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Documentary

Release Date - 2019

99 min

Summary - A behind-the-scenes look at the New York rare book world

The booksellers bistro memphis tn. The booksellers (2019. The booksellers.

 

 

The booksellers tale. I'm watching this after watching the stargirl trailer, and this is better. This is a look at what love REALLY is about, not feelings and self discovery. But a profound, solid choice to be there for someone even when you feel you've discovered all there is to know about that person. God help this generation. The booksellers trailer. I actually prefered putting books back myself, as most customers do not understand the concept of the alphabet. It is less work putting books back myself than resorting an entire section! I used to work in a is even more frustrating there as Dewey decimal system is not something people understand. Pet peeve: people shoving books into sections randomly... The booksellers memphis tn.

Last year, on a domestic flight, I sat next to a middle aged man in fluoro work gear. We exchanged the normal pleasantries before I buried myself in the pages of a novel. After take off my neighbor produced a neat Sony e-reader and started to read also. To a writer, sitting next to an obvious reader is a green light. A challenge. I licked my lips, and set myself a goal; I would sell my book to that man by the end of the flight. My opening gambit was, “What are you reading? ” He was reading JK Rowlings crime novel, Cuckoos Calling. He had, apparently, downloaded this title when it was, so far as the reading public knew, written by Robert Galbraith. We talked about that book, then some of the dozen or more we had read between us in the last couple of months. I was intrigued about the mechanics of the Sony e-reader and asked him where he buys his books, Amazon, Google or iBooks. “Buy? ” he laughed. “I dont buy them. I get them for free. ” My hopes of a sale crumbled. “Oh, ” I said, “where from? ” “Websites. Different ones. I just search. ” My gut churned. “What format do they come in? ” “Doesnt matter. I downloaded a program that changes them to whatever format you want. Its easy. ” Ebook piracy had been an abstract concept to me in the past. Now it jolted me like unexpected turbulence. I was surprised at how annoyed I felt, and pretended to read while I analysed my feelings. Reading a novel is a very personal activity. To my mind, theres a compact between writer and reader along the lines of; you buy my book, and Ill bust my gut to write the best story I can for you. Ill entertain and enthrall you, but I need to eat, and live somewhere. I therefore must charge you for the privilege of reading my work. By not paying for the book, the reader is breaking that compact. They are cheating. Stealing. Im not going to make the obvious parallel with non-consensual sexual acts. But the illegal downloader is taking my work by force, and thus the pleasure is all his. After stewing for a few days after the flight, I decided to do a straw poll of author friends; gathering their thoughts on the matter of piracy. The range of viewpoints was interesting. Some havent given much thought to the problem. Others can live with it. Others are furious. International bestselling author Michael Robotham sees it as the “biggest threat faced by the publishing industry, ” over and above the problems of cheap print imports and the plethora of entertainment options available in modern life. “If even a small percentage of readers, ” he goes on the say, “decide to download their books illegally, it will squeeze margins, cost jobs, curtail advances and further diminish the earning power of writers, who already get precious little reward for their efforts. ” Sophie Masson, with a backlist of forty or more titles, offered the most brutal assessment. “It shouldnt be called piracy; much too swashbuckling a term, these guys are just sneak thieves of the lowest kind, aided and abetted by ‘fences who are parasites living on other peoples hard work. ” Karly Lane, who writes across romance, rural fiction and suspense genres for Australian publisher Allen and Unwin, agrees. “Ebook piracy to an author feels the same as someone hacking into your bank account and stealing your hard earned income; you feel violated. ” Most other writers feel the same. Felicity Young, acclaimed author of period murder mysteries says simply; “Its a criminal offence that deprives authors of their income. ” Chris Allen, author of the Intrepid series of thrillers, believes that; “Whatever success we enjoy as a result of all the time and effort that goes into writing our stories is hard won. The fact that others feel its appropriate to profit from the fruits of our labor is appalling. ” After an interlude spent staring out at the clouds and listening to the tuboprops clattering outside the cabin, I gathered my thoughts and interrupted my neighbor again. “When you download something for free, dont you feel sorry for the author? ” “Why would I? They all get grants from the government. ” Thats not true. I surveyed fourteen established writers across several genres including literary fiction and only three had ever obtained grant money. Precious few writers of popular fiction ever do. I changed tack. “Dont you feel sorry for publishers? ” “Nah, they get more money from real books in bookshops. And ebooks dont cost anything to make. ” This is the most damaging fallacy of all; that because the content of ebooks is provided digitally they cost their creators nothing. In reality, however, the breakdown of book production costs goes something like this: out of a book that retails for 29. 99 the booksellers cut is around 10, the author 3, pre-production including editing around 7, marketing around 2 and printing/warehousing around 5, leaving a publishers profit of approximately 3. The problem, of course, is that publishers and booksellers are often forced to discount heavily, squeezing everyones profits. Ebooks, theoretically, can be sold with a slightly smaller bookseller margin (Amazon takes 35% and without printing/warehousing costs, but the publishers pre-production and marketing costs (largely salaries in this country) remain the same. An ebook therefore needs to sell for at least 13 just for the publisher to maintain their profit margin of around 9% and for the author to get fair recompense for their work. This is more than many digital-age readers wish to pay. Yet people still expect that digital content should be free or almost free. A recent blockbuster release by Michael Robotham was inundated with one star reviews on Amazon with the comments. “Wont read this. ” ”Overpriced. ” Why does Amazon let people post reviews unrelated to the content of the books? Possibly because they have a vested interest in low ebook prices controlled by them. I turned to the man next to me. “Downloading is illegal, ” I said. The cheesy grin was gone by now. His manner was guarded, defensive. “Sos speeding, and everyone does it. ” “Illegally downloading stuff is morally wrong. ” “Are you trying to tell me youve never copied anything? ” Well no, I explained. When I was a kid I taped records onto cassette and handed them around. But I have not done so since digital content became an income stream for creators. I dont download illegal copies of movies. I dont steal songs. iTunes and other sites make it easy to do the right thing, just like the major ebook purveyors make it easy to buy. Like most people, Im basically honest. There is another side, however, to this problem. Some authors believe that illegal downloads offer free publicity, and get the book in the hands of people who might not have otherwise read it at all. Bestselling action writer Helene Young holds this view, “If (illegal downloading) ultimately grows readership then pirate sites are doing free promotion for you. ” Or, in the words of Australian thriller writer, Steve Worland, “My opinion on piracy is based on the fact that you cant do anything about it. So knowing it will always be there, it is such a small percentage of actual books read, and so not a part of the mainstream, I prefer to think of it as advertising. ” Tony Park, with nine of his popular African based thrillers in print, takes the view that, “If youre popular enough to be pirated widely then youre probably doing pretty well as an author already. ” He does, at the same time, see it as morally wrong: “I wouldnt steal a handbag and I wouldnt read a pirated book. ” The “pirate books as advertising, ” view is easy to accept when the relative numbers are small. Mainstream writers in the early stages of their careers, or the work of so-called midlist writers dont offer much incentive for pirate sites to hack the DRM (Digital Rights Management Software) that attempts to protect their ebooks. Following this logic, my own publisher, HarperCollins, offered my first book, Rotten Gods, as a free download on Amazon, iTunes and Google for two weeks last June, just before the release of my second title, Savage Tide. The reasoning was simple; people would seek out the second book after having enjoyed the first. Did it work? Im not sure if anyone has crossmatched downloaders of the first title with buyers of the second, but it would be an interesting exercise. Another argument for a laissez faire attitude to piracy is that illegal downloads cant be counted as “lost income” because the cheaters would never have paid for the book, but would simply have lived without it. There is some truth here also. The laws of supply and demand tell us that no matter how low the price point there will always be people unwilling to pay that amount. Many of the “pirates” are thus people who are too poor or mean to pay real money for the book, at any price. As Helene Young says, “I suspect that readers who download pirate copies wouldnt ordinarily hand over cold hard cash for my books. ” What happens, however, when things get out of hand? Some of the downloaders are surely in the “wouldnt buy at any price” category, but what percentage are just opportunists, who want the book badly enough that they would have paid if they had to? Fifty per cent? Seventy? Dan Browns last blockbuster The Lost Symbol was reported by CNN as having been downloaded illegally by more than 100 000 readers. Photoshop CS5 For Dummies was illegally shared 74 000 times by the users of just one specialist social media site, forcing publisher John Wiley and sons into legal action to try to salvage the battered income stream of both themselves and the author. A search for “Fifty Shades of Grey Free Download” yields thousands of hits. New York Times and even Australian bestsellers, must surely bleed substantial income away from the publishers and writers. The other big losers from piracy appear to be higher priced, more successful, self published authors on Amazon. As stated earlier, many Amazonians resent high prices, and justify their piracy because they are being “ripped off. ” Others make the case that piracy is okay because DRM and territorial controls make access to certain books difficult or impossible for some consumers. Crime writer Luke Preston is sympathetic: “Who wants to wait months for a network to air a television show or a publisher to release a novel and then charge a premium price for the late delivery? Give people what they want, when they want it and content creators shouldnt have to worry about piracy. ” Yet the problem is not confined to difficult to get items, or famous writers. Some targets of pirate sites are well known in a specific genre or narrative form. You would not expect childrens authors to be targets, yet veteran Australian author Sophie Masson has a constant problem with illegal copies of her books being available free on the internet, some of which have been physically scanned by the pirates. “My e-books are reasonably priced (from 5 to around 9) and very easy and convenient to purchase. I found several of my books on pirate sites that were in PDF—not hacked e-books but laboriously scanned-in print copies. ” Part of the problem is the legitimising of piracy. Pirate dens are moving from fly-by-night websites to much more accessible areas such as Facebook pages. This has the effect of making ordinary people think its okay. Karly Lane, who has reported finding up to twenty new illegal download sites for her books in a day, sees this development as a serious threat, “Piracy has even found its way into social media with numerous Facebook pages being created which are dedicated to offering pirated ebooks. Its a daily fight to get these sites taken down, and authors are sacrificing precious writing time to removing their books from pirate sites all over the net. ” Social media users openly discuss ways of obtaining free copies of bestselling books, and happening upon such a conversation can be unsettling for a writer. Well known author Fiona McIntosh, whose most recent books The Lavender Keeper and the French Promise both hit bestseller lists, has loyal readers who keep an eye out for such activity and report it to her. “Whenever Im shown a site where readers are discussing stealing my books – my income – I go into a state of dull shock. Anyone who pirates my books should understand theyre also breaking into my house to take everything weve acquired through hard work, steal my car, pilfer funds from our bank account, run up bills on my credit card, knock me down and steal my purse – I loathe thieves. ” Books are often organised into collections so that one BitTorrent download might contain from 10 to 1000 illegal titles. In a well known case in 2012 a cheap e-reader was brazenly sold in Australian stores packaged with a repertoire of illegal books. Rearguard legal action was promptly taken by the publishers whose books were being given away. After a while I gave up talking to the man with the Sony eReader. I realized that he wasnt just one man, but the embodiment of a community attitude. Free advertising or not, Im a writer, and I dont like people getting copies of a book I took two years to write, for nothing. Others disagree, but thats how I feel about it. If youre too poor to buy a book go to the library, most will now lend ebook titles as well. A little known fact is that authors get paid for library borrowings. They dont for piracy. I waited until we landed, and after Id stood up to get my luggage out of the overhead locker I dropped a business card on my neighbours lap. Greg Barron – AUTHOR, it says, beside colour images of my book covers. I still wonder if guilt drove him to buy legit versions when he got home. I doubt it though. I guess he downloaded them both for free. Go ahead. Steal my work, but dont expect me to like you. Greg Barron is the author of Rotten Gods (2012) Savage Tide (2013) and Voodoo Dawn (2014) all published by HarperCollins. Clarification: Australia and the UK have author payment schemes for libraries, the USA does not.

