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Thursday, December 27, 2007
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Pneumonia Infections
Pneumonia is a general term that refers to an infection of the lungs, which can be caused by a variety of microorganisms, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites.
Often pneumonia begins after an upper respiratory tract infection (an infection of the nose and throat). When this happens, symptoms of pneumonia begin after 2 or 3 days of a cold or sore throat.
Signs and Symptoms
Symptoms of pneumonia vary, depending on the age of the child and the cause of the pneumonia. Some common symptoms include:
* fever
* chills
* cough
* unusually rapid breathing
* breathing with grunting or wheezing sounds
* labored breathing that makes a child's rib muscles retract (when muscles under the rib cage or between ribs draw inward with each breath)
* vomiting
* chest pain
* abdominal pain
* decreased activity
* loss of appetite (in older children) or poor feeding (in infants)
* in extreme cases, bluish or gray color of the lips and fingernails
Sometimes a child's only symptom is rapid breathing. Sometimes when the pneumonia is in the lower part of the lungs near the abdomen, there may be no breathing problems at all, but there may be fever and abdominal pain or vomiting.
When pneumonia is caused by bacteria, an infected child usually becomes sick relatively quickly and experiences the sudden onset of high fever and unusually rapid breathing. When pneumonia is caused by viruses, symptoms tend to appear more gradually and are often less severe than in bacterial pneumonia. Wheezing may be more common in viral pneumonia.
Some types of pneumonia cause symptoms that give important clues about which germ is causing the illness. For example, in older children and adolescents, pneumonia due to Mycoplasma (also called walking pneumonia) is notorious for causing a sore throat and headache in addition to the usual symptoms of pneumonia.
In infants, pneumonia due to chlamydia may cause conjunctivitis (pinkeye) with only mild illness and no fever. When pneumonia is due to whooping cough (pertussis), the child may have long coughing spells, turn blue from lack of air, or make a classic "whoop" sound when trying to take a breath.
Description
Pneumonia as seen on chest x-ray. A: Normal chest x-ray. B: Abnormal chest x-ray with shadowing from pneumonia in the right lung (white area, left side of image).
Pneumonia is a lung infection that can be caused by different types of germs, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. Although different types of pneumonia tend to affect children in different age groups, pneumonia is most commonly caused by viruses. Some viruses that cause pneumonia are adenoviruses, rhinovirus, influenza virus (flu), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and parainfluenza virus (the virus that causes croup).
Incubation
The incubation period for pneumonia varies, depending on the type of virus or bacteria causing the infection. Some common incubation periods are: respiratory syncytial virus, 4 to 6 days; influenza, 18 to 72 hours.
Duration
With treatment, most types of bacterial pneumonia can be cured within 1 to 2 weeks. Viral pneumonia may last longer. Mycoplasmal pneumonia may take 4 to 6 weeks to resolve completely.
Contagiousness
The viruses and bacteria that cause pneumonia are contagious and are usually found in fluid from the mouth or nose of an infected person. Illness can spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes on a person, by sharing drinking glasses and eating utensils, and when a person touches the used tissues or handkerchiefs of an infected person.
Prevention
There are vaccines to prevent infections by viruses or bacteria that cause some types of pneumonia.
Children usually receive routine immunizations against Haemophilus influenzae and pertussis (whooping cough) beginning at 2 months of age. (The pertussis immunization is the "P" part of the routine DTaP injection.) Vaccines are now also given against the pneumococcus organism (PCV), a common cause of bacterial pneumonia.
Children with chronic illnesses, who are at special risk for other types of pneumonia, may receive additional vaccines or protective immune medication. The flu vaccine is strongly recommended for children with chronic illnesses such as chronic heart or lung disorders or asthma, as well as otherwise healthy children.
Because they are at higher risk for serious complications, infants who were born prematurely may be given treatments that temporarily protect against RSV, which can lead to pneumonia in younger children.
