Escape Artists
Escape Pod => About Escape Pod => Topic started by: jrderego on April 24, 2008, 05:52:40 PM
-
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/bigmclargehuge/bodysnatchers.jpg)
THE HUGOS ARE HERE!!!!!!!
My favorite time of year at Escape Pod :)
-
Hooray! And this week's closing music is a cool song from Escape Pod past : The Fall by Red Hunter. Freaking brilliant!
-
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3289/2438593177_2a5347d7df_o.jpg)
The Hugos are here?? Really??
-
It's a shame that Stephen Baxter turned down Escape Pod. :'( He's one of my favorite authors.
-
It's a shame that Stephen Baxter turned down Escape Pod. :'( He's one of my favorite authors.
If it makes you feel better, Neil Gaiman did the same thing last year. I just can't figure out why people do it. EP gets so many listeners, why would you not do it? (Gaiman had an audio version of his story up, that he read himself, which was killer, but still, what could it hurt?)
One of these days, EP going to get all the Hugo stories. I. Just. Know. It.
-
It's a shame that Stephen Baxter turned down Escape Pod. :'( He's one of my favorite authors.
If it makes you feel better, Neil Gaiman did the same thing last year. I just can't figure out why people do it. EP gets so many listeners, why would you not do it? (Gaiman had an audio version of his story up, that he read himself, which was killer, but still, what could it hurt?)
This is only conjecture, but the hugo nominations came out very shortly after the audiobook version of Fragile Things came out, so I always thought that it's not so much that Gaiman said no, as that he didn't own the audio distribution rights. He could probably persuade his publishers to allow an excerpt from the audiobook to be released for free, but allowing a different company to make a second recording would probably have been too much for them.
We'll probably have to wait and see if Steve (or Gaiman) will let us know whether that is correct or not.
-
This is only conjecture, but the hugo nominations came out very shortly after the audiobook version of Fragile Things came out, so I always thought that it's not so much that Gaiman said no, as that he didn't own the audio distribution rights. He could probably persuade his publishers to allow an excerpt from the audiobook to be released for free, but allowing a different company to make a second recording would probably have been too much for them.
Your conjecture is close to correct. To be specific, I contacted Gaiman's agent, who referred me to his publisher, who held the audio rights on that story. The publisher was actually willing to let us run the story -- for one year, after which point we'd have to renew rights with them or pull it from our archives.
I will never distribute a story on any terms other than Creative Commons, so this was a deal-breaker for me. As was pointed out, the audio was already available for free on Gaiman's site, so the world didn't miss much by not having it here.
BTW, it was a similar story in 2006, with Margo Lanagan's "Singing My Sister Down." Margo was very happy to say yes for her part, but her publisher in Australia had the audio rights, and they never returned my e-mail. It seems that every year we get 4 out of 5, but please don't blame the authors the last couple of years.
(In fact, now that I think about it, Stephen Baxter is the first author who's ever turned down an offer we've made.)
-
(In fact, now that I think about it, Stephen Baxter is the first author who's ever turned down an offer we've made.)
That's disappointing. Like I mentioned before, he's one of my favorite authors. I wonder why he turned it down. What harm could be done exposing your story to thousands via and audio podcast? >:(
-
Some authors (http://forum.escapeartists.info/index.php?topic=1581.msg25999#msg25999) think that if you didn't pay to read/listen to their work, then you're a thief and a pirate. One has t wonder if these authors are aware of the existence of libraries.
Is Baxter in this camp? I have no idea. Honestly, I suspect not but I can't find any evidence one way of the other with a 5-minute Google search. But it's the first reason that comes to mind.
Unless Mr Eley punched Mr Baxter in the face and stole his girlfriend when they were youthlings?
-
Interesting. I had thought that maybe Gaiman turned it down because he wanted to read it himself, against Escape Pod's traditional policy. Out of curiosity: would an exception be made for something like this, if an author did make that request?
-
I don't know why Baxter refused to give permission, and it's pointless to speculate. If you want to read the story, though, you can (http://www.solarisbooks.com/books/newbookscifi/last-contact.asp) (I considered not posting the link, but figured that that would be petty).
It's a real shame, because even though I liked the three stories I heard on EP, I think Baxter's story is my favorite so far.