Disclaimer: stole this from MatterMark's blog The state of startups Its time we revisit this. Nearly 4 years ago, Marc Andreessen opined that “software is eating the world. ” Fast-forward and its now one of the most quoted observations in the startup community. At the time, the US was in the midst of a major economic downturn. However, Marc was “optimistic about the future growth of the American economy” because of his observation that many more industries stood to be disrupted by software developed by Silicon Valley startups. The names of the startups have changed, but his observation has remained largely true. Industries are being “disrupted by software, with new world-beating Silicon Valley companies doing the disruption in more cases than not. ” In an effort to see how things have changed (and where they are going) we took a look at some of the traditional industries mentioned in Marcs piece, and todays fastest growing startups that are disrupting them. In the article, Marc talks about traditional industries being disrupted by startups in 2011: Retail, Entertainment, Music, Gaming, Movie Production, Photography, Direct Marketing, Telecom, Recruiting, Automotive, Oil & Gas, Financial Services, Healthcare, Education, and National Defense. We ran a quick search in Mattermark to identify todays fastest growing startups currently disrupting the Retail, Music, Recruiting, Gaming, Logistics, Financial Services, and Education industries. Heres the criteria that we set to find the disruptors within each specific industry: Stage is not exited (hasnt been acquired or IPOd) Mattermark Growth Score is greater than 500 Country equals United states The 7 Startups We Found: Stitch Fix: Retail, Mattermark Growth Score: 3365 Sonos: Music, Mattermark Growth Score: 1758 Upwork: Recruiting, Mattermark Growth Score: 6764 FanDuel: Gaming, Mattermark Growth Score: 1359 Uber: Logistics, Mattermark Growth Score: 23, 023 BTCJam: Financial Services, Mattermark Growth Score: 1105 General Assembly: Education, Mattermark Growth Score: 4069 To predict the emergence of new industries and track 1 million+ high growth startups, request access to the Mattermark API. Now, lets compare Marc Andreessens thoughts in 2011 to todays landscape. Online retail startups “Today, the worlds largest bookseller, Amazon, is a software company—its core capability is its amazing software engine for selling virtually everything online, no retail stores necessary. ” Today, Stitch Fix is the fastest growing startup disrupting retail. Their focus is fashion rather than fiction. The online retail startup is attacking the process of traveling to stores to try on new clothes in ill-lit, fitting rooms. Through the power of algorithms they make clothing suggestions to stylists who then use their intuition to curate personalized outfit recommendations to customers. Barnes & Noble overlooked the the importance of online book sales in 2001 and weve all seen what happened to their stock price since then. If brick and mortar fashion stores overlook personalization and convenience in the same way, Sitch Fix may be our new Amazon. Music startups “Todays dominant music companies are software companies, too: Apples iTunes, Spotify and Pandora. Traditional record labels increasingly exist only to provide those software companies with content. ” Today, Spotify and Pandora are still chugging along, but they may be turning into content providers for a software-powered hardware music startup: Sonos. The companys WiFi-connected speakers let you play listen to music from streaming services throughout your house, but it looks like Apple may stop playing nice with Sonos sooner than later. For a company that single-handedly destroyed an industry with software in the past, this is a shrewd strategy to keep an innovative startup from nibbling away at its business. Gaming startups “Todays fastest growing entertainment companies are videogame makers—again, software—with the industry growing to 60 billion from 30 billion five years ago. And the fastest growing major videogame company is Zynga (maker of games including FarmVille) which delivers its games entirely online. ” Recently, Zynga has fallen on hard times, having to lay off 18% of its workforce. However, innovation from gaming startups remains strong. FanDuel, the fastest growing gaming startup, has grown its employee count by 224% over the past 2 years. Unlike Zynga, which disrupted offline gaming with online offerings, FanDuel disrupts online fantasy sports with software (and a keen eye for loopholes in the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) that delivers fantasy betting with simplicity and speed. Recruiting startups “LinkedIn is todays fastest growing recruiting company. For the first time ever, on LinkedIn, employees can maintain their own resumes for recruiters to search in real time” In 2011, it was novel to share your resume online with recruiters for the first time. 4 years later, LinkedIn focuses more on defending its moat than innovating. Theyve recently blocked developers who build powerful applications with its APIs. New websites have even been created for the express purpose of helping people stop using LinkedIn. Fortunately, this defensive posture has given rise to recruiting being unbundled by a number of disruptive startups. Upwork, a platform that helps businesses quickly find freelancers, leads the pack. Its todays fastest growing recruiting and career search startup, and a foundational block of the freelance economy – one that largely did not exist in 2011. Businesses spent nearly 1 billion hiring through Upworks online workplace in 2014 Logistics startups “Todays leading real-world retailer, Wal-Mart, uses software to power its logistics and distribution capabilities, which it has used to crush its competition. Likewise for FedEx, which is best thought of as a software network that happens to have trucks, planes and distribution hubs attached. ” At the time “Software is eating the world” was written, a little startup named Uber had only raised 13. 4 million in funding. Today, its the breakout success of our generation and the true leader in innovative logistics. Billions of people with smartphones, “instant access to the full power of the Internet, every moment of every day, ” and “software that is widely delivered at a global scale” make Uber possible. Its the exact type of software-driven innovation that Marc Andreessen predicted. Financial services startups “The financial services industry has been visibly transformed by software over the last 30 years. Practically every financial transaction, from someone buying a cup of coffee to someone trading a trillion dollars of credit default derivatives, is done in software. ” The financial services industry remains at the cutting edge of innovation, but like the previous examples, much of the innovation is coming from San Francisco startups. Even the money itself is powered by software. Cryptocurrencies, digital currencies that are only made possible through software, have given rise to a number of innovative financial services startups that disrupt central banking authorities themselves. Todays fastest growing Fintech startup is BTCJam, a global peer-to-peer lending platform, and the first to offer a global credit score to its users – opening up the doors to financial freedom to all qualified borrowers. Education startups “Education, in my view, is] next up for fundamental software-based transformation. ” The time for major disruption in the education industry has come too. Like is the case with most breakthrough innovations, General Assembly gained a foothold outside of the traditional confiners of the education industry. Currently, the fastest growing disruptor in the space is General Assembly. Having grown from 200 employees in early July 2013 to 1, 500+ today, theyve taken the industry by storm. Their mission is to “create a global community of individuals empowered to pursue work they love, ” and they may just be able to accomplish it with software at the core of how and what they teach. What will the startups of the future look like? As data and software become deeper baked into the daily activities of every worker in every industry, the rate at which innovation occurs across industries will only increase. 4 years ago, Uber was just making a name for itself. Who startup will be the next massive success? What industry will it be in? Will it be part of the Internet of Things? The Drone industry? Maybe Virtual Reality? What about the On-demand or freelance economies? Or maybe, the industry where the next massive innovation occurs doesnt yet exist. Where do you think it will be? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Gui went missing in Thailand in late 2015, one of five men who vanished in a string of incidents known as the Causeway Bay Books disappearances. The case ignited fears locally and in Britain over the collapse of one country, two systems, over the possibility that people could be subject to rendition from Hong Kong and from other countries by Chinese law enforcement. The Chinese government was silent about holding him in custody for three months, at which point a controversial video confession was broadcast on mainland media. In it, Gui said that he had returned to mainland China and surrendered to the authorities of his own volition. He appeared to indicate that he was prepared to follow the course of justice in China, while waiving protection as a Swedish citizen. Many observers expressed doubts about the sincerity and credibility of Gui's confession. The Washington Post described the narrative as messy and incoherent, blending possible fact with what seems like outright fiction. Chinese state media said in late February 2016 that Gui was being held for illegal business operations. He is alleged to have knowingly distributed books not approved by China's press and publication authority since October 2014. Although Gui was released from detention in October 2017, he was once again abducted by suspected state security agents – a group of men in plain clothes – in January 2018 while on his way to Beijing for a medical visit.

Have been walking NYC for 6 years, so how many time have he been robbed

Thank you Ariel! That's a beautiful documentary, evokes the mini-docimentraires Criterion Collection does on art studios and creative spaces. Make more if you like making them, my favorite content.
The booksellers in memphis.

 

Next the CCP will march straight in to schools in Hong Kong and making arrests of principals and teachers and detain students for teaching English which is the enemy language of the 'people' is not the end of Hong Kong but the end of China.

As someone who wishes to own a bookstore one day, this was extremely interesting and insightful! And, as always, I'm just so happy that you are doing these kinds of videos (and doing them well) so THANK YOU ARIEL <3. For a moment I thought, Oh a serious scifi show from HBO, this is going to be good.

The booksellers of laurelwood. I miss parks and rec😭. The booksellers diary. I watched this whole trailer in anticipation for the moment that she gets taken. The booksellers book awards. George warned us. There's a fog upon L.A. And my friends have lost their way We'll be over soon they said Now they've lost themselves instead. Remember the song was blue jay way. that road intersects with the canyon.