Doctors may give prophylactic (disease-preventing) antibiotics to prevent pneumonia in children who have been exposed to someone with certain types of pneumonia, such as pertussis. Children with HIV infection may also receive prophylactic antibiotics to prevent pneumonia caused by Pneumocystis carinii.
Antiviral medication is now available, too, and can be used to prevent some types of viral pneumonia or to make symptoms less severe.
In addition, regular tuberculosis screening is performed yearly in some high-risk areas because early detection will prevent active tuberculosis infection including pneumonia.
In general, pneumonia is not contagious, but the upper respiratory viruses that lead to it are, so it is best to keep your child away from anyone who has an upper respiratory tract infection. If someone in your home has a respiratory infection or throat infection, keep his or her drinking glass and eating utensils separate from those of other family members, and wash your hands frequently, especially if you are handling used tissues or dirty handkerchiefs.
When to Call Your Child's Doctor
Call your child's doctor immediately if your child has any of the signs and symptoms of pneumonia, but especially if your child:
* is having trouble breathing or is breathing abnormally fast
* has a bluish or gray color to the fingernails or lips
* has a fever of 102 degrees Fahrenheit (38.9 degrees Celsius), or above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) in infants under 6 months of age
Professional Treatment
Doctors usually make the diagnosis of pneumonia after a physical examination. The doctor may possibly use a chest X-ray, blood tests, and (sometimes) bacterial cultures of mucus produced by coughing when making a diagnosis.
In most cases, pneumonia can be treated with oral antibiotics given to your child at home. The type of antibiotic used depends on the type of pneumonia.
Children may be hospitalized for treatment if they have pneumonia caused by pertussis or other bacterial pneumonia that causes high fevers and respiratory distress. They may also be hospitalized if supplemental oxygen is needed, if they have lung infections that may have spread into the bloodstream, if they have chronic illnesses that affect the immune system, if they are vomiting so much that they cannot take medicine by mouth, or if they have recurrent episodes of pneumonia.
Home Treatment
If your child's doctor has prescribed antibiotics for bacterial pneumonia, give the medicine on schedule for as long as the doctor directs. This will help your child recover faster and will decrease the chance that infection will spread to other household members.
Don't force a child who's not feeling well to eat, but encourage your child to drink fluids, especially if fever is present. Ask your child's doctor before you use a medicine to treat your child's cough because cough suppressants stop the lungs from clearing mucus, which may not be helpful in some types of pneumonia.
If your child has chest pain, try a heating pad or warm compress on the chest area. Take your child's temperature at least once each morning and each evening, and call the doctor if it goes above 102 degrees Fahrenheit (38.9 degrees Celsius) in an older infant or child, or above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) in an infant under 6 months of age.
Check your child's lips and fingernails to make sure that they are rosy and pink, not bluish or gray, which is a sign that your child's lungs are not getting enough oxygen.
Reviewed by: Barbara P. Homeier, MD
Date reviewed: June 2005
Originally reviewed by: Joel Klein, MD
Source archive from :
http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/infections/lung/pneumonia.html
Source of picture from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumonia
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Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Video games 'good for children'
Computer games can promote problem-solving and team-building in children, according to games industry experts.
The message forms part of the Edinburgh International Games Festival, which is holding events for schoolchildren to create their own games.
Children at the Royal Museum are designing characters, as well as writing dialogue and storylines.
The games industry has denied claims that it is responsible for creating couch potatoes and promoting violence.
Last month, the Dixons group decided not to sell a controversial Edinburgh-developed video game, Manhunt, because the family of a murdered boy linked it to his death.
Children say that playing violent games is a way for them to get rid of their frustrations
Judy Robertson
Edinburgh University
The manufacturers have denied there is any connection between on-screen violence and real life.
Other events at the festival include game screenings, game-play sessions and a two-day conference.
Games creators and publishers from the UK, Japan and Canada are expected to attend.
Festival director Lisa Fox said: "What we've tried to do is appeal to everyone. So we have a trade conference and two consumer events, which give the public the chance both to get hands-on with the games and to meet the people who make them.
"It's a place to explore the art and the business of interactive entertainment."
