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Huge success for WDC campaign as Virgin Holidays ends SeaWorld trips
Virgin Holidays has announced that it is to stop selling tickets to SeaWorld as part...
WDC's partners make a splash by raising over £30k on World Oceans Day
This World Oceans Day, WDC were delighted to have the fantastic support of several of...
New baby offers hope for endangered orca community
On the morning of 30 May, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada, an orca calf, complete...
What would you say to the remaining few North Atlantic right whales?
North Atlantic right whales are on the brink of extinction. Fewer than 450 are left....
False killer whale dies at Vancouver Aquarium
By George Berry | 27th November 2017
A false killer whale named Chester has died at the Vancouver Aquarium in Canada. His body will be examined to determine the cause of death.
The whale was rescued as a calf in July 2014 affer being found on a beach near Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island in poor condition. False killer whales are usually found living in deeper warm temperate or tropical waters.
Chester's death follows that of a harbour porpoise, Daisy in June and two beluga whales last year at the park. It now holds just one Pacific white-sided dolphin. In May, it was banned from bringing in any new whales or dolphins to its facilities.
Please support our work to end captive cruelty.
Tagged captivity


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Excretion products and their elimination Excretion products and their elimination
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D. A gets twice the
D. A gets twice the number of pens that Bgets.
C gets the same number of pens as Dgets.
If A gets 25 pens more than D and the ratio of the number of pens that B and C get is 2:3, then find the number of pens that D gets
If A gets 25 pens more than D and the ratio of the number of pens that B and C get is 2 : 3, then find the number of pens that D gets
Following are fourstatements.
Find out the correct combinat
Find out the correctcombination.
1. Glucose has high thresholdvalue.
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3. Hemodialysis removes urea, uric acid, glucose , andproteins.
4. In glomerulus, urea , uric acid, water, glucose and plasma proteins are filtered out|
C.E.T.Chd.
A gets 3 times as much money as B gets, B gets only Rs.25 mo
A gets 3 times as much money as B gets, B gets only Rs.25 more then what Cgets.
The three gets Rs.675 inall.
Find the share of B
If Rs. 510 be divided among A, B, C in such a way that A get
If Rs. 510 be divided among A, B, C in such a way that A gets 2/3 of what B gets and B gets 1/4 of what C gets, then their shares are respectively
A farmer divides his herd of k cows among his 4 sons, so tha
A farmer divides his herd of k cows among his 4 sons, so that one son gets one half of the herd, the second gets one-fourth, the third gets one-fifth and the fourth gets 9cows.
Then k is equal to
Rs. 730 were divided among A, B, C in such a way that if A g
Rs. 730 were divided among A, B, C in such a way that if A gets Rs. 3, then B gets Rs. 4 and if B gets Rs. 3.50 then C gets Rs. 3. The share of B exceeds that of C by
A sum of Rs. 1360 has been divided among A, B and C such tha
A sum of Rs. 1360 has been divided among A, B and C such that A gets of what B gets and B gets of what Cgets.
B's share is
A sum of Rs. 1360 has been divided among A, B and C such that A gets 2/3 of what B gets and B gets 1/4 of what Cgets.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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CNBC is an American pay television business news channel that is owned by NBCUniversal Broadcast, Cable, Sports and News, a division of NBCUniversal, with both being ultimately owned by Comcast.Source
900 Sylvan Ave, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, U.S.
Netflix shares see their biggest jump in four years
Key Points stock soared as much as 18% Wednesday to trade at an all-time high, a day after the company revealed in its report that it was stock buybacks and had surpassed 200 million subscribers for the first time.It's the largest jump since the company's stock closed up 19% on October 18, 2016. The stock closed up16.8% on Wednesday. "We've gone from a historical bear on NFLX to a card-carrying bull," analysts said Wednesday in a note to clients. The firm also upgraded its price target to $700 per share, up from $510. At least 15 other firms also hiked their price targets.The video...…Key Points stock soared as much as 18% Wednesday to trade at an all-time high, a day after the company revealed in its report that it was stock buybacks and had surpassed 200 million subscribers for the first time.It's the largest jump since the company's stock closed up 19% on October 18, 2016. The stock closed up16.8% on Wednesday. "We've gone from a historical bear on NFLX to a card-carrying bull," analysts said Wednesday in a note to clients. The firm also upgraded its price target to $700 per share, up from $510. At least 15 other firms also hiked their price targets.The video...WW…
Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Netflix, Interactive Brokers and Zions
Check out the companies making headlines after the bell: — Shares of the media streaming giant soared more than 10% in extended trading after the company Netflix handily beat estimates for global paid net subscriber additions, reporting 8.5 million versus the 6.47 million analysts anticipated, according to StreetAccount. Netflix also beat estimates for revenue but earnings per share came below expectations. — Shares of the e-broker popped more than 1% in after-hours trading after the company beat on the top and bottom lines in its quarterly results. Interactive Brokers reported adjusted...…Check out the companies making headlines after the bell: — Shares of the media streaming giant soared more than 10% in extended trading after the company Netflix handily beat estimates for global paid net subscriber additions, reporting 8.5 million versus the 6.47 million analysts anticipated, according to StreetAccount. Netflix also beat estimates for revenue but earnings per share came below expectations. — Shares of the e-broker popped more than 1% in after-hours trading after the company beat on the top and bottom lines in its quarterly results. Interactive Brokers reported adjusted...WW…
Key PointsPresident-elect has picked Dr. Anthony Fauci to lead a U.S. delegation at the World Health Organization's annual meetings this week, reversing outgoing President Donald Trump's plan to withdraw from the international aid group.The new administration plans to work with the WHO on an international Covid response plan as one of Biden's first major policy changes, the transition team announced hours before his inauguration Wednesday.Fauci will deliver remarks to WHO on Thursday at its annual executive board meetings, according to Biden's transition team."Once the United States resumes...…Key PointsPresident-elect has picked Dr. Anthony Fauci to lead a U.S. delegation at the World Health Organization's annual meetings this week, reversing outgoing President Donald Trump's plan to withdraw from the international aid group.The new administration plans to work with the WHO on an international Covid response plan as one of Biden's first major policy changes, the transition team announced hours before his inauguration Wednesday.Fauci will deliver remarks to WHO on Thursday at its annual executive board meetings, according to Biden's transition team."Once the United States resumes...WW…
Noah Higgins-Dunn
GOP pollster: Biden will struggle to unify U.S., middle ground post-Trump 'doesn't exist'
Key PointsGOP pollster breaks down what Americans think of Biden's policiesRepublican pollster Frank Luntz told CNBC on Wednesday there are sharp political differences between Americans that will make finding compromise in Washington a challenge under the incoming Biden administration."It's going to be very tough for the president and Congress to find that middle ground because, quite frankly, it doesn't exist," Luntz said on a few hours before President-elect is sworn into office.Luntz's comments followed a virtual focus group he hosted Tuesday night with more than a dozen Americans across...…Key PointsGOP pollster breaks down what Americans think of Biden's policiesRepublican pollster Frank Luntz told CNBC on Wednesday there are sharp political differences between Americans that will make finding compromise in Washington a challenge under the incoming Biden administration."It's going to be very tough for the president and Congress to find that middle ground because, quite frankly, it doesn't exist," Luntz said on a few hours before President-elect is sworn into office.Luntz's comments followed a virtual focus group he hosted Tuesday night with more than a dozen Americans across...WW…
Kevin Stankiewicz
DOJ will not criminally charge Sen. Richard Burr for stock trades he made after getting Covid intelligence
Key PointsThe Justice Department will not criminally charge Sen. Richard Burr in connection with stock trades that the North Carolina Republican executed on the heels of being briefed about Covid-19 last year, shortly before the coronavirus pandemic rocked the U.S. economy. and led to his f the powerful Senate Intelligence Committee that same month."Tonight, the Department of Justice informed me that it has concluded its review of my personal financial transactions conducted early last year," Burr said in a statement Tuesday night."The case is now closed. I'm glad to hear it. My focus has...…Key PointsThe Justice Department will not criminally charge Sen. Richard Burr in connection with stock trades that the North Carolina Republican executed on the heels of being briefed about Covid-19 last year, shortly before the coronavirus pandemic rocked the U.S. economy. and led to his f the powerful Senate Intelligence Committee that same month."Tonight, the Department of Justice informed me that it has concluded its review of my personal financial transactions conducted early last year," Burr said in a statement Tuesday night."The case is now closed. I'm glad to hear it. My focus has...WW…
Dan Mangan
Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine found to be effective against Covid variant discovered in UK
Key PointsLONDON — The coronavirus vaccine developed by - is likely to be just as effective against a highly transmissible mutant strain of the virus that was first discovered in the U.K., according to a study by the two companies.The variant, known as B.1.1.7., was estimated to have first emerged in the U.K. in September 2020. It has an unusually high number of mutations and is associated with more efficient and rapid transmission.The characteristics of the variant had led to concerns about the effectiveness of Covid vaccines against it.However, research on preprint server bioRxiv showed...…Key PointsLONDON — The coronavirus vaccine developed by - is likely to be just as effective against a highly transmissible mutant strain of the virus that was first discovered in the U.K., according to a study by the two companies.The variant, known as B.1.1.7., was estimated to have first emerged in the U.K. in September 2020. It has an unusually high number of mutations and is associated with more efficient and rapid transmission.The characteristics of the variant had led to concerns about the effectiveness of Covid vaccines against it.However, research on preprint server bioRxiv showed...WW…
Sam Meredith
Biden's incoming CDC director says Trump administration has 'muzzled' scientists: 'I have to fix that'
Key PointsScientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who were sidelined by the Trump administration during the Covid-19 pandemic will "get heard again," Dr. Rochelle Walensky, President-elect 's pick to lead the agency, said Tuesday.Last year, the CDC went months without addressing the U.S. public after Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, ."We are asking the American public to work with us to prepare for the expectation that this could be bad," Messonnier said in prescient remarks that sent markets reeling...…Key PointsScientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who were sidelined by the Trump administration during the Covid-19 pandemic will "get heard again," Dr. Rochelle Walensky, President-elect 's pick to lead the agency, said Tuesday.Last year, the CDC went months without addressing the U.S. public after Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, ."We are asking the American public to work with us to prepare for the expectation that this could be bad," Messonnier said in prescient remarks that sent markets reeling...WW…
