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Last August, Canadian artist Jon Rafman posted an essay, with photos, called The Nine Eyes of Google Street View. It's an interesting and thoughtful and occasionally slyly funny piece about photography and art and interpretation, even in the absence of an artist per se:
[This] new form of photography may have removed the photographer from the mechanical process, but Street View photographs nonetheless remain cultural texts demanding interpretation.
He also has some thoughts about curating—the images he shows are, of course, his conscious choices from among the collection he's chosen from the Street View photos that various bloggers have chosen.
Then, too, although there's no conscious mind behind the framing of each individual Street View photo, Google did specify the original criteria: camera height, choice of streets to drive, etc.
I particularly like some of of Rafman's asides:
Even though Google places a comment, 'report a concern' on the bottom of every single image, how can I demonstrate my concern for humanity within Google's street photography?
I don't feel that his concluding paragraph is entirely supported by the rest of the essay, but I do like the side note/caption preceding that final paragraph:
It is we who must make sense of Google's record of our experience, for good or for ill.
(Thanks to Annalee for pointing to the article at io9.)
2010 is here, so let’s drive right in to this year’s series of Big Ideas. And to begin the new year, we have science fiction and fantasy author Sarah A. Hoyt and her new novel Darkship Thieves — for which one of the initiating reasons for the book was the author being annoyed. Annoyed at what? Or annoyed at whom? Hoyt will explain all — and remind us all that inspiration can some at you from any angle.
SARAH A. HOYT:
Most of my big ideas – and a lot of the small ones – start with my being annoyed. In this case, the source of annoyance was the whole flap about clones and how the cloning technology was going to destroy the world.
Let’s forget for the moment that most journalists, displaying the biological knowledge of the common household teapot, seemed to believe that clones would be born with the memories of the original or would be a sort of dark-universe twin of the original. That was bad enough but could be ignored. What couldn’t be ignored was the continuous din of people who should know better for the regulation of this technology. Let’s make it illegal, they said, because otherwise people will be cloning themselves and having their brains transplanted to the body of the clone; they’ll be using these kids for spare parts; they’ll be–
It went on and on. Two things bothered me about this: first, the belief that humans would use the new technology only for “evil” purposes and second, the idea that legislation was a sort of magic wand that undid the technological discovery and made it unusable. The first might be true or not. Granted that the worst possible purpose is in the range of human uses of any given technology. However, we don’t always follow through on our evil designs. We haven’t managed to nuke ourselves out of existence yet, for instance. As for law stopping it… It depends whose law and where and how good enforcement is or can be. I think the war on drugs has shown that nothing can be banned completely, permanently or effectively.
What banning technology can do – look at the war on drugs again – is make it go underground and thereby insure it gets used only for the worst – or at least the most harmful to society at large – purposes. Drug addiction might be no picnic even if it were openly talked about, but it’s made worse by the fact that the activity is illegal, must be hidden and has taken roots in a whole criminal underground.
In my view, at least, banning cloning – and the inevitable human enhancement – technology would ensure it would be used for all those purposes that people were afraid of.
So I started with two worlds – the one in which cloning and human biological enhancement was banned, and the one where it wasn’t.
Only I’m cursed with a twisty and convoluted mind where no idea can be simple. Besides the “good world” and “bad world” design was too Manichean to satisfy my inner critic. Things are never that black and white.
I went back to the drawing board and let other themes fall in – themes that interest me, like the idea of the resilient child that turns out all right despite everything. And the one that doesn’t. Like human instinctive – if hidden – dislike of those who are perceived as different. Tinged with fear when those who are perceived as different are also smarter. Like the idea that there is no technology that would be harmful in the hands of an individual that can’t be made more so – on an epic scale – in the hands of an entrenched bureaucracy.
So when Darkship Thieves starts, in the 24th century, biological enhancements are illegal on Earth. They didn’t start out illegal, but heavily regulated in most of the world. In the rest of the world, on the other hand, they’d been used by tin pot dictators and corrupt bureaucracies. It had started on a massive scale, creating children as fodders for armies, as strength for ethnic majorities, and as smart people who could fix all of the world’s problems.
What this led to was tyranny by super-engineered humans – Mules – who didn’t consider themselves human, partly through having hobbles (including the inability to reproduce) built into their genes, partly through having been raised as things, not people. It eventually led to a revolt against the Mules and an overthrowing, which resulted in a world wide government of sorts and tight controls on human improvement and artificial human genetic change.
The Mules and some of their more grossly bio-engineered collaborators escape to space. The still-human servants of the Mules colonize an asteroid. The Mules themselves go on, into the wider space, because even among their collaborators they are considered odd and inspire fear.
Those still human servants form Eden, a society in which bio-engineering is extensively used and in the open. They are connected to an Earth that doesn’t even believe they exist through one of the remaining pieces of technology introduced by the Mules – powertrees. The powertrees grow in the vacuum of space and yield power pods, which can be harvested and are used to power the technology of Earth and Eden. Edenites collect these pods by flying ‘darkships’ and making use of bio engineered pilots and navigators.
Athena Hera Sinistra, daughter of a Good Man – sort of a regional governor – of Earth tumbles into the midst of Eden society when she’s rescued from the powertrees by a darkship pilot.
