Unreality SF Story of the Year winner!

Congratulations to Una McCormack, whose Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel The Never-Ending Sacrifice, won Unreality SF's Story of the Year competition!

Unreality SF Story of the Year finalists announced

Unreality SF has revealed the finalists for their Story of the Year poll. The award is for TV tie-ins of any kind, and the list includes novels, audios, comic books, and nonfiction.

Here's the full list of nominees:

Being Human: The Road by Simon Guerrier (novel)
Farscape: D'Argo's Lament by Keith R.A. DeCandido & Neal Edwards (comic book)
Doctor Who: The Angel of Scutari by Paul Sutton (audio)
Doctor Who: The Final Chapter by Russell T. Davies & Benjamin Cook (nonfiction book)
Doctor Who: Prisoner of the Daleks by Trevor Baxendale (novel)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Never-Ending Sacrifice by Una McCormack (novel)
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Losing the Peace by William Leisner (novel)
Star Trek: Vanguard: Precipice by David Mack (novel)
Supernatural: Heart of the Dragon by Keith R.A. DeCandido (novel)
Torchwood: In the Shadows by Joseph Lidster (audio)

Voting is open until the end of this week: Sunday 14 March. So go vote!

IAMTW’s GRAND MASTER SCRIBE AWARD, THE FAUST, GOES TO THE GENRE’S MOST PROLIFIC PRACTITIONER, WILLIAM JOHNSTON

The International Association of Media Tie-In Writers is bestowing The Faust, its Grand Master Award for excellence, to author William Johnston, the writer of over a hundred tie-in novels and the most prolific practitioner of the craft, it was announced today by organization co-founders Max Allan Collins and Lee Goldberg.

Johnston was born in Lincoln, Illinois, in 1924. He joined the Navy in 1942 and served in the Pacific. He worked as a disc jockey, advertising executive, magazine editor, and PR man before his writing career took off in 1960 with The Marriage Cage, a comic mystery that earned him a Best First Novel Edgar Award nomination from the Mystery Writers of America. He followed that book with a slew of pulp titles for Monarch Books, ranging from light comedy (The Power of Positive Loving) to medical romance (the Doctor Starrtrilogy) to soft-core erotica (Save Her for Loving, Teen Age Tramp, Girls on the Wing).

Johnston’s medical novels dovetailed with his first tie-in assignments -- original novels based on the TV series The Nurses, Doctor Kildare and Ben Casey. Those books, published between 1962 and 1964, were so successful that his next original medical romance, Two Loves Has Nurse Powell, was presented as “From the author of Ben Casey.”

In 1965, Johnston wrote an original novel based on the TV comedy Get Smart. The book was a huge success, leading to nine more novels over the show’s five-season history and making him to “go-to” guy for sitcom-based tie-ins. He wrote books based on Captain Nice, Room 222, Happy Days, Welcome Back Kotter, The Flying Nun, The Brady Bunch, Nanny and the Professor, The Munsters, Gilligan’s Island, Bewitched, The Monkees and F-Troop, among others.

But his TV tie-in work extended far beyond sitcom adaptations. He wrote books based on Ironside, Dick Tracy, The Young Rebels, The Iron Horse,Then Came Bronson, and Rod Serling’s The New People, to name a few. He even adapted the cartoon characters Magilla Gorilla and Snagglepuss into books for children.

Johnston also penned many novelizations, including the pilots for the 1930s-era private eye series Banyon and the high school drama Sons and Daughters. His feature film novelizations include Klute, The Swinger, Echoes of a Summer, The New Interns, The Priest’s Wife, Lt. Robin Crusoe USN and his final tie-in project, Gore Vidal’s Caligula (under the pseudonym “William Howard”).

After retiring from fiction writing, he opened his own bar, which he operated for many years. He currently resides in San Jose, California.

The International Association of Media Tie-in Writers (www.iamtw.org) is dedicated to enhancing the professional and public image of tie-in writers, educating people about the craft and business of tie-in writing, and to providing a forum for tie-in writers to share information, support one another, and discuss issues relating to their field.

The Faust, the IAMTW’s Grandmaster Award, is named in honor of Frederick Faust (also known as Max Brand) and is given annually. The award recognizes a writer for their extensive and exceptional work in the tie-in field. Past honorees have been Donald Bain, Alan Dean Foster, and Keith R.A. DeCandido.

Novelist Talks Her Trial by PURIFYING FIRE

Novelist Laura Resnick talks on the Novelists Inc blog about writing her first tie-in, THE PURIFYING FIRE, an original novel based the game MAGIC: THE GATHERING.

