The Writers' Guild of Great Britain blog

Jemma Rodgers to lead BBC Scotland comedy

2009-07-15T08:25:00.001+01:00

Jemma Rodgers, an independent producer of multi-award-winning comedies such as The League Of Gentlemen, Pulling Special and Wedding Belles, has been appointed as the new Executive Editor to lead comedy from BBC Scotland.

Jemma's production credits include both drama and comedy including Victoria Wood With All the Trimmings, Little Miss Jocelyn and God On Trial.

She will be responsible for all in-house network comedy productions as well as having an overview of radio and local television comedy development and production.

Vince Powell 1928-2009

2009-07-15T08:24:00.001+01:00

From Matthew Hemley in The Stage:

Never the Twain writer Vince Powell has died at the age of 80.

The sitcom writer, who also wrote Mind Your Language and Young at Heart, passed away at the Royal Surrey Hospital yesterday morning.

In a statement, Apex Publishing’s Chris Cowlin, who published Powell’s autobiography From Rags to Gags, paid tribute to the writer’s ability to make “millions of people laugh throughout his career”.

Stella Duffy and Mark Ravenhill on Newsnight Review

2009-07-15T08:20:00.001+01:00

If you missed it on Friday, you can watch Guild members Stella Duffy and Mark Ravenhill on Newsnight Review on BBC iPlayer until the end of the week. Among other things, they're discussing gay icons.

Tony Garnett on the state of BBC Drama

2009-07-13T21:43:00.005+01:00

In a major article on the Writers' Guild website, Tony Garnett gives his assessment of the state of BBC Drama.

Working in art film or commercial cinema is like dancing through a minefield, and every broadcaster is now racing down-market in a desperate attempt to survive. But what is happening at the BBC is the real scandal: it is bigger than all the rest combined, it is free from direct commercial pressure and its public service obligations carry cultural responsibilities. There are no excuses...

The trajectory of energy is in the wrong direction. Instead of erupting upwards in ways which surprise, delight and occasionally shock, it travels censoriously and prescriptively down the pyramid. The writer is left to second guess what might please the power at the top in a grotesque game of pass-the-parcel of notes as they travel from hand to hand, changing their meaning on the way....

So the next time you watch a fine piece of TV drama, grateful for the brilliance of the writer, the director, the actors and the crew, remember the aggravation they had to endure and the guile they had to deploy and the energy they had to waste. You will no longer be puzzled at how rare this experience is or be surprised at the formulaic, repetitive, machine made, emotionally dishonest junk food you now get for your licence fee. The people making most of this predictable junk called drama would love to be creating something better and more nourishing. But they are not allowed to.

(Tony Garnett's credits on IMDB)

Jack Thorne: writing Cast-Offs

2009-07-13T09:07:00.004+01:00

On the WGGB website, Jack Thorne explains how he came to write Cast-Offs, an upcoming drama series for Channel 4.

Cast-Offs was commissioned by the wonderful Alison Walsh at Channel 4, partially as a result of frustration with what she saw as generic disability programming. Disabled people on TV were allowed to be one of two things: acerbic and sharp and oh so very witty or, you know, tragic and heroic and kind of a bit sad.

With Cast-Offs we’d try and be funny and we’d try and tell some truthful stories. What we wouldn’t do – and couldn’t do – is attempt to tell ‘the truth’ about what disability is. We’d try and be for disability programming what thirtysomething was for thirtysomethings – far from representative, just a teller of decent stories.

(Photo: Dan Outram)

David Edgar: How Plays Work

2009-07-13T07:54:00.003+01:00

In The Guardian, an extract from playwright David Edgar's new book, How Plays Work.

There are two chief methods of emplotment: plotting by time (by ordering the events of the story), and plotting by space (juxtaposing its different strands). In both cases, the playwright's decision expresses the meaning. So, although almost all plays start some way into the story, the import of that decision goes way beyond mere storytelling convenience.

One of the best examples is Sophocles' Oedipus, in which the protagonist discovers that his parents abandoned him as a baby in order to evade a terrible prediction that he would eventually kill his father and marry his mother. Having accidentally fulfilled that prediction, the action of the play as written is: "To save his city, the king seeks the identity of the author of a crime, but he discovers in the end that it is himself."