'World-leading talent'
Dr Judy Robertson, of Edinburgh University, said some children had told her during computer games workshops that playing violent games did not result in violence in real life.
She said: "Children say that playing violent games is a way for them to get rid of their frustrations, they get rid of their anger and take things out on the characters in the computer games rather than people in the playground."
Chris Van Der Kuyl, of VIS Entertainment, said it wanted to make games which were fun and entertaining.
He said video gaming is "the biggest entertainment industry in the 21st century".
"People have to realise it is the future and we have world-leading talent here in Scotland."
Source Info site BBC News
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Health Education From Coca Cola Foundation
click image for enlarge
CCFI focuses its Health Education Program on the subject of HIV and AIDS education for the country’s youth. CCFI has been actively supporting HIV/AIDS education since 2003 through the ‘STAR’ Program that is conducted through CCFI-supported Learning Centers. In partnership with the Health Promotional Services of the Indonesian Ministry of Health, CCFI provided training to Learning Center management on HIV/AIDS education, and how to deliver information regarding HIV/AIDS to teenagers.
The ‘STAR’ Program was executed in four cities, namely Jakarta, Bandung, Jogjakarta, and Surabaya. A “Peer Educator” training program was also implemented in the four cities in order to increase the effectiveness of the HIV/AIDS information campaign towards teenagers, with the aim of inviting those interested in passing on information regarding HIV/AIDS to their schools or personal social networks.
In 2004-2005, CCFI continued the HIV/AIDS education program by conducting training and developing educational materials. Activities performed included training teenagers, non-governmental organizations as well as high school counselors from senior high schools (SMA) in Jakarta, Jogjakarta, Surabaya and Denpasar. The training program was aimed to providing these people with the required knowledge and skill sets to pass on information to students or become facilitators and distributors of HIV/AIDS education in their respective schools. The training was conducted using an educational video that came with a training guideline that was developed by CCFI and other organizations actively supporting HIV/AIDS education.
source info Coca Cola Foundation site
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Thursday, December 6, 2007
HOT TREND Dresses
Ankle Boots and Dresses are HOT (source)
It may be chilly for you northern gals, but down here in Florida it is still hot, hot, hot. Luckily for me (and all of the celebs out in California) we can still wear super cute short dresses. One of the trendiest looks in short dresses for this fall is to pair them with ankle boots.
Now, this is not a look for the faint of heart...you HAVE to be confident that your legs are in killer shape or it just won't fly. It's a tough look to pull off, but if you think you've got the confidence to do it then you should totally try! The reason this isn't a good look for everyone? Well, if you already have short or heavy legs, this won't help them at all because this look highlights everything from your calves and your ankles to your knees and above.
Still not sure whether you can do it? If you are on the fence about ankle boots with dresses, then do something like what Carmen Electra did...don't wear them with bare legs, but instead pair them with dark or black pantyhose. This will give you a little more security and support while still getting the same effect.
source info from coutureavenue
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Forever Peace
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In 2043, Julian Class is a soldier in the Ngumi War. The poor nations of the world have united in revolt against the wealthy nations, and the war is fought between guerrillas on one side, and machines called "soldierboys" on the other. The soldierboys are remotely controlled by troops like Julian through a mind-computer link that also produces a joint consciousness among those connected. Julian's soldierboy platoon is stationed in Panama.
Our Pick: A-
In his off-duty time, Julian returns to his civilian career, as a research physicist at a university in Houston. There he works with a team, which includes his girlfriend Amelia Harding, on the Jupiter Project, a plan to drop nanoforge into Jupiter and Io. The idea is to produce a huge supercollider in an attempt to recreate the conditions that existed at the beginning of the universe.
During one of his duty periods, Julian's platoon is sent to intimidate a Costa Rican village. Things go wrong, however, and in the riot that results, Julian accidently kills a boy. The army psychologist removes him from combat duty, worried about his potential for suicide. Rather than being discharged, Julian is merely reassigned to his civilian position.