The creative team at Wizards of the Coast, which owns Magic, had created an excellent Writers Guide, as a private working document for novelists, which was immensely helpful to me. They also gave me numerous links to specific pages on their vast website, thus whittling down the overwhelming sea of available information to just the stuff I really needed. The game’s creative team met with me by conference call to discuss the game, the setting, and its characteristics with me, and to answer my questions. My editor was readily available with information, answers, and feedback whenever I needed it. And the editorial team, in charge of the whole series of books that create an overall story arc for these characters and this world, gave me notes about where they’d like the story to start, a few things they’d like to see happen, and where they’d like the story to end.

She elaborated on the experience in another post:

And although I’d never before had to write a novel about something I was so totally ignorant of (i.e. the Multiverse of Magic: the Gathering) I had recently finished a year of graduate school, where you spend most of your time writing authoritative research papers about subjects that were totally unfamiliar to you only a few weeks earlier. So getting up to speed fast on a subject, and figuring out just how much background material you need to learn and command, and avoiding certain pitfalls that appear when you haven’t had time to learn a subject like the palm of your hand… these were all habits I had developed in academia and now applied to my gaming tie-in novel (since, among other things, the deadline was also much tighter than what I’m used to).

It's an interesting perspective from a "newbie" to the world of tie-ins.

Sprinting the Marathon

IAMTW Member Karen Traviss wrote this article about writing STAR WARS tie-ins back in March 2006 for the Emerald City website...but her insights are as relevant today as tey were three years ago. Here's an excerpt:

From the writer’s point of view, media tie-in fiction is harder and actually requires more original thought and creative effort than creator-copyright — provided you treat it and the readership with the respect both deserve.

The only people who believe it isn’t harder and requires less creativity are those who haven’t actually done it, or perhaps those who think they can coast on tie-ins and just phone it in. But readers can spot lack of effort a mile away in thick fog, believe me, and they’ll never let the writer forget it.

The craft involved is more difficult. Having a foot in both camps, I can tell you that it’s very easy to create your own characters and story arcs; the only holes you find yourself in are those of your own making, and if you need to kill off a major character or blow up the universe to fix them, you can do it.

It's a terrific article. Be sure to check it out.

The Rigors of Tie-in Writing

Over at Jeff Vandermeer's blog, authors Dan Abnett and Mark Charan Newton discuss the challenges of writing tie-ins vs non-franchise fiction. Here's an excerpt:

Mark Charan Newton: You see it frequently these days – a literary fiction star such as Jonathan Lethem wanting to write a comic strip for Omega the Unknown, or Jodi Piccoult writing a Wonder Woman series. There’s a sense of reverence and pedigree involved. It has cool factor. But those authors are writing for a franchise that is not creator-owned. It’s not their world; the characters are often not their own. But let’s go the other way. For an author to write tie-in fiction – that is, fiction connected to a franchise or character, that isn’t technically owned by the author – it is still treated as a gaucherie by the majority of genre fans. The books suffer by not getting proper review coverage, and sometimes they are not even considered as ‘real’ works. Why do you think tie-in fiction is treated as the second-class citizen of the genre world?

[...]Dan Abnett: There are any number of contributing factors, and many of them are inevitably contradictory. Let’s start with a basic assumption: if you write as a hired gun, you must be in it for the dosh. You don’t really care what you’re writing. Therefore (obviously), you’re just crapping it out, words per square inch. In other words, tie-in fiction MUST by the very nature of its manufacture, be poor, disposable and second-rate.

It’s possible that an awful lot of people think this. They may not even mean to think it. There’s also a possibility (actually, a very high probability) that an awful lot of people in what I’m happy to refer to as “my line of work” believe that’s what other people think.

I think it’s worth getting this out of the way right at the start: writers of tie-in fiction may, sometimes, involuntarily, feel slightly guilty. They may be, involuntarily defensive. They know what the perception can be, and it contaminates them slightly. Tie-in writers can be their own worst enemies.

[...]Mark: It’s interesting you mention the money as a perceived incentive, and you’re quite right. But I suppose without naming names, there have been writers who have been strapped for cash and wanted to do tie-in fiction because they thought it was easy money. Hang around at a convention bar and you’ll hear those stories. So, as an aside – you’ve written both original fiction and tie-in fiction, so which do you find is easier?

Dan: I actually think it’s harder to write for franchises in many ways, as you’re constantly checking (or you damn well should be!) that you’re remaining true to the source, in terms of detail, fluff, character and style. It’s quite demanding to be so engaged, so ‘on’, permanently policing your actions within the boundaries of someone else’s property. In your own work, you only have to check with yourself about where the edges are. This labour is OF COURSE counter-balanced by the creative efforts involved in original invention – let me just say that before anyone has an indignant spasm.

The Winner is Me

(Cross-posted from James Swallow's blog)

My Scribe Award (mentioned downblog) arrived in the post, and it is shiny, in all senses of the word. The pointy ends mean it could double as an improvised weapon, should the need arise. As promised, here is a picture of the gong itself, in pride of place.

