The Kemblog: worldcon

Showing posts with label worldcon. Show all posts

Sunday, October 03, 2010

AussieCon 4 links... and then some!

I know I said I was done with the AussieCon 4 posts, but Twitter friend @illegibscrib has sent me this EPIC collection of AussieCon 4 links. Thank you @illegibscrib - con-goers the world over salute you!

UPDATE 3/10: @illegibscrib has added another great stack of links... you'll find them down the end.

Aussiecon4
2010 Hugo Winners and Nominees (includes voting breakdowns)
Masquerade Competition Winners
All Aussiecon4 Convention Newsletters (The Echidna)

Kevin Standlee
Video: 2010 Hugo Awards Ceremony
Video: Worldcon Chairs Photo Session

Jo Walton
Ditmar Awards 2010

Cheryl Morgan
Video: Ditmar Awards 2010
Video: Aussiecon 4 Opening Ceremonies
Video: Aussiecon 4 Closing Ceremonies
Video: Aussiecon 4 Fan Guest of Honour Speech by Robin Johnson
Worldcon, Day 1
The Dead Critics Panel
Smoke Filled Rooms
My Terrorist Resume Expands

Voyager Books
Maria Quinn wins Norma K Hemming Award

Galactic Suburbia
Links to Aussiecon4 Podcasts

London in 2014
Aussiecon Update

Flickr
Photos from Aussiecon4 / Worldcon 68

Gary Kemble
In pictures: The Nightmare Ball
(panels and summaries)
The story behind Switzerland's first sf movie (Cargo)
Kim Stanley Robinson still betting on utopia
The future of short stories
Drinking the Kool Aid at WorldCon
Ebooks: the future is now
Finally, my AussieCon4 wrap
(audio)
Audio: Interview with Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Audio: Kim Stanley Robinson Guest of Honour speech
Audio: Charlie Stross on ebooks
Audio: ebooks and the publishing industry panel
Audio: Kim Stanley Robinson on climate change
Audio: Directions in Australian Horror
(author interviews)
Interview: Marianne de Pierres
Interview: Tim Holman
Interview: Angela Slatter
Interview: Rowena Cory Daniells
Interview: Trent Jamieson
Interview: Helen Stubbs (Winner of Aussiecon4 Short Story Competition)
Interview: Kaaron Warren
Interview: Graham Storrs
Interview: Cory Doctorow

John Scalzi
Tales from Melbourne
My Big News: I’m Toastmaster of Chicon 7, the 2012 Worldcon

Paul Cornell
How Australia Was

Seanan McGuire
Officially the Princess of the Kingdom of Poison and Flame

Gail Carriger
WorldCon AussieCon4 Day 1 Friday
WorldCon AussieCon4 Day 2 Saturday
WorldCon AussieCon4 Day 3 Sunday: Final Report
Quick Check In After WorldCon AussieCon4

Catherynne M Valente
Notes on Losing My First Hugo

Trudi Canavan
My AussieCon4 ‘Report’

Peter Watts
Worth the Price

Tansy Rayner Roberts
Feminist Fail and Win at Aussiecon 4
Thoughts from Worldcon
Yet Another Worldcon Post

Jennifer Fallon
Musing on the Panels Stuff-up at Worldcon

Helen Lowe
An Interview with Cheryl Morgan: Reprised for Worldcon
Worldcon: Two Days In
Worldcon: It’s All Over Now

Helen Lowe (Orbit Books)
UNconventional: Worldcon & Me

Nicola Pitt (Orbit Books)
Worldcon photos from last weekend!

