Category: opinion

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Ongoing discussion

I was in two minds about whether to speak up and say something, but hearing this morning of another incident where a migrant was subject to a racist tirade has helped make up my mind.

I have to speak up.

I’ve read a lot of brouhaha recently regarding a column by Mike Resnick and Barry N. Malzberg in the SFWA Bulletin. I’m not specifically going to comment on exactly what they said: I’m not an SFWA member, nor eligible to be one, nor aspire to be one, so I’m not going to tell a private membership organisation what they can and can’t put into a journal I don’t have a legitimate desire to access.

I’ve read some of the online discussion of this article.

One, by Foz Meadows, irked me a little when Foz said,

“two old white guys in their seventies who I’ve never heard of before”

and I think this cuts to the heart of one of the issues.

I’ve read all of this stuff, but what I haven’t read is anyone trying to have a reasoned, mutually-respecting conversation with Resnick and Malzberg about why they do not agree with the sentiments they viewed.

I have seen a response that I believe would make a large amount of people defensive if it was directed at them, and in light of this I can understand the very defensive, circling the wagons tone of the second SFWA piece.
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So while those challenging Resnick and Malzberg may have a valid argument, I feel that the messages being conveyed aren’t the most conducive for mutually respectful dialogue on the issue.

Respect.

While I doubt that I agree with everything that Mike Resnick and Barry N. Malzberg say and believe, I respect their contribution to SF, the genre I love. I respect their work, I must have first read their stories over 20 years ago. I respect their achievements.

Respect.

ADDITION: All comments welcome, however house rules are that every commenter should be willing to put their name to what they say.

—

Disclaimer: Barry N. Malzberg wrote the introduction to Invisible Kingdoms at the request of the late Steven Utley. Mike Resnick will be writing the introduction to the forthcoming Bittersuite collection at the  request of author Lezli Robyn. Both titles published by Ticonderoga Publications.

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Discussion: Australian conventions/memberships/interstate stuff

I had a thought today. (Folks who know me will be familiar with my occasional crazy ideas…)

The Preamble

I’ve been thinking about convention membership prices for a while, pretty much every time I need to pay one, or hear about someone struggling to pay one.

It’s been a while since I’ve been on the organising end of a convention, but I know they are expensive things to run. Hotel venues are usually in the vicinity of exorbitant, and I’d assume that the bulk of the membership fees go to covering this expense. And it isn’t a discretionary line-item, in that the con needs a venue.

I also know that in general cons don’t aim to run at a significant profit/surplus; while they may be able to put aside a few bucks at the end to pass on to the next con, this is often achieved through sponsorships or more people than expected attending.

So back to my idea. Right now we have possibly (on paper) the healthiest convention calendar Australia has seen for at least 22 years (which is as long as I’ve been attending). We have three guaranteed annual conventions: Swancon (Perth), Conflux (Canberra), and Continuum (Melbourne); as well as occasional natcons in other cities (and in recent times the 2-yearly NSW Writers Centre SF Festival, a slightly different beast, I’m also excluding the Sydney FreeCons from this as, I understand, there is no membership fee required to attend).

All of these makes for a lot of expensive travel in order to attend as many as possible. A conservative $1000-2000 ($700 airfare, $1000 hotel + food, $300 membership) in rough figures to attend a con not in your home state. These are rough figures, and while savings may be able to be made through room sharing, it’s still a sizeable chunk o’ filthy lucre. Possibly enough to discourage interstate attendance.

At the same time, I really believe that the best and strongest conventions come from having as many attendees from all over Australia. I think this helps out with programming, and the overall vibe of the show. I think that whatever can bring as many people together to these events is best for the community.

The idea

So, as the idea goes, would a convention gain from offering an interstate discounted membership; say $100 at the door?

It’s just an idea, I don’t know how it would work in practice. I’d start by looking to exclude NatCons from this suggestion, as I think the nature of those events encourage interstate participation and attendance. So I’m only looking at non-NatCons. So would like to throw some questions out there for discussion.

The questions

1. Would such a discounted membership encourage interstate visitors to attend?

2. What is the rough current proportion of local to interstate attendees: would such a discount be taking money out of the convention?

3. Would there be local resistance to “foreigners” getting a cheaper rate?

4. Are there other/more effective ways to promote and encourage interstate attendees?

Your thoughts?

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The next big thing – MIDNIGHT & MOONSHINE

Long, long ago, in pretty much this galaxy right here, a guy called Paul Magrs started this viral author promotional idea. The idea was to start with, say, five writers, and send them a set of interview questions asking about their latest writing project, whether they’re published, or still struggling (or, of course, published and struggling).

Thanks to the wonderful (though slightly misguided) Adrian Bedford, I present my deluded ramblings.

What is the working title of your next book?

That’s tricky, being a publisher I’ve got a number of next books. The next book we’ll start shipping is MIDNIGHT & MOONSHINE, by Lisa L. Hannett and Angela Slatter. The next book in the list to publish is INVISIBLE KINGDOMS by Steven Utley, in February 2013. And the forthcoming book that I’m focussing most attention on at this very moment is Juliet Marillier’s PRICKLE MOON, publication April 2013.