Back in Houston, Amelia discloses that a colleague has discovered that the Jupiter Project could destroy the universe. But a fanatical religious group known as the Enders, with members secretly planted in positions of power, have found out about the discovery, and they see it as a way to bring about God's final judgment. When the Enders successfully suppress the report, Julian, Amelia and a group of colleagues must find another way to stop the Jupiter Project, and with it, the Ngumi War.
A thematic sequel to a classic work
While Forever Peace is not a sequel to The Forever War in the usual sense, author Joe Haldeman considers it a thematic sequel. And while he does use Peace to reexamine some the issues he raised in War, it's a very different novel. The army in The Forever War was an impersonal, monolithic organization with a single purpose: to defeat the enemy. The Ngumi War is a more complex affair, and the army fighting it is a more complex and diverse entity, with its own internal conflicting factions.
In one of the more interesting and compelling observations, one of Julian's research colleagues with intimate ties to the military asserts that most of the generals he knows are actually pacifists. Despite that, the army in Forever Peace, while not united, is as manipulative of its soldiers as the one in The Forever War. In fact, Julian's colleagues exploit that manipulation to its fullest to implement their final plan.
Another major difference between the two novels is the complexity and diversity of the characters. Forever Peace is much more concerned with broad social issues outside of military life, and Haldeman brings these issues to the forefront through strong characterization, not merely focusing on Julian and Amelia, but creating a supporting cast with interesting traits and abilities.
Unfortunately, the novel doesn't end as well as it could, because Haldeman crowds the last two years of the world's transformation into a few pages, leaving the feeling that while the novel he wrote is a fine book, there's a story just as compelling that he has chosen not to tell. Overall, though, it's a worthy successor to The Forever War, and well worth reading.
It didn't blow me away like The Forever War did, but I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. -- Clint
info from site http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue56/books.html
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AWARDS from JAPAN
The Seiun Award
The Japanese word "Seiun" means "nebula," however this award is not at all related to the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) Nebula Award. "Seiun" was the name of the first professional SF magazine in Japan, published in 1954 and discontinued after only one issue because of extremely poor sales. This award was named after that short-lived forerunner commemorating the dawn of Japanese SF.
seiun awardEach year the Nationalcon attendees' votes are gathered, checked, and tallied by The Federation of SF Fangroups of Japan, founded in 1965. The Federation of SF Fangroups of Japan presents certificates of merit and the convention committee provides trophies for the winners. Each committee designs the shape and material of the trophies; which vary widely from year to year.
The first Seiun Award was presented at Tokon 5, the ninth Japanese National Convention, held in 1970.
Originally there were five categories: Japanese Novel, Japanese Short Story, Translated Novel, Translated Short Story and Media Work, each awarded to the best item in that category published or released in the prior year. Categories for Artist and Comics were added in 1979; Nonfiction in 1985; and "Nonsectional" or Free Section in 2002. This last category is a catch-all covering anything that the SF community found fascinating.
For nearly ten years no announcement was made about the award overseas, and consequently the winners for the Translation categories were seldom aware of their honors. This situation changed during Noreascon Two in 1980, when a private presentation was made in the Con Suite, with other attendees present. The winning works in 1979 were Ringworld and Inconstant Moon, both by Larry Niven. The certificates and trophies were presented to Mr Niven by Takumi Shibano (the translator of both works using the pseudonym Rei Kozumi).
During the next several Worldcons, the Seiun Award presentations were made by Takumi Shibano. Later, when Mr Shibano was unable to attend Worldcons or to provide an introduction for other international fans attending Worldcons: Katsumi Shindo, Katsumi Kushimoto, Takayuki Tatsumi, Yoshio Kobayashi, Masamichi Osako and Kiyoshi Imaoka, to name several, presented the Seiun Awards. Shibano's role was succeeded by Masamichi Osako in 1991, then, in 1997. (by Takumi SHIBANO)
John W Campbell Best New Writer Award
picture of Campbell trophyThe John W Campbell Best New Writer Award is given to the best new science fiction or fantasy writer whose first work of science fiction or fantasy was published in a professional publication in the previous two years. For the 2007 award, which is presented at the World Science Fiction Convention (WorldCon), the qualifying work must have been published in 2005 or 2006.
