Locus, June 2013 Page 6
PUBLISHING NEWS
Hachette Book Group is once again allowing libraries to purchase new e-books, making its entire e-book catalog available beginning on May 8, 2013. In April 2010 the company stopped selling new e-books, but they have reversed their decision following a successful pilot program launched in February 2012. E-books will be offered to libraries at three times the print price for the first year, and one and a half times print price after that, with e-books available for lending to one patron at a time, for an unlimited number of checkouts.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
A crowdfunding project launched on May 15, 2013 on Kickstarter to turn Blood Kiss, a script by Emmy Award-winning writer Michael Reaves, into a film. Writer Neil Gaiman and actress and fantasy writer Amber Benson will both star if the film is funded by the June 14, 2013 deadline. For more, or to donate:
AWARDS NEWS
The winners of the 2013 Ditmar Awards, for Australian SF, have been announced. Best Novel: Sea Hearts, Margo Lanagan (Allen & Unwin). Best Novella or Novelette: ‘‘Sky’’, Kaaron Warren (Through Splintered Walls). Best Short Story: ‘‘The Wisdom of Ants’’, Thoraiya Dyer (Clarkesworld 12/12). Best Collected Work: Through Splintered Walls, Kaaron Warren (Twelfth Planet). Best Artwork: Cover art, Kathleen Jennings, for Midnight and Moonshine (Ticonderoga). Best Fan Writer: Tansy Rayner Roberts, for a body of work including reviews in Not If You Were The Last Short Story On Earth. Best Fan Artist: Kathleen Jennings, for a body of work including ‘‘The Dalek Game’’ and ‘‘The Tamsyn Webb Sketchbook’’. Best Fan Publication in Any Medium: The Writer and the Critic, Kirstyn McDermott & Ian Mond. Best New Talent: David McDonald. William Atheling Jr. Award for Criticism or Review: Tansy Rayner Roberts, for ‘‘Historically Authentic Sexism in Fantasy. Let’s Unpack That.’’ (Tor.com). Voting for the Ditmar Awards was open to members and supporting members of Conflux 9 and to members of Continuum 8 who were eligible to vote in 2011.
The 2013 Edgar Award winners were presented by the Mystery Writers of America for the best mystery fiction, non-fiction, and television produced in 2012. Winners of genre interest include The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters (Quirk) for Best Paperback Original; Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore in San Diego & Redondo Beach CA, awarded the Raven for outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing; and publisher Akashic Books, recipient of the Ellery Queen Award, which honors writing teams and outstanding people in the mystery-publishing industry. Awards were presented at the 67th Gala Banquet, May 2, 2013 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.
The Mythopoeic Society has announced the 2013 Mythopoeic Award finalists. Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature: The Weirdstone trilogy: The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (Collins), The Moon of Gomrath (Collins), and Boneland (Fourth Estate), Alan Garner; The Drowning Girl, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Roc); Death and Resurrection, R.A. MacAvoy (Prime); Hide Me Among the Graves, Tim Powers (Morrow); Digger, volumes 1-6, Ursula Vernon (Sofawolf). Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature: Giants Beware!, Jorge Aguirre & Rafael Rosado (First Second); Vessel, Sarah Beth Durst (Margaret K. McElderry); The Princess Curse, Merrie Haskell (HarperCollins); The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, Christopher Healy (Walden Pond); The Spy Princess, Sherwood Smith (Viking Juvenile). Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies: C.S. Lewis and the Middle Ages, Robert Boenig (Kent State University Press, 2012); C.S. Lewis, Poetry, and the Great War 1914-1918, John Bremer (Lexington Books, 2012); Tolkien and the Study of His Sources: Critical Essays, Jason Fisher, ed. (McFarland, 2011); Green Suns and Faërie: Essays on J.R.R. Tolkien, Verlyn Flieger (Kent State University Press, 2012); Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, Corey Olsen (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012). Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Myth and Fantasy Studies: Song of the Vikings: Snorri and the Making of Norse Myths, Nancy Marie Brown (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012); Fairy Tale Queens: Representations of Early Modern Queenship, Jo Eldridge Carney (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012); The Christian Goddess: Archetype and Theology in the Fantasies of George MacDonald, Bonnie Gaarden (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2011); As If: Modern Enchantment and the Literary Prehistory of Virtual Reality, Michael Saler (Oxford University Press, 2012); Critical Discourses of the Fantastic, 1712-1831, David Sandner (Ashgate, 2011). Winners will be announced at Mythcon 44, July 12-15, 2013, in East Lansing MI. For more:
The Bookseller Industry Awards were presented at a black-tie gala May 13, 2013 in the Park Lane Hilton in London, honoring the best in the UK publishing industry. Random House was named Publisher of the Year, Scholastic Children’s Books was named Children’s Publisher of the Year, and Harry Potter website Pottermore
Finalists for the 2013 Prix Aurora Awards, celebrating the best English-language Canadian SF/fantasy work, have been announced. Best Novel: Destiny’s Fall, Marie Bilodeau (Dragon Moon); Food for the Gods, Karen Dudley (Ravenstone); Thunder Road, Chadwick Ginther (Ravenstone); The Silvered, Tanya Huff (DAW); Triggers, Robert J. Sawyer (Penguin Canada); Healer’s Sword, Lynda Williams (EDGE). Best YA Novel: The Calling, Kelley Armstrong (Harper Teen); Above, Leah Bobet (Scholastic); Under My Skin, Charles de Lint (Razorbill Canada); Pirate Cinema, Cory Doctorow (Tor Teen); Dissolve, Neil Godbout (Bundoran); Mik Murdoch, Boy Superhero, Michell Plested (Five Rivers). Best Short Fiction: ‘‘Happily Ever After’’, Marie Bilodeau (When the Villain Comes Home); ‘‘Synch Me, Kiss Me, Drop’’, Suzanne Church (Clarkesworld #68); ‘‘Delta Pi’’, Matt Moore (Torn Realities); ‘‘Knights Exemplar’’, Al Onia (On Spec #90); ‘‘The Walker of the Shifting Borderland’’, Douglas Smith (On Spec #90). Best Poem/Song: ‘‘Hold Fast’’, Leah Bobet (Strange Horizons 6/11/12); ‘‘Zombie Descartes Writes a Personal Ad’’, Carolyn Clink (Tesseracts Sixteen); ‘‘A sea monster tells his story’’, David Clink (The Literary Review of Canada 7-8/12); ‘‘Roc’’, Sandra Kasturi (Come Late to the Love of Birds); ‘‘The Ghosts of Birds’’, Helen Marshall (Phantom Drift 2: Valuable Estrangements). Best Graphic Novel: Raygun Gothic, GMB Chomichuk (Alchemical Press); Goblins, Tarol Hunt (webcomic); West of Bathurst, Kari Maaren (webcomic); Weregeek, Alina Pete (webcomic); Looking for Group, Ryan Sohmer & Lar DeSouza (webcomic). Best Related Work: Shanghai Steam, Ace Jordyn, Calvin D. Jim & Renée Bennett, eds. (EDGE); Imaginarium 2012: The Best Canadian Speculative Writing, Sandra Kasturi & Halli Villegas, eds. (ChiZine); Hair Side, Flesh Side, Helen Marshall (ChiZine); Blood and Water, Hayden Trenholm, ed. (Bundoran); On Spec (The Copper Pig Writers’ Society). Best Artist: Richard Bartrop; GMB Chomichuk; Costi Gurgu; Michelle Milburn; Erik Mohr. There were also nominees in fan/volunteer categories. For a complete list:
Winners of the Prix Aurora/Boréal Awards were announced May 5, 2013 in Montréal, Canada during the 30th Boréal convention. Sponsored by SFSF Boréal Inc. and the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association, the awards recognize the best French-language speculative fiction by Canadians. Novel: Transtaïga, Ariane Gélinas (Marchand de feuilles). Short Fiction: Le Chasseur [The Hunter], Geneviève Blouin (Six Brumes). Related Work: Solaris, edited by Joël Champetier. Artistic and audiovisual achievement: Ève Chabot for her illustrations in magazine Brins d’éternité. Fan Publication: Brins d’éternité. The winners of the one-hour writing contest at the convention were Geneviève Blouin for story ‘‘Trou noir de mémoire’’ [Memory Black Hole], in the professional author category, and Dave Côté for story ‘‘Brouillard’’ [Mist], in the rising author category.
The 2012 Shirley Jackson Awards nominees have been announced. The awards are presented for outstanding achievement in horror, psychological suspense, and dark fantasy fiction. Novel: Immobility, Brian Evenson (Tor); Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn (Crown); The Drowning Girl, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Roc); The Dev
il in Silver, Victor LaValle (Spiegel & Grau); Edge, Koji Suzuki (Vertical). Novella: 28 Teeth of Rage, Ennis Drake (Omnium Gatherum Media); ‘‘The Indifference Engine’’, Project Itoh (The Future Is Japanese); I’m Not Sam, Jack Ketchum & Lucky McKee (Sinister Grin); Delphine Dodd, S.P. Miskowski (Omnium Gatherum Media); ‘‘Sky’’, Kaaron Warren (Through Splintered Walls). Novelette: ‘‘Wild Acre’’, Nathan Ballingrud (Visions, Fading Fast); ‘‘The Wish Head’’, Jeffrey Ford (Crackpot Palace); ‘‘The Crying Child’’, Bruce McAllister (originally ‘‘The Bleeding Child,’’ Cemetery Dance #68); ‘‘The House on Ashley Avenue’’, Ian Rogers (Every House Is Haunted); ‘‘Reeling for the Empire’’ Karen Russell (Tin House Winter 2012). Short Fiction: ‘‘How We Escaped Our Certain Fate’’, Dan Chaon (21st Century Dead); ‘‘Little America’’, Dan Chaon (Shadow Show: All New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury); ‘‘A Natural History of Autumn’’, Jeffrey Ford (F&SF 7-8/12); ‘‘Bajazzle’’, Margo Lanagan (Cracklescape); ‘‘Two Houses’’, Kelly Link (Shadow Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury); ‘‘The Magician’s Apprentice’’, Tamsyn Muir (Weird Tales #359). Collection: The Woman Who Married a Cloud, Jonathan Carroll (Subterranean); The Pottawatomie Giant and Other Stories, Andy Duncan (PS Publishing); Windeye, Brian Evenson (Coffee House); Crackpot Palace, Jeffrey Ford (Morrow); Errantry, Elizabeth Hand (Small Beer); Remember Why You Fear Me, Robert Shearman (ChiZine). Edited Anthology: Night Shadows, Greg Herren & J.M. Redmann, eds. (Bold Strokes); 21st Century Dead, Christopher Golden, ed. (St. Martin’s); Black Wings II, S.T. Joshi, ed. (PS Publishing); Exotic Gothic 4: Postscripts #28/29, Danel Olson, ed. (PS Publishing); Shadow Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury, Sam Weller & Mort Castle, eds. (Morrow). The awards will be presented on July 14, 2013 at Readercon 24 in Burlington MA.
The 2013 Branford Boase Award shortlist has been announced. The award is given to a debut author of an outstanding first novel for young people; the editors are also honored. Works of genre interest on the shortlist include After the Snow by S.D. Crockett, edited by Emma Young (Macmillan); Daylight Saving by Edward Hogan, edited by Mara Berman (Walker); and Black Arts by Andrew Prentice & Jonathan Weil, edited by Simon Mason (David Fickling). The winner will be announced at a ceremony July 11, 2013 in London.
German fantasy author Kai Meyer’s Asche und Phonix won the Seraph Award for Best Novel, while Jan Oldenburg’s Fantastik AG and Mechthild Glaser’s Stadt aus Trug und Schatten tied to win for Best Debut. The winners of the Seraph Awards are selected annually by a jury of journalists and editors. For more (in German):
WORLD CONVENTIONS NEWS
LoneStarCon 3, the 71st World Science Fiction Convention, August 29 - September 2, 2013 in San Antonio TX, has published Press Release #17, announcing the release of the 2013 Hugo Voter Packet, ‘‘an electronic package of nominated works graciously made available to voters by Hugo Award nominees and their publishers.’’
Online registration for LoneStarCon 3’s dealers’ room has opened. Participating vendors interested in reserving booths or two or more tables can now register at reduced prices. LoneStarCon3 invites booksellers, publishers, magazines, artists, and merchants of all kinds to reserve space. A $100 deposit is required, with the balance due by July 31, 2013. For more information on registration and pricing:
The LoneStarCon 3 committee sent an alert about scam phone calls that some dealers who attended Chicon have been receiving:
Some people who were dealers at Chicon have been receiving cold calls from a company claiming to be booking housing for the Worldcon. Other claims include that the hotel is almost full, and that discounted dealers reservations are available at the Hyatt near the convention. LoneStarCon 3 has no connection with this firm, the Hyatt is not a convention hotel, and there are no discounted dealers room rates at the convention hotels.
Rooms are still available in both of the official convention hotels: the Marriot Rivercenter and the Marriott Riverbank.
Jim Mowatt is the winner of the 2013 Trans Atlantic Fan Fund and will attend LoneStarCon 3. He received 91 votes in total, 47 from North America and 44 from Europe, out of a total 121 votes (58 from North America and 60 from Europe, with 3 votes from the rest of the world).