The booksellers association. The booksellers 2019. Are you planning a kickstarter game like Neal Stephenson? If you did what would it be about? Reverse order: no, I'm not planning a kickstarter game. And I'm not really a game designer. (Writing novels takes up about 100% of my available working time. Fellow early adopter here. TI gave me a TIPC with a 1200 baud modem and sent me home. I tripped over the usenet and compuserve by accident. What happened to keep you off for 6 months? Left university and got a job with a company who had no internet connection, back in the days when a 2400 baud UUCP dial-up cost 900 a year (or about a months' gross salary. Remedied this by changing jobs: Hallo Charles. I'm in the UK. I just wrote a book and (it looks like) a good publishing house are going to pick it up. It is sort of sci-fi. For starters, there's a long-standing (50 year old) flame war within the field over whether it's "sci-fi" or "SF. My question: all agents I've spoken to think that while selling a book to publishers it's best to avoid using the term "sci-fi" if possible. Ideally they want to sneak sci-fi stuff in, under the radar" so it can get the sort of backing that only a big publisher can provide. Secondly, all these labels boil down to is a bunch of marketing categories that tell bookshop staff where to file the product (which they don't know from a hole in the road) on the shelves where customers can find it. SF has traditionally been looked down on by the literary establishment because, to be honest, much early SF was execrably badly written. but these days the significance of the pigeon hole is fading; we have serious mainstream authors writing stuff that is I-can't-believe-it's-not-SF, and SF authors breaking into the mainstream. If you view them as tags that point to shelves in bricks-and-mortar bookshops, how long are these genre categories going to survive in the age of the internet? How do you feel about this? Cheers. Note: this skepticism breaks down in the face of, for example, the German publishing sector, where booksellers are a lot stuffier and more hidebound over what is or is not acceptable as literature. Could you give an example or two of large British publishers that you think are doing a good job in this respect? Ignoring genre barriers, taking risks etc? AhahahaHA! Sorry, no I can't. But not for the reason you think. Thing is, my agent is based in New York. And due to a historic accident, my publishing track is primarily American. I'm sold into the UK almost as a foreign import! So I'm quite out of touch with what's going on in UK publishing. (Even my Kindle is geared to the US store. Did you end up with an American agent because all the British agents passed on you? Or did you actually want to do things that way? A bit of both. I wanted an agent who would actually sell stuff. After two British agents failed comprehensively, I was reading Locus (the SF field's trade journal) and noticed a press release about an experienced editor leaving her job to join an agent in setting up a new agency. And I went "aha. because what you need is an agent who knows the industry but who doesn't have a huge list of famous clients whose needs will inevitably be put ahead of you. So I emailed her, and. well, 11 years later I am the client listed at the top of her masthead! One last question (if you can be arsed. When you look at the publishing process (particularly the point at which agents have to sell books) what do you think needs to be fixed/tinkered with? Are editors too short-sighted? In your experience is their predilection for putting things in boxes limiting? Biggest message: find your customers and sell them what they want to buy. DRM is bad for business. Territorial rights restrictions are bad for business. Amazon are utterly hateful and evil. they will kill you and establish a monopoly if they can. but their one redeeming feature is that they're good to customers: so learn from them. Basically if you could sit all the big editors down and briefly lecture them on doing their job what would you say? Thanks Charles. It's not the editors I'd lecture, but the senior executives who give the publishing CEOs their marching orders (editors are a level below that. All the editors I deal with are extremely smart, clueful folks who are often frustrated by corporate policies. because the publishing houses are divisions within large media conglomerates, and they're small, low-profit subsidiaries at that (and so don't get much say in group-wide policy. Have you considered selling books via Baen? They seem to have the right idea, and you're in the right genre. Link to. Not up to me, up to my publishers. For someone who is unfamiliar with your work, what book would you suggest as a good starting point (if it's available for Kindle, I will get it as soon as I see your answer) Any plans to follow in L. Ron's footsteps and start a religion? I'm an atheist (subtype: generally agree with Richard Dawkins but think he could be slightly more polite; special twist: I was raised in British reform Judaism, which is not like American reform Judaism, much less any other strain of organised religion. So: no cults here. Starting points: for a sampler, you could try my short story collection "Wireless. Which contains one novella that scooped a Locus award, and one that won a Hugo, and covers a range of different styles. Thank you so much for releasing Accelerando as a freebie! I'd just picked up Stanza on my iPhone and was going through the free Sci Fi (or SF) books. That ebook got me hooked, so was a pretty savvy marketing move. Book depository is nothing new; there've been outlets selling books internationally via mail order for many decades. the only change is that it's now easier to find and use such services. So, is there an official term for "Polite Atheist" Someone who doesn't believe, yet isn't offensive about it? I'm not sure. The trouble is, if you go too far towards being polite, the label that applies is "doormat. Hi! Would you consider Halting State and Rule 34 Cyberpunk? I was heavily reminded of Neal Stephensons early books (the craziness of Snow Crash mixed with more current-day themes like Cryptonomicon. Halting State" and "Rule 34" are cyberpunk only insofar as we are living in a 1980s cyberpunk dystopia, and these are very much novels of our time (plus 10-20 years. What I've learned during my life is that the near future is 90% identical to the present. if you buy a new car today, it'll probably still be on the road in 2022. Another 9% is predictable from existing tech roadmaps: Intel's projected roadmap for where their processors are going, SpaceX's order book for satellite launches, and so on. And 1% is totally bugfuck crazy and impossible to predict. (Go back to 1982 and the idea that the USSR would have collapsed and been replaced by hyper-capitalist oligarchs would have earned you a straitjacket, never mind a book contract. Go back to 1992 and the idea that the USA and Iran would be fighting a proxy war on the internet would have. well, ditto. While I love the Laundry books I consider A Colder War one of your best works, is there a chance that we will get another 'serious' story with Lovecraftian themes? Lovecraftian seriousness: well, book 5 or 6 of the Laundry series is due to get epically grim. Case Nightmare Green? Yup. It's always interesting to learn how different authors approach their craft. What's your "ritual" when writing? TL;DR: I don't have one. Longer version. I want to apologize for keeping this short: I have carpal tunnel issues so I might have to switch to speech recognition soon. I write exclusively using computers. Pens and typewriters can fsck right off. I wrote my first half million words in my teens on a manual typewriter (had to trade it for a new one due to keys snapping from metal fatigue) so I am not a pen or typewriter fetishist. I write almost entlirely on Macs, because: Windows gives me hives. (I first ran into Windows as of Win 2. 11/386, back in the eighties. It did not leave a good taste. I then became a happy UNIX bunny. Mac OSX is the last UNIX workstation class OS standing. So I've learned to put up with its other foibles. I have no set writing routine other than: plant bum in chair in front of keyboard/on sofa under laptop, and start going. Oh, and I drink tea pretty much continuously at a rate of around 1 imperial pint/hour, which sort of enforces screen/keyboard breaks. (I want to apologize for keeping this short: I have carpal tunnel issues so I might have to switch to speech recognition soon) I write exclusively using computers. Does this mean you use speech recognition while writing too? or have you been writing before the AMA and you're at your fatigue point? Speech recognition is utterly crap for writing fiction. If you try reading a novel aloud you'll soon figure out why. written prose style is utterly unlike the spoken word. Why Mac rather than Linux? Esp. considering your background, e. g. Computer Shopper etc. Excellent design values. Why drive a Porsche if you could drive a backhoe? The backhoe's got more torque and you can do cool things with it like digging holes in the road. Yes, but the backhoe isn't a Porsche. It gets out of my way and lets me get stuff done. Seriously, Windows seems designed to make easy tasks hard and hard tasks impossible; Linux would be fine if it came pre-tuned to the hardware, but I've got a long term 30% failure rate getting any given laptop to run it properly with full device support. I can do without the choice between badly designed, bulky, inconvenient machines that work with Linux, and taking pot luck that the latest well-designed sleek ultrabook will actually, um, boot. TL:DR; I've reached an age at which I'd rather pay more for something that "just works" than roll up my sleeves, reach for a spanner, and make it work. Time is money, and the older we get the less of it we've got left. It's said that people have to write a million words of crap before they can rite good stuff. True, in your opinion? No. I wrote two million words of crap. Maybe I'm just a slow learner. Do you just put up with the carpal tunnel when writing? Up to a point. I don't want to permanently damage myself! On the other hand, a couple of days off the keyboard tends to make things somewhat better. What are your views about people pirating your books? Back before the internet we had a name for people who bought a single copy of our books and lent them to all their friends without charging: we called them "librarians. Frankly, I couldn't care less about you loaning a copy of one of my books, on paper, to a friend. In fact, I think it's a good idea. Spreads the word, right? What I do have a problem with is people who sell my work for financial gain without paying me a cut of the proceeds. If money is passing hands, then the customer feels that they've paid for the right to read the work. But if they haven't paid me (or my publishers) then that's siphoning money out of my income stream. Today, we see some "file sharing" sites that rely on fans uploading cracked copies of ebooks, and which then make money off those books by charging for downloads (via cash subscriptions or advertising. Again: I take a dim view of this. They're making money off the back of my work without paying me. 2: Mr. Stross answered this question in far more detail while I was typing the above edit. Thank you! Edit/afterthought] More often than not, piracy is a symptom of an under-provisioned market. People want to buy mp3s but can't? Piracy ensues. Then Apple strong-arms the music studios into the iTunes store and music piracy drops somewhat. The same, I believe, is also happening with ebooks. Do you make a point of turning unpromising-sounding premises into something really extra-ordinary? Or are the back-of-book blurbs just over-simplifying? The back-of-book blurb is not written by the author (any more than the author paints the cover illustration. The sole job of the back-of-book blurb and the cover is to make a reader who is unfamiliar with the author or the book pick the product up in a store, because retail psychology studies show that consumers who handle the merchandise are more likely to buy it. Hi Charlie! I've read much of what you've written, and I just have to say that you have a creativity rarely matched in SF - please keep it up. That said, what gadget do you think is going to have the greatest impact on the way we live in the next few coming years? Something like the Google glasses? Ultra-low power consumption ubiquitous embedded processors powered by ambient light or EM radiation are going to do insane things to our cities in the next 15-30 years. far more significant than google glasses, which are just a slightly different UI (you can do much the same stuff already using a smartphone with motion/orientation/positioning sensors. The radical transparency surveillance state that Brin predicted, open to all? Or data inequality leveraged by the HFT engines of the rich corporations to give them the edge to make a buck of it? Now add ambient genome sensing. not human genomes, but the microbiome soup we live in (remember, sequencer costs are currently obeying Moore's Law) and start wondering where it's all going! Been a fan for a long time. Got hooked via Accelerando (which I understand is something of an old shame at this point. and stayed hooked via Halting State and the Laundry Files. Thanks for the AMA. :D. It's not an old shame, it's simply that I wrote it circa 1998-2004, and my views have changed somewhat over the intervening decade. Can you please expand on that? In what way did your views change? Accelerando is one of my all time favourites. Sure. See: Link to Link to Progress always get met with "but consider the ethics. OK, let me ask you this: if you have a no-shit AI in a box, and it's running, when you switch it off/reboot it/reformat it/send it to the scrap heap, are you murdering a sentient being? Yes/No? Please justify your reasoning. Now consider: your no-shit AI is the adversary in a computer game environment. What happens when you kill it (in-game) What happens when you get tired of the game and delete it? Hint: some fun background reading would be Ted Chiang's "The Lifecycle of Software Objects. Have you ever used unused (or used) ideas from your D&D days in your stories, or vice versa? No. My D&D days are 30 years gone; it'd be a rare idea to survive from that long ago. If you could meet any dead science fiction author for a day, who would you meet and what would you do? Roger Zelazny. And probably a pub crawl then a curry. How hard was it for you to break into the US market? If I'd known how easy it would be, I'd have done it earlier! If you could choose