Tracey O'Hara (HarperCollins)
Aussiecon4, or the 68^th Annual World Science Fiction Convention

Kathleen Jennings
Aussiecon4 / Worldcon Sketchbook

Kyla Ward (AHWA)
Congestion

Alan Baxter
Worldcon, the story so far
Worldcon wrap, part two
Worldcon panel – Novellas
Worldcon panel – The eternal border
Aussiecon4 photos – last post

David D Levine
The Days Are Just Packed - Aussiecon, days 1-2
The Days Are Just Packed - Aussiecon, days 3-4
The Days Are Just Packed - I've seen the Southern Cross for the first time

Graham Clements
My Writing Week 3 (35) - Aussiecon
My Writing Week 3 (36) - More on Aussiecon
Aussiecon 4 - Young Adult Panels

Foz Meadows
Worldcon Wrap

Stephen Dedman (and possibly others) – Talking Squid
Worldcon 2010 Observations

Deborah Biancotti
Oh, yeah, there was a WorldCon

Brian Thurogood
YA Speculative Fiction continues to gain readers and importance
AussieCon4 – a ‘science’ failure
Artists’ Paradox of “a knock at the door” at AussieCon4
The Eternal Border, a discussion on taboos at the 2010 WorldCon
The steampunk playground within speculative fiction
Pitching the novel – advice from AussieCon4
Cyberpunk and the City – the view from AussieCon4
Fantastic Females – writers discuss feminism at WorldCon
We’re all connected, all the time – blogs and social networking in the world of YA spec fic
Making a living – professional writing for speculative fiction authors

Australian Literature Review
(panels)

On ‘Anachronistic Attitudes: Writing thought and belief in historical fiction’
On ‘Destroying the Future to Save the Planet’
On ‘Nuts and Bolts: Editing YA Spec Fic’
On ‘Keeping Pace: Maintaining momentum in fiction’
On ‘Write What You Know’
On ‘In Conversation: Kim Stanley Robinson and Robert Silverberg’
On ‘Girl Meets Boy Meets Dragon: Romance in fantasy’
On ‘Steal the Past, Build the Future: New histories for fantasy fiction’
On ‘Thinking in Trilogies’
On ‘The Novella’
On ‘Kim Stanley Robinson – Guest of Honour Speech’
On ‘Joseph Campbell and the Hero’s Journey’
On ‘Losing the Plot: Plotting in advance VS writing as you go’
On ‘Crowns and Swords: The intertwined worlds of fantasy and monarchy’
On ‘Hand-waving Rule Bending and Other Dirty Tricks of Hard SF’
On ‘The Race to the Red Planet’
(author interviews)
Mary Victoria – Author Interview
Fiona McIntosh – Author Interview
Ben Chandler – Author Interview
David D. Levine – Author Interview
Kim Stanley Robinson – Author Interview
Kate Forsyth – Author Interview
Zoe Walton – Publisher Interview

Rachel Hyland (Geek Speak Magazine)
Conventional Wisdom: A WorldCon Memoir
Living the Fairy Tale: an interview with Seanan McGuire

The Wheeler Centre, Melbourne
Melbourne Gets its Geek On

Parker Strahn
Aussiecon 4: Day One (Thursday)
Aussiecon 4: Day Two (Friday)
Aussiecon 4: Day Three (Saturday)
Aussiecon 4: Day Four (Sunday)
Aussiecon 4: Day Five (Monday)

Nicole Murphy
AussieCon - so far
AussieCon - going on
AussieCon - relaxacon
AussieCon 4 - the conclusion

Lord Mountain Goat
Video: GRRM, Bringing Game of Thrones to HBO (part 1 - spoilers!)
Video: GRRM, Bringing Game of Thrones to HBO (part 2 - spoilers!)
Video: GRRM, Bringing Game of Thrones to HBO (part 3 - spoilers!)
Video: GRRM Answers Fan Questions

Jake Stormoen
A Game of Thrones HBO Panel at AussieCon (Worldcon)

morningsword
A Game of Thrones HBO Panel at AussieCon (Worldcon)

James (WOTLuckers)
Worldcon Report (Including Kaffeklatsch with George R R Martin)

Aussie Chris
Meeting George R.R. Martin

Linda
World Con 2010 Day 1
World Con 2010 Days 2 and 3
World Con 2010 Day 4
World Con 2010 Day 5