The Trans Atlantic Fan Fund (TAFF) was created in 1953 to facilitate science fiction fans traveling to conventions on both sides of the Atlantic. For more information, see
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BOOK NEWS
David Saperstein published Butterfly: Tomorrow’s Children, third in the Cocoon series, via his own Ebbets Field Productions, both as a standalone and as an omnibus with earlier volumes Cocoon and Metamorphosis: The Cocoon Story Continues.
BOOK TRENDS
On May 8 in New York, Carl Kulo, US director of Bowker Market Research, gave a presentation on trends in retail book sales, hosted by Publishers Weekly.
He revealed that e-books accounted for 11% of consumer book purchases in 2012, up from 7% in 2011, and that 22% of all units sold were e-books, up from 14% in 2011. Paperbacks remained popular, capturing 43% of expenditures, down from 42% the year before. Hardcovers accounted for 36% of sales, down two percent from 2011. Online retailers continue to dominate, with 44% of book sales coming from online sources in 2012, up from 39%. Amazon is the biggest recipient of that trend, winning 31% of dollars spent on books in 2012, up from 26% in 2011. The market share of chain bookstores dropped from 26% in 2011 to 19% in 2012, while the indie bookstore market share remained stable at 6%. Amazon’s Kindle is still the most popular e-reader, though their e-ink devices fell to a 40% market share in 2012 from 43% the year before. Amazon’s tablet, the Kindle Fire, seems to be doing well, with 20% of e-book buyers reporting that they owned the device, which was first introduced in late 2011. By contrast, Barnes and Noble’s Nook e-reader was used by 15% of e-book readers, the same number as 2011. More than half of buyers reported downloading e-books onto one Kindle device or another, with 14% of buyers downloading to the Nook and 14% to tablets, including iPads.
Bowker will publish their US Book Consumer Demographics and Buying Behaviors Annual Review in June.
FINANCIAL NEWS
The AAP StatShot sales figures for showed a disappointing December, but overall strong numbers for 2012. December saw total trade sales of $514 million, down 13% from December 2011. The huge growth in e-books continued to slow; adult e-book sales rose 19% to $97.8 million; children’s e-book sales fell 21% to $10.5 million, but that was largely blamed on the previous year’s exceptional sales for the Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games series. E-books made up 21% of December sales, rising a mere $1 million from November sales figures. For the year, adult e-book sales reached $1.483 billion, up 42% from 2011; children’s e-book sales were $233 million, up from $105 million. E-books were 23% of all trade sales, up from 17%; they were 26% of adult sales and 14% of children’s/YA sales. Trade sales were up 7.4% to $6.53 billion, with much of that increase credited to two series, the Hunger Games in YA, and the Fifty Shades of Grey books, which were estimated to make up around 5.5% of adult trade sales. The Hunger Games were estimated at around 9.5% of all Children’s/YA sales for the year, which rose by $194 million. Adult books saw a 1% decline in gross shipments to retailers, but returns also fell to 27% of gross print sales; declining mass market returns accounted for more than half the drop in returns.
US Census Bureau preliminary estimates for March show bookstore sales of $931 million, up 1.1% compared to March 2012. Bookstore sales for the year-to-date were up 2.3% over the year before, but the rate of increase has fallen steadily from a 5% increase in January to 3.6% in February and now 1.1% in March. All retail sales were up 1.7 in March compared to the previous March; year-to-date sales were up 2.8%.
Simon & Schuster saw their first quarter profits up 20%, despite a 3% drop in sales compared to the year before, when the company had massive costs relat
ed to e-book pricing lawsuits. Operating income for the quarter was $12 million, on sales of $171 million.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s first quarter report shows sales up a slim 0.8% compared to the same period last year. Sales were $166.6 million, with a net loss of $137.4 milllion, a sizeable improvement over the previous year’s $225.3 million loss. Trade sales rose by 24.8% to $39.8 million, led by newly acquired cooking titles from Wiley and children’s books.
Harlequin reported first quarter revenues of C$102.5 million, a C$4.1 million drop from the previous year. They blamed a switch to higher digital royalty rates for authors, along with the tough economy. Operating profit for the period was C$14.9 million.
INTERNATIONAL RIGHTS
Simplified Chinese rights to Roger Zelazny’s Lord of Light, Creatures of Light and Darkness, and the 10-book Chronicles of Amber series sold to Beijing Dook via Gray Tan of the Grayhawk Agency on behalf of John Berlyne of the Zeno Agency and Kay McAuley of Pimlico/Aureous.
Simplified Chinese rights to Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun series sold to New Star Press via Christine Cohen of the Virginia Kidd Agency.