Authors call out ChiZine

I found this while diving into weeks of email that have been sadly neglected.

Authors Break Silence with Complaints About ChiZine Publications

Posted: 10 Nov 2019 11:57 AM PST

From File 770:

ChiZine Publications, the Canadian horror publisher run by Sandra Kasturi and Brett Savory, has been under fire from writers this week for slow payment and nonpayment, accused of bullying and blackballing an author who complained, and in connection with remarks made by some individuals associated with CZP of a sexist and racist nature.
The social media outpouring seems to have been precipitated by the sharing of what passed between author Ed Kurtz and ChiZine Publications. I haven’t sourced the beginnings of this conversation (which may not have been public), but the details appear in CZP’s denial and Kurtz’ rebuttal below. But before turning to them, it’s helpful to look at one of Michael Matheson’s posts.

READ MORE:  https://www.thepassivevoice.com/authors-break-silence-with-complaints-about-chizine-publications/ 

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Heads up, problems at ChiZine Publications

Complaints about failure to pay royalties and more are coming in, although some authors defend ChiZine Publications. You can read more at Writer Beware, but here's a snippet:

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware®

If you're not part of the horror or speculative fiction community, you may not be aware of the scandal that over the past two weeks has engulfed ChiZine Publications, a (previously) highly-regarded Canadian independent publisher.

In September of this year, several authors, including Ed Kurtz, made a complaint to the Horror Writers of America about long-overdue royalties at ChiZine. On November 5, after the complaint became public knowledge, CZP posted a statement on its Facebook page, claiming that Kurtz's royalties were "currently paid in full" and that "Any other monies he might be due will be paid on his next royalty statement". Kurtz's response, posted by his partner on Facebook a day later, was blistering:

Read more:  https://accrispin.blogspot.com/2019/11/scandal-engulfs-independent-publisher.html 

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Story contest, enter at your own risk

If you enter the Sunday Times/Audible short story contest, you are giving away many of your rights as an author.

From Writer Beware:

Founded in 2010, The Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award bills itself as "the richest prize for a single short story in the English language." And indeed, the prize is major: the winner receives a cool £30,000 (no, I did not add extra zeroes.)

With judges yet to be finalized, the selection process will include a 20-story longlist announced in May 2020, a six-story shortlist unveiled in June 2020, and the winner revealed on July 2. The shortlisted stories will be published in an Audible audiobook, with included writers receiving "an extra £1,000 fee, on top of a prize payment of £1,000". To be eligible, writers must previously have had at least one work published in the UK or Ireland by an "established print publisher or an established printed magazine" (the Terms and Conditions include an extensive list of the kinds of publishers and magazines that don't qualify). The contest is open for entries until 6:00 pm on December 13.

  . . . 

 So what's the catch? -- because you know I wouldn't be writing this post if there weren't one. Well, as so often happens, it's in the Terms and Conditions.

 . . .  

To summarize this dense paragraph: simply by entering the competition, you are granting a sweeping, non-expiring license not just to Times Newspapers Limited (The Sunday Times' parent company), but also to Audible and any other licensees of TNL, to use your story or any part of it in any way they want, anywhere in the world, without payment to or permission from you. 

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Read the entire article at: 

https://accrispin.blogspot.com/2019/11/contest-caution-sunday-times-audible.html

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