Will Feuer
Netflix will consider buybacks as it returns to positive cash flow after 2021
Key PointsTom Rogers breaks down Netflix's earningsNetflix said Tuesday it plans to be cash-flow neutral this year and cash-flow positive every year after 2021, and will no longer need external financing to fund its operations, ending a decade-long trend and vindicating investors who have plowed money into the company despite its cash-burning ways.Netflix also said it will consider share buybacks, a practice it hasn't done since 2011 — the last time the company was cash-flow positive. The announcement came as part of , where the company also announced EPS of $1.19 on revenues of $6.64...…Key PointsTom Rogers breaks down Netflix's earningsNetflix said Tuesday it plans to be cash-flow neutral this year and cash-flow positive every year after 2021, and will no longer need external financing to fund its operations, ending a decade-long trend and vindicating investors who have plowed money into the company despite its cash-burning ways.Netflix also said it will consider share buybacks, a practice it hasn't done since 2011 — the last time the company was cash-flow positive. The announcement came as part of , where the company also announced EPS of $1.19 on revenues of $6.64...WW…
Alex Sherman
Biden looks to give a big boost to homebuyers and builders
Key PointsAnyone looking to buy a home today is likely frustrated by sky-high prices and slim pickings. But President-elect , who takes office Wednesday, will aim to ease those issues as he gears up to implement his plans for the housing market.From home financing to home construction, Biden's plans are focused on affordability. Here are some policies he could push for:In December, the number of homes for sale plummeted nearly 40% compared with December 2019, according to realtor.com. Competition for what was on the market was fierce, with the typical home selling in just 66 days, two weeks...…Key PointsAnyone looking to buy a home today is likely frustrated by sky-high prices and slim pickings. But President-elect , who takes office Wednesday, will aim to ease those issues as he gears up to implement his plans for the housing market.From home financing to home construction, Biden's plans are focused on affordability. Here are some policies he could push for:In December, the number of homes for sale plummeted nearly 40% compared with December 2019, according to realtor.com. Competition for what was on the market was fierce, with the typical home selling in just 66 days, two weeks...WW…
Diana Olick
Treasury nominee Yellen says U.S. can afford higher corporate tax rate if it coordinates with other countries
Key PointsTreasury nominee Yellen says U.S. can afford a higher corporate tax rate if it coordinates with other countriesJanet Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden's choice for Treasury secretary, testified Tuesday that the U.S. could afford a higher corporate tax rate if it coordinates with other economies around the globe."We look forward to actively working with other countries through the [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development] negotiations on taxes on multinational corporations to try to stop what has been a destructive, global race to the bottom on corporate taxation,"...…Key PointsTreasury nominee Yellen says U.S. can afford a higher corporate tax rate if it coordinates with other countriesJanet Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden's choice for Treasury secretary, testified Tuesday that the U.S. could afford a higher corporate tax rate if it coordinates with other economies around the globe."We look forward to actively working with other countries through the [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development] negotiations on taxes on multinational corporations to try to stop what has been a destructive, global race to the bottom on corporate taxation,"...WW…
Thomas Franck
Meet the mayors pushing for guaranteed income in 30 cities across the country
In Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1967 book "Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?" the civil rights leader discussed how to best address poverty in the United States. "I am now convinced that the simplest approach will prove to be the most effective — the solution to poverty is to abolish it directly by a now widely discussed measure: the guaranteed income," he wrote.King was not the first to propose a guaranteed income; political philosophers from to also penned their support for what is often referred to as "universal basic income." And the idea was recently re-popularized by former...…In Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1967 book "Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?" the civil rights leader discussed how to best address poverty in the United States. "I am now convinced that the simplest approach will prove to be the most effective — the solution to poverty is to abolish it directly by a now widely discussed measure: the guaranteed income," he wrote.King was not the first to propose a guaranteed income; political philosophers from to also penned their support for what is often referred to as "universal basic income." And the idea was recently re-popularized by former...WW…
Abigail Johnson Hess
Trump pardons Steve Bannon, Elliott Broidy, dozens of others, on last night in White House
Key PointsPresident issued , including one to his former campaign chief and ex-White House advisor Steve Bannon, who was charged with swindling donors to a supposed effort to build a wall on the border with Mexico.Others who received some of the 73 pardons from Trump included the major Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy, who pleaded guilty last fall to acting as an unregistered foreign agent and the rapper Lil Wayne, who pleaded guilty to a weapons charge last monthEx-Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who has been serving a 28-year prison sentence for fraud charges, had his sentence...…Key PointsPresident issued , including one to his former campaign chief and ex-White House advisor Steve Bannon, who was charged with swindling donors to a supposed effort to build a wall on the border with Mexico.Others who received some of the 73 pardons from Trump included the major Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy, who pleaded guilty last fall to acting as an unregistered foreign agent and the rapper Lil Wayne, who pleaded guilty to a weapons charge last monthEx-Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who has been serving a 28-year prison sentence for fraud charges, had his sentence...WW…
Business News and FinanceVIEW IN APPA Facebook iconA Twitter iconA LinkedIn iconAn email iconKEY POINTS President issued , including one to his former campaign chief and ex-White House advisor Steve Bannon, who was charged with swindling donors to a supposed effort to build a wall on the border with Mexico.Others who received some of the 73 pardons from Trump included the major Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy, who pleaded guilty last fall to acting as an unregistered foreign agent and the rapper Lil Wayne, who pleaded guilty to a weapons charge last monthEx-Detroit mayor Kwame...…Business News and FinanceVIEW IN APPA Facebook iconA Twitter iconA LinkedIn iconAn email iconKEY POINTS President issued , including one to his former campaign chief and ex-White House advisor Steve Bannon, who was charged with swindling donors to a supposed effort to build a wall on the border with Mexico.Others who received some of the 73 pardons from Trump included the major Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy, who pleaded guilty last fall to acting as an unregistered foreign agent and the rapper Lil Wayne, who pleaded guilty to a weapons charge last monthEx-Detroit mayor Kwame...WW…
Italy avoids government collapse as Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte survives confidence vote
Key PointsLONDON — Italy averted further on Tuesday after Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte survived a confidence vote in the upper house of Parliament.The country had been embroiled in fresh political uncertainty over the past week after a smaller party withdrew its support for the coalition government — thus stripping it off from having a majority in Parliament.However, Italian lawmakers in the Senate supported Conte during a vote on Tuesday, by 156 to 140, allowing him to remain in office. He was also backed by the lower house of Parliament in a vote on Monday evening. Conte will now lead a...…Key PointsLONDON — Italy averted further on Tuesday after Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte survived a confidence vote in the upper house of Parliament.The country had been embroiled in fresh political uncertainty over the past week after a smaller party withdrew its support for the coalition government — thus stripping it off from having a majority in Parliament.However, Italian lawmakers in the Senate supported Conte during a vote on Tuesday, by 156 to 140, allowing him to remain in office. He was also backed by the lower house of Parliament in a vote on Monday evening. Conte will now lead a...WW…
Silvia Amaro
Cell-based seafood producer BlueNalu raises $60 million as it preps for market launch
Key PointsFirst, it was . Now, it's seafood. San Diego-based food startup BlueNalu said Tuesday that it raised $60 million in convertible note financing, as it prepares for a possible market launch later this year."This recent financing will allow us to continue advancing our mission and the next phase of our commercialization plans, while we continue to develop strategic partnerships that we expect will provide us with global market reach during the coming years," says Lou Cooperhouse, BlueNalu's president and CEO, in a statement.BlueNalu intends to use the funds to complete its regulatory...…Key PointsFirst, it was . Now, it's seafood. San Diego-based food startup BlueNalu said Tuesday that it raised $60 million in convertible note financing, as it prepares for a possible market launch later this year."This recent financing will allow us to continue advancing our mission and the next phase of our commercialization plans, while we continue to develop strategic partnerships that we expect will provide us with global market reach during the coming years," says Lou Cooperhouse, BlueNalu's president and CEO, in a statement.BlueNalu intends to use the funds to complete its regulatory...WW…
Katie Tsai
Trump doesn't mention Biden in farewell address that glosses over Capitol riot and Covid deaths
Key PointsTrump gives his farewell addressPresident Donald Trump in a prerecorded touted his record on the economy and foreign policy, while glossing over the Capitol riot that consumed the final weeks of his presidency.He also failed to mention his successor, Joe Biden, by name. Biden will be inaugurated as the nation's 46th president Wednesday.Trump's nearly 20-minute speech, which was taped Monday, framed his departure from the White House as the natural conclusion of a job well done, rather than as the consequence of his election loss to Biden."We did what we came here to do — and so...…Key PointsTrump gives his farewell addressPresident Donald Trump in a prerecorded touted his record on the economy and foreign policy, while glossing over the Capitol riot that consumed the final weeks of his presidency.He also failed to mention his successor, Joe Biden, by name. Biden will be inaugurated as the nation's 46th president Wednesday.Trump's nearly 20-minute speech, which was taped Monday, framed his departure from the White House as the natural conclusion of a job well done, rather than as the consequence of his election loss to Biden."We did what we came here to do — and so...WW…
Kevin Breuninger
Lawyer says he lobbied Mnuchin and a congressman to reduce Bernie Madoff's sentence
