Keith Stevenson's Blog, page 20
October 4, 2012
Does Looper Work? A Spoilerful Review
I went to see Looper
on Wednesday. I was looking forward to it because of the cast and the general
buzz it has been attracting. Watching the movie, there was quite a bit to like,
but there was a lot of it that screamed of poor story telling.
Major spoilers ahead.
Things to like were Bruce Willis turning in a nuanced
performance. This is the Bruce Willis of The
Fifth Element and 12
on Wednesday. I was looking forward to it because of the cast and the general
buzz it has been attracting. Watching the movie, there was quite a bit to like,
but there was a lot of it that screamed of poor story telling.
Major spoilers ahead.
Things to like were Bruce Willis turning in a nuanced
performance. This is the Bruce Willis of The
Fifth Element and 12
October 1, 2012
The Editing Apocalypse, or Why Authors Need Editors
The following is the transcript of a guest of honour speech I made at the Conflux 8 convention in Canberra on Saturday 29 September, 2012.
My name’s Keith Stevenson. I’m a writer, reviewer and podcaster. I’m also a past editor of Aurealis Magazine and currently the publisher and editor with coeur de lion publishing, an independent press specialising in Australian speculative fiction. And it’s
My name’s Keith Stevenson. I’m a writer, reviewer and podcaster. I’m also a past editor of Aurealis Magazine and currently the publisher and editor with coeur de lion publishing, an independent press specialising in Australian speculative fiction. And it’s
September 30, 2012
A big Conflux thank you
Thanks to the Conflux organisers, and especially Jane Virgo, Nicole Murphy and Karen Herkes for making me so welcome as editor guest of honour last weekend for Conflux 8.
I had a fantastic convention, and enjoyed a lot of great panels, particularly with writer guest of honour Keri Arthur.
A big shout out to Phil Berrie who brought me cups of tea, helped me lug around books, and generally made
I had a fantastic convention, and enjoyed a lot of great panels, particularly with writer guest of honour Keri Arthur.
A big shout out to Phil Berrie who brought me cups of tea, helped me lug around books, and generally made
September 28, 2012
Online bargains this weekend
To celebrate Conflux and my guest of honour status there, coeur de lion are selling all their titles at bargain prices. The webpage is live until 6 pm on Sunday only, so be quick - bit.ly/Q9FJma
September 23, 2012
What I'm doing at Conflux 8
The Conflux 8 program of events is now live on the Conflux blog.
Here's a round up of what I'll be doing.
Saturday 29th September
3pm - 4pm
The Editing Apocalypse - Guest of Honour Speech
Print media is undergoing a violent series of changes
brought on by the rise of ebooks and quicker, cheaper and more direct ways for
authors to self-publish their work. Established publishing houses are no
Here's a round up of what I'll be doing.
Saturday 29th September
3pm - 4pm
The Editing Apocalypse - Guest of Honour Speech
Print media is undergoing a violent series of changes
brought on by the rise of ebooks and quicker, cheaper and more direct ways for
authors to self-publish their work. Established publishing houses are no
September 7, 2012
e-book pricing settlement
It's hard to know what will become of the 'price fixing' settlement in the US and the break up of the agency model set up by major publishers with Apple.
The Guardian reported the outcome and included this quote from UK Society of Authors Deputy Secretary General, Kate Pool:
"Publishers large and small, authors and booksellers have all protested
that the agency model is almost the only thing
The Guardian reported the outcome and included this quote from UK Society of Authors Deputy Secretary General, Kate Pool:
"Publishers large and small, authors and booksellers have all protested
that the agency model is almost the only thing
August 29, 2012
Pyrotechnicon for Kindle
Kindle's share...
Well Pyrotechniconis now available on the Amazon Kindle platform as a DRM-free ebook. I did the uploading last night and to my delight it let me include Adam's illustrations. The construction - which is done by Amazon from an uploaded html file, is not as good as the mobi file I made via Pressbooks. There aren't any section breaks showing in the reading progress bar in the
Well Pyrotechniconis now available on the Amazon Kindle platform as a DRM-free ebook. I did the uploading last night and to my delight it let me include Adam's illustrations. The construction - which is done by Amazon from an uploaded html file, is not as good as the mobi file I made via Pressbooks. There aren't any section breaks showing in the reading progress bar in the
August 27, 2012
Conflux 8 program taking shape
Over at Conflux 8, the pre-con organisation is starting to hit fever pitch with panels and panellists getting organised. As well as my GoH and Pyrotechniconrelated activities, I'll be chairing an independent press panel with Bill Congreve (Mirrordanse stalwart and independent publisher par excellence), Simon Petrie (whose done a few editing stints for ASIM and elsewhere), Jodi Cleghorn (who runs
August 21, 2012
Pyrotechnicon is out in the wild
It's always a very satisfying moment to finish a book production project. Pyrotechnicon went on sale via the coeur de lion website last night and will be slowly filtering its way through other retail outlets over the next couple of months.
Personally I'm very pleased with the result. Adam worked hard on his story and it's pitch perfect. The hardback book is a deeply beautiful thing, with a
Personally I'm very pleased with the result. Adam worked hard on his story and it's pitch perfect. The hardback book is a deeply beautiful thing, with a
August 12, 2012
ebook construction and sales
This past couple of weeks, it's all been about ebooks.
Last Wednesday I was part of a Q and A session at the Australian Society of Authors on my experiences with epublishing. It was an enjoyable event and topped off what I can recommend as a very comprehensive round up of epublishing/ selfpublishing issues for authors. Full details of the course are here. And Digireado blogged about it here. I'm
Last Wednesday I was part of a Q and A session at the Australian Society of Authors on my experiences with epublishing. It was an enjoyable event and topped off what I can recommend as a very comprehensive round up of epublishing/ selfpublishing issues for authors. Full details of the course are here. And Digireado blogged about it here. I'm