between The Merchant Princes becoming a video game, a movie series, a TV series, and a limited HBO TV series, what format would you choose? Who would you pick for a director and some of the leads? Would you want to do the screenplay yourself? None of those are media formats I consume, so I have no opinion on the options. (Nor do I have any idea who the currently interesting directors or actors are. If I wanted to be in movies, I'd have gone into scriptwriting: the fact that I write novels should be a big hint about what I prefer to do! Final Q: I dislike Dr Who and Star Trek, so I shan't comment further. I dislike Dr. Who and Star Trek. This is like finding out your dad really can't beat up everyone else's dad. They've achieved cult following through character development, but as SF they both have gigantic structural flaws at the plot and tech level; great gaping internal inconsistencies! Although I'm kind of fond of the meta-theory that explains Star Trek as being propaganda intended for external consumption by the Federation, which is actually the Soviet Union in Space in the 24th century. Next you will tell me Nutella doesn't really taste good. Damn you Charles Stross! Damn you to hell! I will still read your books, but I will do so with a smug expression of annoyance; Nutella is okay, but Marmite rocks as a sandwich topping! You must try Vegemite. I like vegemite too. (Alas - this may be TMI - I have a mild yeast intolerance; if I consume too much wheat beer or marmite or vegemite and my next morning will be exceedingly interesting, in a most unpleasant way. I saw that you started writing at the age of 15, novels at that. I'm a younger person myself, and for me and the rest of novel-aspiring-youth, what do you have to tell? Tips, motivation, etc.? Write. Every day, if possible. Finish stuff. Send it out, and when it comes back, send it out again. Step 3 may be a bit premature if you're thinking about professional publication, but at the very least: workshop with other writers, learn to critique their work, learn to understand and listen to their criticism of your work, then apply the skills you learned dissecting other folks' writing to your own stuff. Do you ever read something someone else has written and think "damn, now I cant do that. Who do you read? if you have time) Yes, I sometimes get the "Damn, too late, X] got there first" idea. But seriously? I have time to write 1-2 novels per year, and get roughly novel-sized ideas every month. I have to perform triage on my own writing impulses. So it's usually quite easy to shrug and write something else instead. What I read: while I'm writing, I tend to go off reading fiction for relaxation. especially the challenging stuff. It's too much like the day job. When I do get to chow down on a book, I try to read ones that are nothing like what I'm writing. So, as I'm currently working on a space opera (of sorts) I'm mostly indulging in urban fantasy. Wow, I didn't realise the ideas flew in so fast. Is it morbid to ask if you worry about getting it all written before you die? Im thinking of Terry Pratchett here. Yes, I worry about that. I'm 47. I reckon I can count on 30 more writing years, averaging a book a year (I can't keep up the 2-2. 5 a year I used to do these days. And these days I've gotten round to wondering, for each new idea, do I want to be remembered for this. before I get to the point of spending a year on it. Asimov or Clarke? Neither, although I'm marginally less averse to Clarke's style. Out of curiosity, what about Heinlein? As a writer, at least - let's leave politics aside for the moment. I have written a Heinlein tribute novel. In general, who in sci-fi/SF inspired you, and/or inspires you now? Unfortunately, while most authors who do that. Scalzi, Varley, Robinson, et al. pick Heinlein juveniles, I went for a dirty old man Heinlein tribute novel. Hence "Saturn's Children" and a novel that hinges on the word spung. Have you ever been afraid to actually publish a book for fear of what your fans may think? And how do you deal with writers block, or just actually getting the damn thing started? And lastly, do you read books that aren't in your current genre? And if so, what's your favorite? Publishing is the final step in making a book; if I was afraid to publish one, I wouldn't write it in the first place. (But in general, a little controversy isn't harmful: if anything, it gets people interested. I don't think most of my opinions, political or social, are so far outside of the mainstream that they'd cause massive outrage on a scale liable to provoke death threats or referrals to prosecutors for outraging public decency, so why worry. Writers block: when I get it, it's because my subconscious spotted that I'd make a huge structural mistake in constructing a novel before my conscious mind became aware of it, and threw on the brakes. So I've learned not to sweat it: take two days off, then back up a chapter, read through, and try to work out why I'm suddenly uneasy about continuing. While writing a novel I almost completely stop reading books in the same sub-genre for the duration. Hi there, funnily enough i just finished the Atrocity Archives, which i bought because i bought the Laundry RPG a while back. Awesome book. Loved it. Can't wait to run the game. So do you play Call of Cthulhu or the Laundry at all? Or are you just into the writing side? Strictly writing side. I was heavily into AD&D in my teens (late 1970s-early 1980s) but fell off the RPG habit in the mid-80s and have never gone back to it; my lifestyle today isn't very compatible with having a regular gaming group (too much travel. Which do you enjoy writing more; the Laundry series or harder scifi like Glasshouse and Accelerando? That's a very hard question. If I write too much of anything for too long, I burn out on it. So it helps to vary my output from year to year. That's partly why the Laundry books are coming out at 2-5 year intervals rather than every 12 months. As someone who grew up reading Ian Fleming and HP Lovecraft, I think they're well worth the wait! Just pre-ordered the latest iteration) Also, do you find it difficult to write your more abstract stories like Accelerando? I tried to explain it to a friend once, but failed miserably. Accelerando was murder. It took me more than five years, in the shape of nine stories. One of which ( 5) was so difficult that by way of finding an excuse to dodge having to work on it I accidentally barfed up the first two volumes of the Merchant Princes series. I am a huge fan of yours. Three of my favorite short stories are Missile Gap, A Colder War, and Unwirer. Well, I guess I just really love the whole "Wireless" collection. What inspired you to cross Lovecraft with The Cold War? Fear of nuclear annihilation. I'm a child of the cold war: I didn't live more than 10 miles from a major WarPac nuclear target until the Berlin Wall came down and the CW ended. Knowing you can die horribly at any moment because of decisions made by alien intelligences thousands of miles away who don't even know you exist. there's something Lovecraftian about that, isn't there? At what age did you start writing novels? I began my first novel when I was 15. It went through three drafts, of around 40, 000 words each. If I find it, I'll burn it. (If you read it, you'd thank me: Hahahha I'm 15 now. Every time when i have to do an assignment for school, i don't really know how to start, could you give me some advice, please? Nope. Because I'm nearly a third of a century older than you, and any advice I could give you about school assignments would be slightly out of date. The modern solution is to just wikiwalk until inspired. Or tropeswalk! Actually, no, don't do that. You'll get sucked into TVTropes and suddenly notice that the sun's peeking through your window, you're knee-deep in villain archetypes, and the assignment's due in three hours. Your warning comes too late. Actually, I was semi-immunized to TVTropes by being sent a copy of the Turkey City Lexicon by Bruce Sterling at an impressionable age: Link to What do you think of TV Tropes, in general? Like all good things, it's possible to overdose on it. But for someone who is starting out on developing their critical skills, just being aware of its existence is great: it can make the difference between trying to write a story around a cliche or an original idea, and better still, studying it can eventually clue you in on how to breathe new life into tired tropes. One of the things that I liked about Halting State and Rule 34 was that they are set in a plausible near future where technology has made individuals much more productive than people from 50+ years ago. Given that with technological assistance one worker can now supervise many machines working to produce goods do you think that there will be a resurgence of a leisure class in the first world? Do you think that we are getting to the point where instead of overpaying people to do manual factory work there is room for another model that still resembles modern life? I have no answer to this question. Keynes asked it more than fifty years ago; something has clearly gone wrong, given that the folks with jobs seem to work endless hours while many people can't get a job at all. Nice to see a bit of social marketing, it will be interesting to hear how it compares to the publishers' marketdroid efforts in terms of sales (if you can tease out the stats. Now the important question, favourite beer? My regular session beer is Deuchars IPA ( Link to) It's not an American-style bitterness wars IPA; it's a light, Scottish ale with just enough hops to tell you what it is, and it's weak enough that you can keep drinking it continuously for hours without any risk of waking up in a puddle with KICK ME tattooed on your bum. Any other writing aids? Link to What's your policy/opinion on adverbs? I ask because guys like Stephen King encourage writers to murder every adverb before it ever hits the page, whereas guys like William Gibson (my favorite author) use them liberally. I have no policy, for or against: only a personal style. (Which is to say, I use them when I think it's appropriate to; for example, an internal monologue by a locquacious and verbose narrator is more likely to be larded with adverbs than an exchange of instant messages between cops at a crime scene. I'm a new but big fan. The first book of yours that I read only a few months ago was Accelerando and it absolutely blew my mind! Not only that but it made me very excited for the near future, I see Google Glasses as being a very exciting tech that leads into your vision. Bitcoin: probably not, but it's intriguing enough to be at the root of an entire interstellar finance system in "Neptune's Brood" due next July, 2013. PS I'm really looking forward to seeing you when you come to Perth West Aus next year. Maybe I can buy you a beer! Perth, beer? Sure! Bitcoins as. urrrrgh. Okay. I'll have to read that, then. Hope you got the failure conditions right! I hybridised it with Chaum's digicash. With the added twist that participants in exchanges had to be in different solar systems. It's called "slow money" for a reason. How do you make sure you aren't "inadvertently plagiarizing. I think up ideas a lot but am sure they have already been done somewhere or that I am ripping something off I have read and cannot recall specifically. Original creativity seems difficult. First: plagiarism requires you to copy someone else's words. You can avoid this by, er, not copying! Writing your own story around the same ideas is not plagiarism; at worst, it's being unoriginal. thanks for the books. I love science fiction and appreciate the work that goes into putting out novels to entertain us. Having said that, you're right: coming up with truly new ideas is hard. But I've got a method: I look for a couple of obvious ideas that have been done before (try: folks who can travel at will to parallel universes; in their home world they're the aristocracy, because: magic powers) and then look for the second-order side effects: stuff that other authors didn't dig into (for example: wrt. the previous idea, what are the consequences of these folks' ability for the ongoing economic and political development of their world? Can it have negative consequences? If so, what are they. How long did it take you to become comfortable writing in the second person? I finished reading Rule 34 and it was the first novel* i had read in this style. It took me about a hundred pages of "Halting State" to get the hang of it, and another hundred pages to feel comfortable. I also needed a reason to start doing it (2nd person is the natural voice of the text adventure game. you are in a maze of twisty passages, all alike. A trilogy? Does this mean that a third book is on contract, or that you just have it kicking around in your head? EDIT: Nevermind, you answered this already. Looking forward to it! The Lambda Functionary" is on contract for delivery on July 1st, 2013 and publication around July 3rd, 2014. And I haven't even begun writing it yet. Ulp. Connected intelligence (as in, human intelligence augmented by online sources) seems to be on the perpetual 'five years out' list - do you think projects like Google Glass will finally make this a reality? What sort of timescale would you envisage for mass-adoption? crosses fingures for a 'yes' Hmm. what's wrong with a smartphone with always-on 3G or 4G data and google/wikipedia? Doesn't that qualify? How much pre-planning would you say that you do before starting on a new book? Or do you subscribe more to the "Let's just start writing and see where it takes us" camp? Both: No two books come out the same way. Some I write by the seat of my pants; others are planned in minute detail. The one thing that does happen, every time, though, is that I never get to write a book until I've already been thinking about it for a period of months to years. Unless it's "Glasshouse" time from initial idea to starting writing: 9 days. Rule 34 was one of my favorite reads last year, but I found the title to be a bit of a red herring since (without spoilers) neither memes nor porn ended being a big part of the story's resolution (other than the department Kavanaugh is in when she started. Was that intentional? What is ATHENA if not a meme with legs? The relative lack of porn I'll grant you. Link to Hi Charles, I'm Chinese and I live in Asia and most of the sci fi actually comes from the west. Is this due to cultural reasons, literacy or how technology/future seems to resonate more if written from a western perspective? Also, how can one become a successful sci fi/fantasy writer outside of Europe/America? I have no idea, frankly...

