Anna will be assuming editorial responsibility for Leona Wisoker‘s acclaimed Children of the Desert series, and will assuredly leave her stamp on various other projects as well. I’ll miss working at the detail level on Leona’s fantastic fiction, but I know her work is in the best possible hands.

In her bio on the Mercury Retrograde site, Anna says she “will never, ever edit another book about vampires, however, no matter what wiles Barbara Friend Ish employs”.

I’m having a hard time not seeing that as a challenge.

The Compton Crook Award is presented to the best first novel of the year written by a single author: collaborations are not eligible: in the field of Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror by the members of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society, Inc., at their annual Baltimore-area science fiction convention, Balticon, held on Memorial Day weekend in the Baltimore, MD area each year.

Wonder how the award process works? So did we. Here’s what we learned: the members of the award committee read the books that have been nominated. The committee presents a short-list of finalists to the BSFS membership early in March 2012.  The membership then has a month to read any books they’ve missed and make their final scores.  The winner is known early in April but kept from the membership in general, so they will be surprised at the convention when the winner is announced.

On her blog, Barbara had this to say:

It’s a cliche, but it’s true: it’s a huge honor just to have been nominated for the award, and I’m beyond thrilled. (And everyone who is nominated hopes to win!)

As is the norm with these things, Mercury Retrograde will be providing the BSFS with a number of copies of The Shadow of the Sun, in Trade Paper and eBook formats; so if you’re a member, this may be your chance to lay hands on a free copy.

This is going to be an action-packed weekend! For this year, Faerie Escape: Atlanta has teamed up with PlayOnCon, so in addition to the usual fun at PlayOn there will also be programming for lovers of Faerie. We’ll be participating in some of it, including a workshop on bringing fresh air and fresh ideas to stories inspired by Faerie (6 pm Friday). We’ll also be hosting a program of faerie storytelling, including readings from Zach and Barbara, some of which will be sneak peeks at forthcoming works, as well as a reading from Ed Morris’s There Was a Crooked Man (performed by Sales Diva Rachael, since Ed can’t be with us this weekend).

PlayOn is also hosting a number of open-to-the-public meetups at the convention hotel, which we’ve already talked about here. Barbara will be hosting the writers’ meetup, and Zach plans to be present too; we’ll probably kick things off there with a couple readings there, too. Unless everybody just gets right into the spirit of the meeting without prompting; then we’ll just hang out.

Anybody who follows the play-by-play around here knows how excited we’ve been getting about gaming recently; we’ll be hosting a workshop on using game development to enrich the story world, Saturday at noon with James & Ant from Cliche Studio. This will be a very hands-on workshop, so if you’ve ever wanted to get advice from a live game developer, this is a good chance to do that.

There will be a lot more fun there this weekend, and of course we’ll be in the thick of it, including much more writing, publishing, and gaming programming. Hope to see you there!

Please, stop.

Writers, it is critically important that you understand what you’re signing. That contract is not the Golden Ticket, and the publishing house is not the Chocolate Factory. The contract on your desk is the playbook for your relationship with that potential publisher: it contains all the rules and plans for the operation of getting your books into the hands of customers, and each one is different.

Let me stress that: each one is different. Each publisher has a preferred boilerplate contract, which is different, if only in seemingly minor things, from anyone else’s; and any individual contract is likely to include modifications specifically for the project in question, which reflect the writer’s, the agent’s, or the publisher’s particular needs and wants at this moment. And whether or not you understand the terms it sets out, by signing you have agreed to its terms. You won’t successfully argue these points later.

The bottom line: if you can’t read and understand the contract, right down to the letter, it is incumbent on you, in not only your best interests but also the interests of everyone else involved, to stop and make sure you do.

There are a variety of resources available. Your agent, if you have one, can help you understand the details of a publisher’s proposed contract. (We hope you are sure of the conditions of your agency contract as well!) If you don’t have an agent, there are books on publishing contract law, notably Kirsch’s volumes, that can break down the meanings of clauses that aren’t readily understood by people new to the industry. If you can afford it, consult with a lawyer who is familiar with publishing. Take the time to know exactly what you’re signing.

It’s true that there are some so-called publishers who are really just in the business of separating writers from their money; there are ample resources on the internet to help writers check out the reputations of publishers and agents they’re considering working with. But just because a publishing house has a good reputation does not mean it operates in the way you assume it does, nor does it mean you would be pleased with your specific contract if you took the time to understand it.

Please, do yourself and everyone involved a favor: understand what you’re signing, and don’t sign until the document (not the verbal agreements, but the document itself) reflects terms you’re prepared to live with. Anything less at this stage is just a recipe for misery later on.

One lucky commenter will get a choice of books from the stacks at Mercury Retrograde Press (or ebook sent to them if they should happen to be in a foreign country right now…). There are other prizes for participating in Darkcargo’s @homeCon all weekend, such as this one, this one, this one and this one. And this one. (Pop over to the post to see what prizes are still in play.)

As per Darkcargo tradition, Eliz asks truly penetrating questions. If you’re interested in the stuff that goes on behind the curtain at a small press, this is the interview for you. And if you have yet to dip into the wonderful insanity of @HomeCon, this is a good place to start.

We were going to head to Baltimore this weekend to join in the festivities at Balticon, listen to Jonah Knight and Bill and Brenda Sutton.

Alas, the evil demon Financiogaroth kicked in the door, as we have just moved and there are still a lot of expenses associated with that.

So, we are hosting an At-Home-Con this weekend. Place: yours! Time: Whenever!

They are doing a lot of fun stuff. So far there’s been a costuming workshop, some “panels” (well, interviews), a consuite (they’re serving pizza later) and a couple of contests. Later this weekend, Mercury Retrograde author Danielle L. Parker and I (Barbara Friend Ish) will be sitting in with Elizabeth and doing interviews too. And eating the eclairs in the consuite. Stop by Darkcargo and join the fun. Yes, you really can wear that.

Or you can put on that costume. Hey, it’s a con.

“I found the interview amazing on two levels: the questions she asked led us to discussions from which readers who enjoyed the work might get new levels of insight into their own reading; but people interested in writing craft in general rather than this work in specific might also find new ideas to take home. I had a great time dialoguing with her, and I appreciate the depth of thought that went into her questions more than I can say.”

Haven’t read The Shadow of the Sun? The eBook is available free for the month of May. Find out how to get your copy here.

Pendragon Variety – Episode 30 – Interview with Barbara Friend Ish

“Guardians of the Desert reads very much like its own novel too, not like a second half of a larger book…I will recommend it unreservedly to anyone loving a good traditional fantasy novel.”

So say Liviu Suciu and Cindy Hannikman of Fantasy Book Critic in their review of Leona Wisoker’s Guardians of the Desert, sequel to her acclaimed debut Secrets of the Sands. They do their usual thorough job of reviewing the novel, discussing the book itself as well as their reactions to it. If you read fantasy (and if you don’t, what are you doing here, anyway?) Fantasy Book Critic should be on your follow list, for penetrating and sharp-eyed evaluations of new books in the genre. And we appreciate those taking the time to turn their sharp eyes on this book.