"The higher up they go, the crookeder they are." Michael Corleono, Mario Puzo's Godfather 3
ROMANCE SALES UP
WRITERS ARE WOMEN
Kathy Carmichael founded the Tampa Area Romance Authors, a group of 100 writers, both published and unpublished, that meets once a month to hone their skills. A chapter of Romance Writers of America, it's one of 150 such groups in the United States, Australia and Canada. According to RWA statistics, romance novel sales figures have climbed steadily in the past few years, increasing from $1.23-billion in 1999 to $1.52-billion in 2001.
Romance fiction made up 54.5 percent of all popular paperback fiction sold in North America in 2001, according to the Book Industry Study Group.
Carmichael paid the $105 in membership dues -- $30 to join, but a $75 membership in the RWA. Most members, who range in age from 24 to late 70s, lead ordinary lives. Some are retirees, eager to write now that they're financially secure. Others are young authors who want help navigating the publishing world. There are two male members. The Web site tara.writerspace.com showcases their work and lists national romance writing competitions. Source(exerpts): By Abbie Van Sickle, St. Petersburg Times. 2.9.03
AGE SUIT AGAINST TV NETWORKS THROWN OUT
Case Begs The Question; Is TV Ignorance Bliss
CBS, William Morris Agency and about 20 other television networks, producers and talent agencies won the dismissal of suits claiming they stopped giving work to writers over age 40.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charles McCoy said the more than 150 writers may refile their claims individually against each defendant. The writers claim the companies stopped giving them work once they turned 40 and replaced them with younger authors.
Sarah Bewley, an independent screenwriter based in Gainesville, described the ageism as ``the pink elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about.''
Bewley said after they hit the age of 34 or so, many screenwriters lie about their age to hang onto their careers, and begin to fraternize with younger people to prolong the semblance of youth.
''People complain that movies are soulless, but that's part of the problem when you have someone 24-years-old writing the script,'' said Bewley, who was also not involved in the suit. ``Nothing has that richness of experience to it.''
Among the plaintiffs are Bob Shayne, 61, a former writer for Good Times, Hart to Hart and The Tonight Show who has found it ''virtually impossible'' to find work since 1994. James Trombetta, 55, a former writer for Miami Vice and The Equalizer has been offered only freelance work since he turned 40 in 1986, the suit said. Exerpts: Joyzelle Davis, Miami Herald 2.1.03
RISK FOR WRITERS IN SOUTH AMERICA
KIDNAPPING JOURNALISTS IN COLUMBIAN JUNGLE
An American writer and two hikers emerged smiling from the Colombian jungle Friday after nearly a week in the custody of right-wing paramilitaries, while leftist rebels kept captive two foreign journalists working for the Los Angeles Times.
Robert Young Pelton, a freelance writer and TV reporter, said he and his companions, Megan Smaker and Mark Wedeven, were not mistreated. In a separate case, journalists and officials appealed to the National Liberation Army, known as the ELN, to release photographer Scott Dalton, 34, of Conroe, Texas; and reporter Ruth Morris, 35, a British citizen who was raised in the Los Angeles area.
Leftist rebels - the avowed enemies of the paramilitaries - kidnapped the freelance journalists on Tuesday in northeastern Colombia near the Venezuelan border. The ELN and a larger rebel group are fighting right-wing paramilitaries and the government for control of Arauca's oil-rich plains.
The United States, which has given Colombia almost $2 billion in mostly military aid, recently deployed approximately 70 Green Berets to Arauca to train Colombian troops. Washington has rejected any direct combat role for the U.S. troops, but the rebels see their presence as an act of aggression. 1.25.03
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Duke- Dutchess Letters Are Stolen From Author, Another Duke's Son
The late Mario Puzo
AN OFFER THIS AUTHOR COULDN'T REFUSE
FILM SEQUELS MAY CLOUD BOOK SEQUEL
Random House has made author Mark Winegardner an offer he can't refuse. The publisher said yesterday it picked the writer to pen the sequel to "The Godfather," Mario Puzo's 1969 Mafia novel that inspired a series of classic films.
Winegardner, author of the novels "The Veracruz Blues" and "Crooked River Burning," directs the creative writing program at Florida State University. Winegardner - who's German-Irish - said his lack of Italian blood poses no problem.