The end result could be described, in Shakespeare’s words, as “all are punished.” Or perhaps “all are redeemed.” It depends on how you look at it and squint.
Not that there is anything murky about Athena, or Kit, the darkship pilot who rescues her. They are quite decisive and active in facing what’s wrong with both of their flawed societies and in trying to improve it (in Athena’s case a little… er… forcefully. The woman has anger issues.) But in the end their struggle to reach what they consider humanity – humanity as a moral, not just a biological ideal – passes through personal discovery and revelation of deep, dark ills in both their worlds.
They fight against those evils – I cannot seem to write characters who merely whimper about things. I’ve tried – and emerge victorious for a given definition of the word. They find themselves as humans – or as human as they’re likely to be. They find their own places in the universe and an humanity that transcends biological status or appearance.
Of course, they’re only two people, so they cannot change their worlds completely. That will take time and independently-arising movements.
So we’ll leave my characters, at the end, sure of themselves and willing to continue struggling. Revolution and wholesale mayhem will have to wait for future books.
—-
Darkship Thieves: Amazon|Barnes & Noble|Powell’s
Read an excerpt of Darkship Thieves. Visit Sarah Hoyt’s LiveJournal. Follow her on Twitter.
In today’s AMC column, I look at science fiction film’s surprisingly strong showing in the Producers Guild of America Best Picture nominations (three out of ten nominations), and tell you what it might mean — and what it might not — for each of those nominated science fiction film’s Oscar chances. Yes, I exhibit both scifi geek and film geek tendencies in this week’s column. Because that’s what they pay me for. As always, if you have something to say about it all, drop in a comment over at the AMC site.
Agent Advice is a series of quick interviews with literary and script agents who talk with Guide to Literary Agents about their thoughts on writing, publishing, and just about anything else.
This installment features Rachelle Gardner, an agent with Wordserve Literary and host of a very popular blog on publishing. Rachelle works with both fiction and nonfiction authors. She has been in the publishing business for thirteen years, working in various positions encompassing marketing, sales, international rights, acquisitions and editorial. She lives in Colorado with her firefighter husband, two daughters, and lovable yellow lab.
She is looking for: full-length fiction (75,000 to 110,000 words) in all genres except fantasy and sci-fi. She is looking for books that don't contradict a Christian worldview. In nonfiction, she represents books that would fit in the general market or the Christian market (or both).
GLA: How did you become an agent?
RG: I’d been working in publishing, in various roles, for more than a decade. During that time, a surprising number of people told me I should be an agent, and a few agents asked me if I wanted to join their agencies. I wasn’t ready for that; I loved editing and working closely with authors on their books. A couple of years ago, I’d left an in-house editor job and was freelance editing and writing. My agent, Greg Johnson, was looking to bring in another agent. I finally realized that as an agent, I could still do what I loved—work with authors and help them with their books. I decided to make the switch, and it turned out to be perfect for me.
GLA: What's the most recent thing you’ve sold?
RG: Snow Day, a novel by Billy Coffey, to Faithwords (a Hachette imprint). He’s an incredible writer with a popular blog and the book will be released in Fall 2010.
GLA: You have recently branched out from only representing Christian books to now representing general fiction as well. What made you come to that decision?
RG: I’ve always read heavily in commercial women’s fiction. I can’t get enough of authors like Anita Shreve, Jodi Picoult, Elizabeth Berg, Anne Tyler and Sue Miller. I’d love to represent authors like that if I can.
GLA: What is the biggest mistake people make with their submissions for the Christian market?
RG: First, I try not to think of writers making “mistakes” because each writer has to go through a learning curve, and often the submission process and resulting rejection is very instructive to them. Also, I don’t think there are any mistakes that are specific to the Christian market—we see similar things from all kinds of writers. I think most writers query before they’re ready to be published. They haven’t been writing long enough to be producing work that large numbers of people would want to read. I used to call this a “mistake,” but now I believe it’s a necessary part of the process for each writer. The rejections give them valuable feedback so they can continue writing and getting better.
GLA: What misperceptions do people have about agents who don’t live in New York?
RG: They might think that agents outside of New York can’t sell books as effectively, or maintain strong relationships with editors. That’s a misperception because these days, most day-to-day business is done electronically whether you live across the street from the publisher or half a continent away. There are plenty of opportunities to meet face-to-face with editors at various times throughout the year.
Even though New York still has the largest concentration of agents, I know agents in almost every state these days. Technology has allowed us to be able to do our jobs effectively from just about anywhere. I think being outside of New York is no longer a disadvantage.
GLA: How often do you visit New York and how long do you usually stay?
RG: Since I’ve been focusing on the Christian market, New York hasn’t been all that important to my business. Christian publishers are primarily located in Colorado (where I live), Nashville and the Chicago area. I meet with them several times a year, either at their offices or at conferences. This year I’ll be going to New York for a week and will schedule five days of meetings with editors there.
GLA: Are there any advantages to living in the same state as one of your clients?
RG: My clients that live near me don’t have advantages over my other clients in a business sense, but I love being able to meet face-to-face and talk with them. It definitely helps us to have a stronger relationship. I get to meet many of my other clients at conferences, but I still have some clients I’ve never met in person!
