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The SFWA Blog
Nebula Nominations Open
Nominations are now open for the 2013 Nebula Awards. The nominations are open to Active, Lifetime Active, and Associate members. Voting closes February 15.
Reposting a Classic: Turkey City Lexicon – A Primer for SF Workshops
This manual is intended to focus on the special needs of the science fiction workshop. Having an accurate and descriptive critical term for a common SF problem makes it easier to recognize and discuss. This guide is intended to save…
Solicitation Alert: Bloggingbooks
Have you recently been solicited by a company called Bloggingbooks that wants to publish your blog in book form?
2 Moon Press–Update
Last summer, I wrote about a police investigation of Michigan-based pay-to-play publisher 2 Moon Press, which closed its doors in May amid competing claims of wrongdoing by its former and current owners.
Tools for Writers: Rafflecopter
A long-standing practice in book promotion is giveaways, particularly since book giveaways may help drum up reviews as well. You can conduct such giveaways in a simple fashion, asking people to leave a comment on a blog post or…
Going Out of Business, Nigerian Spam-Scam Style
Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware
Back in August, I blogged about the latest effort by Cheryl Lee Nunn, owner of vanity publisher American Book Publishing Inc., to expand her author-fleecing efforts with a network of new publishers, bogus…
Odyssey Writing Workshops Online Courses Announced
All Odyssey Online courses involve live online class meetings, so students can ask questions and participate in the class. Each course is designed to provide intensive focus on a particular aspect of fiction writing and challenging homework assignments to help…
Changes to Nebula Award Rules
In an ongoing effort to ensure the Nebula Awards are administered to promote the best in SF literature, and to be transparent and manageable, the SFWA Board has voted to make a small change to item 12.3 and add an…
Reader Communities: LibraryThing
LibraryThing, which was the first social book site, allowed users to enter their own books in order to catalog their library. People signed up immediately.
Guest Post: Having a Purpose
I experience writing not as something I’ve chosen, but as something that has chosen me. I have work I need to do, and that work is writing, and my life is in that work.
Canadian Prix Aurora Award Winners Announced
Congratulations to winners of the Canadian Prix Aurora Awards, 2013
Thoughts on the Great Erotica Panic of 2013
If you’re a self-published erotica author, you’re probably aware of the crazy events of the past few days, including the wholesale deletion of erotica ebooks and the shutdown of entire retail operations. If you’re not, here’s how things went down.
Early Termination Fees in Publishing Contracts: A Cautionary Tale
A few years ago, I blogged about early termination fees, a.k.a. kill fees, in publishing contracts, and why they are not a good thing.
Tools for Writers: Wikis
If your writing features a richly detailed universe, full of names, places, and historical events, you may want to explore using a wiki to chronicle it. A wiki’s structure allows intricate details to be recorded in a way that both…
Writers’ & Artists New Self-Publishing Comparison Service Leaves Much to be Desired
Writers & Artists–the Bloomsbury Publishing-owned writers’ handbook that’s the UK equivalent to the USA’s Writers Market–has just launched a free self-publishing provider comparison service.
In Memoriam: Tom Clancy
Techno-thriller author Tom Clancy (b.1947) died on October 1 at Johns Hopkins. Clancy joined SFWA on the basis of his first novel, The Hunt for Red October, in 1984. That book introduced the world to Clancy’s protagonist Jack…
Event: Michael A. Burstein Imagines Technical Communication in 2073
Michael A. Burstein, a long-time member of SFWA, will share his ideas at the October meeting and webinar of the New England Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication. Burstein has a Master’s in Physics and has published frequently in…
Strange Horizons 2013 fund drive–last call!
In his editorial for this week’s issue, editor-in-chief Niall Harrison
described 2013 as an “exciting and energising year” for Strange
Horizons.
New Publisher House and the State of Independence 2014 Report: Grain of Salt Required
Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware
So a week ago, I stumbled on this news item in a generally reliable venue:
The [growth of ] self-publishing has created a new publishing market…
Swoon Reads: New “Crowdsourced” Teen Romance Imprint
As reported by a number of sources, including USA Today, Macmillan is launching Swoon Reads, a new teen romance imprint, under its existing Feiwel and Friends imprint. It’s looking for submissions of previously unpublished manuscripts.
Tools for Writers: Reddit
Reddit is a social bookmarking site, allowing its users to post URLs that they think other users will enjoy. Other users can comment on or otherwise discuss the links. It is organized in terms of interests, also known as subreddits.
SFWA Blog Commenting Policy
SFWA is a professional organization, and in the interest of supporting that mission, blog comments will be monitored. Comments containing derogatory epithets, baiting or threatening content are subject to removal by the moderators.
The Barefoot Writer’s Club
I’ve been getting a lot of questions recently about Paul Hollingshead and the Barefoot Writer’s Club (part of American Writers & Artists Inc., which sells courses that promise to help you “Learn How You Can Become a Six-Figure Copywriter”).
2013 Rhysling Award Winners
The Science Fiction Poetry Association recently announced the 2013 Rhysling Award Winners: Short Poem Category: First Place: “The Cat Star” by Terry A. Garey Second Place: “Futurity’s Shoelaces” by Marge Simon Third Place: “Sister Philomela Heard the Voices of Angels”…