What may cause a problem for readers is the familiarity among many of the two movie sequels of the Godfather. The author may have to consider these before devising his own plot. 2.9.03
WRITERS WORKSHOP AT OLE MISS
A daylong workshop, Novel Ideas, will be offered Feb. 15 by the University of Mississippi's Office of Professional Development and Non-Credit Education. The workshop is open to anyone who wants to write and publish a novel, whether manuscripts are in hand or chapter one hasn't been started.
Margaret Love Denman, director of the Creative Writing program at the University of New Hampshire, and Chicago writer Barbara Shoup, the author of several successful young adult novels, share the teaching responsibilities for the workshop, which runs from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Denman and Shoup also have published a book together, Novel Ideas: Contemporary Authors Share the Creative Process. The book is a collection of interviews with 23 well-known authors, such as Lee Smith, Michael Chabon, Tony Hillerman, Wally Lamb, Sena Jeter Naslund and Alice McDermott. call (662) 915-7036 or log on to the Web site at www.outreach.olemiss.edu. 2.9.03
WRITERS UNION TRAINS GRIEVANCE OFFICERS
DISPUTES WITH PUBLISHERS ARE FOCUS
Lloyd Lemons of Jacksonville, FL, volunteers as a grievance officer for a local chapter of the National Writers Union. "When a writer has a problem with a publisher involving a contract dispute or illegal use of their work, the officer works to resolve these issues so it's not necessary to go to court," said Lloyd Lemons. "There are a lot of contract disputes going on, especially in the digital age."
The union has established a division devoted to business, instructional, technical and electronic writers. For example, a company cannot use hard copy text on its website without the writer's permission. "There's also non-payment grievances, short payment grievances and poor business practices such as when a publisher promises publication of a piece within a certain time frame but then doesn't print it. This creates a problem for the writer by tying up their income because he can't sell it anywhere else."
Grievance officers are trained by the union in the basics of copyright law so they may serve as an intermediary for members. Three to four times a year, a workshop is offered in different locations throughout the nation to prepare members for the role of officer. Lemons helps any members in the National Writers Union regardless of where they are located. 2.1.03 Exerpts: Monica Chamness, Jacksonville Daily Record
CHABON WILL LECTURE AT U. OF MINNESOTA
TOPIC UNKNOWN, EVEN MYSTERIOUS
The subject of Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Michael Chabon's lecture next week at the University of Minnesota is a mystery. Organizers of the annual Esther Freier Lecture say that whatever the subject turns out to be, it will not be a simple reading. The author has lectured on Jewish fiction, Vladimir Nabokov and the art of writing. One possibility would be "How to become a Hollywood favorite while retaining your artistic credibility." Several of Chabon's books and stories have been optioned or filmed, including "Wonder Boys," "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" (Chabon is writing the screenplay) and "Summerland," which reportedly went for mid-six figures and a $1 million bonus if it is filmed. (Lecture at 7:30 p.m. next Sun. followed by an 8:30 p.m. reception, Ted Mann Concert Hall, University of Minnesota, 2128 S. 4th St., Mpls. Free.) 2.1.03
The Essay
LAME BRAIN SEQUILIZERS
The Repetitiveness Of Commercialism
By Steven Calitri
Someone's brain fart in an attempt to gain corporate merit. What else is this? The public has been saturated with Godfather sequels; the films themselves, and their parodies by television comedians. We know what happened to the second Godfather. He died eating a tomato in Sicily. He was killed off. no doubt, by a hater of sequels. Oops, he falls dead off his chair; no sequel with Al Pacino anyway. Is the assigned writer to the Godfather book sequel going to ignore the movie sequels?
In truth, writers try to recreate life, or ape much of life in their imaginitive work. The sequelizer tries to clone the writer's further intent, though there may not have been any. The writer decided to stop exactly where he was. The sequelizer decides to take the bad step the writer wouldn't. The writer has been there, done that. The sequalizer only knows to do it again.
Most of commercialism is that way. Wonder bread, coca cola, short skirts, and the selling of presidents. The sameness of housing developments. The highways of America. The same damn thing. While the great artists create something new, the great merchandisers master the art of re-creation.