GLA: How important is platform when submitting a nonfiction book proposal?
RG: We all know that platform is very important. But this isn’t easy for agents and editors. We love great ideas. We love fantastic writing. So when we receive a wonderful proposal from an author who doesn’t have a platform, we struggle with it. Everything in us says, “This is a terrific book. I’ve got to have it!” But market realities tell us it could be a bad business decision.
I’ve got a proposal out to several houses right now. Every one of them has said they love the book and the author is a terrific writer. But they’re all struggling with his lack of platform. They’re debating it in their pub board meetings. As of now, I still don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s a perfect example of the primary importance of platform. It is just too hard to sell a book without one.
GLA: What are you looking for right now and not getting?
RG: High quality women’s fiction that I can’t put down. Female-oriented suspense for the Christian market, similar to Sue Grafton & Janet Evanovich.
GLA: What are you tired of seeing?
RG: Memoirs written by people who haven’t studied the craft of memoir writing, but simply sat down to tell their tale. Memoir is a genre that’s all about the writing. It’s got to be fabulously written, well-organized, and have that can’t-put-down quality.
GLA: Will you be at any upcoming writers' conferences where people can meet and pitch you?
RG: The Northern Colorado Writers Conference in March of 2010.
GLA: What is something about yourself writers would be surprised to know?
RG: I like to crochet but I’m terrible at it! I’m trying to get better but meanwhile my kids are stuck with quite an array of badly-made winter scarves. Some might also be surprised that my vices are People magazine and a nice glass of Merlot.
GLA: When writers first contact you, what do you want them to send and how?
RG: I ask for a query that includes a pitch for the book and any other information that’s relevant. For fiction, the pitch is the most important part. Nonfiction authors need to give me a brief (one paragraph) overview of their platform in the query.
Whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, I ask writers to paste 3 to 5 pages of their manuscript into the email. This allows me to make a more accurate assessment of the project. With queries, I don’t open attachments or click on links, so all the necessary information needs to be in the email.
GLA: What advice do you have for new writers?
RG: Spend as little time as possible cruising the Internet and watching TV. Spend as much time as possible reading and writing. It’s crucial for writers to be readers. Read whatever interests you. Read books of the genre in which you’re writing. Read books about the craft of writing. And read some things that are completely outside of what you’d normally pick up. Read, read, read.
director of Northern Colorado Writers and
a freelance writer. Visit her blog, The Writing Bug.
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Kate says: "I’m so excited about this. YA books are fantastic these days. In YA, serious literature has accessible writing and impressive pace. Speculative novels are astonishingly creative without neglecting character and plot. Even romance novels that I might find a little trashy are damned fun in this area—they’re not jaded and depressing. Humor is wry and wet and honest—I don’t just titter, but really get to LAUGH. My favorite books in this area all have great pace and plot. I want to be a part of working on these novels, and serving this passionate, exacting audience. I’ve been doing a fair amount of research over the past few months in this area, and coupling that with the experience of four years representing nonfiction, I know I can do well by these authors. Nor do I plan to neglect nonfiction. The pleasures and rewards in that area have not faded by comparison. Memoir, narrative, and exposition for adults is truly entertaining and enlightening, and representing practical nonfiction gives the rich reward of feeling it directly improves people’s lives."
Meet Belle. She’s the cat of my in-laws, who is temporarily hanging out here whilst some home repairs are being done on the in-law house. As with Zeus and Lopsided Cat, Belle is a found cat, which is to say the in-laws found her living under their deck, along with a rooster that also had taken shelter under there. Apparently they were sharing the same living space, which is an interesting arrangement if you ask me. The rooster still lives under the deck, but now Belle lives in the garage and seems a bit happier (and warmer) for it.
For her visit Belle is staying in Athena’s room, because Athena is crazy for her and also it keeps her away from the other cats, who may or may not be thrilled to have a strange cat in their territory. Cats. You know how they are.
In any event, Belle is deeply sweet and adorable, and I know you all would want to meet her, so: Here you go.
SarahP asked if there's a way to hear how the songs in Lord of the Rings are meant to be heard.
My answer is too long to tweet, so I'm resorting to a blog entry.
There are at least two parts to my answer:
- There are audio recordings of Tolkien reading his work.
- Other people have put Tolkien's words to original music.
First, Tolkien's own renditions:
In 1952, Tolkien—"depressed because The Lord of the Rings [...] had been refused by publishers," visited George and Moira Sayer, who had been reading the only complete typescript copy of the book. George Sayers brought out a tape recorder, and a great story ensued:
[Tolkien] had never seen [a tape recorder] before and said whimsically that he ought to cast out any devil that might be in it by recording a prayer, the Lord's Prayer in Gothic. [...] He was delighted when I played it back to him and asked if he might record some of the poems in The Lord of the Rings to find out how they sounded to other people. The more he recorded, [...] the more his literary self-confidence grew. [...] "Surely you know that's really good?" I asked[....] "Yes," he said, "it's good. This machine has made me believe in it again, but how am I to get it published?"
[...] "Haven't you an old pupil in publishing who might like it for its own sake and therefore be willing to take the risk?"