The Campbell Award is administered by the Worldcon, but it is not a Hugo, and the rules for awarding the Campbell are determined by the award sponsor, Dell Magazine.
The Komatsu Sakyo Award
The "Nippon SF Shinjin-sho" (or the "Sakyo Komatsu Award") was established in 1999, to spotlight outstanding new talent in the Japanese science fiction world. It was named after Sakyo Komatsu, a leading writer of Japanese SF.
The award was established to expand the possibilities of science fiction literature, but it is not limited to SF. Fantasy and horror are included in the broad works of entertainment. Also, the award differs from the usual literary award in that the final choice rests with just one person - Sakyo Komatsu. The award is under the auspices of the Kadokawa Haruki Corporation. The sponsors are the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, The Japan Atomic Energy Agency, and RIKEN.
Below is the dedication that Sakyo Komatsu wrote when the Komatsu Sakyo Award was established.
On the occasion of the establishment of the Komatsu Sakyo Award
Once, SF was an infinitely expanding circle of daydreams, a story of the future and of the human race.
But science showed us progress beyond the novels, and it wasn't so strange anymore when reality went beyond fiction.
But, having said that, we can't say that SF's role is over. Rather than that, science, in the first place, is brought to fruition by the kind of mental questing that humans never grow tired of, that is, extraordinary imagination; in other words, it is something that is born of a playful spirit. So, the form of expression that we call SF is a never ending pursuit of things like the relationship between this science and humans, the unanswerable questions of why humans exist, within a framework of what we call entertainment. It is the weapon we use to face the huge, eternal themes such as "a scientific and technological civilization and humanity" and "the meaning of the essence of space and of humankind's existence."
As the 21st century lies before us, we have on the one hand a never-before-reached high level of civilization, and on the other hand, human history has never seen such an unstable future. We can say that there never been a bigger time for SF to carry out its role. In these kind of times, I will never stop hoping this prize will give the opportunity to open up a small yet firm road to young writers.
Sakyo Komatsu
Komatsu Sakyo Award Recipient List -
2000 Grand prize Hiraya Yoshiki "Eri, Eri"
2000 Honorable Mention Urahama Keiichiro "Domesday"
2000 Prize for Effort Takahashi Kiriya "Strange Land"
2001 Grand prize Machii Toshio "St. Denpa Imaike Gomi Maria"
2002 Grand prize Kimoto Shinji "Puzzle of the Gods"
2003 Grand prize Ueda Sayuri "Mars' Dark Ballad"
2004 Grand prize Arimura Tooru "Dark Castle"
2005 Grand prize Ito Muneo "Roots" (title change: "God's Blood Vessel"
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Chesley Award
The Chesley Awards were established in 1985 as the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists' peer awards to recognize individual works and achievements during a given year. The Chesleys were initially called the ASFA Awards, but were later renamed to honor famed astronomical artist Chesley Bonestell after his death in 1986. The awards are presented annually at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon).
This year's Chesley Award Winners.
E E Smith Memorial Award - The Skylark
picture of the Skylark trophyOfficially the "Edward E Smith Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction", the Skylark is given annually by the New England Science Fiction Association, for significant contribution to SF in the spirit of the writer E E "Doc" Smith.
It is given to some person, who, in the opinion of the membership, has contributed significantly to science fiction, both through work in the field, and by exemplifying the personal qualities which made the late "Doc" Smith well-loved by those who knew him.
The award consists of a trophy with a large lens. The winner of the award is chosen by vote of the Regular members of the New England Science Fiction Association, Inc. It is presented at Boskone, NESFA's annual convention.
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Golden Duck Awards
The Golden Duck Awards consist of three cash awards given annually in the categories of
* Picture Book
* Middle Grades (Eleanor Cameron Award)
* Young Adult (Hal Clement Award).
Special awards are given when appropriate. Candidates are selected from titles copyrighted in the previous year; however exceptions may be made for titles published outside of the United States.
