tag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:151032Liminal Horizonslook closely at all make-for-fun raisinlionsSERIOUS FEMININE DERANGEMENT2011-03-29T16:14:49Ztag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:151032:86075Deathless, and also wtf publishing industry2011-03-29T15:38:17Z2011-03-29T16:14:49Zpublic3<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Deathless-Catherynne-M-Valente/dp/0765326302/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1301410346&sr=8-1">Deathless</a> is out! <br /><br />(ALL THE BOOKS are coming out right about now. Have I mentioned my frustration at this? COME ON PUBLISHERS, I'm out of gift card $$$ and I have almost none of my own! CAN'T YOU SPREAD OUT THE AWESOME A LITTLE???) <br /><br />This is Cat Valente's Koschei the Deathless book, and it looks badass, and she is also doing a <a href="http://yuki-onna.livejournal.com/638082.html">Deathless prize package giveaway</a> to promote it. One of these days, I will win one of these things! ONE OF THESE DAYS.<br /><br />---<br /><br /><a href="http://inkstone.dreamwidth.org/169558.html">Via inkstone</a>, your regular dose of publishing WTF: Jessica Verday pulls her story from the upcoming Wicked Pretty Things anthology because she was told her story, which featured a G-rated romance between two boys, <a href="http://jessicaverday.blogspot.com/2011/03/being-gay-is-okay.html">would be unacceptable to the publishers due to the gay content</a>. <br /><br />That's not even the WTF part. The editor Trisha Telep's response is the WTF part: <br /><br /><blockquote>Oh dear. Might as well give you my two cents. Not that it really matters but... Don't take it out on the publishers, the decision was mine totally. These teen anthologies I do are light on the sex and light on the language. I assumed they'd be light on alternative sexuality, as well. Turns out I was wrong! Just after I had the kerfuffle with jessica, I was told that the publishers would have loved the story to appear in the book! Oh dear. My rashness will be the death of me. It's a great story. Hope jessica publishes it online. (By the way: if you want to see a you tube video of me wrestling a gay man in Glasgow, and losing, please let me know).</blockquote><br /><br />I... wrestling... gay man... WHAT? I just. WHAT???????? I would be more offended than I am, but I'm too busy boggling at the surreality of it.<br /><br />In an <a href="http://jessicaverday.blogspot.com/2011/03/wicked-pretty-things-running-press-and.html">update</a>, Verday reveals that the publishers apologized for any offense caused and asked if she would consider having it appear in the anthology again, but since Telep is still in place as the editor Verday quite understandably refused. Also, while I somewhat <i>understand </i>the publishers' decision from a business standpoint (though I certainly don't approve), I'm not exactly pleased w/their doublespeak, either. Which is it? Is it all a "misunderstanding" and you "stand behind" Telep "100%"? Or do you have "no direct association" with her? You can't distance yourself from someone's grody bigotry while still endorsing them, people.<br /><br />Anyway, since this happened <a href="http://sparkle-project.blogspot.com/2011/03/update-on-wicked-pretty-things.html">a load of authors have pulled out of this anthology and others Telep is involved with</a> (and at least one author refuses to have anything to do w/the publishers so long as Telep is working for them).<br /><br />My advice to Trisha Telep: APOLOGIZE. Profusely. Unequivocally. Immediately. Not this offensive non-apology bullshit quoted above, but a <i>real</i> apology. And if you still don't see why what you did and said was bigoted and wrong, educate yourself, and do it in a hurry.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=branewurms&ditemid=86075" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments