Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware

An important legal ruling was handed down yesterday by Judge Denny Chin in the five-year-old Authors Guild v. Google class action lawsuit over Google's scanning of millions of in-copyright books.

(A bit of history on the dispute: Google has argued that the scanning--intended to build a the world's biggest digital library--as well as the display of snippets of text from the scanned books, is fair use under copyright law, while the Authors Guild holds that the scans create new editions, for which copyright holders' permission should have been sought. A sweeping--and widely criticized--settlement in the case was rejected last year by Judge Chin.)

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We are pleased to announce that SFWA will again have a presence at the Baltimore Book Festival. We are officially a partner this year with the festival, which means we have increased space and a greater involvement in event planning. Catherine Asaro will again be organizing the SFWA festival pavilion. We will have panels, signings, a reception, and other events.

The festival runs September 28-30 from noon to 8 p.m. each day (7 p.m. on Sunday). If you would like to participate, please contact Catherine at asaro@sff.net. Authors who respond by June 1 will have their names included in the preliminary promotion set up by the festival. If you can’t respond by then, no need to worry; we will be adding to the program until August. If you have any ideas for panels or other events, please send those along.

It is possible that we may have a limited ability to cover some Amtrak fares. In addition, the Wyndham Baltimore Peabody Hotel is offering discounted rates for SFWA authors or affiliated individuals. For more information, contact Catherine at asaro@sff.net.

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What makes a great story? Ken Burns, one of the world’s most recognized filmmakers, shares his personal connection, his “waking of the dead,” as he discusses the craft of storytelling in this short documentary.

Ken Burns: On Story
Produced by Tom Mason and Sarah Klein</a>
Music by Ryan Sayward Whittier
Animation by Elliot Cowan

Ken Burns photo courtesy of DB King, under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic licence.

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Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware

A couple of years ago, I blogged about the launch of PW Select, an online supplement to the regular PW magazine. PW Select, which is published quarterly, allows self-published writers to buy brief listings (author, title, subtitle, price, pagination and format, ISBN, a brief description, and ordering information) for $149. With every issue of the supplement, a limited number of books--around 25%--are chosen for review.

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Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware

Two fascinating surveys appeared this week. They look at opposite ends of the writing business, but dovetail in interesting ways. (This is going to be a long post, so please bear with me.)

The Writers' Workshop Survey of Professional Authors

In March, the Writers' Workshop, a UK-based writers' consultancy, launched a survey of traditionally published authors. The aim: to discover how authors feel about their publishers in a time of rapid change, where "it has become possible – arguably for the first time in history – for authors to detach themselves from publishers."

The survey results were posted this week, and they make for interesting reading. Authors are generally happy with a number of aspects of the traditional publishing process--notably, the editing they receive.

Around 75% of authors rated their editorial input as having been good or (more commonly) excellent. Just 14% disagreed...

Similarly – and again contrary to many stories about declining standards – authors rate their publishers extremely highly on copy-editing, proof-reading, page design and so forth. More than 80% of authors regarded their publishers as being good-to-excellent in these areas...

On the matters of cover design and jacket copy, authors remained broadly positive. About three-fifths of authors were highly satisfied with the way these things turned out. The remainder were, on the whole, ‘somewhat’ satisfied.

Marketing, however, was a different story. A majority of authors felt they weren't adequately consulted on their publishers' marketing plans, that their skills and strengths weren't adequately utilized, and that they had little input or control (ah yes--I know the feeling). About half the respondents felt that communication by the publisher was poor, and nearly half said that their publishers never sought feedback from them.

And while there is much grumbling in the writing community about the lack of publisher loyalty, with publishers no longer willing to stick with writers over several books while they build an audience, authors are just as fickle. 40% of survey respondents said they'd move to another house if given the chance. 22% weren't sure.

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SFWA is looking to convene a Norton jury for the 2013 award.

The Norton Award is presented to young adult or middle grade science fiction and fantasy novels. The membership at large votes to place several works on the ballot which the Norton jury can augment with additional selections.

Interested volunteers should contact the office of the vice president at vp@sfwa.org.

Please include your name and email address as well as a sentence or two about the following:

1) Your experience (if any) as a reader or writer of young adult and/or middle grade fiction.

2) Your interest in serving as a juror for this award.

Volunteer applications should be sent by Friday, June 8.

Volunteers must be active SFWA members. Feel free to repost.

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Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware


Once again, the Writer Beware blog has been chosen as one of Writer's Digest's 101 Best Websites for Writers (the list appears in the June 2012 issue of the magazine, and can be downloaded here if you're willing to subscribe to the WD newsletter).

Writer's Digest compiles this list annually from nominations submitted by the public. This year, more than 4,000 nominations were received, a record number.

Congratulations to our sponsors Science Fiction Writers of America and Mystery Writers of America, which also made the list, and to all the wonderful websites, resources, and organizations included in this highly useful resource.