That, and a day at pub spent with my mates nerding out has brought a busy-but-fruitful week to a relaxing close. I also got a late birthday gift from m'colleague Peter J. Evans, this extremely detailed foot-tall diorama of Indiana Jones fleeing a giant stone ball. Along with a box of next month's Black Library book releases and an advance copy of IL-2 Sturmovik for the XBox 360... It's been a good week for swag, too.

Earlier, I joined fellow scribes Scott Andrews and James Moran to discuss an upcoming project which I hope to be talking about in the next few weeks, and then later it was off to Brighton to visit Black Rock Studios to discuss some gaming related things (which I'm also NDAed into non-discussion thereof). While I was there I got the opportunity to chat briefly to Randy Nelson, one of Pixar's top guys, who was visiting on a workshop tour. It was interesting to hear Randy talk about how Pixar put together story for their movies; like I always say, it never hurts to listen to someone who makes more money doing your job than you do...

End of One Era, Start of Another

Bestselling author Karen Traviss talks on her blog about her difficult decision to make IMPERIAL COMMANDO #2 her last STAR WARS novel...and about the unique challenges tie-in writers face. Here's an excerpt:

Tie-in work is, by its very nature, subject to a lot more unexpected change than other writing - it's someone else's copyright, and the writer has to live with that. It goes with the territory. That's why professional tie-in writers don't get emotionally attached to what they're working on. It's not that I take the task casually; but it's not my property, and the stewardship of it is always temporary. A pro has to be able to shrug, move on, and say: "Okay, nobody died, and the cheque didn't bounce - result! Next?"

But as a writer, I have a moral deal with you, the reader - if I hook you with a story, my part of the deal is to follow through and give you a satisfying outcome. If changes beyond my control mean I can't give you that, then I won't do a half a job. You deserve better than that.

Scribe Award Winners Announced

The 2009 Scribe Awards were handed out a ceremony and panel at Comic Con in San Diego on Friday. Participants included James Rollins, Max Allan Collins, Tod Goldberg, Matt Forbeck and Keith R.A. DeCandido, who was honored as this year's Grandmaster for excellence in the field. The winning books are marked with asterisks.

GENERAL FICTION
BEST NOVEL—ORIGINAL

**CSI: HEADHUNTER by Greg Cox

BURN NOTICE: THE FIX by Tod Goldberg

CRIMINAL MINDS: FINISHING SCHOOL by Max Allan Collins

BEST NOVEL—ADAPTED

**INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL by James Rollins

DEATH DEFYING ACTS by Greg Cox
THE TUDORS: KING TAKES QUEEN by Elizabeth Massie
THE WACKNESS by Dale C. Phillips
THE X FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE by Max Allan Collins

SPECULATIVE FICTION

BEST NOVEL—ORIGINAL

**STAR TREK TEROK NOR: DAY OF THE VIPERS by James Swallow

GHOST WHISPERER: REVENGE by Doranna Durgin
RAVENLOFT: THE COVENANT, HEAVEN'S BONES by Samantha Henderson

STARGATE SG-1: HYDRA by Holly Scott20& Jaime Duncan

BEST NOVEL—ADAPTED

**HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY by Bob Greenberger
THE MUTANT CHRONICLES by Matt Forbeck
STAR WARS—THE CLONE WARS: WILD SPACE by Karen Miller
UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS by Greg Cox

YOUNG ADULT—ALL GENRES

BEST NOVEL—ORIGINAL

**PRIMEVAL: SHADOW OF THE JAGUAR by Steven Savile
DR. WHO: THE EYELESS by Lance Parkin
DISNEY CLUB PENGUIN: STOWAWAY! ADVENTURES AT SEA by Tracey West

BEST NOVEL—ADAPTED

**JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 3D by Tracey West
IRON MAN: THE JUNIOR NOVEL by Stephen D. Sullivan
THE DARK KNIGHT: THE JUNIOR NOVEL by Stacia Deutsch and Rhody Cohon

THE GRANDMASTER AWARD

KEITH R.A. DeCANDIDO

Scribe Awards Ceremony Announced

Third annual presentation of the International Association of Media-Tie-in Writers (IAMTW) "Scribe" Awards, honoring excellence in tie-in writing in such notable franchises as CSI, Criminal Minds, The X-Files, Star Trek, Stargate, Star Wars and Dr. Who, will be held on FRIDAY JULY 24 3-4:30 pm at Comic-Con in San Diego in Room 4. The ceremony will be followed by a panel discussion with the nominees, including James Rollins (Indiana Jones), Matt Forbeck (Mutant Chronicles), Bob Greenberger (Hellboy), Keith R. A. DeCandido (Farscape), Stacia Deutsch (Dark Knight), Nathan Long (Warhammer), Tod Goldberg (Burn Notice). With moderators Lee Goldberg (Monk) and Max Allan Collins (GI JOE).