OG link: Actual article: This week, Toronto has been teeming with power brokers, deal makers, social climbers and all the obligatory buzz and glamour and bluster that come when the Toronto International Film Festival takes over the city. While public shrieks have been reserved for the celebrities, private whispers have revolved around a topic that hit closer to home: the departure of Piers Handling, and whoever might succeed him as TIFF's CEO. On the eve of the 42nd annual festival, Handling dropped an unexpected third-act twist into TIFF's narrative: He will be stepping down after 2018's edition. "I felt it was the right moment. Handling told The Globe and Mail in early September. "The timing was personal, and not tied to any unhappiness with the organization. The move marks the end of a 23-year career with one of the largest festivals in the world, and caps a lifetime spent in the trenches of cinema. "It's a vocation for me; it's never been a job. he said. "I'm one of the luckiest guys in the world. There are countless cinephiles who would agree, and might happily queue for blocks and blocks – the length of a rush-ticket line outside Roy Thomson Hall, perhaps – for the chance to step into Handling's shoes. But whoever ends up taking this position will have a job that goes far beyond hobnobbing with Angelina Jolie or sipping wine with Francis Ford Coppola. The new CEO will have to steer the organization through one of the rockiest phases in its history and address an identity crisis that may be Handling's lasting legacy. While it may not be obvious from its glitzy exterior, with its red carpets, smiling celebrities and buzzy premieres, the festival that put Toronto on the map – and generates an estimated 189-million for the city – is grappling with increasingly pressing challenges. Industry veterans complain that the two-week event is bloated and no longer a great place to do business, while Toronto-based film fans grouse about ticket prices and long lineups. Audiences aren't showing up for screenings at the Lightbox building on King Street West, designed to provide a headquarters for TIFF year-round and serve as a draw for both local film lovers and tourists. And the medium of film itself is losing its lustre as streaming sites such as Netflix and Amazon Prime shift viewers' focus toward small screens. Meanwhile, the organization is grappling with a deficit and an exodus of senior staff. Conversations with more than 40 current and former TIFF employees, as well as about two dozen other individuals close to the organization, present a picture of an institution whose vision is unarticulated and whose current business model appears to diverge with industry and audience trends. Many who've left TIFF also complain about a challenging work environment. (Many of The Globe's sources agreed to speak only on the condition that they not be identified, due to concerns that this will negatively affect their careers in the arts industry. Last weekend, TIFF started the year-long farewell tour of the man who helped "TIFF become the festival it is today: the largest public event dedicated to films lovers in the world. But like many media executives, Handling didn't count on the world changing. Whoever inherits the organization he's leaving behind may have a difficult time finding their own Hollywood ending. The Dusty Dream Like many showbiz daydreams, TIFF was conceived on a Cannes terrace, right near the bar. It was at the famed Carlton Hotel where, in the '70s, Toronto lawyer Dusty Cohl perfected the art of the liquid lunch, cozying up to critics and studio executives during his annual jaunts to the French Riviera. Cohl floated the idea of a Toronto film festival with his friend Bill Marshall, a communications expert who had formed his own film company. The pair teamed up with Henk Van der Kolk, a former architect who worked alongside Marshall producing films for the Ontario government, and TIFF was born. In 1976, the trio announced Toronto's first "Festival of Festivals. a week-long celebration of international cinema. Film-starved Torontonians ate up its 80 movies and 6 passes, with 7, 000 people hitting the fest each day. Steadily, the annual event grew in size, prominence and star power, with Hollywood studios eager to show off Oscar-friendly wares to a passionate audience, and celebrities happy to show up for media junkets that didn't require a transatlantic flight. Four decades later, TIFF is huge – one of the biggest events in the film industry calendar, and easily the highest-profile charity in the Canadian arts landscape. The festival now showcases hundreds of films – the 2016 program featured 296 (more than twice as many as Sundance and six times the Cannes offering) but the growth has been accompanied by industry griping. "To put it bluntly, TIFF has become a dumping ground, serving up hundreds of new movies with hardly any discernible sense of curation. Variety magazine's chief film critic, Peter Debruge, wrote at the close of last year's event. Industry deal makers used to show up at the festival expecting to see – and acquire – must-see films, movies they could rely on to become big-screen hits and Oscar contenders. But with so many films in the mix, no [media] outlet …. can see and review everything, potential buyers don't know what to check out, and publicists find it virtually impossible to bring attention to small, deserving films that get steamrolled by the sheer volume on offer. Debruge wrote. As a result, filmmakers seem less keen on bringing their work to TIFF – a fact that became abundantly clear at the festival's opening press conference on July 25, where Handling and artistic director Cameron Bailey introduced this year's program. A week earlier, Venice had snagged the buzzy Matt Damon comedy Downsizing for its opening. The month before, New York got Richard Linklater's Last Flag Flying, starring Oscar catnip Steve Carell and Bryan Cranston. TIFF needed a similar show stopper – a blockbuster that matters, like Blade Runner 2049, or a lightning bolt from someone setting the world on fire, like Xavier Dolan. But on that morning in July, Handling and Bailey didn't announce an opening film, promising answers on that front later. In the end, the under-the-radar tennis biopic Borg vs. McEnroe kicked off the fest – a film that isn't even the buzziest tennis biopic of the season (that would be the Emma Stone drama Battle of the Sexes. It was the continuation of a trend that saw competing festivals Venice and Telluride snapping up world premieres – Moonlight and La La Land last year; Battle of the Sexes and The Shape of Water this year – leaving Toronto with warmed-over seconds. This year's festival has scaled back somewhat – in February, organizers revealed that the 2017 event would have two fewer venues and 20 per cent fewer films, providing what a TIFF press release described as a more "tightly curated" experience. But TIFF has grown in other ways, too, and there is an increasing sense that the organization's current challenges can be traced back to one particular expansion: the construction of the TIFF Lightbox, the highly ambitious downtown building that was designed to be the crown jewel of the organization. Home to the festival offices and to three floors of cinemas and exhibition space, the Lightbox was intended to attract film lovers and tourists throughout the year. But its screenings and events have failed to generate big box office. For Handling, the idea for a headquarters had been brewing since 1987, when he was named programming director – but it was an idea with history, too. "The voyage to this building is the dream that not just I had, but a few others, including [former festival director] Wayne Clarkson, to build a centre of critical study somewhere in Canada. said Handling, who spoke with The Globe alongside artistic director Cameron Bailey and COO Michele Maheux in late August, two weeks before announcing his retirement. "Why in the hell did we, as Canadians, have to go elsewhere. The Lightbox was no small project. Unlike, say, the single-screen Hot Docs cinema a few blocks north, TIFF wanted five screens housing 1, 400 seats – plus museum-scale exhibitions, a film reference library and archive, a retail store, and a vast array of educational and community-outreach initiatives. It was a dedicated space for the devout cinephile – and an unprecedented move in the art-house world. The first warning sign against erecting a high-brow multiplex in the early throes of a digital age was just how difficult it was to come up with the money. Plans for the building were revealed in 2003, but TIFF struggled for years to reach its fundraising target of 196-million. "We thought it would take three to five years. said Brendan Calder, a former board chair. "It took 10. Dalton McGuinty's Liberals kicked in 35-million – plus a low-interest provincial loan of 46-million, which was made possible after TIFF was deemed an "arts training facility" by Queen's Park in 2009. When the Lightbox finally opened its doors in 2010, Handling proclaimed that it would "put Toronto on the international map year-round. becoming a "magnet" that would walk the fine line between cinematic integrity and commercial viability. In the seven years since, the industry landscape has changed dramatically. At the turn of the decade, the conversion from celluloid to digital projectors seemed like the biggest possible industry shakeup. Now, the rise of streaming services and digital downloads has radically altered the business model and institutions are forced to innovate or die trying. As evidenced from this summer's movie season – the worst in more than a decade – fewer and fewer people are going out to the movies. Major chains like Cineplex have diversified, inching away from cinema and closer toward interactive entertainment. The British Film Institute, which runs the London Film Festival, augments its brick-and-mortar cinemas with a vast array of digital content from its archives. The Sundance Institute has branched out into subscription-based streaming services, offering an archive of past presentations for home streaming. The Venice Film Festival offers selections on a pay-per-view model. Toronto's Hot Docs festival enjoys branded partnerships with everyone from iTunes to the Cineplex Store, and is expanding into Britain for Hot Docs London. Film organizations across the world must now do a delicate dance between accommodating new digital demands and ensuring that the theatrical experience isn't sacrificed in favour of disruptive technology. Cannes has already tripped over the issue, allowing Netflix films to compete for its prestigious Palme d'Or Award this year, drawing angry complaints from French theatre owners. TIFF has lurched and stumbled in its quest to keep up. Its website doesn't make any of the festival's films available to home viewers, limiting its content instead to a small collection of National Film Board productions and a tangled web of poorly-promoted podcasts, press-conference videos and editorial posts. Over the past year, TIFF has at least begun playing catch-up, investing 700, 000 into the digital arena in an effort to expand its global audience and drive new revenue. But for the most part, Handling has placed his biggest bet on the Lightbox – a gamble that doesn't seem to be paying off. TIFF doesn't make attendance numbers for its Lightbox screenings publicly available, so it's difficult to gauge exactly how many filmgoers the Lightbox is attracting (or how much money it's bringing in. But the King Street West venue hasn't become a significant draw for film enthusiasts. The Lightbox's attendance has plunged – 49, 000 fewer visitors last year, a drop of 27 per cent, according to figures recently reported in the Toronto Star. Its gallery space – designed to showcase the visions of cinema's most iconic filmmakers – saw most of its exhibitions staff quietly axed this past fall. And its marketing barely escapes the Lightbox's walls. Unless you are a TIFF member or one of the city's most avid filmgoers, you could walk by the Lightbox and remain blissfully unaware of a single thing that goes on inside. TIFF "still has a world-class brand. said Barry Avrich, a filmmaker and former board member, but it's going to take some fresh vision from retail, consumer programming and marketing experts, given how the lines have become intensely blurred when it comes to how people watch film. They will have to experiment with programming to find the right blend of function and relevance. Who's next? When Handling, 68, announced his retirement, TIFF's official press release noted he has been director and CEO "for almost 25 years. since 1994. Few, if any, comparable arts organizations have witnessed such a long executive tenure – which makes succession that much harder and more delicate a task. Most inside and outside the Lightbox agree that Cameron Bailey is the heir apparent. Like Handling, Bailey comes to TIFF with a deep appreciation for film. His cinematic education blossomed in university, while studying at the University of Western Ontario, where he got his honours degree in English literature. "It was a contemporary cinema course, which began with Godard's Breathless. Bailey told The Globe two years ago. "It then went everywhere but Hollywood, so it was Asian cinema, it was Latin American and Brazilian cinema novo, it was Italian and African film. That introduced whole new worlds to me. Bailey worked as a film critic before joining TIFF in 1990 as a programmer, securing the position of festival co-director in 2007 after Noah Cowan relinquished the post to become artistic director of the Lightbox. (Cowan, the original heir apparent to Handling, would depart in 2014 for the San Francisco Film Society. Along the way, Bailey became a familiar, dapper talking head when it comes to matters of cinema, able to work both a room of cineastes and a dinner table of wealthy donors, in contrast to Handling's more introverted persona – a self-described "loner. Great leaders paint a vision, and the avatar for great leadership is storytelling. said Ron Moore, a former long-time TIFF board member. "Every great executive I've worked with tells a story – to consumers, to staff, to get people to buy the story or work for it. Cameron has those skills. Does he have the day-to-day [profit and loss] experience? No, but you can learn that – there's no mystery to those things – if he wants to. That seems to be the case. In addition to quietly taking on an expanded Lightbox role last fall – essentially assuming the responsibilities left vacant by Cowan three years ago – Bailey recently enrolled as a guest student at an intensive Rotman School of Management course for soon-to-be MBA graduates, taught by former TIFF board chair Calder. It seems to be a question of when, not if, Bailey will take over. Yet when pressed in an interview last month – two weeks before Handling's departure was announced – Bailey demurred. Taking Calder's course, he said, was about "learning to be a better manager, it doesn't go beyond that. A lot of people are subject-matter experts here, and they've risen in the ranks and now are managing people. Meanwhile, TIFF is undertaking a global search for Handling's replacement – possibly a formality, or an indication that the board wants to avoid placing another "diehard film geek. as Handling has often been described, into a role that now requires serious business acumen, and the proven ability to put butts in seats. "Cameron is great, but you have to wonder about the last time they put a person who came up through programming in charge. said one source close to the operation. "They now need to keep business top of mind. Jennifer Tory, chair of the TIFF board, told The Globe that the organization will be looking for, among other things, someone who can keep up with the fast pace of change in the film industry – "someone very comfortable with innovation, and continuing to evolve the organization. The health of the Lightbox, and TIFF itself, may depend upon it. Inside the lightbox On paper, one of TIFF's recent bets, Something in the Air: The Cinema of Olivier Assayas, was the perfect fit for the Lightbox. The summer-long retrospective was a complete look at one of today's top filmmakers. TIFF even managed to get Assayas himself to make four in-person appearances to discuss his oeuvre. When the series kicked off on June 22, with the French filmmaker appearing before a rare 35mm print of his 1994 film Cold Water, it attracted an almost sold-out crowd of 200 people to Cinema 3 – but earned just 1, 200 (more than a quarter of the tickets were complimentary. The following night, Assayas's introduction of Clean brought in 140 people, for about 1, 000. The day after that, a digital restoration of the director's classic 1996 satire Irma Vep brought in 95 people, for 630. Subsequent screenings averaged about 65 people. New-release programming has also failed to catch fire: One recent selection, Lady Macbeth, got a huge internal push, but on the first Saturday of its opening weekend in July, only 220 people showed up for eight screenings across the building's two biggest theatres. Provocative titles that might lure in curious Lightbox newbies bypass the building completely (the arty cannibal tale Raw went to the Royal; Terrence Malick's sex-and-soliloquy epic Song to Song played Cineplex's Yonge-Dundas; Ashley McKenzie's remarkable Werewolf languished at the tiny Carlton. TIFF has undoubtedly experienced, and engineered, hits. Its Cinematheque program has a fiercely loyal crowd. And Moonlight was championed by Bailey from its festival debut to its months-long run at the Lightbox, where it earned about 320, 000. But it was not exclusive to TIFF, and pulled in 440, 000 a few blocks north, at the Cineplex-owned Varsity. According to comScore, box office for the Lightbox's year-round programming grossed between 1. 