Key PointsIt's unlikely President Donald Trump will grant clemency to Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff, according to a lawyer who has been trying to get the disgraced financier's sentence commuted. Yet the attorney said he lobbied top officials for that purpose.The attorney, James Craven, sent letters to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., to try to get Madoff's 150-year sentence reduced, the lawyer told CNBC in an email.Brandon Sample, Madoff's attorney, referred CNBC to Craven as the "attorney who has been working on clemency for" the former Wall Street tycoon.Those...…Key PointsIt's unlikely President Donald Trump will grant clemency to Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff, according to a lawyer who has been trying to get the disgraced financier's sentence commuted. Yet the attorney said he lobbied top officials for that purpose.The attorney, James Craven, sent letters to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., to try to get Madoff's 150-year sentence reduced, the lawyer told CNBC in an email.Brandon Sample, Madoff's attorney, referred CNBC to Craven as the "attorney who has been working on clemency for" the former Wall Street tycoon.Those...WW…
Brian Schwartz
MyPillow's CEO, a Trump supporter, says Bed Bath & Beyond, Kohl's stopped selling his products
Key PointsMyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who has repeated false claims that President did not lose the election, said retailers including and are removing his company's products from their stores.Trump's supporters on social media platforms are now calling for boycotts of the retailers, while other consumers are urging people to not purchase MyPillow products."I just got off the phone with Bed Bath & Beyond," Lindell said during an interview Monday evening with the Right Side Broadcasting Network. "They're dropping MyPillow.""Just got off the phone — not five minutes ago. Kohl's, all these...…Key PointsMyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who has repeated false claims that President did not lose the election, said retailers including and are removing his company's products from their stores.Trump's supporters on social media platforms are now calling for boycotts of the retailers, while other consumers are urging people to not purchase MyPillow products."I just got off the phone with Bed Bath & Beyond," Lindell said during an interview Monday evening with the Right Side Broadcasting Network. "They're dropping MyPillow.""Just got off the phone — not five minutes ago. Kohl's, all these...WW…
Lauren Thomas
Free college could become a reality under a Biden administration
Key PointsPresident-elect Joe Biden unveils $1.9 trillion plan to combat the virus and stimulate the economyOnce president-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated on Jan. 20, finally become a reality."With the makeup of this Congress, I am very optimistic that this will be on the agenda," said Morley Winograd, president and CEO of the Campaign for Free College Tuition. "The only person more passionate about this is first lady Jill Biden."On the campaign trail, said he will enact legislation to ensure that students can go to community college for up to two years without having to pay tuition.Biden...…Key PointsPresident-elect Joe Biden unveils $1.9 trillion plan to combat the virus and stimulate the economyOnce president-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated on Jan. 20, finally become a reality."With the makeup of this Congress, I am very optimistic that this will be on the agenda," said Morley Winograd, president and CEO of the Campaign for Free College Tuition. "The only person more passionate about this is first lady Jill Biden."On the campaign trail, said he will enact legislation to ensure that students can go to community college for up to two years without having to pay tuition.Biden...WW…
Jessica Dickler
Trump issues flurry of last-minute policy changes
CNBC's Shep Smith reports on last-minute rules passed by the Trump administration.01:09a few seconds ago…CNBC's Shep Smith reports on last-minute rules passed by the Trump administration.01:09a few seconds agoWW…
Trump preparing to lift Europe, UK, Brazil Covid-19 travel restrictions this month
The Trump administration is planning to lift Covid-19 travel restrictions on most foreign visitors from Europe, the U.K. and Brazil, effective Jan. 26, according to people familiar with the matter.The White House put the rules place to curb the spread of the virus. Last week, the U.S. said it would require travelers arriving from abroad, including U.S. citizens, to . That requirement takes effect on Jan. 26, the same day the travel restrictions would be lifted. The planned removal of the ban, reported earlier by Reuters, would go into effect just days after President-elect 's Wednesday...…The Trump administration is planning to lift Covid-19 travel restrictions on most foreign visitors from Europe, the U.K. and Brazil, effective Jan. 26, according to people familiar with the matter.The White House put the rules place to curb the spread of the virus. Last week, the U.S. said it would require travelers arriving from abroad, including U.S. citizens, to . That requirement takes effect on Jan. 26, the same day the travel restrictions would be lifted. The planned removal of the ban, reported earlier by Reuters, would go into effect just days after President-elect 's Wednesday...WW…
Leslie Josephs
World on the brink of 'catastrophic moral failure' due to unfair vaccine rollouts, WHO chief says
Key PointsLONDON — The head of the World Health Organization said Monday the equitable distribution of coronavirus vaccines is at "serious risk."Warning of a "catastrophic moral failure," WHO's Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said "the recent emergence of rapidly-spreading variants makes the rapid and equitable rollout of vaccines all the more important."But he added that this distribution could easily become "another brick in the wall for inequality between the world's haves and have-nots.""As the first vaccines begin to be deployed, the promise of equitable access is at...…Key PointsLONDON — The head of the World Health Organization said Monday the equitable distribution of coronavirus vaccines is at "serious risk."Warning of a "catastrophic moral failure," WHO's Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said "the recent emergence of rapidly-spreading variants makes the rapid and equitable rollout of vaccines all the more important."But he added that this distribution could easily become "another brick in the wall for inequality between the world's haves and have-nots.""As the first vaccines begin to be deployed, the promise of equitable access is at...WW…
Holly Ellyatt
New York Gov. Cuomo asks to buy Covid vaccine directly from Pfizer amid dose shortages
Key PointsNew York Gov. Andrew Cuomo asked CEO Albert Bourla Monday for the ability to buy Covid-19 vaccine doses directly from the company. But the company in a statement said the Department of Health and Human Services would need to approve such a model first.The comes after an alarmingly slow start to the national vaccine rollout, with the country millions of injections short of the Trump administration's initial projections. , the U.S. had distributed more than 31 million doses and administered just over 12 million. Health officials had 20 million Americans by the end of 2020.Cuomo, a...…Key PointsNew York Gov. Andrew Cuomo asked CEO Albert Bourla Monday for the ability to buy Covid-19 vaccine doses directly from the company. But the company in a statement said the Department of Health and Human Services would need to approve such a model first.The comes after an alarmingly slow start to the national vaccine rollout, with the country millions of injections short of the Trump administration's initial projections. , the U.S. had distributed more than 31 million doses and administered just over 12 million. Health officials had 20 million Americans by the end of 2020.Cuomo, a...WW…
Lauren Feiner
WhatsApp delays privacy update over user 'confusion' and backlash about Facebook data sharing
Key PointsWhatsApp has delayed a privacy policy update that caused confusion and backlash among users over fears it could mean broader data sharing with the messaging app's owner ."We've heard from so many people how much confusion there is around our recent update. There's been a lot of misinformation causing concern and we want to help everyone understand our principles and the facts," WhatsApp said in a blog post over the weekend.The updates related specifically to features that allow users to message and interact with businesses on WhatsApp. Last year, Facebook announced that businesses...…Key PointsWhatsApp has delayed a privacy policy update that caused confusion and backlash among users over fears it could mean broader data sharing with the messaging app's owner ."We've heard from so many people how much confusion there is around our recent update. There's been a lot of misinformation causing concern and we want to help everyone understand our principles and the facts," WhatsApp said in a blog post over the weekend.The updates related specifically to features that allow users to message and interact with businesses on WhatsApp. Last year, Facebook announced that businesses...WW…
Arjun Kharpal
Biden national security advisor calls for Russia to immediately release detained Putin critic
Key PointsWASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden's national security advisor Jake Sullivan called for the immediate release of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, .Earlier on Sunday, where he had spent nearly half a year recovering since he was poisoned last summer. He was arrested at passport control.Last week, Russian authorities issued a warrant for Navalny's arrest, claiming that he had violated the terms of a suspended three-and-a-half year sentence he received back in 2014 for embezzlement charges."Mr. Navalny should be immediately released, and the perpetrators of the...…Key PointsWASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden's national security advisor Jake Sullivan called for the immediate release of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, .Earlier on Sunday, where he had spent nearly half a year recovering since he was poisoned last summer. He was arrested at passport control.Last week, Russian authorities issued a warrant for Navalny's arrest, claiming that he had violated the terms of a suspended three-and-a-half year sentence he received back in 2014 for embezzlement charges."Mr. Navalny should be immediately released, and the perpetrators of the...WW…
Amanda Macias
Paul A. Eisenstein
NBC Bay Area Staff
Dylan Byers
Jade Scipioni
Ken Dilanian
Kayla Tausche
Steve Kovach
Jake Novak
Yun Li
Berkeley Lovelace Jr.
Ester Bloom
Salvador Rodriguez
Minda Zetlin
Amelia Lucas
Ryan Browne


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End of an Era: FarmVille Is Shutting Down
The era of distant aunts and random grade school friends you haven't spoken to in years popping up in your notification with invites to trade crops will soon come to an end. After eleven years, the iconic Facebook game, FarmVille is getting put out to pasture.
Zynga, the developer behind FarmVille and Words with Friends, announced that they would be closing the once popular agrarian social game at the end of the year. The move comes after Adobe announced that would be ending all maintenance and support for Flash Players on web browsers meaning that games like FarmVille will automatically be rendered unplayable come December 31.
"We're aware that many of you have been with us since the very beginning, helping to build an incredible global community of players over the years who've enjoyed this game just as much as we have. For that we say thank you." Zynga writes.
The developer also announced that they would be ending in-app purchases on November 17, giving users a little over a month to spend any remaining credit they might have before the game completely shuts down New Years Eve. Zynga also teased a host of new in-game activities and events planned as a way to spice up these last few months before the sun finally sets on FarmVille.
Related | Why Everyone You Know Is Playing 'Animal Crossing' Right Now
For those looking to scratch that virtual crop-rearing itch there are still plenty of options available, from the hardcore realism of Farming Simulator 19 to the charming laidback Stardew Valley. The game's sequels and upcoming mobile game, FarmVille 3, will still be available to play as well.