But had Sophocles plotted the story chronologically, the action would be different. The protagonists would be the parents, and the action would be something like: "Threatened with the prediction that their son will commit two terrible crimes, a king and queen decide to take extreme measures; but the fates are too strong for them, and the prediction is fulfilled despite their efforts." Laius and Jocasta's story is about how you can't avoid fate, however much you try. Whereas by starting with Oedipus, Sophocles' play becomes about human volition; the message changes from "you can't win" to "leave well alone".

Link courtesy of @TWPGoSee on Twitter

What Guild members are getting up to

2009-07-13T06:42:00.002+01:00

DAVID ASHTON'S radio play "McLevy" is going out in four parts on Radio 4 beginning with "To Keep Him Honest" at 2:15pm on Tuesday 14th July.

SARAH BAGSHAW wrote the first episode of new series of The Royal "Safe as Houses" going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Sunday 12th July.

STEVEN FAY wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Thursday 16th July.

JOHN FINNEMORE wrote the episode of Cabin Pressure "Helsinki" going out on Radio 4 at 11:30am on Friday 17th July.

HENRIETTA HARDY wrote the episode of Doctors "Tracing the Lines" going out on BBC1 at 1:45pm on Thursday 16th July.

NICHOLAS HICKS-BEACH wrote the episode of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 8:00pm on Monday 13th July.

JAYNE HOLLINSON wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Monday 13th July.

MARTIN JAMESON wrote the episode of Casualty "Ashes" going out on BBC1 at 8:50pm on
Saturday 11th July. His radio play The Night They Tried to Kidnap the Prime Minister going out on Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Wednesday 15th July.

JULIE JONES wrote the episodes of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm and 8:30pm on Friday 17th July.

PETER KERRY wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Tuesday 14th July.

JIMMY MCGOVERN'S anthology drama The Street begins it's third series going out on BBC1 at 9:00pm on Monday 13th July. When Paddy Gargan bars Calum Miller from the pub, he evokes the wrath of his gangster father. Staring Bob Hoskins, Liam Cunningham and Timothy Spall amongst others.

ROY MITCHELL wrote the episode of New Tricks "The War against Drugs" going out on Thursday 16th July.

PG MORGAN'S radio drama The Understanding is going out on Radio4 at 2:15pm on Thursday 16th July.

PAUL MYATT wrote the episode of Doctors "Beneath the Surface" going out on BBC1 at 1:45pm on Tuesday 14th July.

JESSE O'MAHONEY wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Friday 17th July.

JULIE PARSONS wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Monday 13th July.

PHILIP QIZILBASH wrote Monday's, Tuesday's, and Wednesday's episodes of next week's BBC Asian Network's daily soap, Silver Street. It is broadcast Monday to Friday at 12.15pm, with an omnibus edition on Sunday at 4.30pm.

WIL ROBERTS won the best Welsh-language book prize this year at Wales Book of the Year Awards.

DAVID STAFFORD co-wrote the episode of Hazelbeach going out on Radio 4 at 11:30am on Monday 13th July.

CHRIS THOMPSON wrote the episodes of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th July.

JOANNA TOYE wrote the episodes of The Archers going out on Radio 4 from Sunday 12th till Friday 17th July with each episode being repeated at 2:00pm the day following its original broadcast.

ROBERTO TRIPPINI has written the libretto and lyrics of the new musical Too Close to the Sun (music by John Robinson). This imaginary recreation of the last two days of Ernest Hemingway's life opens at the Comedy Theatre of Panton Street SW1 on July 16th and runs until 5th September. More info at: www.tooclose.co.uk

AMANDA WHITTINGTON'S radio play Be My Baby is going out on Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Monday 13th July.

ROGER WILLIAMS wrote the episode of drama series Caerdydd being broadcast on Sunday 14th of June at 9pm on S4C. The episode is repeated on Thursday 18th of June with on screen English subtitles at 9.35pm.