2-million and 1. 3-million last year, including taxes. Subtract distribution fees – 40 to 45 per cent – and it's likely its screenings contributed, in net terms, between roughly 660, 000 and 780, 000 to TIFF's earned revenue of 20. 5-million. Combined with a thinning attendance, the numbers represent a serious challenge if TIFF is relying on old-school film exhibition to help pay off at least some of the 33-million that was still outstanding on its provincial government loan as of Dec. 31. But Handling defended TIFF's high-minded programming in his interview with The Globe. "We'd love to have more people doing every activity we're involved with. But we're trying to show certain films that we think are transformative. he said. "The exclusives, it's nice when you get them. But the raison d'etre of the building isn't that. Certainly, they run a host of charitable programs for the community, including the Share Her Journey campaign which aims to get more women in front of and behind the camera. Still, the yawning gap between the art-house films showcased at the Lightbox and the increasingly commercial offerings of the annual festival reflects what some have called an identity crisis at TIFF. Is it an arts-focused forum for esoteric, global cinema or a market-based organization that serves the business needs of the movie-making industry? Even if screenings aren't the Lightbox's sole purpose, its other initiatives are flailing as well. Handling once told The Globe that the "biggest risk" for the Lightbox is its museum-style exhibitions. TIFF made a splash in 2010 with its initial offering, the Tim Burton exhibit on loan from New York's Museum of Modern Art, which attracted 111, 000 paying visitors over five months. Subsequent efforts have been less successful (Grace Kelly drew 48, 000) or flops (Federico Fellini had about 10, 000. And so, last fall, TIFF eliminated the majority of its exhibitions department – although its fate may have been sealed years before. "The demise of the exhibition program was when Cowan left. He was the one who championed it. said Barr Gilmore, who designed TIFF exhibitions such as the Fellini and Stanley Kubrick shows. "But doing two or three major exhibitions in a year is a lot. There was a conversation about, are we a museum or a consumer art gallery or both? That never got resolved. Cowan said that when "the theory of exhibitions met reality, it was a bit more difficult. We were told going in that Toronto is a hard city when it comes to museums and galleries. Handling said. "The financial risk was very high, so we decided the priorities of the organization were going to be somewhat different. For now, as the Art Gallery of Ontario prepares to open its Guillermo del Toro: At Home with Monsters exhibit, TIFF will use its gallery space for press conferences and event rentals. The revenue will likely be appreciated. While TIFF gets an undisclosed share from the two Oliver & Bonacini restaurants in the Lightbox, it doesn't receive parking revenue from the underground lot – unlike nearby Roy Thomson Hall, home of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, which earns 1. 85-million in parking revenue each year. Nor does it appear to be maximizing the revenue potential of its ground-level retail space, some of which currently sits empty. The festival now faces a 1-million deficit, though Handling suggests this isn't a cause for concern. "Our operating deficit last year was 200, 000, and then we invested another 700, 000 in digital. he said. "It was a blip. We have a rigorous finance and audit committee on the board, and an extremely competent CFO in Doug [Allison. A request for an interview with Allison was denied. TIFF's new five-year plan for 2018-2022, authored by Bailey and Allison, aims to offer a turnaround. An early draft of the strategy, titled "Audience First" and obtained by The Globe ahead of its planned fall release, arrives with a bold declaration: From 2018-2022, TIFF will direct our focus more toward audience – more people, more often, more impact. Our future starts now. The plan acknowledges that, Our main product used to be film. Now our main service must be transformative experiences through film. And Bailey and Allison identify "key actions" on how to get there, including "Designing Lifelong Learning Stream" and "Leveraging Audience Data. But the steps read like platitudes at best ( Tailor Lightbox Spaces to Audience Segments" or daydreams at worst (despite backing away from exhibitions, one suggestion is a "Year-Round Attraction at the Lightbox" to drive a 500, 000 annual increase in revenue; another seeks a growth in paid audience numbers by at least 22 per cent by 2022. Another part of the plan is a "reimagining" of the entire building. "We want to make sure the building is actually tuned to the audience segments we're going after. Bailey said recently. As a not-for-profit, TIFF is designed to end the year at either zero or with a slight surplus. But with faltering attendance at the Lightbox, there is a natural pressure to find other, more corporate – and patron-friendly – ways to pay its operating costs and satisfy its debt, a pressure that may have crept into TIFF's shiniest offering: the festival. Whose festival is it? When Marshall, Cohl and Van der Kolk first imagined the ideal Festival of Festivals attendee, they were likely picturing someone like Matthew Price. The bookseller and movie fanatic started attending TIFF in 1992, and for 24 years, he planned his year around those 11 days in September. But last year, something changed. The crowds seemed more business-oriented, and the costs more prohibitive. A decade ago, a single adult ticket was less than 22, including tax; today, an evening or weekend ticket runs from 28 to 35, and that's not including galas or "premium" screenings (52 to 59. You could also be hit with a 2 to 7 surcharge, thanks to the "dynamic" pricing initiative introduced last year. So, Price walked away. "It evolved away from why I started going. he said. "It's more about courting people who aren't regular moviegoers, who are there for the parties. As the festival grows, as it fragments the audience, it becomes less fun. Price isn't alone. Last year's festival saw 2, 800 fewer attendees – not a huge number considering the event's 381, 000 total, but a worrisome dip given that in the past, attendance only rose. Certain audiences may have realized that TIFF was increasingly interested in glossier, more sponsor-friendly programming. The 2017 slim-down, for instance, saw the elimination of TIFF's least commercial and artistically most unconventional slates: City to City, which showcased films from a different metropolis each year, and Vanguard, a mature version of the Midnight Madness lineup. Perhaps to compensate local cinephiles, TIFF this year offered a range of free events, including a screening of Dunkirk at the Cinesphere, and restorations of Canadian classics like Rude. But it again closed King Street, creating traffic chaos for the sake of marketing – the street is typically filled with booths and tables hosted by corporate sponsors – and subtly boosting TIFF's annual attendance numbers in the process. (The organization counts the thousands of people who pass through "Festival Street" as participants in free TIFF programming, enabling it to claim a total annual audience figure of 2. 89 million people last year. One senior source dismisses that figure, which includes 989, 000 "free attendance" participants, as "holding a finger in the air and making assumptions. The pivot away from transformative cinematic experiences toward brand-friendly marketing opportunities makes sense from a financial standpoint. Corporate sponsorships contributed about 10. 6-million of TIFF's 40. 5-million annual budget for 2016, although that figure represented an 18-per-cent drop over the previous year. Handling and COO Maheux explain the loss as another one-time aberration, however. One sponsor that fell through "was a phone that started blowing up on planes. Maheux said. "That was 11th-hour. Boom. Gone. And Tory said TIFF has hired a new major gifts officer, Debra Kwinter, a fundraiser from Mount Sinai Hospital, who she expects will develop a strong case for support for the organization. Many of its big, long-time sponsors did renew, including Bell and Visa, who each signed on for another five years. Loring Phinney, vice-president of corporate marketing for Bell – the name that has adorned the Lightbox since it opened – called TIFF an "exceptional" sponsorship host. Brenda Woods, Vice President of Marketing for Visa Canada, said that after 20 years of TIFF sponsorship (which this year included the Visa screening room at the Princess of Wales Theatre, as well as a presence on King Street's "activation alley. her company still sees "incredible value" for its cardholders. Asked whether he was worried about future corporate sponsorships, Handling replied, I wouldn't say there's panic. Concern? You bet. But this organization raises far more money from the corporate sector than any arts institution in the country. The growth area is philanthropy. That's where we're putting major resources. Finding new ways to bring in money has always been a goal of TIFF's, and long-time festival goers like Matthew Price also raise their eyebrows at what they see as the organization's increasing tilt toward privilege and access. Case in point: TIFF Noir, an invitation-only program launched in 2011 that offers "a superlative new level of membership" so elite that it's reserved for just 50 people, according to the welcome package. "A card that grants you access so complete, you require nothing else. No tickets. No lineups. No sold-out screenings. Simply all of the unparalleled and exclusive privileges you deserve. When it was launched, TIFF Noir cost 25, 000 per year. The cost of ultimate access today: 35, 000. Adam Moryto, an actor whose grandfather founded Ontario's Ram Forest Products, is a Noir member. He likened TIFF today to a fence: there are those on the inside, and those clamouring to get in. "There's a price to pay for that. he said. "Money does make the world go round. The trouble inside The salaries of TIFF's top ranks appear in line with similar organizations elsewhere. In 2016, Handling made 352, 000 – more than, say, Lesli Klainberg (321, 000, according to 2015 figures) executive director of the Film Society of Lincoln Centre, but less than Sundance executive director Keri Putnam (580, 000 in 2015. He and 16 other TIFF employees appear on the Sunshine List, the annual report that details all public-sector employees earning 100, 000 or more per year. (Charitable agencies that receive more than 1-million from Queen's Park are required to disclose top salaries. But at the lower end of the TIFF spectrum, many current and former employees said their compensation didn't reflect what they described as punishing work. Some who have worked in the middle of the organization reported earning less than 45, 000. A number said they were willing to take less money than they could have made elsewhere, because they wanted TIFF to succeed in its charitable mission, but didn't anticipate the long work hours and stress that extended beyond the festival period. Festival hours are one thing – everyone goes into TIFF knowing September and the month leading up to it is a nightmare. The shock, they said, came during the rest of the year, the result of what some described as a high-pressure atmosphere designed to drive revenue in the Lightbox. The problems appear to extend to management levels and above: Three of TIFF's four vice-presidents and two departmental directors have left since 2016. For his part, Handling said there are "probably rough edges" to the organization, but he said he takes such concerns seriously. "I don't feel I work in a toxic work environment, but I'm not one of the other 200 employees. he said. "I think I have my pulse on certain things, but I think when you're an organization of that size, there may be people who feel this is maybe not the right organization for them. At an average annual rate of 18 per cent, TIFF's staff turnover is "below the Ontario benchmark of 25 per cent. according to a spokesperson citing the Boland Survey, which examines the non-profit sector. Yet a Boland official notes its work is based on a "small sample size" and is "not a representative survey. The churn is higher than that of comparable arts organizations including the Ontario Arts Council, the Canadian Opera Company, the TSO, the National Arts Centre, and the Royal Ontario Museum, whose staff churn rates hovered last year between five and 13 per cent. While TIFF didn't supply its churn rate for 2016, The Globe found at least 45 employees, or about 22 per cent, had left between September, 2016, and August, 2017. The departures were both voluntary and involuntary, though some had more pressing reasons than others. Jennie Robinson Faber worked for TIFF in 2016 as a creative technology lead and was responsible for relaunching the website. The job was huge – Faber was hired in January, but the deadline to complete the job was July and she was assigned only a three-person team. Still, she was motivated by TIFF's brand. "It was an obvious problem that I had the skill set to help solve. she said. Like other staff across various departments, Faber described an untenable work environment rife with miscommunication, mismanagement and a questionable overtime policy. (TIFF does not pay overtime; staff can instead accrue up to 16 days of lieu time, a limit many call grossly inadequate given the demands of festival season. I would not hesitate to call it exploitative. They would not be able to do what they've done without exploiting people. Faber said. "My health suffered. Even after festival season, you launch right into fall season. There's never time to see if people are okay. And people are not okay. Bailey acknowledged that culture is something he's been tackling head-on since taking on his expanded role in the Lightbox this past winter. "We've got a more integrated team, we're meeting every Monday afternoon, talking as an organization, as opposed to 'my area vs. my area. that kind of thing. he said. "We're still in the early stages of that … but it's now one conversation, where it was a little fractured in the past. Maheux chalked up the turnover to the young age of TIFF's work force. Our staff] is an average age of 36 and more than 20 per cent of the team is under 30. she said. "The average for a millennial in any workplace … is 1. 8 years. A lot of people, they've either hit the ceiling here or want to move on. Handling added. "Is it tough to see them go? It's heartbreaking for me, for some of them. But they've gone on and flourished. The future As the festival wraps up this weekend, what will TIFF be celebrating? It might be the pride of attracting the brightest lights of Hollywood. Perhaps the fact that, 42 years after Cohl, Marshall and Van der Kolk had a crazy dream, Handling and his team helped make it a reality, again and again. Whatever the cause, it is hard to deny the wave of excitement that ripples across the city every September – a feeling equally hard to recapture during the rest of the year inside the Lightbox, Handling's lasting gift to the organization. In the waning days of August, a week before Handling would announce his departure, the lobby of the Lightbox was nearly empty. Upstairs, inside Cinema 4, a screening of Lady Macbeth was in progress. The sound was perfect. The visuals were crisp. The seats were comfy. It was an enjoyable afternoon for the entire audience – of four people. TIFF's new CEO will no doubt aim to fill more of those seats. As the organization's strategic plan notes, TIFF's future "starts now. and the new mantra appears to be "more people, more often, more impact. To transform the way people see the world through film, then, TIFF will need to transform itself. Enjoy the show.