Just to note: Writer Beware will not be participating in Writer's Digest's Affiliate Program, which pays a 12% referral bonus on sales from the WD online store, and is offered to everyone who's included on the 101 Best Websites list. To avoid conflicts of interest, Writer Beware doesn't host advertising, participate in referral programs, or accept donations.

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Results from the SFWA election have been announced. Officers for 2012 are:

President: John Scalzi
Vice President: Rachel Swirsky
Secretary: Ann Leckie
Treasurer: Bud Sparhawk
West Coast Representative: Jim Fiscus
Canadian Representative: Matthew Johnson

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Peter Eirich, Teaching Workshop Coordinator for The Baltimore Science Fiction Society, has issued the following release:

If you teach science, mathematics, language arts or other fields, and you want to assign readings that illustrate important concepts in an exciting way; If you want to incorporate science fiction into a reading program; If you have always thought a science fiction class would be valuable at your school but didn’t know what to teach; or, If you love SF and want to persuade school administrators that teaching science fiction is important, then: The Teaching With Science Fiction Workshop is just what you’re looking for!

The Workshop is designed to provide insights into science fiction and the different ways it can be used effectively in the classroom. It answers the questions educators may have about this idea-oriented, forward-looking, student-stimulating body of speculative literature. The workshop lasts approximately four hours, and includes a CD with science fiction resources as well as presentation materials from a presentation exploring the possibility of Silicon-based life forms and how they have been treated within science fiction literature.

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The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2011 Nebula Awards®.

Novel Winner: Among Others, Jo Walton (Tor)

Other Nominees

• Embassytown, China Miéville (Macmillan UK; Del Rey; Subterranean Press)
• Firebird, Jack McDevitt (Ace Books)
• God’s War, Kameron Hurley (Night Shade Books)
• Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti, Genevieve Valentine (Prime Books)
• The Kingdom of Gods, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)

Novella Winner: ”The Man Who Bridged the Mist,” Kij Johnson (Asimov’s Science Fiction, October/November 2011)

Other Nominees

• “Kiss Me Twice,” Mary Robinette Kowal (Asimov’s Science Fiction, June 2011)
• “Silently and Very Fast,” Catherynne M. Valente (WSFA Press; Clarkesworld Magazine, October 2011)
• “The Ice Owl,” Carolyn Ives Gilman (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, November/December 2011)
• “The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary,” Ken Liu (Panverse Three, Panverse Publishing)
• “With Unclean Hands,” Adam-Troy Castro (Analog Science Fiction and Fact, November 2011)

Novelette Winner: ”What We Found,” Geoff Ryman (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September/October 2011)

Other Nominees

• “Fields of Gold,” Rachel Swirsky (Eclipse 4, Night Shade Books)
• “Ray of Light,” Brad R. Torgersen (Analog Science Fiction and Fact, December 2011)
• “Sauerkraut Station,” Ferrett Steinmetz (Giganotosaurus, November 2011)
• “Six Months, Three Days,” Charlie Jane Anders (Tor.com, June 2011)
• “The Migratory Pattern of Dancers,” Katherine Sparrow (Giganotosaurus, July 2011)
• “The Old Equations,” Jake Kerr (Lightspeed Magazine, July 2011)

Short Story Winner: ”The Paper Menagerie,” Ken Liu (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March/April 2011)

Other Nominees

• “Her Husband’s Hands,” Adam-Troy Castro (Lightspeed Magazine, October 2011)
• “Mama, We are Zhenya, Your Son,” Tom Crosshill (Lightspeed Magazine, April 2011)
• “Movement,” Nancy Fulda (Asimov’s Science Fiction, March 2011)
• “Shipbirth,” Aliette de Bodard (Asimov’s Science Fiction, February 2011)
• “The Axiom of Choice,” David W. Goldman (New Haven Review, Winter 2011)
• “The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees,” E. Lily Yu (Clarkesworld Magazine, April 2011)

Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation Winner: Doctor Who: “The Doctor’s Wife,” Neil Gaiman (writer), Richard Clark (director) (BBC Wales)

Other Nominees

• Attack the Block, Joe Cornish (writer/director) (Optimum Releasing; Screen Gems)
• Captain America: The First Avenger, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely (writers), Joe Johnston (director) (Paramount)
• Hugo, John Logan (writer), Martin Scorsese (director) (Paramount)
• Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen (writer/director) (Sony)
• Source Code, Ben Ripley (writer), Duncan Jones (director) (Summit)
• The Adjustment Bureau, George Nolfi (writer/director) (Universal)

Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Winner: The Freedom Maze, Delia Sherman (Big Mouth House)

Other Nominees

• Akata Witch, Nnedi Okorafor (Viking Juvenile)
• Chime, Franny Billingsley (Dial Books; Bloomsbury)
• Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Laini Taylor (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Hodder & Stoughton)
• Everybody Sees the Ants, A.S. King (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
• The Boy at the End of the World, Greg van Eekhout (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
• The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Rae Carson (Greenwillow Books)
• Ultraviolet, R.J. Anderson (Orchard Books; Carolrhoda Lab)

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