"There's only Rayner Unwin," he replied after a pause.
"Then send it to Rayner Unwin personally."
And he did. And the result was that even during his lifetime over three million copies were sold.
—from the back-jacket liner notes of the LP J.R.R. Tolkien reads and sings his The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, Caedmon, 1975.
That 1952 home recording was turned into an LP from Caedmon Records—possibly three LPs, but I have only one of them—in the mid-'70s.
Later, Caedmon was bought by HarperCollins and became an audiobook imprint, and now you can buy CDs of Tolkien reading his own work from the HarperCollins website.
There are actually two different Tolkien CDs available from that website, with no indication of what the differences are between them. I've dropped a note to HarperCollins to find out; will update this entry when/if I hear back.
(Edited later to add: the HarperCollins people responded to let me know that the Essential Tolkien CD contains only J.R.R. Tolkien himself reading, while the Tolkien Audio CD collection (at twice the price) contains both Tolkien's readings and his son Christopher Tolkien reading selections from the Silmarillion. Neat touch: clicking the Buy link from the HarperCollins page takes you to a list of purchase links, including links for some local bookstores.)
But if I remember right (it's been a long time since I've listened to the recording), Tolkien doesn't do a lot of singing per se in that recording. And other people have come up with their own music to his words.
For example, in 1967 composer Donald Swann published a sheet-music songbook called The Road Goes Ever On (still available from Amazon). It's a lovely book, with hand-lettered (I assume) bits in Quenya. But I haven't loved the music from it, the bits I've tried playing.
There was an album that went with that book; it apparently contained some readings by Tolkien and some recordings of Swann's versions of the songs. You can hear some or all of it online, though that's apparently a non-legitimate copy (and it says it's not for public use, which makes it rather odd that it's on the public web).
Unrelatedly, there's an extensive page providing discussion and music for a lot of Tolkien songs, but I don't know much of anything about that; just came across it while looking for the Swann book.
Another unrelated item: a group called Brocelïande recorded an album called The Starlit Jewel, authorized by the Tolkien estate, "with musical settings by fantasy author Marion Zimmer Bradley, Kristoph Klover, and Margaret Davis." (I think that means all the music is original to them.) You can buy the CD and/or listen to clips online. None of the songs on the album really grab me, but it's another approach toward a "correct," or at least authorized, rendition.
Finally, a host of musicians over the decades have created their own songs relating to Tolkien, such as Bob Catley's album Middle Earth, and zillions of filks. But those don't generally use Tolkien's lyrics at all, so this is drifting rather far afield from the original question.
One my New Year’s resolutions is to do a better job noting the books I get sent, for the edification of all y’all who are always wondering “damn, what’s new out there that I can read next, or pre-order and hover by the mailbox for?” And here’s the system I think I’m going to use:
1. If I get zero books on a particular day, then I’m not going to tell you, because really, what would I tell you? “Waaah, I got no books?” No one needs that.
2. If I get one or two books, then I’ll tweet it, as I did yesterday with the ARC of Jay Lake’s upcoming novel Pinion.
3. More than two books and I’ll do a “Just Arrived” entry, like I’m doing right this very second, because today I got four books.
That’s my plan, although usually in the case of number three there, I won’t do all this prefatory nonsense. I’m just giving you context, this one time.
In any event, what’s just arrived? I’m glad you asked!
* Except the Queen, by Jane Yolen and Midori Snyder. Two banished fairies see signs of encroaching evil. Out: 2/2/10
* The Adamantine Palace, by Stephen Deas. Debut fantasy novel. It’s got dragons! Out: 2/2/10
* State of Decay, by James Knapp. In a dystopian future, zombies do all of humanity’s dirty jobs. Out: 2/2/10
* Shadows Past, by Lorna Freeman. A new fantasy novel in the author’s Borderlands series. Out: 2/2/10
Now that the holidays are behind us and everyone is properly at their work desks, it’s time for me to make an open call to writers, editors and publicists to participate in “The Big Idea” feature here at Whatever (and later, when it’s ready, on its own Web site). Below, a quick FAQ to get everyone up to speed. Feel free to share this with whomever you like and to link to it freely.
1. What is The Big Idea?
It’s a feature presented here on Whatever, up to twice-weekly, in which authors discuss their latest books, to the delight and edification of Whatever’s up to 45,000 daily readers.
2. Why would I (or the writer I represent) want to be part of it?
Because Whatever readers love books (hey, they’re visiting the blog of a professional writer), there’s lots of them, and because The Big Idea feature is linked to all over the Internet, drawing in readers from elsewhere — all of whom like hearing from the author what it is that makes their book so damn interesting. As Leverage television show writer John Rogers recently wrote:
[T]his series of blog posts… has allowed me to discover more fine new fiction in a year than all the online reviews I’ve plowed through in the five previous.
3. What authors have participated in The Big Idea?
The index for 2009 participants, which includes award winners and New York Times bestsellers, is here.
4. What does a Big Idea feature require?
A short (400 to 1,000 word) essay from the author on an important aspect of the book. A guide to writing a Big Idea feature is here.
