Non-folkloric Vampires

Once you have a book to release, accepted wisdom says to let people know by sending out press releases, writing promotional articles, and so on. While I am of course interested in letting people know about The Complete Norwegian Folktales and Legends of Asbjørnsen & Moe, I will not be trying to place any items in commercial publications. The reason for this is that, day by day, I lose confidence in the commercial publishing industry.

My latest disappointment is the deal between Informa, which owns Taylor & Francis, and Microsoft’s Al outfit. Basically, Informa is selling access to its authors’ research for a few million dollars. And it hasn’t asked its authors for permission because it doesn’t have to; if you publish through Taylor & Francis, you either have to pay through the nose to retain your copyright, or you have to transfer your copyright to them (for which they pay you nothing). Taylor & Francis is thus the very definition of a vampiric academic publisher, thriving to the tune of millions of dollars a year by sucking its authors dry of their potential living.

Now, Taylor & Francis publishes Folklore, the journal of the Folklore Society, which is one of the places I ought to place a notice or article announcing the availability of The Complete Norwegian Folktales and Legends of Asbjørnsen & Moe in English for the first time ever. Were I as cynical as the publisher, I suppose I still might do so, for wherever the copyright should end up, I would be writing for myself, and it’s not as if I need paying for such work. Yet the simple fact of the matter is that Taylor & Francis ought not to be able to conduct their business in such a predatory manner, and I refuse to tacitly condone their immoral, anti-social behaviour by visiting any of their publications – as donor or patron.

So what’s the alternative? I have this blog. I have Mastodon. I have Instagram. I have Facebook. And I have a couple of mailing lists. I shall put my notices up there. And to reach a broader audience than the aggregated thousand or so followers I have on these platforms, I shall write for publication in non-commercial organs. Details to follow.