Ameel Zia Khan
Aussiecon 4: Day 1
Aussiecon 4: Day 2
Aussiecon 4: Day 3
Aussiecon 4: Day 4
Aussiecon 4: Day 5

Kathryn Andersen
Worldcon 2010 - Day 1
Worldcon 2010 - Day 2
Worldcon 2010 - Day 3
Worldcon 2010 - Day 4
Worldcon 2010 - Day 5

Shane on the Go
Worldcon
Worldcon - day 2
Worldcon - day 2 - after lunch
Worldcon - Day 3 - Part 1
Worldcon - Day 3 - Part 2
Worldcon - Day 4 - Part 1
Worldcon - Day 4 - Part 2... and then it was over ...
Video: Robert Silverberg on Novellas: The Perfect Format
The Hugos

Soon Lee
Aussiecon: Day One
Aussiecon: Day Two
Aussiecon: Day Three
Aussiecon: Day Four
Aussiecon: Day Five
Hugos 2010 voting statistics: musings
Aussiecon 4: WTF moments. Picks for 2011

strangelove4sf
Day One: Environmental Politics in SFF
Day Two: Robinson and Silverberg in Conversation
More about Aussiecon 4

SuperDave
One con ends...another begins.
WorldCon Day 4
End of the WorldCon, and I feel fine

Megan Burke
Aussie Con 4 - My First Panel (inclusive of legs, nerds, boys and fruit)
Musings on a sense of community in Aussie Con 4 & MWF
Aussie Con 4 - Wrap Up

Patty Jansen
Write What You Know
The Next Step: Should We Go to Mars?

M A Miller
Promoting your book to the converted: AussieCon 4 from an author’s perspective

Celia Powell
AussieCon 4 Roundup

Tez Miller
AussieCon 4

Elfy
Aussiecon IV

Julia B
What I've learned from the Pros

Blindmouse
Thoughts Spurred by WorldCon (In Particular, "Characters Dress Themselves, A Mantra")

Satima Flavell
A worldcon is a wond'rous thing, God wot!

Con Reporter
Preliminary WSFS Business Meeting Report
Main WSFS Business Meeting Report
Sunday WSFS Business Meeting Report

Graham Clements

Aussiecon 4 - The Climate Change Panels (Part 1)

Aussiecon 4 - The Climate Change Panels (Part 2)

Patty Jansen

why you should read military SF

Aidan Doyle (second place in Aussiecon4 Short Story Competition)

WorldCon Report

Victorian Science Fiction Conventions Inc

The AntiFan Films

Leanne C Taylor

Unthinkable! Indescribable!

Keeping Pace: Maintaining Momentum in Fiction

In the Wake of the Sea People, in the Footsteps of Goliath: The Bar-Ilan and University of Melbourne Excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath

E.T. has a chainsaw: When science fiction and horror collide

Interlude : Pictures of no importance

Time and the Novel

To market: How to sell your short stories

The Future is Overtaking Us

Far future: Where fantasy meets SF

Editing the Novel

Writing Your First Novel

Anachronistic attitudes: Writing thought and belief in historical fiction

From Gilgamesh to Fallout 3: How new technologies bring new narrative techniques

Losing the Plot: Plotting in advance vs writing as you go

The Eternal Border

Whither the Republic: Forms of Government in Science Fiction

Alexandra Pierce

Aussiecon4: overall impressions

Mike Glyer

2020 Vision

Chicago in 2012 Confirmed in Early Returns

It’s Chicon 7

Further Down Underness

2010 Hugo Voting Statistics Posted

More Thoughts on the Fan Hugo Statistics

Taking Home Hugos, Then and Now

Best Fan Writer Hugo Final Exam

Start Thinking of 2011 TAFF Nominees

Tracey Lea

Magic Mean Streets: city as a fantasy location (panel 1)

Trans characters in YA spec fic (panel 2)

WorldCon 2010/AussieCon 4 – Daily Wrap (Day 1)

