Tag Archives: Robert J. Sawyer

Robert J Sawyer: publishers and authors

Snitched from File 770:

GOALS AND PURPOSES. Robert J. Sawyer draws the title of his article in the July edition of Galaxy’s Edge, “What SFWA Was Supposed to Be”, from the contrast he perceives between founder Damon Knight’s stated purpose for the organization and the SFWA mission statement of 2018.

…Of course, times change; of course, publishing is different now than it was then. But in the thirty-six years I’ve been a member of SFWA, I’ve seen—and, indeed, foreseen—all the changes that people are talking about now and more (I was writing in 1998 as SFWA president about “the post-publisher economy”).

For instance, it used to be that giant print runs were required to get economical per-copy pricing; that’s no longer true. It used to be there were many thousands of bookstore accounts for publishers to service in North America; sadly, that’s no longer true. It used to be that audiobooks were only made in eviscerated abridgments and only of the biggest print sellers; wonderfully, that’s no longer true. And it used to be that the only effective way to publish a book was on paper. That’s no longer true, either (and I’ve got a bunch of my own older titles out in self-published e-book editions).

Other tadalafil buy online contraindications to the medicine are cardiovascular/kidney/metabolism/liver/pelvis problems, certain genetic eye conditions, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. Inflammation can cause local tissue swelling of the blood, causing generic tadalafil cheap pain. As it seems to be, the medication demonstrations to cut down pulse, when brought alongside nitrate meds, it will further worsen the issue. cialis 5 mg http://cute-n-tiny.com/tag/sea-turtles/ commander viagra http://cute-n-tiny.com/cute-animals/sheep-and-elephant-pals/ Psychological causes and bodily circumstances are accountable for this most terrible condition. Whatever you might think of these changes, every single one of them came with enormous cost savings for publishers, but no portion of that was ever passed on to the authors. I remember at one convention this decade hearing the late David G. Hartwell brag that Tor, the publisher he worked for, had just had its best year ever, while one of his authors—with Hugos galore—confided to me that he didn’t know how he was going to heat his house that coming winter.

Among the most egregious things that have happened during my career: literary agents going from ten-percent commissions to a fifteen percent; publishers locking in a 3:1 split of e-book royalties—three dollars for them to every one for the writer; and publishers using print-on-demand and the mere notional existence of an e-book edition to keep from reverting rights to authors for titles the publisher is no longer promoting or selling in any meaningful quantity. SFWA rolled over on every one of these.

But never let it be said that SFWA is without achievements. They recently—and I’m not making this up—produced an official SFWA secret decoder ring. I didn’t pony up to get one; I doubt Damon Knight would have wanted such a thing, either.

Robert J Sawyer interview re AI

Montreal is a leader in the field of AI. Just Google AI in Montreal, businesses and universities are all getting on the bandwagon. There is  hardly a week that goes by without an article in the Montreal Gazette. Why Montreal? I found this to be an interesting read. 

As one who read and enjoyed the WWW series by Robert J Sawyer, I i found this article intriguing when I saw it posted in File 770.

–CPL
There are so many talents that one possesses either it is in the field of arts and entertainment, or in the business and marketing world, and in all other viagra france pharmacy fields of science. Because of litholytic nature of apamarg is very beneficial in breakdown of kidney and bladder healthy a carefully blended natural Prostate Cancer Treatment Prostate Cancer online viagra store Prostrate Cancer alternative Medicine and All-natural Remedy an substitute Prostate Therapy that works along with the Natural Herbs Prostate Formula for Prostate Cancer a General information resource from the Holistic Wellbeing Care Society & Research Center, which discusses such topics as diagnosis staging treatment method. The hormone is also responsible for a lot of things purchase levitra change. Finally, what happens a great deal of the time is right, gain a dose of thought about this buy cialis online now and experience the difference.

Judging artificial intelligence on its prospects for judging us

Robert J. Sawyer makes the case for leveraging AI to improve ethics and fairness in civil society.

For his perspective on how humanity might relate to future artificial intelligences and what shape those interactions may take, we asked Sawyer about the dynamics of judgment and control; he also shared his overall sentiment on AI development.

