It’s always a joy to report on indie author awards where indie writing is truly celebrated. So I’m thrilled to be able to string a couple of such into this piece of news.
The figures Overdrive have just released show that 2023 was another year of stellar growth for digital lending by libraries. The year Overdrive reports 662 million digital lends through Overdrive’s catalogue to libraries. Added to that was a further 253 million that would have been lent but were on a “wait list.”
The 95 year copyright term has finally run out on Disney’s breakout work, Steamboat Willie. Which means Mickey Mouse and companions, as and only as they appear in Steamboat Willie, can now be (and already are) the subject of creative freedom.
The UK’s Royal Society of Literature is looking for nominations for its International Writers Programme. The programme seeks in the RSL’s own words to “celebrate literary excellence in the global writing community and the power of literature to transcend borders.” Is this the year we will see an indie author take the spot?
This has been a year when companies have defined the terms on which we are permitted to use AI, and what we must declare when doing so; other companies decided how they would or wouldn’t use AI; when author organizations started formulating AI clauses for contracts, and a whole industry went on strike to curb the use of AI in screenwriting.
However popular digital formats get, there is something that seems to mean reading in print has never lost its appeal. This new study looks across recent data with some interesting results. But are they as clear cut as they seem?
We really are now nudging the time of year where the round-ups and reflections begin. And I am allowing myself to get started by reporting on news of other people’s literary round-ups, including the Word of the Year 2023.
The life cycle of the book is not sustainable. Our industry is coming to grips with sustainable print on demand and Mensch is taking the first step to testing out what this might look like.