Photo via Facebook/ Zynga
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ASBMB Today Science Great achievements in science and technology in ancient Africa
Great achievements in science and technology in ancient Africa
By Sydella Blatch
Despite suffering through the horrific system of slavery, sharecropping and the Jim Crow era, early African-Americans made countless contributions to science and technology (1). This lineage and culture of achievement, though, emerged at least 40,000 years ago in Africa. Unfortunately, few of us are aware of these accomplishments, as the history of Africa, beyond ancient Egypt, is seldom publicized.
Sadly, the vast majority of discussions on the origins of science include only the Greeks, Romans and other whites. But in fact most of their discoveries came thousands of years after African developments. While the remarkable black civilization in Egypt remains alluring, there was sophistication and impressive inventions throughout ancient sub-Saharan Africa as well. There are just a handful of scholars in this area. The most prolific is the late Ivan Van Sertima, an associate professor at Rutgers University. He once poignantly wrote that "the nerve of the world has been deadened for centuries to the vibrations of African genius" (2).
Here, I attempt to send an electrical impulse to this long-deadened nerve. I can only fly by this vast plane of achievements. Despite this, it still should be evident that the ancient people of Africa, like so many other ancients of the world, definitely had their genius.
Surely only a few of us know that many modern high-school-level concepts in mathematics first were developed in Africa, as was the first method of counting. More than 35,000 years ago, Egyptians scripted textbooks about math that included division and multiplication of fractions and geometric formulas to calculate the area and volume of shapes (3). Distances and angles were calculated, algebraic equations were solved and mathematically based predictions were made of the size of floods of the Nile. The ancient Egyptians considered a circle to have 360 degrees and estimated Π at 3.16 (3).
Eight thousand years ago, people in present-day Zaire developed their own numeration system, as did Yoruba people in what is now Nigeria. The Yoruba system was based on units of 20 (instead of 10) and required an impressive amount of subtraction to identify different numbers. Scholars have lauded this system, as it required much abstract reasoning (4).
Several ancient African cultures birthed discoveries in astronomy. Many of these are foundations on which we still rely, and some were so advanced that their mode of discovery still cannot be understood. Egyptians charted the movement of the sun and constellations and the cycles of the moon. They divided the year into 12 parts and developed a yearlong calendar system containing 365 ¼ days (3). Clocks were made with moving water and sundial-like clocks were used (3).
A structure known as the African Stonehenge in present-day Kenya (constructed around 300 B.C.) was a remarkably accurate calendar (5). The Dogon people of Mali amassed a wealth of detailed astronomical observations (6). Many of their discoveries were so advanced that some modern scholars credit their discoveries instead to space aliens or unknown European travelers, even though the Dogon culture is steeped in ceremonial tradition centered on several space events. The Dogon knew of Saturn's rings, Jupiter's moons, the spiral structure of the Milky Way and the orbit of the Sirius star system. Hundreds of years ago, they plotted orbits in this system accurately through the year 1990 (6). They knew this system contained a primary star and a secondary star (now called Sirius B) of immense density and not visible to the naked eye.
Metallurgy and tools
Many advances in metallurgy and tool making were made across the entirety of ancient Africa. These include steam engines, metal chisels and saws, copper and iron tools and weapons, nails, glue, carbon steel and bronze weapons and art (2, 7).
Advances in Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago surpassed those of Europeans then and were astonishing to Europeans when they learned of them. Ancient Tanzanian furnaces could reach 1,800°C — 200 to 400°C warmer than those of the Romans (8).
Various past African societies created sophisticated built environments. Of course, there are the engineering feats of the Egyptians: the bafflingly raised obelisks and the more than 80 pyramids. The largest of the pyramids covers 13 acres and is made of 2.25 million blocks of stone (3). Later, in the 12th century and much farther south, there were hundreds of great cities in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. There, massive stone complexes were the hubs of cities. One included a 250-meter-long, 15,000-ton curved granite wall (9). The cities featured huge castlelike compounds with numerous rooms for specific tasks, such as iron-smithing. In the 13th century, the empire of Mali boasted impressive cities, including Timbuktu, with grand palaces, mosques and universities (2).
Many treatments we use today were employed by several ancient peoples throughout Africa. Before the European invasion of Africa, medicine in what is now Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa, to name just a few places, was more advanced than medicine in Europe. Some of these practices were the use of plants with salicylic acid for pain (as in aspirin), kaolin for diarrhea (as in Kaopectate), and extracts that were confirmed in the 20th century to kill Gram positive bacteria (2). Other plants used had anticancer properties, caused abortion and treated malaria — and these have been shown to be as effective as many modern-day Western treatments. Furthermore, Africans discovered ouabain, capsicum, physostigmine and reserpine. Medical procedures performed in ancient Africa before they were performed in Europe include vaccination, autopsy, limb traction and broken bone setting, bullet removal, brain surgery, skin grafting, filling of dental cavities, installation of false teeth, what is now known as Caesarean section, anesthesia and tissue cauterization (3). In addition, African cultures preformed surgeries under antiseptic conditions universally when this concept was only emerging in Europe (2).
Most of us learn that Europeans were the first to sail to the Americas. However, several lines of evidence suggest that ancient Africans sailed to South America and Asia hundreds of years before Europeans. Thousands of miles of waterways across Africa were trade routes. Many ancient societies in Africa built a variety of boats, including small reed-based vessels, sailboats and grander structures with many cabins and even cooking facilities. The Mali and Songhai built boats 100 feet long and 13 feet wide that could carry up to 80 tons (2). Currents in the Atlantic Ocean flow from this part of West Africa to South America. Genetic evidence from plants and descriptions and art from societies inhabiting South America at the time suggest small numbers of West Africans sailed to the east coast of South America and remained there (2). Contemporary scientists have reconstructed these ancient vessels and their fishing gear and have completed the transatlantic voyage successfully. Around the same time as they were sailing to South America, the 13th century, these ancient peoples also sailed to China and back, carrying elephants as cargo (2).
People of African descent come from ancient, rich and elaborate cultures that created a wealth of technologies in many areas. Hopefully, over time, there will be more studies in this area and more people will know of these great achievements.
1. Kresge, N. "A history of black scientists."ASBMB Today. February 2011.
2. Van Sertima, I. "The Lost Sciences of Africa: An Overview." Blacks in Science: Ancient and Modern. 7 – 26 (1983).
3. Woods, G. Science in Ancient Egypt (1988).
4. Zaslavsky, C. "The Yoruba Number System." Blacks in Science: Ancient and Modern. 110 – 127 (1983).
5. Lynch, B. M. & Robbins, L. H. Science 4343, 766 – 768 (1978).
6. Adams, H. "African Observers of the Universe: The Sirius Question." Blacks in Science: Ancient and Modern. 27 – 46 (1983).
7. Brooks, L. African Achievements: Leaders, Civilizations and Cultures of Ancient Africa. (1971).
8. Shore, D. "Steel-Making in Ancient Africa." Blacks in Science: Ancient and Modern. 157 – 162 (1983).
9. Asante, M. et al. "Great Zimbabwe: An Ancient African City-State." Blacks in Science: Ancient and Modern. 84 – 91 (1983).
Sydella Blatch
Sydella Blatch is an assistant professor of biology at Stevenson University.


Some malware are very destructive in nature or badly programmed that they affect the stability of Windows leading to recurring crash of programs and Windows. It then becomes a nightmare to correct the Windows Operating System if you're unable to boot in to Windows even in Safe Mode. This makes it very hard for the technical person to troubleshoot and fix the problem and they normally end up reformatting the hard drive to reinstall Windows. This can lead to loss of data and productivity.
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In such cases you will need to start Windows from a clean source to scan and remove the malware and fix Windows errors. eScan Rescue Disk provides you with a Windows based clean environment that not only helps you to scan and clean the system but also to fix the Windows registry changes done by viruses.


I expect that you are right. Is there a way to have twill pipe all visited pages through something like Tidy to clean them up?
-> twill finds the first input field but misses the second one. This appears to be because the BR tag is immediately closed rather than with an intermediate space (i.e.
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-> I believe this is legal HTML as well as XML. Any suggestions?
John, do you have any thoughts?


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Tag Archives: CZP
Bad Behavior in the Publishing World
I've been gone for awhile from my blog, and was going to come back with a tale of what's been happening in my life. However, with recent upsets in the publishing world, and specifically Canadian speculative publishing, I feel I must speak up as well, for several reasons that will become clear.
In some ways, the world of the small press, even the big mega publishers, is often fraught with financial mismanagement and suspect deals or questionable contracts. The recent events in Canada were about long time Calgary speculative publisher EDGE Publishing and long time Toronto dark fiction publisher CZP or ChiZine Publications.
Marie Bilodeau's Nigh series Book 5
Canada is rather small when it comes to population and even smaller with writing population. Most speculative authors know of each other and of any press that can publish speculative fiction. There aren't many. Recent complaints by Marie Bilodeau not receiving more than one sales/royalty report and being blocked in other ways with the sale of her book started a discussion about EDGE. It spurred a minor rise up in the SF community and discussion on the SF Canada list, our own pro writers group. I believe the SFC executive managed to help in communicating with EDGE and Marie's long outstanding case was resolved. EDGE has a reputation of not communicating, paying late or not paying and not getting contracts out on time. I've co-edited a Tesseracts anthology and been in various anthologies with EDGE. I was always paid, sometimes a bit late. I have received one contract after the book was published and a signed contract after another book was published. EDGE ran a risk that someone would pull their story without a signed contract and that would have meant the print run being pulled or face litigation. I was however, aware of the issues with EDGE.
When the EDGE accusations came out on SFC, people started mentioning issues they had had. I reported as I did above. This was not ever to say I didn't believe other people's reports. In fact, I very much believe them. It was only to report; I wasn't going to lie. In this way people can determine that 75% of authors working with X publisher reported issues, or 100% did or 2% did. This is an important statistic and in any lawsuit that data would be used to show a pattern. It also indicates if a publisher is going through a tough phase, or if they have a regular habit of bad behavior. EDGE's reputation is known but not everyone knows of it.