My father rarely went to the movies with me or the rest of the family. I now realize why, though it took me a few decades to figure it out. The movies, the books, the merchandise. The same old thing. 2.9.03
WAR IS BEAUTIFUL
These Merchants Are Like Art Dealers
By Steven Calitri
Have you notices how simply the war mongers talk about attacking another country in a way that will reign terror on its population. They speak with the simplicity of an art dealer, in whose domain is an intriguing piece of work way beyond his or her depth of understanding. He is glib about the colors on its canvas. His purpose is to sell it.
Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and company are serious art dealers. And we are tempted to own the painting, as dear as it is, though underpriced, according to them.
There is a one-of-a-kind certainty about the style of the painter, according to these merchants. The artist captures the moment like no one else could. The painting, say the merchants, is compelling for what it portrays, namely, the protection of all mankind. Not a classical work of art, but compelling.
Actually, say the merchants, you can have this painting for your wall dirt cheap, the price of a print, or simply your tolerance of watching commercials on television. The original painting will be paid dearly for by the Iraquis. 2.1.03
NJ UNION ACTIVE ON CIVIL RIGHTS
CONFERENCE HELD IN NEWARK, NJ
Jeanette Gabriel and others of the New Jersey local of the National Writer's Union decided that they wanted to bring together writers and activists in the Muslim, Arab American and South Asian communities and brainstorm for ways to protect civil rights. Thus, the Writing For Our Rights! conference came to be. This conference, already at capacity with over 150 participants registered and numerous speakers, will be held Jan. 25 - 26 at the Rutgers Newark Campus in Newark, N.J.
The National Writers Union is a small trade union, which is committed to improving the economic and working conditions of writers, focusing on issues such as health insurance and helping writers retrieve money that is owed to them. 1.25.03
JORDANIAN WRITERS PLAN CONFERENCE
LATE WRITER INSPIRES CELEBRATION
In Amman, Jordan, family, friends and associates of the late novelist Munes Razzaz plan to hold an array of cultural and interfaith activities in March in memory of the popular writer who died on Feb. 8, 2002.
An ad hoc committee of representatives from the Ministry of Culture, the Greater Amman Municipality and the Jordanian Writers Association was formed to arrange several of the activities which are to start with a conference on March 1 on the life and work of Razzaz. Several Jordanian and other Arab literary experts, including Radhwa Ashour of Egypt, Nabeel Sulaiman of Syria, Abbas Beydhoun of Lebanon and Mahmoud Shqair of Palestine are scheduled to participate. 1.25.03
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ROYAL REPUTATIONS AT STAKE
Author's Father Was Close To Dutchess
The Duke Of Windsor
Intimate letters between the late Duchess of Windsor and an Irish lord have been stolen from a car in England. Adrian FitzGerald said the letters and diary entries showed a close friendship between the duchess - whose husband, the Duke of Windsor, was Britain's former King Edward VIII - and his father Edward FitzGerald, 7th Duke of Leinster.
FitzGerald said the photocopied letters were stolen from a car parked outside his house in Trevarrian, in the southwestern English county of Cornwall. The thief bypassed expensive power tools in the car and took a writing case. Fitzgerald is writing a book about his father, the Duke and the Duchess.
Edward abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. The pair became the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and spent the rest of their lives in exile from England. 2.9.03
Booker Prize winner, Roddy Doyle
OPEN LETTER PROTESTS WAR PREPARATION
IRISH WRITERS SIGN
Some of Ireland's most respected writers, including author Roddy Doyle and poet Tom Paulin, have signed a public letter opposing war in Iraq. Playwright Brian Friel and authors Peter Sheridan and Jennifer Johnston were also among the literary names attached to the letter, which was published in the Irish Times.
"Wars have always been cloaked with noble ideals, such as the defence of 'small nations', 'democracy' 'freedom'. But the actual motives for conflict have very often been far more sinister and predatory," the letter said.
Other writers signing the letter include Harold Pinter, Jeanette Winterson and Lucy Irvine who have already spoken out against military action. The signatories also included My Left Foot scriptwriter Shane Connaughton, dramatist and poet Brendan Kennelly and author Joe O'Connor, brother of singer Sinead. 2.1.03
MILITARY JOURNALIST RELEASED FROM PRISON
HE EXPOSED NUCLEAR WASTE DUMPING
Russian military journalist and environmental whistle-blower Grigory Pasko was paroled from prison Thursday after serving nearly three years in one of the most controversial spy cases in Russia since the fall of communism.
