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Nebula Awards Interview: Amal El-Mohtar
I am often fascinated by the process of bodies becoming things which they were not initially; The Honey Month is full of stories and poems where the colour of people’s skin and the scent of their hair becomes food for…
Guest Post: Submission Statistics — An Inside Look
I’ve published about three dozen short stories, and perhaps 1/3 are SFWA-qualifying. I thought I’d open my submission history in case it would help a new writer see what the submission process looks like.
Guest Post: In Praise of the Thesaurus
Few reference books are as fun to roam around in as thesauri. They demonstrate the marvelous connections possible with language.
Nebula Awards Interview: Eric James Stone
Because I could not recall reading a story in which the main character was a faithful Mormon in a high-tech far future, I decided to use my religion (and my singleness) for the main character.
The Agenda of "The Write Agenda"
Some of you may be aware that for the past few months, a group calling itself The Write Agenda has been attempting to wage a disinformation campaign against Writer Beware and other anti-scam activists.
Quick Updates for 2011-10-04
Member News for Eugie Foster, John Joseph Adams, David D. Levine, Tobias Buckell, Karin Low, and Ferrett Steinmetz.
Guest Post: Writing SF for Young Readers
A machine that creates gourmet meals-on-the-go in exchange for credits is still just a vending machine.
Video Pick of the Week: Steal Like an Artist
We can pick our teachers and we can pick our friends and we can pick the books we read and the music we listen to and the movies we see, et cetera. You are a mash-up of what you let…
Bad Publishing Contract Clauses, Part 1
I get a lot of questions about publishing contracts, and many requests to review them. I’m not a lawyer, but I do have a fair knowledge of publishing contract boilerplate, as well as a good grasp of the issues that…
Trouble at Aspen Mountain Press
To all appearances, Colorado-based Aspen Mountain Press is an active and problem-free publisher. According to its Submissions page, it is currently seeking new fiction, and it recently launched a SF/fantasy imprint.
Guest Post: The Habitable Zone
Recent astronomy news gave us word of a planet around a double star system. This is the first ever planet around a binary star that has been positively identified (outside of Tatooine – but that was in a galaxy far,…
PUBSLUSH Press: Update
On Tuesday I posted about PUBSLUSH Press, a new crowdfunding venture for books. I found it an interesting idea (rather than just donating cash to worthy projects, PUBSLUSH supporters actually pledge to buy books…
Guest Post: Playing with Structure
I’ve been told by highly skilled writers that this is a good exercise–something to do for now, but eventually I’ll grow out of this once I internalize it. I believe them! I really do. The thing is, I keep discovering…
PublishAmerica and CBA: Rowling Redux
I’m sure you all remember the notorious J.K. Rowling Incident, in which PublishAmerica tied Rowling’s name to one of its numerous author promotions.
PUBSLUSH Press
Who is PUBSLUSH Press? What experience does PS’s staff have with publishing? There’s no information whatever at the website. You thus have no assurance that your book will be competently edited, published, distributed, or marketed.
Top Ten Japan All Time Best SF Novels
Hello from Haikasoru, an imprint dedicated to translating Japanese science fiction, fantasy, and horror into English. SFWA asked us to produce a list of the best Japanese science fiction novels.
The Google Books Lawsuit Will Go To Court
The Google Books lawsuit, which generated a widely hailed and criticized settlement that was ultimately rejected by the court, will go to trial–although the parties in the case say that they are still in talks.
Nebula Awards 2010 Interview: Paul Park
If I were purposely writing stories to attract a broad audience, I’d be depressed to think what a hash I’d made of it–it’s true my work isn’t easy to categorize, and that even within science fiction and fantasy I’m kind…
Authors Guild And Others Sue Universities for Copyright Infringement
In the wake of the failed Google Book Settlement and the still-unresolved lawsuit that produced it, the Authors Guild, two international writers’ groups, and several individual authors have filed suit against a number of major US universities that have combined…
Baltimore Book Festival
You can promote your book(s) and support SFWA’s participation at the Baltimore Book Festival even if you can’t be there. We will be hosting Book Cover Bingo on Friday night of the Festival. To get your book cover included on…
Guest Post: Ladies, Don’t Let Anyone Tell You You’re Not Awesome
The whole business of self-insertion in a narrative worries me a bit. I don’t have to relate to a character to like her, or him. I also don’t want to put myself in books. I don’t want Mr Darcy to…
Video Pick of the Week: The Jiggly Things
Symphony of Science presents “The Quantum World” an Auto-Tune video investigating the nature of atoms and subatomic particles.
Guest Post: Just One Sentence at a Time:
Brandvold, Monahan, & Piccirilli on Writing Full-time
There is no typical day when you freelance because you never know what’s coming your way. I do, however, go to my home office every morning about 8:30 and work on something until about 5:30. It’s different from a traditional…
An Interview with Norman Spinrad, Anarchist
I’ve always been interested in dreams, in the dreamtime, what are they, what is it? The Dreamtime, after all, is both real and fantasy. We all experience it, in that sense it is definitely “real.” But the dreams we experience…