Angel of the Abyss by Ed Kurtz
Then out came ChiZine Publication's debacle. It's been all over the web, on people's blogs, on Facebook and I cannot report it all here. (This will be long enough as it is.) However File 770 will give anyone reading here a place to start. It started with Ed Kurtz's complaints about rights and payment. It spread like wildfire with many authors reporting no or late payments and statements. Then it spread to allegations of misconduct, of gaslighting, of ostracizing and even trying to break up relationships.
This was extremely shocking stuff, especially because I considered co-owner Brett Savory and Sandra Kasturi friends. I attended their wedding many years ago. I read slush for CZP, did a bit of editing, hosted the Chiseries readings in Vancouver for 2 years, and was co-editor of the online poetry section of Chizine with Carolyn Clink. I live on the West Coast. CZP is in Ontario. I didn't even see Brett and Sandra once a year and maybe talked via phone once a year. I knew of one fight between them and another friend but that can always be chalked up to differences of opinion or personalities. Other than that, I had no clue. One blog poster has said, "we told you but you wouldn't listen." However, whoever the "we" were didn't tell the "you" that included me or most of SF Canada. It's hard to "hear" when you're not part of whatever group is considered the "you," so in many cases geographic areas of writers might be very well unaware of what is happening elsewhere. Perhaps Ontario authors knew but most of us did not.
Yes, I was shocked. I was disturbed and I lost sleep over it. I read many of the posts by Michael Matheson, Sam Beiko, Helen Marshall, Beverly Bambury and others. I know most of these people professionally; many of them worked for CZP, and I have talked with them in the past. I was so surprised, but I believed their statements. Unless there is a mass conspiracy, I would have had to stick my head in the sand to disbelieve the sheer number of complaints. There may be nuances to tales that haven't been revealed. That, I don't know.
What ensued next was just as disturbing to me. I posted on SFC, probably within the first 24-48 hours of the wildfire, stating I hadn't seen this behavior, only what I had worked on for them, but that I was also on the West Coast and was not physically in the vicinity. Again, as with EDGE, I only posted my experiences; I didn't lie. I also said, let's see what they post about these allegations.
Immediately I was attacked and accused of ignorance, of negating the other reports and god knows what else. I stated again, that even in a court of law the accused gets a chance to speak. I reiterated that this did not mean I didn't believe the statements. What ensued after was not pretty. Messages came out indicating that if you didn't say anything then you were against the maligned authors, pretty much the black and white "if you're not with me, you're against me" belief. People were attacked, just because they were men or because of some statement about publishing or rights or this or that. If this were a street brawl there would have been bodies. There were members with their own agenda or trauma who will always see every statement through that particular lens. There were others who deliberately tried to misconstrue every comment, who intentionally dug into every word so that they could rise up in righteous anger. There was no asking to elaborate, just harsh judgment and accusations. Other people raised the torches and pitchforks. Some handed out blanket judgments of everyone on SFC or of this group or that group. Some people left the list. I'm sure some people unfriended me on Facebook. I don't know so I can't be offended but if deliberately misinterpreting my words is the way to go, then I don't need them reading my posts.
What I did do was stop posting. After all, I was attacked once. I would now be seen as the enemy and attacked again. With the trauma and grief I've dealt with in the last year, this was triggering me and that's partly why this post has come out several weeks after the initial event. I might never post again on SFC. I might let my membership lapse. I don't know but I certainly don't feel safe posting anymore. That's a lot of fallout over one publisher and a lot of evidence of things that need to be fixed.
But are EDGE and CZP the only two publishers who have indulged in bad behavior? And is it only Canadian publishers? Absolutely not. I've experienced it myself more than once, from big companies to small.
I wrote articles for magazines called Best Whistler and Opulence. The first never paid me. The second was so far behind or just not paying writers that the writers rose up in force, contacted advertisers and formed a class action lawsuit. I helped get everyone in contact. I had played my cards close, having been burned by Best Whistler, and never let the amount they owed me get too high, also leaving enough time in between articles that they would often pay. Though before the mass uprising I had to threaten a lawyer to get my money and then leave. For that reason I didn't join the lawsuit as I had no outstanding payments owed.
Even before that I used to copyedit for NY book packager Byron Preiss. They sometimes did work for other publishers and I was copyediting four related books in a faeries series. It was cancelled I think after book II but I'd copyedited book III. I spent a year fighting with them since they were arguing over who should pay: Penguin or Byron Preiss. In the end, I had to threaten lawyer to get less than $500 measly bucks. One of the biggest houses in SF exhibited disorganization when they lost not one but two copyediting tests I did for them.
Then there was Zharmae Publishing. Never heard of them? I'm not surprised. They were new. They gave me a massive contract that asked for all rights in perpetuity throughout the universe. Yes that was the exact wording. I sent them a sample of the SFWA contract. I figured they were earnest but misguided; we haggled the contract. "Tower of Strength" came out in the Irony of Survival. The true irony was surviving as a writer. I'm sure maybe eight people bought this anthology. For over a year after publication they never sent me my copies and they literally said the cheque was in the mail. The payment was $100, not very much and they knew it would be more expensive for me to get a lawyer.
What they didn't know was I had a friend who was an entertainment lawyer and for free he had his assistant draft a letter. In 24 hours I had my pay but they still tried to wiggle out of the books. I had those in a week. These are just my stories of dealing with publishers. Publishing houses can still mismanage their operations, either intentionally or out of inexperience and bad business practices. I had other publishers disappear into the dark of night without ever responding on submissions or acceptances. That's almost par for the course these days.
More recently I was invited to write for an anthology that was royalty based. I've not done this before and I will never do it again. There was no editing done on the stories and the publisher never gave any royalty reports. I never received a penny, or a hard copy of the book, only a PDF. I'm sure any sales that were done with the minimal marketing went to the publisher, and the editor who did nothing to deserve payment. But…I am unable to complain about this publisher. This is a case of me being a small pea in a pod, with little clout, not known well, and the publisher being a very well known member of a large organization. I don't feel I would ever be heard or believed in such a situation. How does one complain to either SFWA's or HWA's grievance committees knowing that this person will probably have wind of it and that it could end up getting me ostracized in the writing community.
I need to mention that lawsuits and grievances have probably happened to many of the big publishing house's. you don't always hear of them because of NDAs. After all, entertainment lawyers make their money interpreting and looking for loopholes in contracts. Sometimes the publisher is to blame but sometimes an author can be to blame as well. There are notoriously difficult writers. If they're famous enough, publishers will grin and bear it, but if they're newer, then authors might be booted to the curb. It's good to remember that not every complaint on any side may be founded and that it's always best to hear both sides of the story. I believe this fundamentally, even in the workplace.
This is the power publishers and editors hold over writers. We want to be published. There's more of us than there are spots to fill. People will often be paid peanuts for massive rights grabs by the publisher. The publisher can blacklist you. Big and well-known publishers and editors can spread enough word that you are a difficult author so that no one will touch you. It could be game over for whatever sales we can get. So yes, I'm still the victim of some publishing bad behavior that I cannot report on. And my rule is to always try to treat everyone kindly because you don't how it can come back to bite you on the ass.
I've become more and more cautious and don't get caught as much, and I'm a barracuda in going after my rights. I don't care if I have to nag. I will keep on. But we don't always know when a publisher might change or a new publisher might just forget to get contracts out or runs out of money. Even vigilance can't save us all from getting caught.
There are various writers organizations such as the Writers Union, HWA, SFWA, etc. that can go to bat for authors but if one is not a member it's not as easy. And as I've shown, membership won't necessarily save you. There is no easy solution to all of this. Sometimes an author thinks they're the only one that has the issue. I guess all we can do is communicate better, to grievance committees, to each other and listen calmly. We should be trying to hear all sides and not leaping to conclusions and condemnations without weighing everything. The era of social media means that judgment can come without knowing the facts. I just know I do not have the energy to be attacked by someone's perceived assumption about my words. Try asking for clarification first. And publishers need to have better business practices. We're probably going to end up with a gap in Canadian speculative publishing, which is already very slim. I guess we'll see what the future holds.
Filed under news, Publishing, SF, Writing
Tagged as Chizine, CZP, E, Ed Kurtz, EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy, HWA, Marie Bilodeau, publishers, publishing contracts, royalties, Sam Beiko, writer grievances
Issue #71, only the third all-fiction issue in 25 years.
Okay, this is really sad, and I'm not talking about all the annoying changes WordPress is making. I'm talking about tooting my own horn. Sigh. The following paragraphs in italics are what I started writing 8 months ago. Good God!
I've been so remiss on my updates here that I've neglected to mention the pieces that have come out this year and that I've sold. In May, "The Collector" came out in Cemetery Dance magazine. From submission to publication, this story took 6 years. That's a record but it was worth the wait.
Last fall, "Gingerbread People" was published by EDGE Publishing in Chilling Tales 2: In Words Alas Drown I. Unfortunately many magazines and anthologies never get reviewed but there is a short one up at Bitten by Books and Tangent. However, be forewarned that Tangent reviews tend to give summations of the stories as well.
So, continuing on from there, just a note that "The Collector" is eligible for a Nebula, Hugo or World Fantasy nomination. Not that that will happen much as I'm still a fairly unknown pea in a pod. I actually had very little published last year. It sometimes happens like that, with sales happening one year and the publication in the next. I did also sell the poem "Family Tree" to They have to Take You in, a book published in Ontario and edited by Ursula Pflug.
Imaginarium: Best of Canadian Spec Writing
Now, for this year, there is a ton of news! "The Book With No End," first published in Bibliotheca Fantastica, was reprinted in the current Imaginarium 3: The Best of Canadian Speculative Writing, from CZP. It came out in February, and this month "Pearls and Swine" came out in The Exile Book of New Canadian Noir, editied by David Nickle and Claude Lalumière. Polu Texni has also published another one of my poems, "I Dreamed a World," which is up and can be read for free.