WorldCon 2010/AussieCon 4 – Daily Wrap (Day 2)

Australian horror writers Association – Nightmare Ball

Mapmaking For Fantasy Authors (panel 3)

So long and thanks for the fish…

Tarran Jones

World Con (AussieCon 4) Day 1

World Con (AussieCon 4) Day 2

World Con (AussieCon 4) Day 3

World Con (AussieCon 4) Day 4 & Day 5

Michael Neate

Aussiecon4 (Worldcon) Report - Day One

Aussiecon4 (Worldcon) Report - Day Two

Aussiecon4 (Worldcon) Report - Day Three

Aussiecon4 (Worldcon) Report - Day Four

James Shields, GUFF delegate

Brief summary of Aussiecon day 1

Exterminate!

The Hugos

Oops, I seem to have started another convention...

Laura Goodin

Back from AussieCon 4/WorldCon

Moderating Con Panels — an Introduction

Peter M Ball

Still at Aussiecon 4

Joffre Horlor

AussieCon4, World Science Fiction Convention, Melbourne, 2010

Jack Nicholls

Navigating AussieCon 4

Jennifer Brozek

WorldCon 2010 and 2011

John Hertz, DUFF delegate

What a Worldcon

Patrick J Jones

Aussiecon 4 / Worldcon 68

Frederik Pohl

Thank You, Fandom!

Rowena Cory Daniells

World Con Through the Eyes of the Uninitiated

Karen Healey

Karen reviews Worldcon

Dirk Flinthart (Launz Burch)

The Con

Tehani Croft Wessely

The Aussiecon 4 round up

monkeygod - Speculative Fiction Writers Of Singapore

First time at WorldCon

Duncan Lay

AussieCon update from Duncan Lay

Peter V Brett

Worldcon Teaser

Scott Edelman

Aussiecon4 "Vampire vs. Zombie Smackdown" Panel

Posted via email from garykemble's posterous

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

AussieCon 4 links... and then some!

Aussiecon4
2010 Hugo Winners and Nominees (includes voting breakdowns)
Masquerade Competition Winners
All Aussiecon4 Convention Newsletters (The Echidna)

Kevin Standlee
Video: 2010 Hugo Awards Ceremony
Video: Worldcon Chairs Photo Session

Jo Walton
Ditmar Awards 2010

Voyager Books
Maria Quinn wins Norma K Hemming Award

Galactic Suburbia
Links to Aussiecon4 Podcasts

London in 2014
Aussiecon Update

Flickr
Photos from Aussiecon4 / Worldcon 68

John Scalzi
Tales from Melbourne
My Big News: I’m Toastmaster of Chicon 7, the 2012 Worldcon

Paul Cornell
How Australia Was

Seanan McGuire
Officially the Princess of the Kingdom of Poison and Flame

Gail Carriger
WorldCon AussieCon4 Day 1 Friday
WorldCon AussieCon4 Day 2 Saturday
WorldCon AussieCon4 Day 3 Sunday: Final Report
Quick Check In After WorldCon AussieCon4

Catherynne M Valente
Notes on Losing My First Hugo

Trudi Canavan
My AussieCon4 ‘Report’

Peter Watts
Worth the Price

Tansy Rayner Roberts
Feminist Fail and Win at Aussiecon 4
Thoughts from Worldcon
Yet Another Worldcon Post

Jennifer Fallon
Musing on the Panels Stuff-up at Worldcon

Helen Lowe
An Interview with Cheryl Morgan: Reprised for Worldcon
Worldcon: Two Days In
Worldcon: It’s All Over Now

Helen Lowe (Orbit Books)
UNconventional: Worldcon & Me

Nicola Pitt (Orbit Books)
Worldcon photos from last weekend!

