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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.
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…
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:
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.
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…
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,”…
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,…
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.
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…
Podcast: Google Book Settlement at WFC
At World Fantasy there was a one-hour panel on the Google Book Settlement with Russell Davis, Karen Wester Newton, Charles Petit, Jay Lake, Christopher Kastensmidt, and Dan Gamber moderating. This is a podcast of the full panel discussion.
NASA finds water on the moon
In an announcement that has scientist and science-fiction authors alike reeling with the new possibilities, NASA announced today that it has found a “significant amount” of frozen water on the moon.
How semantics can help you! Part 2
Neural networks are really amazing things. In my last post I talked about how a word brings up all of its meanings simultaneously; today I’m going to talk about how that’s not all it brings up.
I’m talking about connotations and…
Blog Post/Article Roundup
Some blog posts and articles of interest from agents around the web.
PSA: Possible H1N1 at World Fantasy
There is at least one confirmed case of H1N1 coming out of World Fantasy. Australian editor, Jonathan Strahan, reports on his blog that he became ill immediately after the World Fantasy Convention and it has been diagnosed as the…
New Nebula Awards Commissioner
I’m very pleased to announce that SFWA has a new Nebula Awards Commissioner (NAC). Madeleine Robins has agreed to take on this role, and see us through the first year under the new rules.
Do You Know How to Sell Your Sword?
As an author, it’s important for you to know how to sell and market your book. Because there is no shortage of books and articles on the subject, I’d like to tackle the subject of marketing your book from a…
RIP: Karl Kroeber 1926-2009
Karl Kroeber
1926-2009
Rights and Copyright
Copyright, literally, is “the right to copy.” It guarantees the authors of creative works–including books, artworks, films, recordings, photographs–the exclusive right for a set period of time to allow other people to copy and distribute the work, by whatever means…
Audio Interview with David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer
Nigel Beale interviews David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer about the differences between SF Editors and others.
Listen to the interview at Nigel Beal’s web site
Listen to the interview at Nigel Beal’s web site
WINNERS OF THE SPANISH IV XATAFI-CYBERDARK AWARD
Our congratulations to the SFWA Members on this list!
Recommended Link: When is a Cartoon Not a Cartoon?
In this article, Rob Tornoe reports that an artist has sold a silkscreen print of an uncredited cartoon for £150,000, apparently without the consent of the original cartoonist. This raises new concerns about the already disputed realm of…
Author Mills and a Request for Contact
Unlike commercial or trade publishers, whose business model is based on book volume (selling as many books as possible from a limited number of authors), author mills’ business model is based on author volume (selling a limited number of books…
Happy Birthday Ursula K. Le Guin
According to the biographical note on Ursula K. Le Guin’s website, she has published twenty-one novels, eleven volumes of short stories, three collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry and four of translation, and has received…
Research Tool: Archive of WWI pictures
FirstWorldWar.com has a deep archive of WWI pictures, which are clearly labeled and sorted. Whether you are doing a historical fantasy, steampunk, or staging a war in your science-fictional world, this will prove fascinating reading.