5. Which authors are eligible to be considered for The Big Idea?
The feature is open to all authors regardless of genre, fiction and non-fiction alike. Past participants have tended to come from the genres of science fiction and fantasy, but that’s because I’m a writer in that genre. But there have also been authors of non-fiction, romance, YA and mainstream fiction as well.
Likewise, presses and publishers of all sizes are welcome to query, so long as their works are distributed to major bookstores on a returnable basis and are available on the following three American online book stores: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Powell’s.
6. How do I get (or how does my author get) considered for The Big Idea?
Here’s what you do:
a) No earlier than two months from the book’s official publication date and no later than one month from that date, send me an e-mail at john@scalzi.com, with an e-mail header formatted like so: “BIG IDEA QUERY: [Author] [Book Title] [Release Date]“. In the body of the e-mail please briefly describe the book.
(This rule is not applicable to January – February 2010 — I still have open slots to fill in that timeframe. But going forward this rule will apply.)
b) I’ll try to get back to you within the week regarding availability; if you don’t hear back within 10 working days, you can ping again.
c) At some point prior to release, send the book to me (or have your publicist/publisher do so), following my publicity guidelines (mailing address is at that link). ARCs are fine; finished copies are groovy, too.
d) If I have a slot for you (or your author), I’ll give you the date scheduled for the piece; please send (or have your author send) the piece a week before the run date to john@scalzi.com, with an e-mail header formatted like so: “BIG IDEA ENTRY: [Author][Book Title][Scheduled Run Date].”
The following statement is important: You (or your publicist, editor, publisher) need to ask to participate in The Big Idea. Just sending a book or a press release asking me if I’d like to interview you (or your author) isn’t going to work; I get a lot of each. I find The Big Idea works best with authors (and others) who know what it’s about and are affirmatively interested in participating. Also, as a working writer myself I don’t have a huge amount of time to chase down people to participate. So if you want to participate, please ask! Thanks.
7. Do any authors have priority for open Big Idea slots?
In a general sense I will give priority to a) authors who have not written a Big Idea piece before; b) authors whose books are coming out in the week a slot is open; c) authors who actually follow directions noted above. Beyond that, it’s pretty open, and my intent is to get a good mix of authors and books.
Any other questions? Drop ‘em in the comment thread. Otherwise, I look forward to seeing your queries!
freelance writer and designer. She's a
published columnist and aspiring YA
novelist. See her website here.
These are the kinds of questions my friends and I are wrestling with as we transition out of school and into the Real World. It’s a strange time, because we’re technically adults, but most of us feel more like overgrown kids.
And that’s exactly the unique life period that New Adult fiction is intended to address.
“New Adult” is a term coined by Dan Weiss and his editorial assistant S. Jae-Jones (known as JJ). They are on a mission to discover and develop New Adult voices for St. Martin’s Press. To that end, they recently ran a contest for writers of New Adult fiction and ended up selecting 18 winners. Now they are reading partials of those 18 manuscripts, and one of them, happily, is mine.
While I calmly (hah!) sit and wait to find out if the St. Martin’s team is interested in reading more of my work, I find myself searching for the best way to explain New Adults and our fiction. It’s more difficult than I would have expected. In the end, I decided that the clearest explanation might be a composite. Here are a few quotes about the nuances of “New Adult,” accompanied by my thoughts as a New Adult person writing New Adult fiction.
THE CONCEPT
In the words of JJ at St. Martin’s, “New Adult is about young adulthood, when you are an adult but have not established your life as one (career, family, what-have-you).”
So, it’s about transition. The transformation from child to adult doesn’t happen overnight—just ask as anyone who is or has been (or is a parent to) a teenager. But the transition from teen to adult doesn’t happen overnight either. There’s a period of time where adulthood feels like a new pair of shoes. The expectations of independence and self-sufficiency are still new, still being broken in. New Adults are the people who have just begun to walk in those shoes; New Adult fiction is about their blisters and aches.
THE PROTAGONISTS
Writer and actress Adrienne Kress describes New Adult as “work that isn't quite adult and isn't really YA”—i.e., “college-age stories, or stories with individuals just out of high school.”
That puts New Adult protagonists in the range of 18 to 26 years old. (Earlier in history, adulthood may have started as early as 15 or 16, but I think you get the idea.) College, first jobs, first relationships, or marriage… There’s a lot that can happen when you’re 18-26, but the fact is, those same events feel very different at that age than they do at 12 or at 40. Because kids and teens focus on the present, while adults draw on their past experience to inform their present and future decisions. New Adults are somewhere in between. As the saying goes: old enough to know better, but still too young to care. That distinction might seem subtle, but it comes through loud and clear in the voice of New Adult fiction.
Now, obviously there have been protagonists aged 18-26 before. New Adult as a concept is not new, but recognizing and promoting it as a separate category is.
THE READERS
Agent Kristin Nelson explains that New Adult stories “will speak to older teens and twenty-somethings.” But then “where [do we] put these books so they can be found by the target audience. Does it go in the teen section or in the general fiction?”
The answer is that there is no answer yet. In an ideal world, New Adult fiction would go on a New Adult shelf, but that doesn’t exist in mainstream bookstores yet. Part of St. Martin’s mission is to help interested readers find these books, regardless of where they end up. The fact that these interested readers might hail from all different age groups makes the task more challenging, but perhaps also more rewarding.