Tracey O'Hara (HarperCollins)
Aussiecon4, or the 68^th Annual World Science Fiction Convention

Kathleen Jennings
Aussiecon4 / Worldcon Sketchbook

Kyla Ward (AHWA)
Congestion

Alan Baxter
Worldcon, the story so far
Worldcon wrap, part two
Worldcon panel – Novellas
Worldcon panel – The eternal border
Aussiecon4 photos – last post

David D Levine
The Days Are Just Packed - Aussiecon, days 1-2
The Days Are Just Packed - Aussiecon, days 3-4
The Days Are Just Packed - I've seen the Southern Cross for the first time

Graham Clements
My Writing Week 3 (35) - Aussiecon
My Writing Week 3 (36) - More on Aussiecon
Aussiecon 4 - Young Adult Panels

Foz Meadows
Worldcon Wrap

Stephen Dedman (and possibly others) – Talking Squid
Worldcon 2010 Observations

Deborah Biancotti
Oh, yeah, there was a WorldCon

Australian Literature Review
(panels)

Rachel Hyland (Geek Speak Magazine)
Conventional Wisdom: A WorldCon Memoir
Living the Fairy Tale: an interview with Seanan McGuire

The Wheeler Centre, Melbourne
Melbourne Gets its Geek On

Parker Strahn
Aussiecon 4: Day One (Thursday)
Aussiecon 4: Day Two (Friday)
Aussiecon 4: Day Three (Saturday)
Aussiecon 4: Day Four (Sunday)
Aussiecon 4: Day Five (Monday)

Nicole Murphy
AussieCon - so far
AussieCon - going on
AussieCon - relaxacon
AussieCon 4 - the conclusion

Jake Stormoen
A Game of Thrones HBO Panel at AussieCon (Worldcon)

morningsword
A Game of Thrones HBO Panel at AussieCon (Worldcon)

James (WOTLuckers)
Worldcon Report (Including Kaffeklatsch with George R R Martin)

Aussie Chris
Meeting George R.R. Martin

Linda
World Con 2010 Day 1
World Con 2010 Days 2 and 3
World Con 2010 Day 4
World Con 2010 Day 5

Ameel Zia Khan
Aussiecon 4: Day 1
Aussiecon 4: Day 2
Aussiecon 4: Day 3
Aussiecon 4: Day 4
Aussiecon 4: Day 5

Kathryn Andersen
Worldcon 2010 - Day 1
Worldcon 2010 - Day 2
Worldcon 2010 - Day 3
Worldcon 2010 - Day 4
Worldcon 2010 - Day 5

Soon Lee
Aussiecon: Day One
Aussiecon: Day Two
Aussiecon: Day Three
Aussiecon: Day Four
Aussiecon: Day Five
Hugos 2010 voting statistics: musings
Aussiecon 4: WTF moments. Picks for 2011

strangelove4sf
Day One: Environmental Politics in SFF
Day Two: Robinson and Silverberg in Conversation
More about Aussiecon 4

SuperDave
One con ends...another begins.
WorldCon Day 4
End of the WorldCon, and I feel fine

Megan Burke
Aussie Con 4 - My First Panel (inclusive of legs, nerds, boys and fruit)
Musings on a sense of community in Aussie Con 4 & MWF
Aussie Con 4 - Wrap Up

Patty Jansen
Write What You Know
The Next Step: Should We Go to Mars?

M A Miller
Promoting your book to the converted: AussieCon 4 from an author’s perspective

Celia Powell
AussieCon 4 Roundup

Tez Miller
AussieCon 4

Elfy
Aussiecon IV

Julia B
What I've learned from the Pros

Blindmouse
Thoughts Spurred by WorldCon (In Particular, "Characters Dress Themselves, A Mantra")

Satima Flavell
A worldcon is a wond'rous thing, God wot!

Con Reporter
Preliminary WSFS Business Meeting Report
Main WSFS Business Meeting Report
Sunday WSFS Business Meeting Report

Posted via email from garykemble's posterous

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Finally, my AussieCon4 wrap

You would have thought that I'd written enough about AussieCon 4, but I wanted to blog about some of the personal highlights.

