Bards beware: Fiction-writing AI demanding spot at table of content
japantimes.co.jp – Sunday June 19, 2016
It was a dark, overcast day, with clouds hovering low.
The room was kept at the most appropriate temperatures and humidity, as usual. Yoko sat on a couch in an untidy manner, killing time with a silly game. But she would not talk to me.
I’m bored. I could not be bored more . . .
So begins a short story titled “A day when a computer writes fiction.” The story, in which boredom prods a computer into writing a novel, was created with the help of artificial intelligence.
Female-focused new writing company the Coterie launches
thestage.co.uk – Thursday June 16, 2016
A new theatre company with a focus on nurturing female playwrights has been launched.
Created by director Caitlin McLeod, the Coterie will initially focus on commissioning three new plays by women over a period of a year and a half, to allow time for the scripts to be fully developed.
A Tale of Two Cultures: Children's Publishing in France and America
publishersweekly.com – Wednesday June 15, 2016
French and American children’s book publishers gathered on June 9 for the Franco-American Children’s Book Publisher Conference at the French Embassy in New York City. The event was the second of its kind to be held at the embassy, following a conference last year focused on Franco-American comics and graphic novel publishing. Panelists from both France and America spoke about the children’s book industry in their respective countries, challenges relating to publishing works in translation, as well as differences of aesthetic and content in French and American children’s titles. The conference culminated with an evening presentation by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, Jean-Marc Ayrault, who honored Françoise Mouly, publisher of Toon Books.
UTA Hires TV Lit Agent Rina Brannen
deadline.com – Saturday June 11, 2016
Brannen comes from the Rothman Brecher Agency, where she was an agent in the TV lit department for the past three years. She began her career as an assistant in the Motion Picture Literary department at CAA then went on to work for various producers and filmmakers before joining the Gersh Agency, where she worked as agent for two years.
Writers in all-night coffeeshop lockin to get creative juices flowing
theargus.co.uk – Monday June 6, 2016
WANNABE writers will shut themselves into one of the city’s most novel creative spaces overnight later this month for a dusk-til-dawn writing event.
The “All Night Write” at 88 London Road - formerly the Emporium - will close its doors at 10pm sealing writers in the coffee-house-cum-theatre and not reopen them until six o’clock the following morning.
Stealing Books in the Age of Self-Publishing
theatlantic.com – Sunday June 5, 2016
Many authors who sell their work directly on platforms like Amazon are having their stories plagiarized, which can take an emotional and financial toll.
Could Publishers and Agents Agree on a Flat Royalty Rate?
publishersweekly.com – Saturday June 4, 2016
Since e-books became a crucial source of revenue for publishers six years ago, the royalty rate on the format has been an ongoing bone of contention between authors (and their agents) and publishers. While authors and agents have stood firm on their position that the standard rate of 25% (which refers to the percentage of net profits authors receive on e-books sold) must change, publishers haven’t budged. Could a flat royalty system, in which one rate is used across formats, be a solution? Though some industry members believe a single rate could simplify a complicated royalty structure, agents said the move wouldn’t address the real problem: authors being shortchanged on the profits from their e-books.
How a High School Student Wrote and Published a Book at Age 16
huffingtonpost.com – Friday June 3, 2016
Deep Patel wrote and published a business book called A Paperboy’s Fable at age 16.
He reached out to me a year ago to provide him with a blurb for his book. After reading this inspirational allegory about achieving success through creativity and hard work, which includes interviews with such luminaries as General David Petreaus and many CEOs and entrepreneurs, I was happy to help out the young author in any way that I could.
Inpress seeks to reassure poetry publishers on PBS
thebookseller.com – Friday June 3, 2016
Inpress has insisted the services offered by the Poetry Book Society are "very much alive" following the corporate entity's move into liquidation, and that Inpress will be "powering up rather than winding down its activities".
Yesterday (3rd June) PBS announced it had gone into liquidation, and that its book club and the prestigious T S Eliot Prize would be transferred to Inpress and the T S Eliot Foundation respectively.
First-time author bags $1 million deal to write true story about his adopted dog and its fatal tumour
telegraph.co.uk – Wednesday June 1, 2016
A first-time author has landed a $1million (£691,371) book deal for his true story about Lily, an adopted dachshund who died of cancer.
Steven Rowley's book Lily and the Octopus was written in just one hundred days, and it was acquired by Simon and Schuster after 48 hours of negotiation.
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