Later this month (I hope) Burning Maiden will be published and I'll be the feature poet with three poems. It's from Evil Eye Press. "Sins of the Father" was sold to Our World of Horror, (Eldritch Press) and "Symbiosis" to Shoreline of Infinity, a new online mag out of Scotland. And "Our Lady of Redemption" should be out in Nameless Magazine sometime soon. There are also a couple of articles on monsters.
Rhea Rose and I sold "Scar Tissue" to Bundoran Press's Second Contact anthology, about aliens after the initial introduction. "The Hedge Witch" will be published in OnSpec this summer and there are rumors of an interview. And "Persephone Dreams" will be published this summer in the online magazine Eternal Haunted Summer. Also, Horror Library is being resurrected and "Exegesis of the Insecta Apocrypha," which received an honorable mention in the Year's Best, will be reprinted in The Best of Horror Library, sometime later this year. There is one other story sold to a dark fiction anthology but more on that later when I'm allowed to mention it. 🙂
Cover for the Exile Noir book. Available now and a collection of all noir genres.
So yes, I've been rather busy. And I'm co-editing The Playground of Lost Toys as mentioned a couple of posts ago. On top of that, I'm trying to write 50 new and dark poems by Sept. That's a lot so I am working on them now. I'm about to send a manuscript and outlines off to an agent to see what will happen there. And in the meantime I'm also working on a few stories. I'll be taking a good old fashioned blank book with me to Spain to do some old fashioned writing, as well as a tablet. It will be a vacation but writing will be involved.
I'm off to my best year for published works so I'll see what the rest of the year brings.
Filed under Culture, entertainment, erotica, fairy tales, fantasy, horror, Publishing, SF, Writing
Tagged as anthologies, Bundoran Press, Cemetery Dance, Claude Lalumiere, Colleen Anderson, CZP, David Nickle, Eternal Haunted Summer, Horror Library, Imaginarium 3, Nameless Magazine, New Canadian Noir, ON Spec, Our World of Horror, Playground of Lost Toys, Polu Texni, Shoreline of Infinity, speculative fiction
Writing, Readings and Cons, Oh My!
This weekend is VCon, Vancouver's SF and fantasy convention. I haven't gone in a few years but I will be attending this year and will be on a panel about Finding Your Muse, tomorrow at 1:00 pm. I have a reading at 7:00 pm where I will read from a story that was long listed for the Stoker Award. And on Saturday I will be on a panel about the role of religion in speculative fiction. If you're not doing anything come on down and experience the breadth and depth of convention fun.
I should also mention that my poem "Family Tree" has come out in the collection They Have to Take You In, edited by Ursula Pflug. "The Collector" came out earlier this year in Cemetery Dance. My story "Pearls and Swine" will be coming out in the New Exile Book of Canadian Noir, and Our Lady of Redemption, plus an article "Universal Monsters" will be out in Nameless Magazine sometime in the near future. And check out this interview with me at the Reality Skimming blog, by Christel Bodenbender.
On Tuesday, Oct. 7, I host the Vancouver ChiSeries. The Chiaroscuro Reading Series started in Toronto and is held quarterly in Winnepeg, Ottawa and Vancouver. I have a great lineup of authors. You can attend for free, listen to the readings, peruses the books for sale and ask questions of the authors. The Cottage Bistro is a nice little venue at Main, near 28th St. and offers drinks and food as well Easily accessible by bus and lots of street parking. Now read below to see who is coming.
Paula Johanson is a writer, teacher and editor.
For over twenty-five years, Paula Johanson has worked as a writer, teacher and editor. Among her twenty-nine books on science, health and literature for young adult readers the most recent are Love Poetry: How Do I Love Thee? (Enslow Publishers), Fish: The Truth About The Food Supply (Rosen Publishing), and the science fiction anthology Opus 6 (Reality Skimming Press). Twice she has been shortlisted for the Prix Aurora Award. An accredited teacher, she has written and edited curriculum educational materials. Recently she completed an MA in Canadian Literature at the University of Victoria.Twitter: @ PaulaJohanson
Lynda Williams teaches, writes and is starting a publishing company.
Lynda Williams is the author of the ten-novel Okal Rel Saga and publisher of Reality Skimming Press. Lynda holds two post graduate degrees, manages an e-learning team at SFU and teaches part-time for BCIT in introductory web development. She is also editor for the Collidor project to create an SF web app magazine. http://okalrel.org/reality-skimming/
Alma Alexander's life so far has prepared her very well for her chosen career. She was born in a country which no longer exists on the maps, has lived and worked in seven countries on four continents (and in cyberspace!), has climbed mountains, dived in coral reefs, flown small planes, swum with dolphins, touched two-thousand-year-old tiles in a gate out of Babylon. She is a novelist, anthologist and short story writer who currently shares her life between the Pacific Northwest of the USA (where she lives with her husband and two cats) and the wonderful fantasy worlds of her own imagination. http://anghara.livejournal.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alma-Alexander/67938071280
Alma Alexander is the duchess of fantasy, or maybe a lost nation.
Come out and meet some of the writers, and chat with us. We'd like to see more of a community that appreciates SF, fantasy and dark fiction. The next ChiSeries after this one will be in January so this is the last one of 2014. Starting at 7:30 pm.
And one more thing, Nancy Kilpatrick and Caro Soles are editing an anthology called nEvermore! It's an homage to the glorious, Gothic style of the master, Edgar Allan Poe, bringing Poe-inspired fiction into the 21st century. nEvermore! brings together mystery writers (who already include a slash of the supernatural in their writing) and dark fantasy/horror writers (who currently slip across the shadows and touch on the mystery genre).
It's crowdfunded to support the authors and has some great perks. Some rare Poe stamps, four one-of-a-kind mini Poe coffins, steampunk Poe necklace, glass tile magnets, the book and more perks to come. And for writers who want to join this anthology, there is a contest. Only three stories will be selected to join the other authors in this anthology. Check out Descent into the Maelstrom for contest and writing rules. Personally I would love any of the perks. It's an awesome concept and worthy of supporting on several fronts.
About the editors: Caro Soles is best known for founding the Bloody Words Mystery Conference to highlight Canadian mystery writing. She received the Derrick Murdoch Award from the Crime Writers of Canada, was short-listed for the Lambda Literary Award, and inaugurated the Bloody Words Mystery Award several years ago. She has published 11 novels and many short stories and has edited several mystery anthologies.
Nancy Kilpatrick is an award-winning author and editor known for her dark fantasy/horror and mystery stories. She has published 18 novels, over 200 short stories, 6 collections, 1 non-fiction book, and has edited 14 anthologies. She has worked for major publishing houses and small presses and some of her fiction has been translated in several foreign languages. Poe's works have been a lifelong passion and she is thrilled to have this opportunity to create an anthology that honors this exceptional author of style and genius.
So check out the crowdfunding perks and sign up to get yourself some special Poe stories and items. And come out to VCon and to the ChiSeries readings. You can't get too much of a good thing. October is the official month of bats and pumpkins and things that go bump in the night and slither quietly by day.
Filed under Culture, entertainment, fantasy, horror, poetry, Publishing, science fiction, Writing
Tagged as Alma Alexander, Canadian authors, Caro Soles, ChiSeries, conventions, CZP, fantasy, horror, Jin-Shei, Lynda Williams, Nancy Kilpatrick, Nevermore, Paula Johanson, Poe anthology, readings, Reality Skimming Press, Stoker Award, VCon, writing contest
Shitty Poetry Month
In a send-up of the WWW belt and poetry month, you can vote for the worst poet.
In a send-up of all those poetry months, (and of course you know April is National Poetry Month) the folks at Chizine Publications decided to honor "Shitty Poetry Month." There are many abysmal poems that fill the ether and the void and in fact, probably a lot of them should be voiced instead of being put into books and sent around the world. The vanity presses are famous for taking every piece of drek to mar a monitor and putting them into a lovely hardcover book, that they then charge you, the writer of terrible poems, to buy and give to all your friends so you can say, "Look! I is a writer."
Yes, it's that terrible and terribly fun. With tongue firmly in cheek, we were all asked to write terrible poems. It's the last week of the contest, where each week you could vote for the worst poem. The four finalists will be pitted against each other, where you, brave reader, can vote for the worst poem of the year. I'm afraid to say my poem was not terrible enough. (What a relief!)
You can also read just how awful we can be when we just spew out whatever comes into our minds. Yes, poetry actually takes work. I've been working on some poems for year and years, to get them just right. Which reminds me, I have sold poems to On Spec and Burning Maiden. It will take a while for them to come out, which I will of course announce here.
In the meantime, entertain yourself with some shitty poems. And if you're not familiar with CZP, they put out very good books in the dark fiction world. They also won a British Fantasy Award last year. http://www.chizine.com
Filed under Culture, entertainment, poetry, Writing
Tagged as Chizine Publications, CZP, National Poetry Month, poem, poems, poetry, Poetry Month, shitty poems, writers
Writing: The Storm of 2013
To write or not to write; there is no question. Creative Commons: http://freshink.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html
I'm rather late to a sum up of 2014 (hahaha, I'm an idiot. This is why everyone needs an editor. I meant uh, 2013, because it really was that busy.) and it's because it was one of the busiest years I've ever had. I barely had time to think or write on this blog. Hence, while I hoped to get out all of the Tesseracts 17 interviews within two months of its October release, it took me till January. And that's how last year started; editing the 450 submissions for the anthology. I also participated in Women in Horror month in February, by posting interviews with Canadian writers or horror.
I had made a vow to have a rough draft of my ever languishing novel done by April but that was thrown to the wind. Along with the editing I also did a bit of other freelance editing around a full time job that went to double full time in April. That meant I was pretty worn out when I came home. I'd also injured my shoulder and was in unendurable pain that hit high levels in August. Using a mouse and typing aggravated it as well. So I had to add in physio on top of all that.
Available through Amazon. This is my favorite cover.