Kim Stanley Robinson talking about the importance of utopian science fiction. This really made me think about my own writing, because he's so right - writing about utopia is so much more of a challenge. I write a lot of dystopian stuff, although since having kids I generally aim for happy endings! It got me thinking about utopian stories. I don't have any, but at least it got me thinking about it!

Sitting on the panel next to Paul Haines, talking about why we're into horror when the real world is so awful (or words to that effect). I said that I generally enjoy reading and writing escapist fiction. Giant cockroaches, zombies, that kinda thing. But that's only partially true. Paul said that writing what he writes is a cathartic experience for him. For me, I can only write when I'm not down (or, I find it hard to write when I'm down). On the plane home I read three stories from Scenes From the Second Story, including Paul's "I've Seen The Man".

When I interviewed Ellen Datlow in 2006 she told me:

"When I read a half a dozen really excellent, very strong short stories one after another, it's exhausting. You can't just go straight from one story to another if the first one makes the impact it should. It's difficult to switch gears that quickly."

And that's exactly what it was like. I'm not going to go all 'lit' on yer ass or anything like that (well, maybe a little). I like writing over-the-top escapist stuff because it's fun. But reading those stories made me aspire to something else. I want to write stories where the reader needs to take a pause at the end, catch their breath, have a think.

(Kinda like how I was today, after reading Stephen Dedman's "Never Seen By Waking Eyes" in Macabre - an excellent example of taking a well-worn trope, giving it depth and making it genuinely creepy.)

The short story panel with Cory Doctorow and Stephen Dedman was good for me, because it reminded me about podcasting (which Doctorow suits today's commuting lifestyle). I've since subbed two stories to podcast markets. Keep your fingers crossed for me! :)

As well as that, just meeting people! It was so good to catch up with Angela Challis and Shane Jiraiya Cummings from Brimstone Press. It was hard to believe I hadn't seen them IRL since 2006. When we were working on BLACK together it was almost as though the experience was so intense we were summoning each other, if that makes sense. It was great to see Kyla Ward again. And then there were a bunch of people from the horror scene I've had lots to do with, but never met IRL. eg Talie Helene, Marty Young -- I'm going to forget people here and get in trouble.

Then there were 'the next generation'. People who I've got to know on Twitter but never met. eg Alan Baxter, Felicity Dowker, and Helen Stubbs.

So, all in all, it was brilliant. And I really hope it's not another four years before I can get to my next con!

Last but certainly not least, I'd like to thank everyone who helped me with my grant application: Queensland Writers Centre CEO Kate Eltham, my boss at the ABC Stuart Watt, and Marty Young from the Australian Horror Writers Association. I'd also like to thank Kyla Ward for her efforts programming the horror stream, and honouring me by inviting me to sit on a couple of panels, and also Angela Challis for letting me read from 'Feast or Famine' at the Macabre launch.

Posted via email from garykemble's posterous

Friday, September 17, 2010

Ebooks: the future is now

Science fiction writers have always been on the cutting edge, and now sf publishers are scrambling to stay ahead of the ebook curve.

via abc.net.au

Posted via email from garykemble's posterous

Friday, September 10, 2010

Drinking the Kool Aid at WorldCon

I've written a piece for ABC's The Drum about why science fiction conventions are so important for writers, publishers, editors and fans.

Head on over, take a look, and leave a comment.

I don't know whether I quite nailed the 'Kool Aid' connection. What I was getting at is that when I arrived at WorldCon it was a bit disorientating, but then I 'drank the Kool Aid' and fit right in.

Posted via email from garykemble's posterous

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

On grants: paying it forward

As you will know, the only reason I was able to attend AussieCon 4 is because I was able to secure a Career Development Grant from Arts Queensland.

If you're interested in applying for this grant (or similar grants) my first recommendation would be to keep your eyes peeled for the next grants seminar by the Queensland Writers Centre.

I'm also happy to answer any questions people might have about the process. If I can help, I will. Leave a comment or tweet me.