A committee including teachers, librarians, and fannish parents selects a finalist list of 5-6 titles in each category. Members of a larger jury read the finalist titles in a category and using Australian ballots decide on the winning title for the year. The procedures are similar to the Hugos, with considerations for differences such as the small number of voters, and availability of titles.
This year's Golden Duck Award Winners.
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British Science Fiction Association Awards
The BSFA awards are presented annually by the British Science Fiction Association, based on a vote of BSFA members, and in recent years, members of the British national science fiction convention (Eastercon).
Best Novel
The novel award is open to any novel-length work of science fiction or fantasy which is published in the UK for the first time in 2006. (Serialised novels are eligible, provided that the publication date of the concluding part is in 2006.) If a novel has been previously published elsewhere, but it hasn't been published in the UK until 2006, it is eligible.
Best Short Fiction
The short fiction award is open to any shorter work of science fiction or fantasy, up to and including novellas, first published in 2006 (in a magazine, in a book, or online). This includes books and magazines published outside the UK.
Best Artwork
The artwork award is open to any single science fictional or fantastic image that first appeared in 2006. Again, provided the artwork hasn't been published before 2006 it doesn't matter where it appears.
Best Non-Fiction
The non-fiction award is open to any written work about science fiction and/or fantasy which appeared in its current form in 2006.
Prometheus Award
The Libertarian Futurist Society is an organization of science fiction fans with a Libertarian philosophy. For over 20 years the LFS has presented awards for Libertarian science fiction at the Worldcon.
picture of Liberty on a golden coinThe LFS administers the Prometheus Award for Best Novel and the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award. The awards honor science fiction works of literary merit that explore individual liberty, investigate the consequences of suppression of individual liberty, or depict the folly of the ruling class. LFS members nominate and vote on the awards, and then organize the awards ceremony each year. Winners of the Prometheus Awards receive a plaque mounted with a gold coin.
LFS awards are not given based on the ideology of the creator, but rather on the content of the specific work. The common thread is that the work has demonstrated at least one aspect of the Libertarian message. Works by Ken MacLeod, Ursula K LeGuin, Robert Heinlein, Alfred Bester, Ayn Rand, Vernor Vinge, and George Orwell have received awards from the LFS.
The Prometheus Best Novel Award was created by science fiction writer L Neil Smith, and is given to the winning novel published within the previous year. The first winner was Wheels Within Wheels by F Paul Wilson in 1979. The award was not presented again until 1982.
The books that have received the Prometheus Best Novel Award range widely in scope and focus. Donald Kingsbury's Psychohistorical Crisis re-examines the ideas raised in Issac Asimov's Foundation trilogy. The world of biotech and genetic engineering are the background for the most recent winner, Sims by F Paul Wilson. Wilson deals with the issues of rights and causes us to reflect on the issues of who is entitled to rights. Terry Pratchett takes us to Discworld in his novel Night Watch, in which the perennial issues of personal responsibility and doing the right thing arise.
The unusual can happen with the LFS awards. In 1997 Victor Koman won the Prometheus Best Novel Award for his book Kings of the High Frontier, which had not been published on paper. The book was available for purchase only as a download or on computer readable media. After it won the award, it was published in a limited signed and numbered hard bound edition.
In 1983, the LFS added the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award for classic works. The Award covers all other forms such as short stories, movies and television. It has been awarded to a rich variety of works. Patrick McGoohan's television show "The Prisoner" received the the Hall of Fame Award in 2002. The foolishness and arrogance of a king was richly shown in the 2000 winner "The Emperor's New Clothes" by Hans Christian Anderson, a story as relevant today as it was when published over 150 years ago.
The LFS had also given special awards for works or authors that did not fit into the areas covered by the other two awards. In 1998, the anthology Free Space received a Special Award, and in 2001, the LFS awarded a Special Award for Lifetime Achievement to Poul Anderson. The award was accepted by his wife Karen at Marcon 36 in Columbus, Ohio, where Poul was Guest of Honor, but could not attend due to illness.
