So internet archive lost their lower court case. They’re appealing, and have a good chance with the 2nd circuit, but they need help. Here’s a link directly from one of their librarians for how you can help.
I am a huge fan of libraries. I also like the IA. I do not like their attempt to put copyrighted work out there for free against creators or publishers wishes.
The IA put a lot of our books online for free. Making us opt out instead of asking us to opt in? Not great. I sent them DMCA takedown notices (great way to spend an afternoon) and they took them down.
We publish a few books a year, some books earn out their advances, some don’t. Hundreds of libraries buy our books. If the IA want to be a regular library they can act like one. It’s not them vs. the evil empire — unless they’re fighting Amehzon in some way I don’t know. It’s them setting themselves up against writers/publishers everywhere including tiny publishers and writers who don’t want to put their names out there as being against pirates because who needs the internet to come down on them? No one.
There is a real friction in how ebooks are sold and lent out and trying to get writers paid which has not been sorted out yet.
Do I think the IA should get paid here? No. (Although who cares what I think.) I find the fundraising here kind of icky. Get a library card and borrow some free ebooks and listen to some free audiobooks. Get some free books from a Little Free Library. Don’t rip people off. Could it be easier?
Congrats to all on Locus’s 2022 Recommended Reading List — especially lovely from here to see Richard Butner’s collection THE ADVENTURISTS & Robert Freeman Wexler’s THE SILVERBERG BUSINESS
Mr. Richard Butner, whose first collection of short stories we published this year. Mr. Butner is a writer with a life of interesting experiences and this is his first full collection — proof that youth doesn’t have the monopoly on great debut authors.
For folks in various literary communities (fantasy, science fiction, slipstream, infernokrusher, etc.) who might be interested, or for anyone who likes to read, here’s my awards eligibility post for 2022:
We lost one of our great timekeepers last month — the mighty Milford Graves. Fortunately, he left behind plenty of work and wisdom. If you’ve yet to watch the recent Full Mantis documentary, definitely check it out. And listen to his music: this Hopscotch solo performance is a half-hour of beauty.
Milford Says: If you’ve got a room filled up before a concert, some people want to hide out. I say, go [into the room] before a concert starts. If everybody’s talking and smiling, you may not hear what the individuals are saying, but look for the drone that’s in the room. [The audience is] creating a harmony. And they can hear that, and that’s pumping them up. So if you can play underneath that drone and lift everything up… Some people don’t want to do that. They come in there and say, [mock-serious voice] “I have this tune, and this is B-flat.” I said, “Maybe the room ain’t in B flat!” Get the fundamental in the room, man.