Posted via email from garykemble's posterous

AussieCon 4: other perspectives

Here are some other perspectives on AussieCon 4...

Nicole Murphy

In the end, I’ve come away with my love of cons reaffirmed. Be scared, people – I’m finding it hard to not get back into con organising again :)

AussieCon - so far

AussieCon - going on

AussieCon - relaxacon

AussieCon 4 - the conclusion

Alan Baxter

Far and away the real highlight of this con, as with every con, was meeting people in our vibrant genre community. Not only seeing old and dear friends again and getting to hang out with them, but meeting people in person for the first time that I know very well from online interaction, and meeting new people for the first time.

Worldcon, the story so far

Worldcon wrap, part two

Plus, there's a stack of awesome photos at Flickr.

(If you'd like me to add links to your con-wraps, please tweet me or leave a comment)

Posted via email from garykemble's posterous

Monday, September 06, 2010

The future of short stories

Some notes from today's session with Cory Doctorow and Stephen Dedman.

Cory Doctorow says there hasn't been a big market for short stories for a very long time.

He says short fiction seems like a good length for the web, but the fact that computers do a whole heap of stuff means that people find it hard to concentrate on fiction if they're reading it on a connected device. However, he says that the advantage is that on the web, stories have an opportunity to find an audience they never had before.

Stephen Dedman says the nature of the web means that stories can be the length they're meant to be, rather than trying to shoehorn them into magazines where generally they have to be shorter.

Doctorow says the commercial value increases with the notoriety of the piece of fiction. And he says he can see opportunities for the marketing of physical extrusions of digital works.

He uses the example of the original scroll of paper that Jack Kerouac typed On the Road on. It's worth heaps. Not because you can't get cheap versions of the work, but because the work has such notoriety.

He says he's currently working on an anthology of reprints of his stories. There will be free ebooks, audio readings by his writer friends, POD versions via lulu.com, and a high-end hand-bound version featuring end papers of ephemera he's collected over the years, such as Jay Lake's cancer diagnosis.

He's also got a system whereby if you spot a typo, he'll correct it in the next version and credit you in the footnote. So if you want to buy it again, you can get a version with your name in it. He says he's found a way to monetise typos!

Doctorow says there have been some other interesting experiments. He says podcasting has potential, because people connect more when they hear a voice, and also it fits in with commuting, looking after kids (and I guess going to the gym).

He mentioned EscapePOD, and Stephen Dedman mentioned PseudoPOD.

Doctorow also mentioned Mongoliad, a web serial that features a blend of stuff, some free, some paid for.

Actually, AussieCon 4 has really amped me as far as short stories go, but I've got to stay focussed on my novel!

Posted via email from garykemble's posterous

Sunday, September 05, 2010

Audio: Kim Stanley Robinson on climate change

A really interesting talk by Kim Stanley Robinson on what we can do about climate change.

Download now or listen on posterous

KSR_climate.MP3 (28856 KB)

Posted via email from garykemble's posterous

Me + friends

This is the money shot, baby!

Posted via email from garykemble's posterous

Interview with Cory Doctorow

Download now or listen on posterous

corydoctorow_int.MP3 (6637 KB)

Unedited audio of my interview with Cory Doctorow, which will feed into my article for ABC News Online.

He talks about DRM, emerging business models, tips for authors, and much more.

(There's also a screaming kid about halfway through -- the joys of lobby interviews! :))

Posted via email from garykemble's posterous

Interview with Graham Storrs

1. Congratulations on TimeSplash. So, up until now the book has been available as an ebook, but now it will be available in print and as an audiobook? Who is publishing the print/audio editions?

Thanks, Gary. My new publisher is a small, Danish company called Big Bad Media. They did the '100 Stories for Haiti' project recently, so you might have heard of them. They're a multimedia company, rather than the usual kind of indie publisher, and it's truly exciting to work with them. Their vision for everything is in multiple media and Web 2.0 marketing. The ebook deal was very much in the mould of traditional book publishing, but this is something else. The pace is breathtaking.