St. Martin’s Weiss is an industry veteran, responsible for successful ventures such as the Sweet Valley High series and SparkNotes. He’s got a knack for understanding what niches are not being filled, which consumers aren’t being satisfied. If he believes New Adult fiction will have an audience, then I’m inclined to agree.
Especially since New Adult could offer a variety of “flavors.” Sci-fi, fantasy, romance, historical, thriller, literary … Just like the Young Adult umbrella, New Adult can (and probably will) cover all these genres and more.
THE BIG PICTURE
Finally, and my personal favorite, St. Martin’s Press VP Matthew Shear sums up New Adults—both its readers and protagonists—as “emerging adults who are navigating career, love and family in a 24/7 connected world.”
Exactly. In fact, that’s what I had in mind while writing Twenty-Somewhere, my New Adult manuscript currently under consideration by St. Martin’s. In Twenty-Somewhere, three best friends (Sophie, MJ, and Claudia) graduate from college, scatter across the globe, and begin their own careers and relationships. Despite their great differences and even greater distances, all three struggle through similar issues, and they struggle through them together. Because in this day and age, being close doesn’t require being nearby.
That brings us back to my original question: Where is home? For New Adults like me, I think the answer is again a composite. Home is the new apartment, the childhood residence, and the future house. For New Adult fiction, the only home right now is St. Martin’s Press. But if Weiss and JJ are successful, it’s only a matter of time before other publishing houses follow their lead. And when they do, I have no doubt that New Adult will find a home on a bookshelf of its very own.
Want more on this topic?
- 5 Signs a Literary Agent is a Good Match For You.
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1. Kids agent Mary Kole, who I recently interviewed, is hosting a contest on her KidLit blog, inviting writers to submit the first 500 words of their finished young adult or middle grade novel. Deadline: Jan. 31, 2010. See all details here.
2. Sourcebooks is launching a new young adult imprint called Sourcebooks Fire and is hosting a contest for YA writers. You're invited to submit your pitch, a bio and the title. Contest runs from Feb. 1 to Feb. 28, 2010. See all details here.
In case anyone's curious about how long the submission form has been open each day before reaching the daily submission limit, here's some data. But note that days 1 and 2 are rough approximations, because the form inadvertently closed too early both of those days and had to be reopened later by hand.
Day 1: 10 hours.
Day 2: 12 hours.
Day 3: 16 hours.
Day 4: 18 hours.
Day 5: 14 hours.
When we first floated the idea of having a submission cap to a few friends a while back, people were concerned that it would mean everyone would rush to submit moments after each reopening, so we'd be open for only a few minutes a day. That's a legitimate concern; if the cap were lower or volume were higher, I think it could happen.
But I'm pleased to see that it's turned out that we've mostly been open for at least 12 hours a day; I think that gives a sufficient window for people anywhere in the world to submit at a reasonable time of day.
I'm guessing that the cap will continue to limit submissions per day through the end of next week. But I'm also guessing that by the end of this week, we'll be regularly open for 18 hours a day or more.
One nice thing about the way all this is set up is that it's easily tweakable. We can adjust the cap if we need to, and if it turns out having a cap is a bad idea, we can easily remove it. We'll see how it goes. But so far, I've been pretty pleased with it.
"How I Got My Agent" is a new recurring feature
on the GLA blog. I find it fascinating to see the exact road people took that landed
them with a rep. Seeing the things people did right vs. what they did wrong (highs
and the lows) can help other scribes who are on the same journey. Some tales
are of long roads and many setbacks, while others are of good luck and quick signings.
To see
Please keep in mind I'm talking about who WILL win, not who SHOULD win—two totally different things here. If I had to bet money, today, this is what I would bet. I suppose I've just seen way too many movies recently.
BEST PICTURE: The Hurt Locker
All the other movies seem to have something going against them. Up in the Air and Invictus were good, not great. Avatar was good but flawed. A Serious Man was too under the radar, and the Coens just won the best picture two years ago. The Hurt Locker is that movie that got rave reviews in the summer and those haven't stopped.
BEST DIRECTOR: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
A woman has never won best director and I think Academy members have been looking for a great film they can honor, and that's The Hurt Locker. There's no clear frontrunner here, so I feel like she has the edge. It doesn't feel like Jason Reitman's time yet for Up in the Air. The only real competition is James Cameron for Avatar, but I think she wins.
BEST ACTOR: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
First of all, I think it will not be Morgan Freeman nor George Clooney because they've won before. So at this point it boils down to Colin Firth for A Single Man, and Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart. Firth is a Brit (the Academy loves Brits) and a gay-themed drama is ripe for an Oscar. But Bridges is older, always great, and has never won. Robert Duvall previously won an Oscar for playing an alcoholic washed-up country singer (Tender Mercies, 1983) and I think Bridges wins—less because this was the greatest performance of his career, and more an honoring for a career of great work.
