In response to this rant by the outgoing Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America vice-president Howard V. Hendrix, in which he takes issue with the growing practice of writers posting work online for anyone to read for free, World Fantasy Winner and current Nebula Award nominee Jo Walton has had an idea:
I am declaring Monday 23rd April International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day. On this day, everyone who wants to should give away professional quality work online. It doesn’t matter if it’s a novel, a story or a poem, it doesn’t matter if it’s already been published or if it hasn’t, the point is it should be disseminated online to celebrate our technopeasanthood. Whatever you’re posting should go on your own site. I’ll make a post here on the day and people can post links in comments to whatever they’re putting up on. If you are a member of SFWA, or SFWA qualified but not a member (like me) you get extra pixel-spattered points for doing this. If other people want to collect the links too, that would be really cool. Please disseminate this information widely.
As an International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant myself (not just many of my short stories but every science column I’ve ever written is freely available online at edwardwillett.com), I applaud Jo’s declaration and will post something brand-new on my site on April 23. Maybe the complete text of my out-of-print YA novel Andy Nebula: Interstellar Rock Star. Maybe something else.
Are you a Pixel-Stained Technopeasant? Join in!
(Via Whatever.)
2 comments
(I followed matushkadonna’s link to this.)
Technopeasant Day sounds like a great opportunity to “publish” This Life, This Death, the long-delayed sequel to The Bite of Fire (which has once again vanished from the www).
Hey, I guess I’m one too. I didn’t even know about this controversy. I am gradually archiving all my previously published short stories at my raftersannex.blogspot.com blog.
Long live technopeasantry!