More information about the LFS, and its awards, and other projects can be found at the LFS web site http://www.lfs.org. (from an article by Fred C Moulton)
This year's Prometheus Award Winners.
Other SF Awards in Japan
The first SF award established in Japan was the "Nippon SF Fandom-sho" ("sho" means award in Japanese.) It was started in 1965 to recognize people who had contributed to the progress of SF in Japan, and was replaced by the Seiun Award in 1970. Its system was somewhat like the American "Big Heart Award", and among the twenty-odd authors, editors, and fans who received the award, there were two American recipients - Roy Tackett and Forrest J Ackerman.
The Japanese equivalent of the Nebula Award is the "Nippon SF Taisho." It was started in 1980, and is awarded to one (or rarely two) outstanding work every year. The selected work can be of any type, including fiction, article, comic, or other media. Sometimes a Special Award is also presented.
The "Japan SF Fanzine Taisho" for fan activities was started in 1980. Awards were presented in seven categories: Fiction, Article, Research, Translation, Editorial Work, Artwork and Best Fanzine. The award was continued until 2003. The "Takumi Shibano Award," quite similar to the Big Heart Award, was established as a special award.
site info from : http://www.nippon2007.us/awards.php
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Author! Author! Author!
The literary world won’t publish your great new thriller? Do it yourself
By Katherine Federici Greenwood
Three years ago, Jeff Markowitz ’74 was driving through New Jersey’s Pine Barrens before dawn on his way to a conference, listening to jazz on his car radio. He sensed eeriness as he wound his way along the foggy country roads.
“I could imagine why you would hear these accounts of the Jersey Devil,” the mythical creature that haunts the Pine Barrens, he recalls. The drive sparked an idea for a story “about somebody on the road in the Pine Barrens in that predawn hour.”
Within a month, Markowitz, who had written short stories since high school but had never published them, was rising at 5:30 a.m. each day to write for an hour before heading to his day job as director of a nonprofit agency. He put his main character, Cassie O’Malley, a Princeton alumna and tabloid reporter at work on a story about deer dying in large numbers, driving on those Pine Barren roads when she stumbles over a body and suddenly finds herself involved in a murder mystery. Unlike his other stories, this one, he felt, might have an audience. Someone besides his wife might want to read this story.
He sent 10 to 20 query letters to publishers, but got no bites. Then Markowitz discovered a relatively new route to seeing his words in print — so-called print-on-demand author-services companies that take any author’s computer-generated manuscript and, for as little as a few hundred dollars, turn it into a book and make it available through online outlets including Amazon.com and barnsandnoble.com. He signed a contract, paid about $500, and four months later, he had bound copies of his manuscript, Who Is Killing Doah’s Deer?
A growing number of writers — including many Princeton alumni who send their books to PAW — are taking this route to authordom. Why do it? Some told PAW that they always had dreamed of seeing their names on book jackets. A few had published in their fields, but wanted to try their hands at fiction. As first-time fiction writers with no notoriety, and lacking what people in the industry call a “platform” (a magazine column, talk show, or speaking engagements from which to attract attention), they could not pique the interest of the traditional publishing industry. Markowitz estimates he has sold some 600 copies — a pittance compared to big-time authors but respectable for print-on-demand — mostly through online booksellers and his Web site (www.xanga.com/doahsdeer).
With print-on-demand technology, a book isn’t printed until a consumer orders a copy. Instead of expensive offset printing, print-on-demand companies use inexpensive digital printers, making book publishing cheaper and more accessible than the older vanity presses. “What we really offer is the opportunity for virtually anyone to achieve the dream of seeing their book in print,” says Susan Driscoll, president and CEO of iUniverse, which published Markowitz’s book after he spent six months trying to interest a traditional publisher.
Traditional publishers take a financial risk with any book. About 40 percent of their published books are eventually returned, unsold, says Albert Zuckerman ’53, a literary agent who founded Writers House in New York City. “I turn down books all the time that look excellent to me,” he says. “Even though the books may be beautifully written and have something important to say, the trade publishers don’t think they can sell enough copies to make them profitable.”
