Origami Unicorn

Ursula Le Guin at the National Book Awards

Quotes by NPR:

"I rejoice in accepting [this prize] for, and sharing it with, all the writers who were excluded from literature for so long: my fellow authors of fantasy and science fiction," Le Guin said.
She reserved her most incendiary language for the recently resolved pricing dispute between Amazon and the publisher Hachette Book Group.
"We just saw a profiteer try to punish a publisher for disobedience, and writers threatened by corporate fatwa," she said. "And I see a lot of us, the producers, accepting this — letting commodity profiteers sell us like deodorant!"

Should Books and Bookselling Be Protected?

In France, and in some other nations, books and book selling receive protection from the government. Two people debate whether the US should do the same: The New York Times.

Astronaut

Willow, Part Two

Part Two of the 25th Aniversary Edition.

Willow, Part One

Part One of the 25th Anniversary Edition.

Recipe for Gruel

Amazon & Hachette: What Happened

The New Yorker takes a look at what happened between Amazon and Hachette and what it may all mean in the longer run.

[T]his may not be the real reason for the majority of writers to be in favor of the deal. Royalty rates often don’t come into play for authors, because publishing houses typically pay advances against royalties, and most authors never make back their advances—perhaps eighty per cent do not, [he] estimates, based on his conversations with agents. In other words, authors tend to make their money from advances against royalties, not from sales themselves.

Amazon, Hachette Reach Agreement

And it is speculated that the terms are not much different than those Simon & Schuster obtained. The New York Times has the story.

Related articles

Amazon signs five-year pricing deal with Simon & Schuster

Anne Rice on Writing

Step One: write.

Publishers Appeal Despite Favorable Decision

Publishers Weekly explores the reasons why publishers, having gotten a decision favorale to their interests, are appealing it anyway.

In a surprise move, the publisher plaintiffs in the closely-watched Georgia State University copyright case have asked for a full (en banc) hearing by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, despite the fact that a three-judge panel handed them a victory last month when it unanimously reversed a 2012 district court verdict against them.