Why are writers being curbed by NSA surveillance?

PEN American Center's report "Chilling Effects," offers some disturbing data about the effect of government surveillance on free expression and self-censorship in the literary world.PEN American Center’s report “Chilling Effects,” officially released Tuesday morning, offers some disturbing data about the effect of government surveillance on free expression and self-censorship in the literary world. Of more than 520 American writers surveyed, 16% have avoided writing or speaking on what they consider controversial topics, and 11% “have considered doing so.” Continue reading at 'Los Angeles Times'

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #government surveillance #free expression #literary world

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How Much Do Writers Earn? Less Than You Think

A Digital Book World survey revealed that 54% of “traditionally-published” authors (and nearly 80% of self-published authors) earn less than $1,000 a year. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writers attack 'overrated' Anglo-American literature at Jaipur festival

Xiaolu Guo warns that English-language mainstream has warped a broader 'reading habit', on panel with Jhumpa Lahiri and Jonathan FranzenAmerican literature is "massively overrated", the award-winning author and film-maker Xiaolu Guo told the Jaipur literature festival – and fellow panellist and... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Most writers earn less than £600 a year, survey reveals

Figures show the vast majority of authors, both traditionally and self-published, are struggling to make a living from their workThe publishing industry has never been so sharply divided. In the week when the erotica writer Sylvia Day signed a staggering eight-figure two-book deal with St... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Scribd Responds to Writer Beware on Pirated Content

A Scribd executive acknowledged the problem of pirated content on Scribd and also outlined the company's efforts to prevent unauthorized uploads. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#EtherIssue: Counting Ebooks in a Writer Wonderland

Publishing Perspectives' #EtherIssue debate on the allegedly slowing ebook market reveals apparent contradictions in self-publishing interests. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Scholastic Sales Rise, Charges Curb Earnings

Revenue at Scholastic rose 1.5% in the second quarter ended November 30, to $623.2 million, and net income declined to $58.3 million from $61.8 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2013. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Crime writers fundraise with OxCrimes

Following OxTales (2009) and OxTravels (2011), Profile Books will publish fundraising collection... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How publishing fiction online launched the career of this young writer | Beth Reeks

Indie publishing via online writing communities and ebooks can provide valuable feedback, and even set you on the path to mainstream successNews that a quarter of the top 100 Kindle books on Amazon.com are from indie publishers doesn't surprise me. I started out writing online. Fed up with the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How Science Fiction Bestows Freedom on North Korean Writers

Science fiction has a long tradition in North Korea and SF authors enjoy greater freedom to explore edgy subjects, such as crime and violence, than their counterparts. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writers and critics on the best books of 2013

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[ The Guardian | 2013-11-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Everything You Need To Know About The NSA, Explained And Visualized

The journalist who broke, and continues to break, the NSA Snowden leaks may be off to Greenwald–ier pastures with the launch of his exciting new journalism venture, but on Friday the Guardian published an incredible NSA explainer that breaks down and visualizes some of the newest, and most... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 2013 Ubud Writers & Readers Festival

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, a destination literary and arts festival created in response to the Bali bombings in 2002 Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One Year Later, Medium Is Changing the Way Its Writers Write and Its Readers Read

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[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Could A New "Privacy Generation" Change Our Surveillance Politics?

The United States needs to strike a balance between respecting individual freedoms and protecting national security, says everyone from the director of national intelligence to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. It's the standard reaction to the stream of revelations about the extensive... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Justice Department opposes company requests to publish surveillance statistics

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[ PC World | 2013-10-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing System Helps Writers Determine Audience Interest

InboundWriter wants to help big publishers and niche bloggers figure out how much demand there is for their idea in the Web ecosystem before they type a word or hit "publish." At least that's the idea behind the newest version of the startup's software, which the company said will be used by... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-09-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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U.S. Intelligence Agencies Will Begin Publishing The Number Of Surveillance Orders They Request Each Year

In a victory for transparency advocates in the wake of the PRISM secret surveillance scandal, U.S. intelligence agencies will begin revealing the number of surveillance orders they request per year under various FISA ordinances, as well as national security letters. The agencies will also reveal... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tech firms' responses to latest NSA disclosures cloud the truth, experts say

Technology companies may be hiding behind legal jargon to avoid being more forthcoming in their responses to new documents on government surveillance that were disclosed Friday, some experts say. Internet and software companies including Microsoft, Yahoo, Google and Facebook “are legally... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2013-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Meet XKeyscore: The NSA's Secret Real-Time Internet Snooping System That May Have Already Met You

New documents published in The Guardian reveal that the NSA can snoop on you in real time--and that the agency is building a giant keyword-based database of everything connected to the Internet, including Word and Excel docs on users' hard drives. Sometimes life seems a lot like dystopian... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Man Booker Prize long list includes writers Colum McCann, Tash Aw

While some books on this year's Man Booker prize long list have gotten buzz here in the US, none of them compare (so far) with the success of last year's winner, Hilary Mantel's 'Bring Up the Bodies.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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