authors
Angry Robot plans fan-created anthologies via new WorldBuilder site
Fandom breeds content, as nearly any Internet user who has ever loved a TV show, movie or book already knows. Fans love to spend time absorbed in their favorite works by inventing new adventures, filling in backstories, and expanding the characters’ worlds with fresh details. (Or just by making the characters have sex with each [...]
Say goodbye to Google Books Settlement for good
The heavily criticized proposed settlement between Google and a small group of authors and publishers has been dealt a final, fatal blow, reports Publishers Weekly this morning—although in this case the deathblow comes indirectly because it’s actually about a different, older legal battle. In case you need a recap of what this is all about, [...]
1,000+ classic sci-fi and fantasy works to be epublished in September
Early last month, publisher Gollancz announced that it was going to publish a new third edition of the “Encyclopedia of Science Fiction” online, and make it free for anyone to access. An executive for Gollancz told FutureBook that it had profit-minded reasons for doing this, but wouldn’t explain them at the time. Here’s why: Gollancz [...]
Paper sculptures in Pottermore video are beautiful, make book hard to read
Don’t loan J.K. Rowling any first editions! The author of Harry Potter doesn’t just love ebooks now, she hates printed books. Why, look at the lengths she’ll go to deface one in her new video announcing her HP ebook venture: The hand-cut, stop-motion paper animations are gorgeous. You definitely can’t slice up an E Ink [...]
Rowling will sell the Harry Potter ebooks on her own starting in October
The Harry Potter series may take place in the modern world, but it’s always been somewhat removed from it, emphasizing magic and wizarding dynasties over digital technology. The same has held true for the actual books, which have always been sold in print or boxed audiobook versions but never as ebooks, which Rowling dismissed at [...]
Literature Map from Gnod uses fancy robot math to suggest new authors to you
From what I can tell by the intro paragraph on the home page, Gnod is an experiment in creating a self-aware deathbot who will someday enslave us all. But until that day it’s a fun way to discover new authors you might enjoy. Gnod’s literature section, Gnooks, includes a free service it calls a Literature [...]
How Sidney Williams escaped midlist oblivion
In this interview, author Sidney Williams discusses retro computers, how to budget for ebooks, lost gems on Project Gutenberg, and why he’s chosen to publish his novels through Crossroad Press.
Free Stephen King short story from The Atlantic
It’s almost impossible to find a free Stephen King short story these days, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the entire text of a new work, “Herman Wouk Is Still Alive,” has been published by The Atlantic on their website as part of their May issue. In addition, King gives an interview about [...]
Patent lawyer explains rejected Google Books settlement for the rest of us
If you’re in publishing, you probably can already hit all the main points of the Google Book Search settlement story without crib notes, but it can still seem like a complicated mess to outsiders. The website Practical eCommerce asked an attorney who specializes in intellectual property law to explain what’s going on, and I think [...]
Ebook prices in 2004 vs 2011: what’s changed?
On Monday I wrote in a post that I think prices for ebooks have gone down since 2004. Over on Teleread, a couple of readers called bullshit on that statement and argued that actually prices have been creeping up thanks to greedy publishers. Okay, it’s true I was basing my statement on my own experiences [...]
Indie ebook “hall of fame” site tracks the best reviewed self-published books
If you’re looking for something new to read that’s not from one of the big publishing houses, check out the Indie eBook Hall of Fame blog. It’s a bare bones site set up by Joanna, a Teleread contributor and fan of indie books, to help highlight the good stuff from all the not-so-good stuff. Joanna’s [...]