BEST ACTRESS: Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)
Toughest category of the year. I really have no idea here so let's say Meryl Streep, who is nominated like eight times a year but hasn't won since Sophie's Choice (1982). She's overdue for Win #2, and there is absolutely no frontrunner here. With 10 best picture nominees this year, the Academy seems to realize their show is dying and they are trying to reach out and please more people. That's why Bridges and Streep will win - people want them to win. I think that if this weren't a turning-point year for he Academy, indie standout Carey Mulligan (An Education) takes it home.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)
This is a tough field here, and the dark horse is Christopher Plummer if he gets a nod for The Last Station. The Academy tends to favor older nominees, British nominees, and actors who have done lots of great work but haven't been recognized. Plummer is all those! But like Heath Ledger last year, it's just impossible to ignore Waltz in Inglourious Basterds. He made that movie. I don't see Basterds winning anything else, so that gives Waltz an edge.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mo'Nique (Precious)
This one seems like a done deal. Precious got a lot of buzz, but I don't see it winning in any other categories, which gives Mo'Nique a great shot here.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE NOMINATE: Sharlto Copley (District 9)
I just saw this movie recently because I couldn't pay my wife to go with me in the summer. Have you seen it? It's fantastic, and the best thing about it is the lead actor, Sharlto, this unknown South African guy who never acted in a major film before. He carries the whole thing on his shoulders and that's just amazing. He doesn't have to win; just nominate him ... please.
As I do each year in the first week of January, it’s time for my annual reminder to literary award nominators what works of mine are eligible for various award type thingies in the current year time frame period. Yes, it’s unseemly, but it’s also grasping and self-serving!
And what do I have for your consideration and delectation this time around? Well:
Best Novella:
- The God Engines (Subterranean Press)
Best Novelette:
- “Judge Sn Goes Golfing” (Subterranean Press chapbook)
- “The Tale of the Wicked” (The New Space Opera 2, Eos Books)
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form:
- “The PetMaster 2000” (Live improvisational science fiction comedy, written and performed by Mary Robinette Kowal and John Scalzi)
Those are the works I have that are generally eligible. In the case of the Nebulas and the Norton (SFWA’s YA award), as a consequence of its switchover to a new nomination system, there’s a one-time 18-month eligibility “year,” which means that for the Nebula and Norton Awards only, Zoe’s Tale is eligible for Best Novel consideration.
Some notes:
* In addition to the categories above, I’ll note that for the Hugos I am also eligible for the Best Fan Writer category (I won it in 2008) and that Whatever is now likely eligible in the Best Fanzine category. However, in both cases I suggest people pass up the chance to nominate me or the blog in these categories. In the case of the Fan Writer category, I’m still of the opinion that there are many excellent fan writers who have not won the Hugo in that category but should, so that award still needs to be spread around (current Fan Writer Award winner Cheryl Morgan believes the same thing, incidentally). As for Whatever, it won me both a Fan Writer and Best Related Book Hugo; it’s been Hugo awarded sufficiently, I think.
* I recognize my noting “The PetMaster 2000″ being eligible for the Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form will raise a few eyebrows, but, you know what: Mary and I are being pretty funny there, it does meet all the qualifications for the category, and in any event this is a category where they gave a Hugo for Gollum screaming at people on MTV, so let’s just say we wouldn’t be the strangest thing ever nominated in the category. Take a listen and consider it, if you would.
* That said, when you’re considering the Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form Hugo category, I hope you will also give some thought to Stargate: Universe, the show for which I am currently Creative Consultant. Ten episodes have shown here in the US and Canada, and they all have something to recommend them (although if you had to pin me down on one, I’d suggest the mid-season cliffhanger, “Justice”). I’m proud of this show and I think we’ve done some good television, and I would be delighted to see that reflected in the nominations this year.
That’s my award pimpage for 2010.
I’m really rather delighted to say that the Tor trade paperback version of Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded: A Decade of Whatever 1998 – 2008 is now officially out and about at bookstores everywhere, making it the perfect gift for the Feast of the Epiphany — and I know you were worried about what to get people for that. It’s also the perfect gift for people who have always wanted to read my commentary on the world but have phobias regarding the Internet and/or glowy screens. On the other hand, if people want to know when the eBook version of this title will be available, well, uh. Hello. Look where you’re reading this. Although of course the book offers the best of Whatever in handy concentrated form. Distilled Whatever, as it were. 180 proof. The Everclear of Whatever.
One reason I’m delighted about this particular release of Hate Mail is that it was unexpected. As you almost certainly know, the original — and fabulous – Subterranean Press release (seen up there on the computer screen) was a limited edition hardcover, limited to 1,000, on the thinking that the audience for the book would small and select; i.e., the people who already read Whatever. But as it turns out the book sold quickly and the folks at Tor strongly believed there was a larger audience for the work — and it winning a Hugo certainly didn’t hurt, either. I’m very pleased Tor is making the effort to bring the book to a wider audience. Hopefully their faith will be justified.
And for me having that wider release is also meaningful. It’s no secret that one of the early motivations for writing on Whatever for me was to keep sharp in the “column” format, having written a newspaper column in the early 90s. One of my dreams when I was writing the newspaper column was that one day I could have a collection of my columns out in book form, following in the path of columnists I admired, from H.L. Mencken and Mike Royko, Molly Ivins and Roger Ebert, Dave Barry and James Lileks.
