Author Advocates Sued by Alleged Literary Agent

You might remember a couple months ago I posted about the IILAA. A short lived website and "association" of self described "independent literary agencies" consisting of a number of persons who also happened to be found on the SFWA Bewares Top 20 Worst Agents list.

And before that, there was the AW shut down precipitated by cartoony threats to the AW hosting company (amongst other things - certainly not the entire story) by one alleged literary agent in particular. The alleged agent in question believes there is a huge conspiracy afoot and pod-casts about it. Forums like Absolute Write are in cahoots (although the alleged agent misuses the term "dragoon" for them, questioning, in my mind, the benefits of alleged agent's PhD education?) with Google and in the pay of the big agencies and publishers to make sure that the poor independent alleged agents are silenced.

Well, that alleged agent has gone and filed a real lawsuit (I wonder if she's asking for a billion dollars in damages). You can learn more about it from:

P.N. Elrod (be sure to click on the "Trial of Agent B" link)

Neil Gaiman

SFWA announcement

Of course the defendants themselves can't discuss the case, but there is some discussion in general on Absolute Write about it.

Bar...uh, the alleged literary agent, has threatened lawsuits, or tried to have other actions taken against author advocates and web forums before. Read this post in the Writer's Weekly forum, this one at P.N. Elrod's LJ (half way down the page are quotes of actual threats made by the literary agent) and this one from Teresa Nielson Hayden of Making Light.

Cyberbullies and Kathy Sierra

If you are a blogger you've probably heard about this already. I've been neglecting my blog again, so I'm late in posting on this topic. Regardless, it's worth mentioning.

Kathy Sierra (first bio in the list) is a standout woman in technology. Published author, game developer, speaker and blogger. Unfortunately this made her a target. Better bloggers than I have written about her and a great place to start with a number of links is my friend the Digital Medievalist's site. It's made the CNN.com tech video list, as well, in the wake of a sympathy blogging boycott movement. Kathy Sierra (right now) the #1 search term on Technorati.

Freedom of speech. An almost sacred right. I'm all for it. But while the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America prohibits Congress from inacting laws that would abridge that right, there is no such protection of your speech on another person's blog. The blog owners have the right, and I would say an ethical duty, to delete death threats and other comments that would cause a person to have real fear for their safety. And if the blog owner decides they also have a right to delete sweet, inoffensive posts about parakeets, that's ok, too. It's their blog. If you want to have your freedom of speech, you're welcome to it - on your blog.

If you read nothing else - please read Kathy's post about this. How could what was done to her in anyway be condoned?

"kathy sierra"
"Bill of Rights"
"Dawno"