Poor Mojo's Newswire

Can you believe that J.K. Rowling is suing a small publisher because she claims their 10,000-copy edition of The Harry Potter Lexicon, a book about Rowling's hugely successful novel series, is just a "rearrangement" of her own material. Rowling "feels like her words were stolen," said lawyer Dan Shallman. Well, heck, I feel like the plot of my novel Ender's Game was stolen by J.K. Rowling. A young kid growing up in an oppressive family situation suddenly learns that he is one of a special class of children with special abilities, who are to be educated in a remote training facility where student life is dominated by an intense game played by teams flying in midair, at which this kid turns out to be exceptionally talented and a natural leader. He trains other kids in unauthorized extra sessions, which enrages his enemies, who attack him with the intention of killing him; but he is protected by his loyal, brilliant friends and gains strength from the love of some of his family members. He is given special guidance by an older man of legendary accomplishments who previously kept the enemy at bay. He goes on to become the crucial figure in a struggle against an unseen enemy who threatens the whole world. This paragraph lists only the most prominent similarities between Ender's Game and the Harry Potter series. My book was published in England many years before Rowling began writing about Harry Potter. Rowling was known to be reading widely in speculative fiction during the era after the publication of my book. I can get on the stand and cry, too, Ms. Rowling, and talk about feeling "personally violated." The difference between us is that I actually make enough money from Ender's Game to be content, without having to try to punish other people whose creativity might have been inspired by something I wrote. Mine is not the only work that one can charge Rowling "borrowed" from. Check out this piece from a fan site, pointing out links between Harry Potter and other previous works: http://www.geocities.com/versetrue/rowling.htm. And don't forget the lawsuit by Nancy K. Stouffer, the author of a book entitled The Legend of Rah and the Muggles, whose hero was named "Larry Potter."... It's true that we writers borrow words from each other ? but we're supposed to admit it and not pretend we're original when we're not. I took the word ansible from Ursula K. LeGuin, and have always said so. Rowling, however, denies everything.

ANN ARBOR, Mich., April 24, 2008 – Borders Group, Inc. has selected Ralph Ashworth, a supervisor at a Borders store in Tarentum, Penn., as the winner of the retailer’s fiction writing contest open to its 30,000 employees at Borders, Waldenbooks and Borders Express stores, the distribution centers and the company’s corporate office. A panel of judges at the corporate office singled out Ashworth’s crime-thriller novel entitled, “The Killer of Orchids,” from over 200 submissions. Ashworth will be awarded a book deal under the company’s proprietary publishing program and the full support of Borders’ merchandising and marketing arsenal.

Ashworth’s winning manuscript, “The Killer of Orchids,” follows two amateur sleuths, Xander Pooka, an 11-year old boy who is bright-beyond-his-years, and Jeff Redwing, a single, gay computer genius, as they investigate the murder of two local men by a samurai. Their investigation leads them into an underground ring where murder is the game and they become the hunted.

One of the most terrifying areas of self-publishing is books for kids, perhaps because the books are shorter and the audience younger would-be authors assume that self-publishing is a good idea.

Orelda and Corelda on Wall Street

Wall Street Books for Kids! Orelda and Corelda on Wall Street is a coloring story book for kids. This Wall Street book celebrates taking daughters to work day & the wonders of the Stock Exchange. Teaching kids about investing. Kids books about New York. Join these sisters in the heart of NY’s financial district when their father takes his daughters to work one day, They are surprised to learn that stocks are not the only thing traded on Wall Street. A fun introduction to investing for kids.

TWEETADOPPLIN: Fozzi Fairy-Catcher’s Secrets

There is no main character but each story highlights one of the inhabitants of the city of Tweetadopplin. With names like Maria Fly-Feeder, Todd Tiger-Spitter and Chi-Chi Fudge-Bubbler, you can imagine how much fun the reader will have following them throughout their daily activities.