assistants.
Tags: Publishing, victoria strauss, Writer Beware