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The booksellers documentary review. I wonder if there are any places like this around today. I, II, III, IV Darkness devoured us as soon as we stepped out into the hall. The sound of shallow breaths and my pounding heart thundered in my head. After a moment, a mechanical buzz hummed through the halls, and the lights—well, half of them, anyway—flickered back on, partially illuminating the industrial halls. Black scoring marred the concrete walls, scorched in the corners where turrets once stood. Five withered husks of bodies lined the floors, stretching out into the shadows beyond. “Hes here, ” said Craig, his eyes focused on the sizzled blast doors ahead of us. “Fucking hell! ” yelled Jenna, more angry than scared. Laughter erupted much closer ahead than I wouldve liked. From the shadows emerged glowing red eyes. My heart froze in my chest and I swallowed a heavy gulp. A tremble rushed down my legs. It wasnt the first time that Id seen eyes like that. Nor was it the first time that Id felt this instinctive terror draining me of all warmth. “That fear coming off of you is so, so delicious, ” said a mans voice. A shadow took form behind those red eyes and grew larger, stepping ever closer. Finally, the light caught him. Broad, muscled shoulders on a tall, twisted, terrible body—a demon of a man stepped forward. With scaly skin that glimmered in the light and glinting fangs, he grinned. “Youll give me what I want, Jenna. Or you know Ill take it. ” “Over my dead fucking body, Edgar, ” Jenna shouted back, training an arrow on the creature. “Oh, Jenna, but I do so love that body, ” he laughed. “It will be a pity to ruin it. And pity is not my choicest flavor. ” Jenna fired off five arrows in quick succession, within mere seconds. One caught Edgar in the hollow below his neck, its silver point burning into his iridescent skin. The rest bounced off of the thicker scales of his torso. He grabbed the arrow that had lodged into his skin and flung it from his body with a click of his tongue, “Thats not a very cordial way to treat an ex. ” # My names not Karen, but thats what I go by around here. For any of you degenerates new to this story, let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up: My roommate, Jenna is part of an over 200-year-old organization that well call the League of Demon Exterminators—LODE for short. After my own close-encounter with a soul-sucking entity, Jenna invited me to be her roommate. Thats when I started to discover the shadowy world at the edges of our dimension, protecting us from the ones that lay beyond. The story to follow is one that Ive been stalling on. To be honest, I fucked some things up and its not my proudest tale. But Ive been working on releasing my guilt, and part of that is acknowledging the events as they happened. In short, Im hoping this will be therapeutic. So here we go. Id had a rough year. Id been stalked and hunted by a man who fed off my own goddamn fear. Though I defended myself, I never entirely felt safe anymore. So Jenna, badass that she is, taught me self-defense—and it finally started to give me a sense of control. The day that I finally was able to take Jenna by surprise and knock her on her ass—lucky break though it was—she looked up at me with a grin. “Bloody hell, ” she said in a faux British accent. “I think youre ready to be an apprentice. ” That day, Jenna brought me to LODEs lair: a high-security facility below an unassuming store, K Booksellers. You see, LODE was once the League of Young Scholars: an organization not unlike the ones that trailblazed the modern American library system. But this League had built a very curious collection of books that talked at length about transdimensional portals and the beings who crossed them. While the academic clubs around them made government contracts and turned into public facilities, the League went private so that it could always maintain independence, to operate in secret and head off any threats. So on the outside? In the service floor? It looked like a classier Barnes and Noble. But disengage the (many) floor lockouts in the employee elevator, and a long drop would transport you to a fucking movie set. Tunnels built to withstand disasters—natural or otherwise. Shadowy alcoves securing weapons lockers. Even piping and ducts along the walls and ceiling, like it inspired goddamn Stranger Things. At the time, its concrete and steel halls—secured by turrets, cameras, and locked up tight with blast doors—seemed like the most secure place in all the world. “Whats all of this for? Why would demons ever raid a pit of demon hunters? ” “There are things in this world too valuable to leave unguarded, ” said Jenna. “Join the guild, and youll find out what those are. ” I only smiled. I was just here to humor her. To see what it was about. I wasnt seriously considering dropping my PR day job—which I very much liked—to risk my life hunting demons. We walked until we reached a titanium door with no discernible handles or knobs. Jenna approached and placed her hand on a glass pad beside it, concentrating. Soon, it lit up blue, sounded a chime, and the doors whisked open. We crossed another three doors just the same way, turrets trained on us the whole time. When we finally reached the desired room, I was surprised to find a warm and elegant study, where six others were chatting, reading, and playing chess. Craig and Vikas, I knew. The other four were strangers to me. “Well, well, well, ” said Craig. “Karen? ” Vikas tone betrayed his surprise. “Karens checking out the guild, guys, ” Jenna announced. “I think she has what it takes to become an apprentice. ” Vikas smiled. “I mean, she is pretty much already your sidekick. Why not make it official? ” That sounds like a dig, but you know what? Jenna could call me her sidekick any time of the day. What Robin doesnt think its pretty kickass to be Batmans sidekick? You know, besides for Dick and Jason and Damian? “Sidekick? ” asked a tall, lean, long-necked woman with an indeterminable accent. A woman Id come to know as Helena. “From what I hear, this Karen girl has taken care of herself quite well. Bravo on that soul-sucker, my dear. Nice work. “I hear even Craig got his ass kicked with that one, and hes thrice your size! ” laughed a jovial, bearded man well call Bill. “Make it quadruple and youll come close, ” snarked Craigs chess opponent, Raul. The final person, Mina, didnt even look up. She just kept her nose in her book. “Ignore her, ” said Helena, locking her arm in with mine. “You must be dying to know more-” “Helena, dont go letting your mouth off its leash, ” said Mina. “Shes not official and Franco isnt here to make it so. ” “Well maybe Franco should pop in one of these days, ” said Helena with the same casual complacency of an office worker fed-up with management. “Tell me, darling, ” she turned back to me, “how much, exactly, have you seen? ” “Well-” I hemmed and hawed. “You seem to know about Kyle. So I guess I met a, what, demon? Emotional vampire? ” That brought a smirk to the groups faces. “Oh, dear, ” said Helena. “Noobs are so adorable. Yes, demon and vampire—we might be called that. Nymphs, pixies, fae, too. Around here, youll hear ‘teddies. ” “Teddies? ” Fuzzy little cuddle bears really didnt work with my image of Kyle, or the hellhound Id encountered, either. “TDEs. Transdimensional entities, ” she said. “Thats what we really are. Just people whove come here from other worlds, with other- attributes. ” "And other appetites, most times. laughed Bill. It finally occurred to me that Helena included herself in that group. Her stretched proportions started to make sense. But she didnt look like Kyle. Her skin was smooth and warm, not red and scaly. Still, a chill ran up me. “Other worlds? ” I finally managed. “Oh heavens, yes. There are at least Dimensions X, Y, and Z. Then this one, the one that you call Prime. ” “And, hypothetically, a multitude that we havent even encountered, ” said Vikas. “Maybe even an infinity. ” My head was spinning. “My, ” said Helena. “Jenna darling really hasnt filled you in? OK, sweetie. Think of it like this: reality is sticky, like an ooey, gooey marshmallow. Its what binds us all together. And if were building a celestial smore, dimensions are the graham crackers: parallel, rigid, never meeting. But a hole occasionally rips in the ooey, gooey marshmallow filling, creating a tunnel between worlds. Those tunnels open us up to the beings who live in other dimensions. ” “The teddies, ” I said. Helena nodded with a grin. “Indeed. Teddies arent so common, perhaps, but there are a handful in most cities. You just dont see it, because were usually sealed away in a form from this dimension. ” “Taking on a form from their current dimension helps build stability, ” said Vikas. “Otherwise its too easy to wander into a, uh, burnt bit of the smore and get caught between dimensions. ” OK, marshmallows. Smores. I can get that, I thought. “So Queequegs Pomeranian form-” Helena smiled. “This ones a quick learner. Yes, darling. Thats his seal. And I do say, a fluffy little thing like that is rather more appealing than a three-headed hellhound. ” I couldnt argue there. "So what causes those holes. Excellent question. said Helena. "Surely you've heard of wormholes. Helena, that's enough. said Mina, gruffly. "Dear, wormholes are just basic science. said Helena. "Nothing she didn't learn about in middle school. Or, knowing Jenna, nights on the couch watching Star Trek. Sometimes a wormhole is just a wrinkle in spacetime, linking two disparate points. said Vikas. "But when the fabric of spacetime is already weak. Er- when the marshmallow is too burnt. Sometimes that hole punches through dimensions instead, introducing two graham crackers that should never, ever meet. finished Helena. Mina rolled her eyes, huffing, and turned to Jenna. "Helena can't help herself when she gets started. This is on you for bringing a civvie without adding it to the agenda. Jenna handed me a cup of hot cocoa and took a sip of her own. "Will you relax, Mina? She's as in as any apprentice. But should she be. asked Mina, eyeing me. I felt a bead of sweat form on my temple under that scrutinizing gaze. "I, uh, I can go. Fuck no, Karen. said Jenna. “Dont let her bully you out. ” Helena smiled. “Crass but correct, darling. Stick around. Ill call Franco if I must. ” “N- no, ” I said. I didnt know who this Franco guy was, but if he was so important yet so busy that he didnt come of his own initiative, who was I to disrupt him? “Ill just go. Well schedule some time with Franco later. ” “Are you sure? ” asked Craig “Absolutely I am, ” I grinned. “Guys, I was going to jet soon anyways, ” said Vikas. “Ill walk her out- ya know, since she doesnt have clearance yet. ” “Fine, ” Jenna finally relented. “Well do this another time. Sorry to drag you out here, Karen. Helena will give me a ride home. Vikas, thanks. ” “You got it, ” he said. Within a few minutes, hed gathered his things and we started through the blast doors. Once we got to the elevator, Vikas turned to me and said, “Sorry about Mina. Shes actually the newest of us. Some of us think that shed like to keep it that way. ” I chuckled. “Trust me; Im a youngest sibling. Id have died if another one came along. ” Vikas rolled his eyes. “Good lord, youre one of those. ” On the sidewalk, we said our goodbyes and each turned opposite ways around a corner. But only a few steps out of view, a man stumbled into me breaking his jog. "Rats. the man muttered to himself, totally unaware of me. "I missed Vikas. You know Vikas. I asked. His eyes widened as though it was the first time he'd noticed me. "Oh, man. I am so sorry. Pardon me. Are you hurt? I was trying to catch my friend- I forgot my keys and I have a meeting to get to. Franco. I asked, putting two and two together. "Yes, in fact I am. How did you know that. Well, I'm Jenna's friend—her roommate, and. Jenna's friend? Oh, my dear. Yes, Jenna did mention a new roommate that she might bring by. What happened? Did Mina scare you off. I could feel my cheeks light up red and hot. "Well. My, my, we must fix that. he said. "Come along. Do you have your keys. No. I'm not even official yet. Mina said we should wait for you. Oh, of course. said Franco. "That does make sense. Well, let's go inside. Someone is bound to come bring us down. He walked me over to K's backdoor in the alley and opened it with a quick tug at the lock. As we walked, he took out his phone and started punching in a text. "I'll let Jenna or whomever know to come get us. Here, let's sit at the cafe. I'll make us a drink while we wait. It could be a few minutes. He led me to the cafe and switched on a light. I tried to suppress the anxiety in my chest—the same unease I'd felt around any stranger since Kyle. I was, after all, in the safest place in the world. Jenna was just downstairs, along with her Craig and four other guildees. And this guy seemed to know them all. I mean, everyone was talking about him. I could hear the whine of the espresso machine, and I turned to him—an exercise in embracing the ways of a Karen. "Oh, I don't take coffee. I'll have a tea or cocoa, though. Right away. he chirped, like a barista on his first day. “So tell me, Karen: Whats Jenna up to these days? She still looking fine as ever? ” That did strike me as odd. Theyd said that Franco hadnt been to meetings lately, but the way he was talking about Jenna wasnt the way friends or colleagues did. “Oh yeah, ” I said, breezily. “Same old, you know. ” Under the table, I pulled out my phone and fired off a quick text. Are you coming to get us? This Franco guys a little weird. “Earl Grey? Irish breakfast? Green? ” asked Franco. “Do you have an oolong? ” I asked, stalling for more time, when a message popped up on my phone. Franco? What the fuck are you talking about? Then a beat later, Where are you? Im upstairs in the cafe with a guy who says hes Franco. He seems to know all of you. “Millennials and your phones, huh? ” said Franco, suddenly standing over me. I chuckled, tucking my phone away. “What, arent