2. Can you give me the 'elevator pitch' on TimeSplash?

Timesplashing - jumping back in time to create paradoxes - started out as something underground, edgy and cool. Then Sniper took it too far and turned time travel into the ultimate terrorist weapon. Scarred by their experiences in the party ‘scene’ that grew up around timesplashing, Jay and Sandra are thrown together in what becomes the biggest manhunt in history: the search for Sniper, Sandra’s ex-boyfriend and a would be mass murderer.

3. What was the inspiration behind the book?

I was pitching a much more 'literary' time travel novel to a Big 6 publisher when, as I was speaking, the image of lobbing time travellers like bricks back into the timestream came into my mind. I saw the splash and the 'river' of time smoothing it over but carrying some residual turbulence downstream. And I thought, kids would love doing that. It would make a great extreme sport, especially if there was some real danger involved. I was so excited, I blurted it all out, right then. Talk about queering your pitch! I went home and fleshed out the characters who were already forming in my mind and started plotting it straight away.

4. There's been a lot of talk about ebooks in the past few months, with the launch of the iPad. Depending on who you talk to, it seems they're going to either revolutionise publishing or be a disaster for mid-level authors. What's your take on this?

I'm sure ebooks will revolutionise publishing. It may be as little as 10 or 15 years before paper books are only produced as "deluxe editions" and by POD for die-hard technophobes. It looks like the paper book distribution infrastructure - the book shops - will crumble away well before then. Amazon is already the biggest paper book seller on the planet and the savvy book retailers are rushing to acquire market share in this online business. Once the book shops are gone, ebook prices will look very much more attractive. It's a shame about the iPad. Dedicated ebook readers, using e-ink, give a much better reading experience, but whatever the device, the economics of ebooks vs print will force the change in the end.

Eventually, this will all settle down and everyone - authors, readers and the publishing industry - will understand the new market dynamics, but I think it is inevitable that we will have a decade or two of "interesting times" first. The biggest disruption will come not from ebooks but from self-publishing. This is where everyone is in completely new territory. For mid-list authors feeling threatened by change, I can only point to Joe Konrath and say, do what he does. The author, as always, is the brand.

My own path to publication is symptomatic of all this turmoil in action. TimeSplash was first picked up by an "ebook first" New York publisher. That was great but I didn't have an agent and didn't know what to do with my print and audio rights. Then a UK author, Emma Newman (who had podcast her own first novel before landing a publishing deal for it) said she'd like to record it and we could jointly self-publish it as an audio book. I thought this was a great idea. I love how Emma reads. Even before the recoding was all done, she let Greg McQueen of Big Bad Media hear a sample and he fell in love with the book straight away (bless him!) I sent him the full MS and within 24 hours I was on Skype with him, nutting out the contract details for audio and print deals.

5. In your profile you say that you were always writing but never had any luck getting fiction published. What do you think was different about TimeSplash? Do you think focusing on writing full-time made the difference?

No, I think that was just sheer self-indulgence. What made the difference was taking fiction writing seriously as a business. I was a complete idiot about it for most of my life then, thanks to an event organised by the Queensland Writers Centre and Hachette, which included great advice and industry insights from people like Kate Eltham, Marianne de Pierres and Bernadette Foley, my eyes were opened. It was a real road-to-Damascus epiphany. I suddenly say how the publishing business worked, where each player fitted, and what each of them needed from me as a writer and business partner. After that, I wouldn't say it was easy, but, on some of the doors I'd been staring at glumly for decades, I could finally reach the knocker.

6. What are you most looking forward to at WorldCon?

Meeting people. I live out in the country and I only communicate with other writers by email. It's very rare that I actually get to meet one. And I've discovered over the past couple of years that I actually like my fellow writers. They're bright, they're fun, and they enjoy talking about writing! The WorldCon programme looks excellent but I'd honestly swap just about every session in it for a chance to have a coffee with the writers I've met on various social networking sites.

Posted via email from garykemble's posterous