I then threw in a trip to Europe (Germany, France and England) where I also attended the World Fantasy Convention at the end of my three weeks. Luckily my shoulder was better enough to survive the trip. But guess what, I volunteered to be on the preliminary jury for the Bram Stoker awards (the major horror award in speculative fiction) and I was suddenly reading in every spare minute I had. It was probably around 50 entries in all . I hope to do some book reviews here at some point of the books I read.
So let's see, there was editing, and copy editing, and reading, but was there writing? Why yes, there was writing and works being published. In fact, I had a pretty good year in published pieces, though a couple of publishers are in bad graces at the moment for not paying on time nor sending me my copy of the book. (More on that soon if I don't hear from them.) Here is a list of works that came out last year:
"P is for Phartouche: The Blade" in Demonologia Biblica by Western Legends Publishing
"Red is the Color of My True Love's Blood" in Deep Cuts by Evil Jester Press
"The Book With No End" in Bibliotheca Fantastica by Dagan Books
"The Highest Price" in Artifacts and Relics by Heathen Oracle
"Gingerbread People" in Chilling Tales 2 by EDGE SF & Fantasy
"Tower of Strength" in Irony of Survival by Zharmae Publishing
"The Diver" in Readshortfiction.com (free under literary)
Tesseracts 17: Speculating Canada from Coast to Coast to Coast by EDGE SF & Fantasy, co-editor with Steve Vernon
"Heart of Glass" in Polu Texni (includes an interview and is free to view)
"Illuminating Thoughts" in Polu Texni
"Father's Child" in Polu Texni
"Don Quixote's Quandary" free in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly
The Book With No End, is in this anthology out from Dagan Books.
I should also mention that I launched for Chizine Publications and Sandra Kasturi the Vancouver branch of the Chiaroscuro Reading Series. We began quarterly with three readers in April and then again in July and October. The new one is coming up on Feb. 12th, at Tangent Cafe in Vancouver, with speculative authors Ray Hsu, Geoff Cole and Noah Chinn. It's free, so if you're in town come out and enjoy some tales.
Somewhere in all this I did have a social life and I did sleep… I think. I also completed, by the very last day of the year, the rough draft of my novel. After so many stops and starts, it was done. Of course I have a massive rewrite to do but at least the plot and character arcs are down. So, yes, it was a very busy year and very productive.
Colleen hosts the Vancouver ChiSeries, funded in part by CZP.
I've also found out that I made it onto the Bram Stoker Awards preliminary ballot for my short story "The Book With No End." The Stokers are the top dark fiction awards for the genre and rank with the World Fantasy Awards, the Hugos and the Nebula. I will eventually write about the process for getting on the ballot because it's a bit confusing. The Stoker prelininary ballots are a mix of recommendations from the membership and the jury. Once the membership votes, there will be a short form final ballot and then I believe another vote. I'll find out if I make it that far.
Works to come out at some point soon in this year are "The Collector" in Cemetery Dance. I'm promised it will be very soon and I've been waiting over five years so it will be nice to see that one show up. Bull Spec also promises to publish my poem "Visitation" soon. I've also just learned that I've sold three poems to Burning Maiden and I'll be featured in the next edition. Those poems are "Tea Party," "Medusa" and "As I Sleep."
So what's in store this year. Obviously more writing and rewriting, and we'll see. Some irons are in the fire but until I have an answer everything is just a dream. 😉 But we all should dream, shouldn't we? May you all have a productive year.
Filed under Culture, entertainment, fantasy, health, horror, poetry, Publishing, science fiction, travel, Writing
Tagged as Bram Stoker, Bram Stoker Award, ChiSeries, CZP, editing, Publishing, reading series, tavel in Europe, Tesseracts 17, The Book With No End, the Stokers
Chi Reading Series Vancouver
The ChiSeries features published authors every quarter. Also in Toronto, Winnipeg and Ottawa.
Coming next week is the third event in the ChiSeries Vancouver, which Sandra Kasturi and Helen Marshall first started in Toronto. I chair the Vancouver branch and we started in April with Claude Lalumière, Camille Alexa and Steve Erikson, with a second in July with Eileen Kernaghan, Linda DeMuelemeester and Hiromi Goto. This third reading has Peter Darbyshire (also writing as Peter Roman) author of Mona Lisa Sacrifice, Melia McClure with her first novel The Delphi Room, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia, editor of Innsmouth Free Press and author of the collection This Strange Way of Dying.
Melia McClure's The Delphi Room debuts this month.
Melia McClure's The Delphi Room is a quirky, darkly surreal novel currently out from ChiZine Publications. She has adapted The Delphi Room into a screenplay. Her fiction has been shortlisted in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) National Literary Awards, and she is the editor of Meditation & Health magazine, which is distributed in multiple locations in the United States and Canada as well as in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Indonesia. Melia grew up dancing and acting, and now, when not penning strange tales populated by quirky characters, or creating other varieties of writing, she can be found collecting vintage coats, dabbling with paint and perfecting her Charleston.
Click on Melia's name above and you'll get a taste of her very evocative writing. If you can't make Oct. 9, she is having the official launch of her book on Oct. 18 at the Cottage Bistro at 4470 Main St.
Peter Darbyshire's novels have received rave reviews.
Peter Darbyshire is the author of the books The Warhol Gang and Please, which won the ReLit Prize for Best Alternative Novel. He's also the author of the supernatural thriller The Mona Lisa Sacrifice, under the pen name Peter Roman. When he has time, he writes strange short stories, but they're never as strange as real life.
Mexican by birth, Canadian by inclination. Silvia Moreno-Garcia lives in Vancouver with her family and two cats. Her short stories have appeared in places such as The Book of Cthulhu, Imaginarium 2013: The Best Canadian Speculative Writing and Shine: An Anthology of Optimistic Science Fiction. She has edited several anthologies, including Dead North and Fungi. Her first collection, This Strange Way of Dying, is out this year. Her first novel, Sound Fidelity, will be out in 2014.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia is editor of Innsmouth Free Press and author of This Strange Way of Dying.
These authors have impressive writing styles and they'll be reading from their works next week. The event is free, as are all the Chiaroscuro Readings Series (sponsored in part by ChiZine Publications) across Canada. Other reading events are in Winnipeg, Ottawa and Toronto (which receive some sponsorship from the Ontario Arts Council), where national chair and co-founder Sandra Kasturi has been running monthly readings for about four years.
It's a great way to spend a rainy or cool October evening. Come out and meet the authors and listen to them read. If you're in other parts of Canada, check out the ChiSeries there and keep an eye out for more events in other cities in the future. The next one for Vancovuer will be in January. https://www.facebook.com/ChiSeries
Filed under Culture, entertainment, fantasy, horror, people, Publishing, science fiction, Writing
Tagged as Canadian authors, Chizine, CZP, dark fiction, Innsmouth Free Press, Melia McClure, Mexican authors, Mona Lisa Sacrifice, Peter Darbyshire, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, speculative fiction
Just Another Cyber Monday
I don't have a lot to report in the writing scheme of things. I'm working on some stories and reading slush still for Tesseracts 17. We'll probably have another batch of rejections and "hold for further consideration" to go out in the next few weeks. Remember, if you're submitting, you must be Canadian, expat Canadian or living in Canada. We're looking for something from every province and territory. So far, there are very slim to no pickings for NW Territories, Nunavut, Yukon, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Manitoba. I would love to see stories or poetry from these areas, as well as from younger writers. Spread the word.
In the meantime, if you would like to pick up my book, Embers Amongst the Fallen, for your shelf or as a holiday gift, it's on sale till tomorrow for $10.95 instead of $16.95 (UK and Euro prices are cheaper as well). This is for the print version available through Amazon. I'll put the e-version on sale in a week, if I have time. This is a reprint collection of speculative stories, from fantasy to SF, with a bit of darkness sprinkled in between.
In the non-cyber world, I recently realized that Vancouver doesn't seem to have much of a speculative community. There are writers and artists scattered about but we don't always know each other. I noticed how much stuff Toronto does (colloquia, readings, other author events) and that Calgary has IFWA (Imaginative Fiction Writers Association) and I thought, why should they have all the fun?
So ,last Friday I held a cocktail party and invited writers and spouses/children to come to my place and mingle. It turned out to be a lot of fun and about 20 people came (my place isn't large so it worked well). Everyone enjoyed themselves so we'll try another one in January. I'm hoping that as we build community, ideas will germinate and grow and we'll be a force to be reckoned with. Chizine Publications also sponsors the Chiaroscuro Reading Series in Toronto. In April we're hoping to launch in Ottawa and Winnipeg and I'm hoping we can do the same in Vancouver. This will involve published authors reading from their work and receiving an honorarium, and raffles for bags of books at a bar. I'm still searching out venues that would work and be central enough that people can get to them on various forms of transportation.
If you're another Vancouver speculative writer, reader, artist, drop me a line and I'll make sure you know about the next Specfic Cocktail Party. In the meantime, get out there and read.
Filed under art, Culture, fantasy, horror, poetry, Publishing, science fiction, Writing
Tagged as anthology, Chizine, CZP, Publishing, readings, speculative fiction, Tesseracts 17, Writing, writing communities
Writing Update: The Collection Progresses
Creative Commons: http://dancurtis.ca/2010/07/
I have actually been too busy to write here but I thought I'd toss in an update on what's been transpiring.
Deadline for voting in the Aurora Awards closes on Monday, July 23 so if you're Canadian and would like to vote you can go here. There is also a voters package that contains the works being nominated. Since you pay $10 to vote (unless you already paid to nominate), then you can consider it a purchase of several novels, short, stories, art works and poems. My poem "A Good Catch" is nominated in the poetry category and the awards will be given in Calgary at the When Words Collide convention, which I will be at.
I have a week left to finish my story for Masked Mosaic. It's been a bit of a struggle so I'm not sure how successful I'll be. But mostly my time has been taken with formatting and getting my collection of stories ready for putting on Smashwords, for ereaders and then for print. If you're interested in a print copy, send me a message and I'll let you know when it's ready and the cost.