Given this is about “the next big thing”, I should talk about MIDNIGHT & MOONSHINE, as Hannett and Slatter fit that best. Juliet Mariller has been bigger than the next big thing for over a decade; while Utley has been writing the most underrated short stories for 40 years.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

The idea came via email from Angela Slatter, that went something along the lines of, “Lisa and I are going to write a collection of linked stories about Norse Gods, fairies, and shoes, and it’s going to be awesome, and you’re gonna publish it, and pay us lots of shoe-money.  And here’s a story about fairies and shoes that we prepared earlier.”

Given I think fairies are crap and am blissfully ignorant in the ways of women’s shoes, I agreed straight away. It also helped that I knew Angela and Lisa were totally shit-hot writers who could make anything work.

What genre does your book fall under?

Dark fantasy, or fantasy with horror elements, or horror with fantastical elements. I’m not good at putting books into genres.

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

This is tricky, given the stories span over a thousand years, with characters coming and going. I’d like to see Angelica Houston in it somewhere, and if Dame Margaret Smith could play an ageing Southern belle there’s a role just right for her.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

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Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Published by Ticonderoga Publications.

How long did it take you to write a first draft of the manuscript?

The contract was signed December 2010, and the manuscript was delivered around August this year.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

It would be tempting and lazy to compare MIDNIGHT & MOONSHINE with Neil Gaiman’s AMERICAN GODS, but while there are thematic similarities, really the two are very different. Hannett and Slatter are very different writers indeed.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I have absolutely no idea. What inspired me to buy it was the fiercely fabulous body of work Hannett and Slatter have produced, and the confidence that they’d deliver something that would be uniquely brilliant.

What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?

There’s fantastic cover art by Kathleen Jennings, a wonderful introduction by Kim Wilkins, and a limited hardcover edition signed by all contributors. We’re launching it in Brisbane at Avid Reader bookshop on 30 November, with a second launch at the South Australian Writers Centre in Adelaide on 14 December. MIDNIGHT & MOONSHINE received a starred review in Publishers Weekly, and you can order this awesome book from http://www.indiebooksonline.com

Now, who to tag next?

Definitely Juliet Marillier and Steven Utley, as I short-changed them right at the start of this. Kim Wilkins, Amanda Pillar, and Greg Mellor (I’d also tag my beautiful fiancé Liz Grzyb if she didn’t keep telling me how busy she is at this time of year).

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Marriage equality

Dear Senators Back, Bishop, Cash, Cormann, Eggleston, Johnston, Smith and Sterle,

I am writing to inform you that, due to your decision not to vote for marriage equality,  you will not be receiving my vote at any time in the future.

For the record, I would like you to know the following:

1. I am one of those people who vote below the line for the Senate, and will ensure that you are preferenced last when I do this. I would rather give my vote to other candidates within your party, and other, more extreme parties, in order to do my best to ensure that you no longer represent me in the Senate.

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I have copied Senators Louise Pratt, Chris Evans, Scott Ludlam and Rachel Siewert into this letter so they may know that, through their courage and convictions, have secured my vote in future elections.

Yours sincerely

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A trend I’m not sure I’m comfortable with

There’s a bit of a trend right now for single author collections of mostly, if not all, original fiction. Now the collection of originals isn’t a new thing by any means: it’s been around for a number of years in YA especially where there aren’t necessarily the same short fiction markets.

When I started doing collections, the idea, and the expectation, was to collect a bunch of reprints, and then get one or maybe two original stories, something new to offer the fans. And that original story was a feature, a selling point, a point of difference.

Over the last couple of years, there seems to be a different expectation, that a stand-out collection is full of original stories, with maybe one or two reprints. Some of this may be awards-driven, based on feedback from last year’s Aurealis Awards Collection panel, who felt that the amount of original work was a significant criteria.

I should add that Ticonderoga published the winning collection, Lisa L. Hannett’s Bluegrass Symphony, and it did only have one original [EDIT: should have said “reprint”] reprint story in the contents.

So why am I concerned?

I’m not sure that this current trend is good for the writer. There was, afterall, a good reason for collecting reprints. From all I’ve seen, the average fee a writer gets for a collection is less than a novel, in a lot of cases because the average collection sells less than a novel. That makes sense. Allowing the writer to sell the stories individually, as original and unpublished, to any number of markets, allows the writer to make more money off each story.
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An example: soon to be published from TP is Volume 1 of Steven Utley’s Silurian Tales, The 400-Million-Year Itch. These stories have all (but one) been published in a bunch of paying markets over the last 15 years. Then Steven gets to bundle all these up and sell them again, and it all helps him pay the bills.

Had Steven put together a collection of original stories, he wouldn’t be banking anywhere near the same amount, probably missing out on over a dozen decent-sized cheques (and I’ll be honest, most of the stories would have paid more than he’s getting for the collection unless it does really well).

I don’t want to take anything away from the number of fantastic, mostly original collections out there. There is a certain joy to reading books like this, especially when there’s a thematic tie between the stories like Bluegrass Symphony, or Angela Slatter’s Sourdough and Other Stories. But is my reading pleasure tainted with guilt that the writer could be earning more?

I also don’t want to come across as being against every collection that is mostly original work. I think there is a place for these, especially when there is either a thematic link or a publisher with deep pockets.

I’m not sure that I’d want this collection expectation to become the dominant trend, if it means disadvantaging writers. To me a collection is a bonus payment, not necessarily the primary income source for shorter works.