Month: August 2026
WHEN WORDS COLLIDE – MY SCHEDULE
Ladies and Gentlemen, Genders of your Choice, Children of all Ages, Assorted Sentients and Sophonts,
Here’s my schedule for When Words Collide 2026. This is the stuff I’ll be actually doing. Basically, three low impact items, meet and greet, autographs and stuff. And three big items – Panels on AI, Presentations on Copyright and Contracts. You’ll find my notes on the big items on this website. Feel free to stop by and sit in. I’m very entertaining. If you’re very entertaining too, so much the better!
A CRASH COURSE IN CONTRACTS FOR WRITERS
WHEN YOU’RE A WRITER, YOU’RE NOT JUST AN ARTIST. YOU’RE ALSO A VICTIM.
A SAP, A SUCKER, A DOOFUS, A STUMBLEBUM, A BLINDFOLDED TRAVELER TRYING TO CROSS THE ROAD AT RUSH HOUR, YOU’RE THE ROADKILL ON THE PUBLISHING HIGHWAY.
But do you have to be?
WRITING IS NOT JUST ART, IT’S A BUSINESS, PUBLISHING IS A BUSINESS. YOUR PUBLISHER IS NOT YOUR FRIEND, YOUR EDITOR IS NOT YOUR FRIEND, YOUR AGENT IS NOT YOUR FRIEND.
Or rather, everyone is friends right up until they’re not friends
IT’S ALL BUSINESS, AND YOU NEED TO KNOW THE CONCEPTS YOURSELF, TO UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES, AND HAVE SOME CONTROL OVER YOUR CAREER.
THERE ARE WAY TOO MANY STORIES ABOUT HOW THE WRITER GOT SCREWED. OFTEN, IT COMES DOWN TO ‘SHIT HAPPENED’ BUT ACTING LIKE A PROFESSIONAL MAY SAVE YOU SOME HEADACHES. HERE ARE THE FUNDAMENTALS OF PUBLISHING CONTRACTS, AND SOME OF THE TOOLS TO AT LEAST KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON.
A CRASH COURSE IN COPYRIGHT FOR WRITERS
COPYRIGHTS – In the modern era, literally every artist and writer lives and dies on their copyrights.
But what exactly is copyright? Where does it come from? Who created it and how? What does it mean? What exactly do you own when you have a copyright? What are your rights to your own work? How do you prove or register your rights? Do you even need to? How long does it last? How do you market it, what are you selling? Where is the line between your copyrights and someone else’s? When is copyright infringed? What about reviews?
A basic understanding of copyright is a fundamental, critical need for any writer or artist to navigate through life. This presentation is intended to provide the tools to appreciate and explore rights.
Enclosed are my presentation notes for When Words Collide, 2026.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE – THE AI ARGUMENT