michaelcapo
in
sfwa
Some of SFWA's Accomplishments
Although I was President from 1996-1998, a long time ago, I thought I'd add a list of SFWA's accomplishments during that period. I can provide additional details, if anyone is interested.
* Investigated TSR's failure to pay royalties, worked behind the scenes to put pressure on TSR, negotiating with Wizards of the Coast to pay TSR's authors the back royalties, talked with WotC CEO during buyout period, and had amicable talks about what would satisfy SFWA in WotC's dealings with authors. Subsequently, all requests were met by WotC.
* Investigated and uncovered complaints about Uwe Luserke, a German agent who was selling members' novels and short fiction to various European markets and keeping the money. Compiled said complaints, hired a German attorney, presented the case. Widely publicized Luserke's crimes within SFWA and the European publishing community. Began an effort to keep members informed of overseas use of their work with a systematic search for stolen stories and novels.
* Investigated and uncovered Pocket Books' scheme to ship American Star Trek novels to the U.K. to be sold as "British" editions. Researched the law involved, submitted the case to different attorneys for consideration. Found a litigator. At this point, thanks to Eleanor Wood's negotiations with Pocket and the implied threat of legal action, Pocket agreed to settle. New contracts stipulate authors will be paid royalties on these books. Authors of already released books were paid a settlement -- five hundred dollars for h.c. books, two hundred fifty for paperbacks. Resolved all this amicably with Pocket, establishing a good precedent for dealing with future problems with this troublesome publisher.
* Gathered signatures of all but one Past President for a letter to Irwyn Applebaum of Bantam deploring the new "flat fee" contracts for Star Wars novels. Began a publicity campaign in media and on the web to raise awareness of the problem, which was reported in Publishers Weekly and Entertainment Weekly.
* Made a group health insurance program available to SFWAns.
* Established, through the Authors Coalition, a working relationship with many other writers groups, including Authors Guild, MWA, RWA, and ASJA.
* Purchased Directors and Officers insurance to protect Board and volunteers from lawsuits.
* Separated the Legal Fund and the Emergency Medical Fund from the main treasury. Increased the EMF through auctions, and dedicated all future anthology moneys to it. Created a straightforward way for members to access the EMF for the first time.
* Investigated TSR's failure to pay royalties, worked behind the scenes to put pressure on TSR, negotiating with Wizards of the Coast to pay TSR's authors the back royalties, talked with WotC CEO during buyout period, and had amicable talks about what would satisfy SFWA in WotC's dealings with authors. Subsequently, all requests were met by WotC.
* Investigated and uncovered complaints about Uwe Luserke, a German agent who was selling members' novels and short fiction to various European markets and keeping the money. Compiled said complaints, hired a German attorney, presented the case. Widely publicized Luserke's crimes within SFWA and the European publishing community. Began an effort to keep members informed of overseas use of their work with a systematic search for stolen stories and novels.
* Investigated and uncovered Pocket Books' scheme to ship American Star Trek novels to the U.K. to be sold as "British" editions. Researched the law involved, submitted the case to different attorneys for consideration. Found a litigator. At this point, thanks to Eleanor Wood's negotiations with Pocket and the implied threat of legal action, Pocket agreed to settle. New contracts stipulate authors will be paid royalties on these books. Authors of already released books were paid a settlement -- five hundred dollars for h.c. books, two hundred fifty for paperbacks. Resolved all this amicably with Pocket, establishing a good precedent for dealing with future problems with this troublesome publisher.
* Gathered signatures of all but one Past President for a letter to Irwyn Applebaum of Bantam deploring the new "flat fee" contracts for Star Wars novels. Began a publicity campaign in media and on the web to raise awareness of the problem, which was reported in Publishers Weekly and Entertainment Weekly.
* Made a group health insurance program available to SFWAns.
* Established, through the Authors Coalition, a working relationship with many other writers groups, including Authors Guild, MWA, RWA, and ASJA.
* Purchased Directors and Officers insurance to protect Board and volunteers from lawsuits.
* Separated the Legal Fund and the Emergency Medical Fund from the main treasury. Increased the EMF through auctions, and dedicated all future anthology moneys to it. Created a straightforward way for members to access the EMF for the first time.