ESTHER WILSON wrote the last episode of Moving On "Butterfly Effect" going out on BBC1 at 10:35pm on Monday 13th July. She has also written the first episode of The Pursuits of Darleen Fyles going out on Radio 4 at 7:45pm on Monday 13th July.

KARIN YOUNG wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Friday 17th July.

Extreme pornographic writing

2009-07-10T09:27:00.002+01:00

The Guild has replied to The House of Lords' proposed amendment on extreme pornographic writing. The contributors were Tracy Brabin, Edel Brosnan, Isabelle Grey, Jayne Kirkham, Gail Renard, Robert Taylor, Andy Walsh:

Let us start by saying that the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain is against censorship in general. The existing laws in this area are strict and extensive so that further development seems unnecessary. The proposed wording is also verbose and clumsy.

The Guild remains unconvinced that readers will copy so-called sordid details found in various writings. Or, to put it another way, “The only valid censorship of ideas is the right of people not to listen.” ~Tommy Smothers

Let us share some our writers’ comments with you:

"What is described here means that we have to go back to the days of closing the bedroom door. King Lear will have to be rewritten – no way can the blinding of Gloucester be seen as not being realistic. What about Casino Royale where Bond is tortured – very graphic and that is genitalia bashing."

"I’m sure most adults have imagination enough to come up with cruel and perverted ways of hurting people of their own, without needing a ‘how to’ book. It’s also worth noting that the vast vast majority of people, while having the capacity for nastiness, prefer to be kind."

"That rules out any Irving Welsh, Sarah Kane and I’m sure some of us have ‘enjoyed’ DH Lawrence, Joyce and the New Testament... Seems a retrograde step to me…doesn’t the best writing stir emotions and sometimes the groin? Who exactly would they be protecting when there are already laws in place with regard to pornography? Joe Orton’s battles with the censors are coming back to haunt us."

"[Also ruled out would be] Helen Walsh, Bret Easton Ellis, Nabokov, Valerie Solanas, Catherine Briellat, Chan-Wook Park, Jake and Dinos Chapman. This feels like a Canute-like attempt to stem the tide of internet porn, after the courts threw out a case against a man who'd written violent fanfic porn about Girls Aloud. Unless something contravenes existing hate crime or incitement to violence laws, we should leave well enough alone - creating a new category of thought crime is too Orwellian. We already have laws in place for hate crimes or incitement to violence - surely it makes more sense to enforce existing laws than to create new ones that stifle freedom of speech. Recent American experience has also shown that anti-porn laws designed to 'protect women' have a nasty habit of disproportionately silencing female writers, along with GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people) and other non-mainstream voices."

"Any move into this type of censorship is the start of the slippery slope. We fully back Baroness O'Cathain’s right not to read this material, we fully back her right not to like it and to talk of a higher moral plane, in no way can her attempt to limit freedom of speech be a good thing. These are words, they are ideas, they may not be to our liking, but this harks back to the social and intellectual superiority that some felt over Lady Chatterley’s Lover. The masses are not to be trusted. I am concerned at any attempt to limit the freedom of speech that generations have worked so hard to earn. The current labelling and marking of material to allow audiences to choose what they consume are adequate to allow a protection of freedom of speech and the right of audiences to avoid material that they personally may find offensive."

So we think all can see that the Writers' Guild of Great Britain would be against this amendment.

BBC approach to talent

2009-07-10T09:23:00.003+01:00

The Guild has responded to an email from the BBC about their 'approach to talent' with an insistence that writers should not be made to suffer for the extravagance and waste that has led the Corporation to apparent financial hardship.

You can read the full text of the email from the BBC and the Guild's response (by TV Committee Chair Gail Renard and Radio Committee Chair Katharine Way) on the WGGB website.