The collection will be called "Embers Amongst the Fallen" and will include sixteen stories, two of them new. Wayne Allen Sallee has written a lovely blurb:
"Anderson is an enigma. Many of her stories evoke the tense subtleties of Shirley Jackson, but then I go on to another story and it breathes of Richard Matheson or the late Ray Bradbury. Few people can pull off the whipsaw of terror to wonder and back, but Colleen makes it way past easy."
Wayne is a "5 time finalist-Stoker Award-First Novel, Collection, Novella, Novelette, Short Story." East Coast, dark fiction writer Steve Vernon is writing an introduction for the collection as well so I feel very honored that these people, along with Sandra Kasturi of CZP who proofread it, have agreed to be part of it.
Polu Texni has bought another poem, "Mermaid," which is written in the style of a villanelle. I'm not sure when it will be up on the site. Now, on to the process of self-producing a book.
Creative Commons: Ninha Morandini
Smashwords is for ereaders and once you have your book formatted they will make it readable for different readers and send out a catalog. You have to meet their formatting guidelines and produce a cover. I have a friend working on one right now. There is a giant book that can be downloaded for free that is the Smashwords style guide. Interestingly enough, it has formatting issues in rtf, but is okay in PDF. It's written for those who are not even that familiar with using Word. I'm pretty much an expert (though the stupid Office/Word 2007 sucks big time and annoys the hell out of me) so I'm finding the book a bit tedious in some sections. I have to glean through though because some information is buried and some not so clear.
I have got rid of most of the marks and spaces that they require but I also have one story with footnotes and I still have to determine how to make sure those show correctly. I'm presuming once I get to the submission part that I'll get to review before it goes to the vetters (they send it back if there are formatting errors). It's that part that could slow down my release date of Aug. 1. I'm more than half way through the formatting and just waiting for the intro (and to complete my acknowledgements) so I hope by this weekend I'll only be dealing with getting the cover art finalized.
It's been an interesting process and I've been working on a few erotic stories to put up as well. Formatting one story is much easier than the book but I'm learning some things when doing this. Stay tuned for the release of my first collection.
Filed under Culture, erotica, fantasy, horror, Publishing, science fiction, Writing
Tagged as Aurora Award, book production, books, CZP, ebooks, editing, Embers Amongst the Fallen, parts of a book, Publishing, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Sandra Kasturi, Shirley Jackson, short story, Steve Vernon, story collection, Wayne Allen Sallee, Writing, writing awards
Writing: Rannu Competition and Update
I'm working away on several things and of course we've hit the busy social season, but I'm hoping to get my cyber-feypunk novel rewritten before the end of the year. Which means my steampunk story, all but laid out in my mind, is on hold until this is out of the way.
I'm still reading slush for CZP but it's slowed down with all the other stuff. I still have about ten submissions to get through and have requested the full manuscript from one person. I've also forwarded about three on to Sandra and Brett. There are several readers for the manuscripts so it's hard to say how many submissions we have at once or how many are forwarded, unless you're Sandra.
And today it's been confirmed that Steve Vernon and I will be judges for the poetry end of the Rannu competition. We are both horror/dark fiction writers, in one of our guises and live on opposite coasts. We are of course not the only writers in Canada of that ilk. And the poems entered do not need to be dark fiction/horror; they just have to be speculative. Steve won last year's poetry competition and I was one of two runners up.
Barbara Gordon and Francine Lewis will be the judges for the prose competition.Barbara won last year's competition and Francine was one of two runners up in both categories. The competition gives a $500 first prize in each category, open to anyone in any country and the deadline is January 15, 2011. Full information and the past two years' winners can be seen here: http://rannu.webs.com/ The award was created by Sandra Kasturi of Chizine.
I've not been a judge before; just a writer, competitor, copyeditor, editor so this will be fun and something new. I have no idea how many poems we'll have to judge but I suspect we'll be busy. Editing poetry is quite a different pony from editing prose. Whereas you can start with the basics of grammar for prose, it doesn't necessarily hold true for a poem that can have a different style from the next one. Grammar doesn't work the same way if at all. But some hints on how to write good poems is to stay away from cliche images and sayings. Things like sunsets, moons and suns have been described so many ways that making them unique becomes harder. Also these days rhyming poems aren't really in fashion. I wouldn't dismiss a poem for it rhyming, but there are few people who can do it really well. It better not be trite and simplistic. Google Joyce Kilmer's poem "Trees" for an example of simplistic and bad.
If a poem is using specific imagery, then that image/simile should follow through or be completed, not left hanging to go on to another image. Sandra's amusing and acerbic guidelines for Chizine can apply to any poem. I'm copying the relevant parts here:
Note on Goth poems. BEFORE YOU SUBMIT, go to the Goth-o-Matic Poetry Generator and create a poem:
http://www.deadlounge.com/poetry/poems.html
If the poem you want to send me even remotely resembles the one you just created with the Generator, DO NOT submit your own poem.
Unless you have had poems published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly or a similar calibre of magazine, DO NOT SUBMIT:
formal verse of any kind whatsoever
vampire poetry
any poem with the word "blood" in it
any poem with the word "womb" in it
anything remotely related to J.R.R. Tolkien
any werewolf poem. We know you think your werewolf poems are good. We don't. We're tired of the howling and the biting. You give us mange.
any poem entitled "Underworld." The movies weren't THAT awesome. Also, it's the name of the knicker factory on Coronation Street, so it elicits immediate snickers from the editors.
A poem should say something new, in a unique way. It shouldn't be a story. That's what prose is for. A poem should be succinct with strong imagery, atmosphere or feeling. It shouldn't all be angst or broken hearts. God forbid that's what we get. Judges are people so there will be things we prefer or don't prefer but I'm pretty good in separating my personal opinion from judging something on the strength of execution and style. If I wasn't judging I'd be entering again. We'll be blind judging so there is no chance of favoritism.
Filed under art, Culture, entertainment, fantasy, horror, news, people, poetry, Publishing, science fiction, Writing
Tagged as Barbara Gordon, CZP, dark fiction, editing, fantasy, fiction, Francine Lewis, judging, poetry, poetry competition, prose, Publishing, Rannu competition, Sandra Kasturi, SF, speculative fiction, Steve Vernon, Writing
Selling Manuscripts and Formatting
I have just started up as a slush reader for ChiZine Publications. This is somewhat different from the reading I do on poetry for Chiaroscuro (Chizine), the magazine, or the stories I read as fantasy editor for Aberrant Dreams. CZP publishes books and collections so a person is asked to send in a synopsis and the first three chapters of their book. By the way, I've been asked before what slush means and it is the submissions sent into a publication. There are usually several readers before the submission gets to the editor, the person who makes the decision on what is ultimately kept and what is rejected. Because most publications get hundreds of submissions a month, it can take time to get through them all and to move efficiently there are assistant editors or readers. These people determine if the manuscript is interesting and good enough to be sent on for consideration. In most cases, everyone starts in the slush pile, unless you're an established and well-known writer.
One of the first things anyone wishing to sell a manuscript should do is research the markets. Make sure you're sending to a company that publishes the kind of stuff you write. You would not believe how many people pluck names off of the internet like seeds in a sunflower and send out their manuscripts without actually knowing the market. Second, read the instructions. And follow them. There is some tiny leeway such as if an editor asks for Times New Roman and you do Courier font. They may take the manuscript and they may not. If the fonts are similar enough, you're probably okay but the more errors you make the less likely it is that you'll get to the stage of even having your submission read. Editors read hundreds and hundreds of manuscripts and they read them quickly to stay on top of the pile. If a goofy font or strange formatting slows them down, they get irritated and rightfully so.
So far, I have only looked at four queries. Not one has actually submitted a manuscript in the correct format. We only ask for a few chapters, but there are several problems one or all of these people have done. Here is what you should avoid in your cover letter, your synopsis and your manuscript:
rambling, incoherent run-away sentences
bad grammar
spelling mistakes
single spacing…double spacing is the industry standard–it makes it easier to read
not indenting. See that little Tab key on the left…that's what it's for, indenting. Or in some cases you can set up automatic indenting in some programs.
adding an extra space between each paragraph. No no no. That's what indenting does. It tells the reader that there is a new paragraph. Didn't anyone take this in school?
hitting return (or the Enter key) at the end of every line. Absolutely NO NO NO. My gods, this takes so much time to write this way. Computers are somewhat smart. If you write and write and write and just keep going, guess what, the sentence doesn't run off the page but will pop down to the next line. Only when you have finished a paragraph, and only then, do you hit "Enter" and proceed to the next paragraph, not the next line.
Do not, when we send you a rejection letter and suggest that you proofread your work and correct the grammar and typos before sending it elsewhere, send a whiny letter back saying, why can't you just read the story and ignore that? We can ignore a few typos of a bit of awkward grammar but a whole book of it is unreadable and means a rewrite. We're not going to buy anything that takes that much trudging. We will not do that much editing. Fix it and use a spellchecker. But remember, a spellchecker is not that bright and will suggest what it thinks your sentence should be so you better know your words.
Treat writing like any other skill. Would you want a doctor who just happened to be sloppy but knew he had the heart of a surgeon? Would you ride in a plane where the pilot had read about flying but never had done it? Writing is a skill and it takes practice. It also takes following some simple rules once the writing is done and you're trying to sell your piece. Always read the guidelines. I've made mistakes when I submit stories. It's easy to gloss over but when you get to submitting a manuscript you need to be even more careful. What I posted about is the standard but some publishers ask for different formats. Follow them.
http://www.chizine.com/chizinepub/submission_guidelines.php
Filed under art, Culture, entertainment, Publishing, Writing
Tagged as Chizine Publications, CZP, formatting, illuminated manuscripts, manuscripts, publications, publishers, selling novels, submissions, submitting manuscripts, Writing