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The SFWA Blog
National Writers Union Opposes Google Settlement
The National Writers Union today announced its opposition to the proposed $125 million settlement of a class-action copyright infringement lawsuit brought by writers and publishers against Google because its massive book-scanning project violated their copyrights.
Is Africa Ready for Science Fiction?
At our sister site, NebulaAwards.com, Nnedi Okorafor, talks about science-fiction in Africa. It’s an interesting and thought-provoking read.
Writer Beware wins big as frivolous lawsuit rejected by court
A Massachusetts Superior Court judge has awarded costs and attorneys’ fees to Ann Crispin and Victoria Strauss, the principal operators of the Writer Beware website, soundly rejecting a frivolous lawsuit filed by a purported literary agent.
SFWA statement on proposed Google book settlement
Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. (SFWA), in conjunction with outside counsel, has reviewed the terms of the proposed settlement between Google, Inc. and the Authors Guild, Inc., and other class action plaintiffs.
Mystery Writers of America will co-sponsor SFWA’s Writer Beware
Mystery Writers of America (MWA) will co-sponsor the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) Writer Beware program, which exposes publishing scams, educates writers on how to protect themselves from fraud, and maintains a massive database on their website…
Hugo Winners Announced
Anticipation is pleased to announce the Hugo winners for 2009.
Interview: Mary E. Pearson
Our sister-site, NebulaAwards.com, interviews Mary E. Pearson about her Andre Norton Awards finalist novel The Adoration of Jenna Fox.
Andre Norton Award jury seeking candidate submissions
The jury for the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy is actively reading works published in 2009.
World Fantasy Nominee list
SFWA extends our congratulations to the nominees for this Year’s World Fantasy Awards. The World Fantasy Convention is an annual gathering of professionals, collectors and others interested in the field of light and dark fantasy art and literature. The…
2009 SFWA business meeting scheduled for World Fantasy Convention
LOS ANGELES — Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America will hold this year’s annual business meeting at the 2009 World Fantasy Convention in San Jose, Calif.
Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions
The following list of questions is meant to aid authors of fantasy fiction who are seeking to create believable imaginary settings for their stories. While many of these questions may be helpful or crucial to certain stories, they will not…
Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions: Social Organization
- Where is scientific and/or magical research done — universities, private labs, under the auspices of the ruler/government, etc.?
- Does it require a license to be a wizard? If so, is it more like a driver’s license (something nearly everyone in our…
Victoria Strauss — Niche Age Media: Laray Carr Returns
One of the strangest schemes ever covered in this blog was a faux magazine startup called Laray Carr.
Operating out of Terrell, Texas, Laray Carr first came to my attention in August 2007 with a call for…
Operating out of Terrell, Texas, Laray Carr first came to my attention in August 2007 with a call for…
Welcome to the new SFWA website
This website is intended to be a pivotal part of the Science fiction and Fantasy Writers of America’s mission to inform, promote, support, defend and advocate for writers.
Update: Website changeover
Update: sfwa.org is in a transition state at the moment while we wait for some things to finish propagating through the internet. At the moment, if you go to sfwa.org you might get a parked page with advertising. This should…
Website transfer update
Our webmaster had a minor traffic accident today. No one was injured, but it’s made us get a slow start on the transfer. At the moment we are waiting for the domain name to finish transferring to our new registrar….
Announcement: Moving the new site to sfwa.org on Saturday
On Saturday, August 1st, the website team will bring SFWA’s new website out of the extended beta-test we’ve been in. This post is intended to be an overview of what to expect during the transition. Because there is…
Exclusives and Literary Agents
First off, definition: an exclusive means just what it sounds like. You are giving an agent the opportunity to consider your work exclusively and you are agreeing that you will not submit to another agent until you’ve heard “yea” or…
Interview: Gwyneth Jones
Our sister-site, NebulaAwards.com, interviews Gwyneth Jones about her Nebula-nominated short story “The Tomb Wife”.
Reminder: Volunteers needed for SFWA at Worldcon
We’re still looking for help at the SFWA Table and Suite at Montreal and have autographing slots at the table. Please volunteer by signing up at the Volunteer website
Tor.com is SFWA’s newest qualifying short fiction market
Today the board of directors of SFWA unanimously voted to add Tor.com to the list of SFWA qualifying markets. Just celebrating its first year online, this extension of Tor Books features science-fiction and fantasy fiction as well as art, non-fiction,…
USA TODAY to include Amazon Kindle on best-seller list
McLean, Va. (July 22, 2009) – Beginning tomorrow USA TODAY’s Best-Selling Books List will include Amazon Kindle book sales in overall sales rankings. USA TODAY is the first major book list to include Kindle book sales and in doing…
Interview: James Alan Gardner
From our sister site, NebulaAwards.com, comes an appealing interview with James Alan Gardner. It covers writing his Nebula nominated novelette “The Ray-Gun: A Love Story,” applied mathematics, publishing hurdles and interstellar travel
Get Personal with your Marketing Efforts
The words “online marketing” are fairly generic, since there are quite a few components involved with this business practice. Marketers (like myself) often utilize web analytics, social media, blogging, natural and paid search, online advertising, etc. For authors, online marketing…