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Nebula Awards 2009 Interview: Jeff VanderMeer
With regard to Finch, I think a lot of readers who thought I did more leisurely-paced fiction were surprised (although they shouldn’t have been) that I could write what amounts to a thriller-noir-spy story mixed with elements of visionary fantasy.
Key Conditions for Suspense: Part 18 –
The 3 Phases of Problem Solving for Suspense
Along every step of the way, readers need to be surprised, not about everything, but about enough of the particularities of the problem, character, actions, reactions, and resolution that it prevents the reader from knowing what WILL happen.
Bull Spec is SFWA’s newest qualifying market
The board of directors of SFWA voted to add the magazine Bull Spec to the list of SFWA qualifying markets.
Book Fair Bewares
Throughout the year, book fairs draw crowds of publishers, agents, and industry professionals of all kinds to promote their products, take stock of the competition, and make rights and other business deals.
Nebula Awards 2009 Interview: N.K. Jemisin
I believe in probability, which most of us refer to as luck, mostly because that word is easier to say than “outlier” or “likelihood as n approaches infinity.”
Guest Post: Labadie Mansion, A Visitation
Our destination is Labadie Mansion, a derelict house that neither of us have ever seen, and the site of numerous accounts of ghostly activity. According to “sources,” the house is hidden by trees, with no visible road going to or…
What SFWA Authors Need to Know about
Archiving Their Literary Papers1
You and your work are important. Science fiction and fantasy literature permeates our culture. The mission of libraries, archives, and museums is to document our culture. We want to preserve the historical record of the SF/F field in all of…
Key Conditions for Suspense:
Part 17 – Structure is Problem Solving, Not Voodoo
Our job as writers is to create a narrative that evokes this desired experience in the reader. Yes, we have to be passionate about our story. Yes, it’s an art and is complex and sometimes feels a bit mystical. But…
Atlanta Nights, the Movie: From Hoax to Film
Once upon a time, a motley crew of knights, hobbits, and assorted elves–all members of the Fellowship of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America–set out to prank a certain publisher of ill repute.
Quick Updates for 2011-04-07
Member News for Vera Nazarian and Lyn Nichols.
An Interview with Kay Kenyon
I’m always attracted to secret, arcane realms, which is one great subect of fantasy. I started in that direction with The Entire and the Rose, which I’ve (loosely) been calling a science fantasy for its quest theme and fantastical adventure.
Quick Updates for 2011-04-06
Member News for Julie Jansen, Paul Daly, Monte Cook, Mark Niemann-Ross, Ernest Cline, Nisi Shawl, Eugie Foster, Paul S. Kemp, David Levine, Allan Cole and Holly Black.
Lies (Dishonest) Fee-Charging Publishers Tell
This blog post was inspired by a recently-seen “acceptance letter” from a fee-charging publisher (which doesn’t admit its fees on its website; writers don’t find out about them until they’ve actually submitted).
Guest Post: A Viable and Just Business Model
For the Ebook Age
The times they are a-changing, the question of when will probably be answered after the next Christmas season as ebooks emerge at minimum as a major market force, over 20% of book sales is a conservative guess, so the…
Key Conditions for Suspense:
Part 16 – The Story Cycle’s Dynamo (and a little Hitchcock)
Even in the reaction stage we can include conflict and surprise. Maybe after our team’s setback, they regroup and discuss what they’re going to do now. This is a fine time to allow the varying motives of those on the…
Karma’s a Bitch: Robin Price, David William Caswell
Robin Price, a fake literary agent and film producer accused of bilking writers out of more than £500,000 over a number of years, admitted in a UK court on Wednesday to six counts of theft.
Top-Earning Authors of 2010
Forbes magazine has released its annual list of the ten highest paid authors. The order is based on income from books, film, television, gaming, and other sources from June 2009 to June 2010.
Nebula Voting ends March 30th
SFWA Active members, tomorrow is the last day to vote for the Nebula Awards. You may do that online with the Nebula final ballot. Your vote must be received by Wednesday, March 30th, 2010 at 11:59pm PST in order to…
Why Your Self-Publishing Service Probably Didn’t Cheat You
I often hear from writers who are convinced that they’re being cheated by their self-publishing services because they’ve been vigorously promoting their books, and yet their royalty checks are tiny.
Guest Post: Shorts vs. Novels—A View from the Trenches
The books I love most immerse me in a world utterly different from my own. Arrakis, Pern, Barrayar, Chalion… I crave deep information about these planets, and fortunately the author always delivered.
Key Conditions for Suspense:
Part 15 – Story Cycle Action & Trouble
We solve all sorts of problems on the first or second try in real life. We keep tension down. But with stories we don’t want to eliminate tension. We want to build it.
Quick Updates for 2011-03-26
Industry News and Member News for Thoraiya Dyer, Nancy Fulda, Sara Creasy, Anna D. Allen, and Matthew S. Rotundo.
Guest Post: Writing on the High Seas
For many it does feel like a kick in the gut when you see people refusing to pay for something you’ve invested anywhere from six whole months to years of your life to create.
Submission Guidelines to Beware of: Midwest Literary Magazine
Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware
Midwest Literary Magazine (MLM) bills itself as “the quiet press.” Its online magazine publishes poetry, articles, and short fiction. Its mission: to “find and publish excellent authors of poetry, fiction a…