-
This is only conjecture, but the hugo nominations came out very shortly after the audiobook version of Fragile Things came out, so I always thought that it's not so much that Gaiman said no, as that he didn't own the audio distribution rights. He could probably persuade his publishers to allow an excerpt from the audiobook to be released for free, but allowing a different company to make a second recording would probably have been too much for them.
Your conjecture is close to correct. To be specific, I contacted Gaiman's agent, who referred me to his publisher, who held the audio rights on that story. The publisher was actually willing to let us run the story -- for one year, after which point we'd have to renew rights with them or pull it from our archives.
I will never distribute a story on any terms other than Creative Commons, so this was a deal-breaker for me. As was pointed out, the audio was already available for free on Gaiman's site, so the world didn't miss much by not having it here.
BTW, it was a similar story in 2006, with Margo Lanagan's "Singing My Sister Down." Margo was very happy to say yes for her part, but her publisher in Australia had the audio rights, and they never returned my e-mail. It seems that every year we get 4 out of 5, but please don't blame the authors the last couple of years.
(In fact, now that I think about it, Stephen Baxter is the first author who's ever turned down an offer we've made.)
Thanks so much for clearing that up, Steve. I was never sure before and I remember being really bummed that Gaiman's story didn't run, although you made it clear that you couldn't get the rights. Lame Harper Collins. I'd much rather be frustrated with Harper Collins than Gaiman, so it works doubly well.
And thanks for the story link, eytanz. I'll check it out...
-
A
couple trio of things:
*Do you think Mr. Gaiman would be willing to read another story to us? That would be seriously chill-tastic; and maybe he'd be willing to offer an original story that hasn't got any complicating issues attached to it?
*I wouldn't suggest harrassing Mr. Baxter about his choice; he's got a right to handle his business as he sees fit, of course. I would suggest that if you're going to write to him anyway, perhaps you could muse about how cool it is that EP is basically paying authors for the privilege of promoting their body of work...
*Personally, I'm looking forward to the day when an EP "original" story is nominated for a Hugo. Now *THAT* would be a real coup, doncha think?
-
*Personally, I'm looking forward to the day when an EP "original" story is nominated for a Hugo. Now *THAT* would be a real coup, doncha think?
It's gonna happen one day. I know it is :)
-
*Personally, I'm looking forward to the day when an EP "original" story is nominated for a Hugo. Now *THAT* would be a real coup, doncha think?
It's gonna happen one day. I know it is :)
Given Steve's note in Metachat #3 that EP is the second largest SF market, I'd say there's a very good chance you're right about that.
-
*Personally, I'm looking forward to the day when an EP "original" story is nominated for a Hugo. Now *THAT* would be a real coup, doncha think?
It's gonna happen one day. I know it is :)
Given Steve's note in Metachat #3 that EP is the second largest SF market, I'd say there's a very good chance you're right about that.
We've had one of our folks talk about the nominators at Wolrdcon before (Wakela??). He said they were a bit behind the times. If they don't understand podcasts, it could be a long wait.
-
*Personally, I'm looking forward to the day when an EP "original" story is nominated for a Hugo. Now *THAT* would be a real coup, doncha think?
It's gonna happen one day. I know it is :)
Given Steve's note in Metachat #3 that EP is the second largest SF market, I'd say there's a very good chance you're right about that.
We've had one of our folks talk about the nominators at Wolrdcon before (Wakela??). He said they were a bit behind the times. If they don't understand podcasts, it could be a long wait.
Sounds like it's time for us to start submitting journalistic pieces about "podcasting phenomena in the sci-fi markets" to our favorite print mags.
-
We've had one of our folks talk about the nominators at Wolrdcon before (Wakela??). He said they were a bit behind the times. If they don't understand podcasts, it could be a long wait.
Nominators to Hugo award are anyone who is a member (attending or supporting) of a worldcon.
-
*Personally, I'm looking forward to the day when an EP "original" story is nominated for a Hugo. Now *THAT* would be a real coup, doncha think?
It's gonna happen one day. I know it is :)
Given Steve's note in Metachat #3 that EP is the second largest SF market, I'd say there's a very good chance you're right about that.
We've had one of our folks talk about the nominators at Wolrdcon before (Wakela??). He said they were a bit behind the times. If they don't understand podcasts, it could be a long wait.