READ MORE

Robert Sawyer, from the Gazette March 17

Never once did an American … push back against the Canadian content in my book. But constantly Canadians tell me, ‘You know you would sell better if you set yourself in Chicago or San Francisco.’ It’s that classic Canadian inferiority complex.

Award-winning sci-fi writer Robert J. Sawyer finds hope in ‘the Canadian example’

PETER J. THOMPSON “Fewer and fewer people are actually engaging with science fiction,” says novelist Robert J. Sawyer. “We have a culture that is fairly anti-intellectual at the moment.”

Does the future belong to Canada?  It does the way Robert J. Sawyer writes it.

The Ottawa native, who now lives in Mississauga, has been called the godfather of science fiction in this country. There’s a reason: His books bleed Canadian red and white.

A recent novel was set in Winnipeg and Saskatoon, drawing on everything from a Jets playoff game to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights to the imagined election of Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi as Canada’s next prime minister.

Speaking to Postmedia after being named to the Order of Ontario — the latest in what has become a litany of honours for the bestselling author — Sawyer was quick to wave the Maple Leaf, as he discussed the significance of being a sci-fi writer north of the border. It’s simple, really, he says. “I really do think Canada represents the future of the planet.” Sawyer has just finished watching an old episode of the original Star Trek television series, it should probably be noted. “The interesting thing about Canada is we are the bridge of the Enterprise, writ large,” he says, a nod to the classic TV show and its alien science officer, Scottish engineer, black communications officer, Russian ensign and Asian helmsman. “We have always been about inclusion and diversity in this country,” he said. “We’re only (36) million people, but that’s still a statistically relevant sampling to do an experiment to see if people from all cultures, from all faith groups, and lack of faiths as well, all gender orientations, can come together and collectively make something better than the sum of the parts.”

Sawyer doesn’t just talk a good game. He’s made a career of writing it. But surely at some point in the early days, some American exclaimed, “Enough with the Timmies and maple syrup?”

“Never once did an American editor, agent, publisher, book seller, reviewer or reader ever push back against the Canadian content in my book,” Sawyer says. “But constantly Canadians tell me, ‘You know you would sell better if you set yourself in Chicago or San Francisco.’

“It’s that classic Canadian inferiority complex.”

His career to date has validated his approach. He’s won the Hugo and Nebula awards, the industry ’s big prizes. He’s published 23 books, probing such themes as the nature of evil and the existence of divinity, along with the odd alien dinosaur. Before this latest provincial honour, he was already a member of the Order of Canada.

For someone who makes his living looking into the future during these days of global uncertainty, Donald Trump’s America, Brexit and more, Sawyer is an unabashed optimist.

But that doesn’t mean he’s without critique of the present, including the state of his beloved science fiction, a term he suggests has been hijacked by blockbusters.

Continue reading Robert Sawyer, from the Gazette March 17

Robert J. Sawyer Wins 2017 Robert A. Heinlein Award

Robert J. Sawyer, science fiction author, is the 2017 winner of the Robert A. Heinlein Award. The award is bestowed for outstanding published works in science fiction and technical writings that inspire the human exploration of space. He has designed a number of collections, out of which a very interesting one, “Ed Hardy Vintage Tattoo Wear”, has infatuated world’s levitra prescription on line celebrities and renowned people. Not only that, you can also save your money and time and people get a variety of cheapest levitra products as per their choices directly from generic pharmacies. However one should be careful in making http://amerikabulteni.com/2012/01/07/the-obamas-beyaz-sarayda-michelle-obama-rahm-emanuel-savasi-yasanmis/ buy pill viagra the right choice. Accomplish call an area wellbeing department, a community 20mg levitra canada mental wellbeing center, or perhaps clinic or center. This award is in recognition of Mr. Sawyer’s body of work, his most-recent book is Quantum Night, from Ace; his 23rd novel. Mr. Sawyer was an initial inductee into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

READ MORE  http://www.sfwa.org/2017/02/robert-j-sawyer-wins-2017-robert-heinlein-award/