Indies criticise Radio 4 change

2009-07-08T21:46:00.002+01:00

From Matthew Hemley in The Stage:

Independent drama producers have criticised a new commissioning system implemented by BBC Radio 4, claiming it is putting their futures at risk and restricting opportunities for nurturing talent in the industry.
Optical Express

The complaints were made after the broadcaster announced the first set of winners under the new structure, which sees companies invited to bid for a two-year batch of commissions for the channel’s Afternoon Play slot. This replaced the twice-yearly, programme by programme commissioning rounds previously run by the Corporation

Power to the Pixel

2009-07-08T21:33:00.002+01:00

The Pixel Pitch is a ground-breaking cross-media pitching forum for up to ten of the best UK and international cross-media film projects.

Power to the Pixel is looking for stories that can span film, TV, online, mobile and gaming to be presented to a select group of financiers, commissioners, tech companies, online portals and media companies in front of an audience of PTTP participants. The selected project teams will compete for the Babelgum Pixel Pitch Prize of £6,000.

The competition will take place on 15 October 2009 as part of Power to the Pixel’s London Forum at the Times BFI London Film Festival 14-16 October.

More information on the Power to the Pixel website.

Vasily Aksyonov 1932-2009

2009-07-07T19:12:00.001+01:00

From Radio Free Europe:

Legendary Russian writer Vasily Aksyonov - one of the last Soviet-era writers to endure a ban by Kremlin censors and be stripped of his citizenship - has died in Moscow after a long illness.

More from Associated Press: "Aksyonov's death is the death of an entire era," prominent writer Viktor Yerofeyev told the ITAR-Tass news agency. "And those are not just words — Aksyonov created the literary language of the shestidesyatniki ["the '60s generation"] ... in the '60s he was an idol for the whole country."

Chris Beckett wins Edge Hill short story prize

2009-07-07T18:44:00.002+01:00

Remember the surprise expressed in some quarters that a science fiction writer could be shortlisted for a major short story prize? Well now Chris Beckett has actually won the Edge Hill Prize, beating Anne Enright into second place with his collection, The Turing Test.

One of the judges, James Walton said:

"I suspect Chris Beckett winning the Edge Hill Prize will be seen as a surprise in the world of books. In fact, though, it was also a bit of surprise to the judges, none of whom knew they were science fiction fans beforehand. Yet, once the judging process started, it soon became clear that The Turing Test was the book that we'd all been impressed by, and enjoyed, the most - and one by one we admitted it."

Behind the scenes with Paul Mayeda Berges

2009-07-07T18:34:00.003+01:00

As part of its unsung heroes of filmmaking series, BBC News goes behind the scenes with Screenwriter Paul Mayeda Berges.

Showcomotion Children's Media Conference

2009-07-06T14:00:00.003+01:00

On the Guild website, Jayne Kirkham reports from the sixth annual Showcomotion Children's Media Conference that took place last week.

After the recent years of gloom, especially in children’s television, the conference theme of 'Connect' gave a cautious and practical optimism as it offered bespoke research connecting practitioners with their audience and also with each other as the benefits of cross-discipline learning and partnership became clear.

Free tax guidance

2009-07-06T08:10:00.001+01:00

HW Fisher & Company have produced a free tax guide for authors and journalists (pdf) to help you manage your tax affairs and are offering free tax advice to Guild members.

The Authors and Journalists team at HW Fisher & Company have many years’ experience in helping clients minimise their tax liability. If you have a tax query you can call their free tax helpline for Guild members on 020 7874 7876 and quote ‘WG’.

Alternatively, email your query (please quote ‘WG’ in the subject line) to Andrew Subramanian: asubs@hwfisher.co.uk or Barry Kernon: bkernon@hwfisher.co.uk

Please note: while the Guild believes HW Fisher to be a reputable company, we do not accept liability for any advice given.

Paul Feig on comedy writing

2009-07-06T08:00:00.004+01:00

In The Guardian, American actor, director and scriptwriter Paul Feig offers nine comedy writing tips.

4. Cut the jokes

"A script packed full of jokes is what a network executive will sign off because it will seem funny on the page. But it won't work when you shoot it because people don't really act that way. A great comedy is about real characters who make you laugh because you appreciate their personalities and how they react to particular situations. They have to be believable human beings, not just vehicles for gags.