Sounds like it's time for us to start submitting journalistic pieces about "podcasting phenomena in the sci-fi markets" to our favorite print mags.
Oddly enough I might well have something like that on the cards...
-
We've had one of our folks talk about the nominators at Wolrdcon before (Wakela??). He said they were a bit behind the times. If they don't understand podcasts, it could be a long wait.
The nominators are the several thousand fans who join the World Science Fiction Convention. They're not behind the times at all.
The obstacle Escape Pod faces with a Hugo nomination is in category. Escape Pod competes in the Best Dramatic Presentation Short Form category. The competition is Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, etc.
-
Speaking of 'Worldcon', can anyone tell me where I find some info on conventions in the UK? I think I would love to try one some day. (Am slightly agoraphobic and am usually trying to stay away from hundreds of people packed tight like too many books on my bookshelf. But am willing to give it a try.)
So any suggestions?
-
We've had one of our folks talk about the nominators at Wolrdcon before (Wakela??). He said they were a bit behind the times. If they don't understand podcasts, it could be a long wait.
The nominators are the several thousand fans who join the World Science Fiction Convention. They're not behind the times at all.
The obstacle Escape Pod faces with a Hugo nomination is in category. Escape Pod competes in the Best Dramatic Presentation Short Form category. The competition is Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, etc.
Seriously? I guess that kind of makes sense, but I'm surprised it can't also compete with best short story category. I mean, you guys do publish short stories.
-
The obstacle Escape Pod faces with a Hugo nomination is in category. Escape Pod competes in the Best Dramatic Presentation Short Form category. The competition is Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, etc.
But we could still have a short story original to Escape Pod and re-printed elsewhere -- like Nano Comes to Clifford Falls in Nancy Kress' latest collection (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1930846509/escapepod-20) -- which could compete in the short fiction category, couldn't it?
I thought that's what TAD meant...
<<Moderators, please EP-ize that Amazon link.>> Done
-
We've had one of our folks talk about the nominators at Wolrdcon before (Wakela??). He said they were a bit behind the times. If they don't understand podcasts, it could be a long wait.
The nominators are the several thousand fans who join the World Science Fiction Convention. They're not behind the times at all.
The obstacle Escape Pod faces with a Hugo nomination is in category. Escape Pod competes in the Best Dramatic Presentation Short Form category. The competition is Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, etc.
Maybe Wakela (or whoever it was) could come in here and straighten out my reference. Maybe it was the committee that decides on the catagories.
-
Seriously? I guess that kind of makes sense, but I'm surprised it can't also compete with best short story category. I mean, you guys do publish short stories.
Here's the official Hugo rules: http://www.wsfs.org/bm/const-2006.html#hugo
It's interesting to note that the Best Story categories do not specify "print" in Section 3.3, although elsewhere they're clearly described as "printed fiction categories". If enough people nominate an audio story (that meets all other critera) for a Best Story award, the hand wringing, hair pulling and arguments will be highly amusing.
-
Yeah, it does seem like a loophole the way that reads. Actually, an EP original could be up for both categories! How cool would that be?
If enough people nominate an audio story (that meets all other critera) for a Best Story award, the hand wringing, hair pulling and arguments will be highly amusing.
Couldn't be any worse than the Star Trek fan episode getting nominated for a Nebula, could it? The outcry for that was amusing to read.
-
Yeah, it does seem like a loophole the way that reads. Actually, an EP original could be up for both categories! How cool would that be?
If enough people nominate an audio story (that meets all other critera) for a Best Story award, the hand wringing, hair pulling and arguments will be highly amusing.
Couldn't be any worse than the Star Trek fan episode getting nominated for a Nebula, could it? The outcry for that was amusing to read.
Wasn't there some stink about Gaiman's Sandman issue "A Midsummer Night's Dream" winning "best story" or sumsuch, and resulting in comic books being thereafter banned from the category?
-
Yeah, it won a World Fantasy Award in 1991 and from what I remember reading, they changed the rule the night it won, or the night after.
-
Wasn't there some stink about Gaiman's Sandman issue "A Midsummer Night's Dream" winning "best story" or sumsuch, and resulting in comic books being thereafter banned from the category?
Were they actually banned, or just given their own category to compete in? Seperate categories make sense to me -- I won't argue that graphic novels are "better" or "worse" than their text-only counterparts, just that they're different enough that it's hard to make a meaningful comparison.