you a Millennial? ” “More of a Gen X, ” he said with a grin that made my skin crawl, setting a cup of tea in front of me. I took it in my hands. I couldnt let him see that I was afraid. So I took a deep breath, pretending to cool my drink, and dragged out some confidence from the very pit of me. “So how did you meet Jenna, anyways? ” “Why, from the League, Kare-” he paused in his tracks. “Oh, how inhospitable. I forgot the sugar. One sec-” He disappeared into the kitchen, and within seconds, Jenna and Craig came running up, Jennas bow at the ready. Jennas head flipped back and forth, and she signaled to Craig to look behind the counter. “Karen, what are you doing here? Wheres Vikas? ” “He left, just before this Jason Schwartzman-looking guy popped up-” Jennas face paled. “Jason- Fuck. Fuck. ” She clasped her head for a second, then whipped out her phone. “OK, Karen. I need you to text Vikas and tell him to haul ass back here. Ill let the others know. Call in some damn reinforcements while I'm at it-” “This areas clear, but the back door is open, ” said Craig. “Yeah, ” said Jenna. “Edgar knows were onto him. ” Edgar. Jennas ex. The dickhole, as she affectionately calls him. “That was Edgar? ” “It wasnt fucking Franco. Hes more of a Bill Murray son of a bitch, ” said Jenna, typing furiously at her phone. I did the same, but as I was clicking send, a loud rumble broke through the room around us. Before I could even see what Jenna was firing at, shed pulled her bow and loosed dozens of arrows. “Karen, this is above your pay grade, get the fuck out of here. ” Craig hopped over the service counter and stood back-to-back with Jenna. Several of the shadowy assailants had fallen, but at least three others stepped into the light. Their human exteriors began to melt off, as red ridges formed under their skin. “The counters clear, ” said Craig. “Go. ” I looked at them, then back to the six glowing eyes. Terror washed over me. A vicious hissing filled the air, then the low grumble of a predator stalking its prey. So I ran. The service door led me to a dark alleyway. The street lights flickered, pulsing in and out. I bolted for the street where my car was parked. But as I rounded the corner, I heard a familiar voice. “You caught on. Not quickly, but you did, ” said Edgar, smirking. “Stay the fuck back, ” I demanded, lowering myself into a fighting stance. “Cute, ” said Edgar. With a jerk of his head, two more shadowy figures jumped down from the bookstores roof, grabbing me by the shoulders. I shouted, writhing from their grip. I stomped and kicked but they had a firm hold. Edgar stepped forward with some kind of charm dangling from his finger. He grabbed me by the forehead, pressing the charm against my skin, and I felt a white, hot burning rush through my spine. The world around me faded into black before a kaleidoscope of colors washed over us. I suddenly felt weightless, painfree. The boundaries between me and all else melted into the kaleidoscope. But then, with a screech, my being took painful, searing form again. As though watching the strands of reality itself folding back into place, colors twisted into shapes that I could recognize: LODEs study. And Id brought Edgar and his friends along with me. “We have company! ” Bill shouted. Helena bolted forward, holding a bow trained on Edgar. “Karen, darling! Youll be fine! ” Mina lurched forward with a glinting sword. Edgar released my head just in time to spin and knock her back. One of his henchmen hurled me against a wall and I heard a sickening crack before the world faded to black. “Karen, ” Jenna kneeled over me. “Karen, get up. Are you ok? ” The blurry image of my roommate came into focus, but my eyes stung. My whole body hurt. The room around us was destroyed. “Oh my god, ” I cried, the realization crashing on me as nausea swelled in my stomach. “Oh my god, Edgar-” “We know, another guild is on the way to help, ” said Jenna. Behind her stood Craig and Vikas, each facing the door in front of us. My face went pale and cold; I could no longer hold back the nausea plaguing me. Between gagging, I heard Jenna say, “Be careful, Karen. I think you have a concussion. ” No kidding. “Listen, ” she said, “I shouldnt have sent you off on your own. Were all sticking together this time, for better or worse. OK? ” “Yeah, ” I managed to gasp when I regained control of myself, though my head was still spinning. “What- what happened? ” “Your first trip through a wormhole, ” said Vikas, holding up the charm that Edgar had held. “Powerful charms like this can use a vector—a point two places have in common—to link them with a temporary wormhole. ” “I was the vector, ” I realized, “because I was down here. ” “It couldve been any of us, ” said Craig. “No, ” I said, Jenna helping me up. “Only I would be stupid enough to sit there having tea with some guy -” “None of that right now, ” said Jenna. “Were here now. Weve got this. We've called reinforcements. We just need to delay Edgar until they get here. ” “Delay him? ” I asked. “We think we know what hes after. ” Craig took a deep breath. “A crystallized wormhole. ” “One that leads home, ” said Vikas. Maybe it was the concussion, but I felt the whole world shift for a moment. “Home? ” “To Dimension X, ” said Jenna. “Same one that Kyle was from. ” The room danced around me, a black tunnel formed at the edges of my vision, and a crashing sound blared in and out of my mind. “Theyre from the same-” “Thats enough, ” said Jenna, handing out guns and flashlights. “We need to move. Karen, need me to show you how to use this? ” "I've handled a gun before. I said, thinking back on days at the shooting range with my dad and brothers. "Not a gun. she said. "A mana extractor. But good to hear. Same firing mechanics. Only use it if you have to, you know, given your concussion. With that, we stepped out of the warmly lit study and into pitch-black hallway beyond. “The vault room is just ahead, ” whispered Jenna. As you mightve guessed, weve caught back up with my opening. You can understand my mental state: concussed, scared, seeing five motionless bodies on the floor—and it probably being my fault. Then, on top of that, Edgar standing there looking like a demon. Looking like Kyle —and aiming to open a portal to their world, on top of that. I could barely keep it together. But I had to stand strong. Fake it til I fucking make you, it you know? I closed my eyes and held my breath, counting backwards from ten. If Kimmy Schmidt taught me anything, it's that you can endure anything for ten seconds at a time. Then I heard Edgars laugh again. Similar to the one before, but deeper and more sinister in his new form. "I thought you might be happy to see me, Jenna. I thought you might've missed me. Missed us. I thought maybe you'd wanna come see my home, meet the fam. “Fuck off, ” said Jenna. “Weve called reinforcements from other guilds. The big dogs, asshole. This is the end of the road. ” “Reinforcements, ” he chuckled, gesturing to the bodies strewn on the floors. “Pathetic. You think Boston's guild could do better? ” Then he turned and looked at Vikas. "You. Don't you miss home. Home? The meaning broke through the fog in my mind. Vikas is like Edgar? Like Kyle? Kyle's red eyes scorched a hole in my mind. I had to stay focused, but I could barely keep my breathing even. "This is my home. said Vikas. "Don't do that. Edgar laughed. "Don't mistake this backwater for home. You came here willingly. said Jenna. "You chose this place. If your home is so great, why. Edgar took a step forward and Jenna set off another barrage of arrows, one of which caught him in the arm. "Ive been charmed, Jenna. Youre wasting arrows. ” “Stay in place and answer the fucking question, ” she demanded. He smiled. “Call me an emissary, babe. An emissary who has deemed this planet unfit for diplomacy. A planet fit only for fodder. Edgar's body spiraled out as he loomed over the room, his eyes glowing red. Red like Kyle's, as he pinned me- A blast rang out from Craig and Vikas, then two, then three. Each followed by a blinding light. But when the light faded, Edgar was gone. Or so it seemed. That's when I felt the cold reach around me. I screamed as a great and terrible umbra grabbed at my waist, pulling me to the ground. Edgars face smirked above me. I managed one clear shot to the chest. He shuddered, then slammed me down, knocking my blaster away with a hoofed foot. Jenna, Vikas, and Craig surrounded us, but Edgar had me in his grasp, holding me up as a shield, making a clear shot at him impossible. "Jenna, we did have fun. he said. "But playtime's over. It's time to make room for my brothers and sisters. Let her go, Edgar. said Jenna. "But her fear is just so delicious. he said. And I could feel it. The drain of my energy. I could see an aura wafting off of me. I was only making him stronger. I have to get it together. "She doesn't need to die. said Edgar. "You just need to let me into the vault. I don't have the key. said Jenna. "None of us do. said Vikas, his form starting to expand as Kyle's had, stretching out crooked and unnatural. His shoulders burst upward, his torso elongated, his legs bent into a caprine shape. A cackle broke from Edgar, intensifying the stream of energy fleeing my body. He flung me to the ground with such force that I thought he broke my face. Then he squeezed. Craig winced but Jenna stayed unphased. "LODE doesn't operate on keys, but on sacrifice. Your life. Your energy. It matters not. Ive got what I need from your comrades. Life force from the whole chapter should do. He reached down into my back, and I felt a pain sharper than any before. A bolt reaching into my spine itself, draining me from the inside. I shrieked from the searing pain. I cried. I heard my mom singing me a lullaby. I was sure I would die, dried up into a husk like the others. Forgotten in the bowels of the earth. But I heard a shout. One of the withered forms lurched upward, her long, slender arm stretching out to grab Edgar by the throat. Helena. Edgar dropped me to the ground, and I looked up just in time to see a long, horrible shadow shoot out and stab into Edgar. Vikas had shed his outer form, revealing a form of smoke, of aether—a jagged, ethereal grim reaper with a black aura rippling off of him. I clawed desperately away from Edgar, as the floor beneath me quavered like jello in an earthquake. Vikas tried to reel Edgar in, but Edgar clawed at Helenas arm, hurling her withered body at his opponent. Though Craig and Jenna shot at Edgar, the charm shielding him absorbed the blasts. Setting Helena aside, Vikas lunged furiously—but Edgar grabbed him by the head and bit into his neck. My arms burning, my head aching, my vision tunnelling, I finally reached Helena, who took my hand. Her beautiful, smooth skin was now withered and dry, but her eyes were the same ones as before, kind and warm. “Well get through this, darling. ” When I looked up again, Vikas had gotten out of Edgars grip, sending smoky coils to bind Edgars ankles and wrists. The demon ripped away, darting backward. Finally, Vikas pummeled him, sending them both to the ground. "Now. shouted Vikas, hunching over his opponent, his arm to Edgars throat. "Out of the way. yelled Craig. "Do it now. Vikas demanded. Jenna chanted, grabbing a bag of emerald green dust from her belt, tossing it at Edgar. A green flame kicked up, enveloping the two. When it died down, they were sealed back into their human forms. But Edgar was far from done. He slammed the palm of his hand into Vikas nose, jabbed him in the face, and grabbed him by the throat. Vikas did his all to keep him pinned to the ground. Jenna trained her blaster on Edgar, but I saw another form emerge behind her. A smiling woman, tall and lean and inscrutable. And I realized: she'd been there in the alleyway with Edgar. She was one of the two henchmen who'd crossed in with us. "Behind you. I shouted. Jenna snapped her head around. "Sabine? What the fuck are you doing here. Sabine; I'd heard that name. At the apothecary shop, the girl seemed downright afraid of her. Facing Jenna, the woman grinned. With glowing purple eyes, she shot her hands out and a wave of psionic energy overwhelmed Jenna and Craig, knocking them to the ground. "I tried things LODE's way. For a long time, I tried it. But now it's time for a more profitable venture. Sabine twisted her fingers as though grasping an invisible cloth, and pulled. An aura of energy ripped off of the guildees, as I huddled in front of Helena, trying to shield her. Sabine's eyes glowed all the more. From the distance, we heard shouts. Clear! Clear! Sabine and Edgar exchanged a look and nodded. Edgar snapped Vikas' body against the ground, leaving him in a heap. Together, the two walked into the vault room, a glowing orb of pure energy in Sabine's hand. A dazzling light broke through the dark. I had to look away. And when I dared open my eyes again, they were gone without a trace. I crawled to Jenna, my whole body aching. We were all alive, but broken. "Sort of a new meaning to 'eating your emotions. huh. Jenna tried to laugh, a deep rattle in her chest. "What now. I asked, my voice trembling. "First the hospital. Then Comic Con. said Jenna. "The fuck. I whispered, sure that she was having an aneurysm. But she was not. Javits Center, I found out, is right below a weak spot in spacetime. And the energy from all the fans that weekend would be more than enough fuel to activate the wormhole. But we couldnt let that happen. Not with Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny set to appear. That tale, though, is for another day.

The booksellers fountain square. The bookseller& 39;s daughter. Learned so much. Thank you for being so detailed. Hell yes, we need more will sasso, MORE WILL SASSO. The booksellers ibadan. The booksellers movie. This is my favorite sound/decade for music. My parents were hippies from New weekend this is the music wed listen to on the record player. I will forever be connected to this era of music.💙.

The booksellers at laurelwood memphis tn.

 

 

 

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