Pasko's surprise release came one day after President Vladimir Putin told a state council that Russia suffered from "excessive spy mania" about its nuclear security. Pasko had been convicted of collecting material on secret military exercises after he exposed nuclear waste dumping by the Russian navy.
As a navy captain, he filmed a Russian tanker dumping radioactive waste and ammunition in the Sea of Japan in 1993. His articles about the environmental and health threat posed by illegal dumping were published in the Pacific Fleet's newspaper, Combat Watch. 1.25.03
SPORTS WRITER, WALTER, DIES
WAS CHARACITURE OF "OLD PRESS"
Floyd "Bucky" Walter, who covered the San Francisco Bay area sports scene for more than a half-century for the San Francisco News, News Call-Bulletin and San Francisco Examiner, has died at the age of 85.
"Bucky projected the image of an old-time sportswriter, talking in jargon, with a cigar hanging from his mouth and his shirt spotted with food stains," said San Francisco Chronicle sports editor Glenn Schwarz, who worked with Walter at the Examiner for 18 years.
"But his writing was always fresh and lively. He covered football and basketball also, but he loved baseball the most, and it showed in his stories about the old Seals, the Giants and the A's. He was a joy to read."
The last 11 years of his career, Walter wrote the "Evening Muse," a five-day-a-week column for the Examiner. 1.25.03
SCI-FI SCRIBES BACK SHUTTLE
Association Makes Political Statement
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America have issued a public message of condolence for the families of the astronauts lost in the Columbia disaster this past weekend.
The message also calls for a renewed commitment to manned space exploration. Visitors to the site which hosts the message are encouraged to add their names and thoughts to those of the signatories. 2.9.03
Writers' Guild Picks Fat Greek Wedding
My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Chicago and Michael Moore's documentary Bowling For Columbine are among the screenplays nominated for the Writers' Guild of America's annual awards.
Other nominees include Alexander Payne's Oscar-tipped About Schmidt, Being John Malkovich creator Charlie Kaufman's bizarre Adaptation and British playwright David Hare's screenplay for The Hours. The winners are revealed on March 8. 2.9.03
BEYOND THE GROCERY LIST
SMALL WRITERS GROUP HAS BIG EFFECT
"If you write more than a grocery list, you are a writer," Margaret Benoit said. Benoit is a writer in Carmel, California who heads a writers group that meets monthly at the Carmel Valley Branch Library. They meeto to learn from, inspire and encourage one another in their writing endeavors.
Brandon Young writes to be heard - that is what he said at the first meeting of the Carmel Valley Writers Group. He said that when he talks, people are not fully listening. "They're listening to the voices in their own head," he said.
Kate Krysinski, 15, came to the workshop to receive help with her poems. Mike Moldeven, 86, came for socialization. Moldeven joined the group to help fill the generation gap. He self-publishes "The Too-Faraway Grandparent's Newsletter."
Benoit parallels writing with an extreme sport, needing motivation and energy to succeed. She hopes the group will foster these traits in each member, herself included. 2.1.03 Exerpts: Kelly O'Connor, signonsandiego.com
Donna Tartt
TARTT HAS SECOND NOVEL PUBLISHED
HER FIRST MADE HER A PHONE OPERATOR
Donna Tartt has published her second novel, "The Little Friend" (Knopf, $26). The book opens with a murder in a small Mississippi town in what appears to be the 1960s. When Harriet is just a baby, her 9-year-old brother is found dead, hanging from a tree in the backyard. Twelve years later, she's grown into a precocious, inquisitive tomboy, eager to track down her brother's killer.
Tartt's debut a decade ago, when she was 28, was a splashy hyper-success. Photos of the slender, green-eyed author with the bob hairdo straight out of the '20s appeared everywhere. So did word of her $450,000 advance.
Reviews of "The Secret History," a stylishly written novel about murder among a circle of snobbish classics students at an artsy college much like Tartt's alma mater, Bennington, were hugely admiring. Hardcover and paperback sales of the book eventually reached more than 1 million copies in the United States and many more in 21 other countries.
From a writer's solitude, she was yanked into a media feeding frenzy. "My phone never used to ring, unless it was my mother," Tartt recalls. "Then one morning at 8 it started ringing, and it never stopped. It became my job to answer the phone." 1.25.03