-
Wasn't there some stink about Gaiman's Sandman issue "A Midsummer Night's Dream" winning "best story" or sumsuch, and resulting in comic books being thereafter banned from the category?
Were they actually banned, or just given their own category to compete in?
How is that not being "banned from the category"?
Anyway, you got me curious enough to go back and look it up. From Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sandman_%28Vertigo%29#Awards_and_recognition)
The Sandman issue #19 "A Midsummer Night's Dream" won the World Fantasy Award in 1991 for Best Short Fiction. The following morning, the rules of the award were changed to ensure no other comics could get that award.
-
Wasn't there some stink about Gaiman's Sandman issue "A Midsummer Night's Dream" winning "best story" or sumsuch, and resulting in comic books being thereafter banned from the category?
Were they actually banned, or just given their own category to compete in?
How is that not being "banned from the category"?
Anyway, you got me curious enough to go back and look it up. From Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sandman_%28Vertigo%29#Awards_and_recognition)
The Sandman issue #19 "A Midsummer Night's Dream" won the World Fantasy Award in 1991 for Best Short Fiction. The following morning, the rules of the award were changed to ensure no other comics could get that award.
Is there a World Fantasy Award category for "Best Graphic Novel" or some such? Or are comics shut out of the World Fantasy Awards completely? The former makes sense to me, for pretty much the same reasons that TV shows don't usually compete with short stories -- it's just too hard to make meaningful comparisons across forms. The latter sounds like somebody's misplaced concept of genre dignity, or something...
-
From Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sandman_%28Vertigo%29#Awards_and_recognition)
The Sandman issue #19 "A Midsummer Night's Dream" won the World Fantasy Award in 1991 for Best Short Fiction. The following morning, the rules of the award were changed to ensure no other comics could get that award.
Is there a World Fantasy Award category for "Best Graphic Novel" or some such? Or are comics shut out of the World Fantasy Awards completely?
Unknown, but a fair question. The Wikipedia entry obviously does not specify whether "that award" means the World Fantasy Award for Best Short Fiction, or the World Fantasy Award in general.
-
From Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sandman_%28Vertigo%29#Awards_and_recognition)
The Sandman issue #19 "A Midsummer Night's Dream" won the World Fantasy Award in 1991 for Best Short Fiction. The following morning, the rules of the award were changed to ensure no other comics could get that award.
Is there a World Fantasy Award category for "Best Graphic Novel" or some such? Or are comics shut out of the World Fantasy Awards completely?
Unknown, but a fair question. The Wikipedia entry obviously does not specify whether "that award" means the World Fantasy Award for Best Short Fiction, or the World Fantasy Award in general.
Looks like comics/graphic novels/magna don't get a category of their own, which seems odd. At least, there was nothing on the 2007 ballot on shown on the WFC Web site. (http://www.worldfantasy.org/awards/)
Actually, the whole structure seems odd. There's categories based on length of written work, but nothing for visual media -- movies, individual artwork, TV, etc. I'd say, "OK, it's a purely literary thing" -- like the Academy Awards not doing television or the Emmy Awards not doing movies -- except that they have an award for "Artist." Strange...
-
Sounds like it's time for us to start submitting journalistic pieces about "podcasting phenomena in the sci-fi markets" to our favorite print mags.
I just meant that we should start doing the fan-push kind of thing. Not in a "harrassing, stalkerly" sort of way, but in an endearingly enthusiastic "Bring Back Firefly" sort of way.
Write to your congressman, and donate copies of the archive CDs to your local library (http://forum.escapeartists.info/index.php?topic=1445.0) (which is running into some kind of bureaucratic snag here in Maryland).
-
Sounds like it's time for us to start submitting journalistic pieces about "podcasting phenomena in the sci-fi markets" to our favorite print mags.
I just meant that we should start doing the fan-push kind of thing. Not in a "harrassing, stalkerly" sort of way, but in an endearingly enthusiastic "Bring Back Firefly" sort of way.
Write to your congressman, and donate copies of the archive CDs to your local library (http://forum.escapeartists.info/index.php?topic=1445.0) (which is running into some kind of bureaucratic snag here in Maryland).
I wrote to my congresscritter when Babylon 5 was in peril of not being renewed for the fifth season. I was never a Firefly fan though, so I never wrote to my congresscritter about it.