Having commercially published two textbooks and a manual for English teachers, Paul Kalkstein ’65 knew that he first had to interest a literary agent in his novel, Jump the Kennebec, about a teacher who struggles with bipolar disorder (the book honors Kalkstein’s brother, who had the illness). An English teacher at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., he sent out about 30 query letters. One agent asked to see the first 50 pages. “She told me she liked it very much, but ... it had no niche and it was probably not salable to a publisher,” says Kalkstein, who then decided to do it himself. Now he plans to retire in June and write a historical novel set in 16th-century France.
After all the time and energy spent writing a book, having it turned down by agents and publishers doesn’t feel good. “It felt crummy to be rejected,” says Thomas Farrell ’70. A former federal prosecutor in Los Angeles and now an international hotel and aerospace executive, he sent out about a dozen query letters to interest agents in his first novel, The Jessica Project, about an assassin-for-hire who is coerced into helping federal agents seize billions of dollars of laundered drug profits while disguised as a woman. Most rejected him with a postcard or form letter. “If it were my sole source of income, it would have been devastating,” he says.
Farrell’s idea was based on his experiences as a prosecutor. About half of first-time authors write plot lines based on their real lives or jobs, says Zuckerman.
Most major newspapers don’t review self-published titles. Major bricks-and-mortar bookstores typically don’t stock those books, which are not returnable. It’s up to the authors themselves to drum up interest and press coverage, to sell their books, and to convince local bookstores to carry them.
Ann Herendeen ’77, a librarian at the American Museum of Natural History, published Phyllida and the Brotherhood of Philander, a romantic comedy set in early 19th-century England about a rich gay gentleman, his wife, and his lover, through AuthorHouse in September. Writing the manuscript was satisfying, but the nitty-gritty of marketing has been exhausting, says Herendeen. She tried drumming up attention by buying an advertisement that ran in The New York Times and paying for the preparation and distribution of a press release. “That, I think, was a waste of money,” she says. “You have to have an awfully thick skin to be able to persist in that, and I don’t have that thick skin.”
Most self-published authors sell only about 200 copies, says Driscoll. Occasionally an author sells thousands through aggressive marketing, and goes on to have the book republished by a traditional publisher impressed by the large sales. But those stories are rare, and the alumni interviewed for this story didn’t have grand illusions of their self-published books making such a big splash.
“You’ve got to be in a fantasy land if you think you are writing to produce a best seller,” says Farrell, who still liked the writing experience so much that he self-published a second international spy thriller, Skylord.
Farrell hasn’t had time to market his books, but he has bugged old friends. “I probably annoyed greatly some of my old classmates who hadn’t heard from me in 25 years until they get a pitch to buy a book from a guy they thought had forgotten they existed,” says Farrell. “I think my mother sold the most books. She loved it and told all of her friends. ... She flogged the book mercilessly.” Farrell doesn’t know how many copies he’s sold — but he’s certain that it’s “nothing that’s going to make me quit being a lawyer or a hotel guy.”
Many self-published authors’ ambitions are modest: They simply want bound galleys to share with family and friends. Robert Steiner ’47, a retired physical biochemist, had published in his field but had never written fiction. He started writing in retirement, and has self-published five collections of short stories, some bordering on the supernatural. Says Steiner, “I would like some people to remember me, what I was like, what kind of thoughts I had, what kind of insights I had, after I’m gone. I sold hardly any [books]. But even if just one or two people got something out of it, and really enjoyed it, then I think it was worth it.”
Jeff Markowitz may be one of the lucky ones. After publishing Who Is Killing Doah’s Deer?, Markowitz met the acquisitions editor of Five Star Mysteries, a traditional — that is, paying — publisher. The editor bought his second book, a murder mystery featuring the same main character, Cassie O’Malley, to be released this year. Says Markowitz, “I realized that I have something of a flair for killing people.” end of article
Katherine Federici Greenwood is an associate editor at PAW.
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