Well, I didn’t get on that path from newspapers, but I did get on it, and I’m pretty happy about that. And while Hate Mail is definitely not the first book based on content from a blog (or indeed, even my first book based on content from a blog), if it’s not in fact the first collection of general interest — that is, newspaper column-like — blog posts offered up by a major book publisher, it’s pretty damn near the top of that list. In its own small way Hate Mail is a historic book, and I’m proud of that fact.
Another small way that this edition of Hate Mail is historic: It’s the first book to be published using the new Hugo Award badge on its cover, which I will show you here:
Neat (the Wil Wheaton quote is nice too).
In any event: Book! Out! Now! If wanted a copy for yourself or someone else, and couldn’t get one, now you can. Enjoy. And thanks.
The latest on The God Engines shipping status, nicked from the Subterranean Press site:
All individual orders will be en route to customers by Monday morning, with large online bookstore and wholesale orders currently being packed. Please note that we only have 30 copies of the signed limited edition available, which is leatherbound, and features a different cover (pictured here) than the unsigned cloth bound edition.
Groovy. Also, a reminder to any of you who stayed away from the Internets over the holidays that I posted the first chapter of The God Engines for you to check out. It’s here if you missed it, or if you didn’t miss it, but just didn’t read it. YOU BASTARD.
Also, someone in the comments to that earlier TGE posting asked if I had a preference as to where folks bought the book, from Amazon or from Subterranean Press directly. With the exception of the limited, which is only available from Subterranean Press directly (and apparently not for much longer, so hurry), no, I have no real preference. Both I and Subterranean make more if you buy direct from them, so if that’s actually important to you, then buy direct, and thanks. But we do just fine if you buy off Amazon, too. As I noted to the person who asked the question, if we didn’t want you to have the option of buying the book from Amazon, it wouldn’t be on Amazon. I’m happy you’re buying it, no matter from whom you buy it.
And, yes, just in case anyone’s wondering, I met my writing quota for the day. Go me.
For the third year running, I’ll be an instructor at the Viable Paradise writing workshop, which takes place as it always does on Martha’s Vineyard, and this year runs from Sunday, October 3rd, through Friday, October 8th. Those attending get intensive week-long instruction on the art, craft and business of writing science fiction and fantasy from the likes of Patrick and Teresa Nielsen Hayden, Jim Macdonald and Debra Doyle, Steven Gould and Laura Mixon, Elizabeth Bear and me, of whom all told have more books, awards and relevant practical experience in the genre and in publishing than is at all decent. It’s also got an impressive list of alumni, including nominees for Hugo, Nebulas, BSFAs and other significant genre awards. It’s a really good and useful workshop, in other words, by people who know their stuff, for people who want to learn and publish.
VP is currently accepting applications for this year’s workshop class. The submission window runs from now through the 30th of June, but we get a lot of applications, so it makes sense to get your application in early (we instructors certainly appreciate it). Follow that link above to read the submission guidelines and to learn more about the fees associated with the workshop.
Good luck, and hope to see you in Martha’s Vineyard this October!
A couple of weeks ago, Yeshiva University held a panel discussion on "Being Gay in the Orthodox World."
Shmuel has put together an excellent page of links and resources related to the panel, including transcripts, videos, responses, and rebuttals to the responses.
I was hesitant to link to the transcripts and such when Shmuel first pointed to them, because there had been a request that the event not be recorded. But I gather that three of the four panelists have now indicated that they're okay with the material being publicized.
The third panelist is an especially compelling and entertaining speaker. He's speaking to a Yeshiva audience, so he uses some terms that are unfamiliar to me, but the meaning comes through clearly in most cases, and he presents his case really well.
Shmuel also links to an audio recording of a fairly anti-gay response from a rabbi, and provides both a literal transcript and a translated-from-Yeshivish transcript of the rabbi's remarks—along with an excellent rebuttal, by the aforementioned third panelist, to the rabbi's remarks.
Page Summary
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif)
jedediah : Automated art and intent: interpreting Street View photos [+0] - scalzifeed : The Big Idea: Sarah A. Hoyt [+0]
- scalzifeed : Producers, Science Fiction, Oscars [+0]
- litagentguide : Agent Advice: Rachelle Gardner of WordServe Literary [+0]
- litagentguide : Agent Kate Epstein Now Accepting Young Adult [+0]
- scalzifeed : Special Guest Cat [+0]
- jedediah : Tolkien songs [+0]
- scalzifeed : Just Arrived, 1/6/10 [+0]
- scalzifeed : “The Big Idea” Open Call to Publicists, Editors and Authors [+0]
- litagentguide : New Adult: What Is It? [+0]
- litagentguide : Two Contests for Kids Writers [+0]
- jedediah : SH submission-cap update [+0]
- litagentguide : How I Got My Agent: Matt Mikalatos [+0]
- litagentguide : Feeling Crazy? Me Too. Oscar Predictions for 2009 ... [+0]
- scalzifeed : The 2010 Award Pimpage Post [+0]
- scalzifeed : Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded Out in Trade Paperback [+0]
- scalzifeed : Hey, You [+0]
- scalzifeed : Quick God Engines Shipping Update [+0]
- scalzifeed : Viable Paradise Writing Workshop Accepting Applications [+0]
- jedediah : Gay and Orthodox (Jewish) [+0]