The Brothers McLeod

2009-07-06T08:00:00.001+01:00

On the Guild website, an article by Myles McLeod (pictured above, right) about his partnership with animator (and brother, on the left) Greg which has led to success including a BAFTA nomination for their short film Codswallop.

We’ve always tried to challenge ourselves to do new types of story, or to use new techniques in our filmmaking. This is partly where Codswallop came from. It was also a very personal project. When you’re working on a lot of other people’s material there is always a level of compromise that has to come with that process. It can be fun to work with a big collaborative group and you learn so much from that interaction. But sometimes you have to go away and make something on your own, just as a kind of selfish artistic act.

(Photo: © BAFTA)

What Guild members are getting up to

2009-07-04T12:12:00.000+01:00

SARAH BAGSHAW wrote the last episode of The Royal "Compromising Postitions" going out on ITV1 on Sunday 5th July. She also wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Monday 6th July.

RAY BROOKING wrote the episode of Doctors "Crisis? What Crisis?" going out on BBC1 at 1:45pm on Monday6th July.

RICHARD BURKE wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Tuesday 7th July.

PAUL COATES wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at6:30pm on Friday 10th July.

TIM DYNEVOR wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Thursday 9th July.

JAN ETHERINGTON & GAVIN PETRIE are holding a rehearsed reading of two new comedy scripts, as part of the Sunbury & Shepperton Arts Festival on Thursday 16th July at 8 p.m. Tickets £10. Box office 01932 782788 (see wwww.riversidearts.co.uk)

JOHN FAY wrote the episodes 2 and 4 of Torchwood "Children of Earth" going out this week on BBC1 at 9:00pm on Tuesday 7th and Thursday 9th July.

RACHEL FLOWERDAY wrote the episode of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 8:00pm on Friday 10th July.

STEVE HUGHES wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Wednesday 8th July.

MARK ILLIS wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Tuesday 7th July.

JOHN KERR wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Wednesday 8th July.

MATT LEYS co-wrote "The Great British Foreign Holiday" going out on BBC2 at 8:00pm on Tuesday 7th July.

MOYA O'SHEA'S new play "Room Service" will be performed at the Farnham Rep from 20th till the 23rd of August at 7:30pm with a matinee on 22nd at 3:30pm. For more information please visit www.redgravefarnham.co.uk.

LYN PAPADOPOULOS wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Monday 6th July.

JULIAN PERKINS wrote the episode of The Bill "Breaking Point" going out on ITV1 at 8:00pm on Wednesday 8th July.

RHIANNA PRATCHETT wrote the story and dialogue for Overlord 2, Overlord :Minions and Overlord:Dark Legend , now available on Xbox 360, PS3, DS and Wii.

SUE TEDDERN'S radio play In Mates is going out on Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Monday 6th July. The audio pen-friendship of Michelle (Pauline Quirke) in Orpington and Randall on Death Row. Marion and Geoff meets Dead Man Walking. In Mates also stars Gillian Wright, Malcolm Tierney, Annabelle Dowler, Lizzy Watts and Benjamin Askew. Director: Jessica Dromgoole.

JOE TURNER wrote the episodes of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm and 8:30pm on Monday 6th July.

ANDREW S. WALSH wrote the dialogue for EA’s Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince available on Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii.

PETER WHALLEY wrote the episodes of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm and at 8:30pm on Friday 10th July.

KEN YATES' play 'Dust' is the story of a Leeds woman, June Hancock, and her battle against a multinational corporation whose Armley factory spewed asbestos out onto the surrounding streets fatally injuring her and many others.
The play is on first in Armley on 11th July and then at the West Yorkshire Playhouse from 15th - 18th July.

IMDB credits threat resolved

2009-07-03T10:14:00.003+01:00

Earlier this week there were reports that the International Movie Database (IMDB) was demoting writer credits to the 'Additional Details' section.

Fortunately, the situation now appears to have been resolved by the Writers Guild of America, as Craig Mazin writes on his blog:

I just received word from Lesley Mackie McCambridge, who runs the WGAw Credits Department, that the issue with IMDB has been resolved. She and her department were on this one before any of us in the blogosphere even knew about it, and IMDB will not be moving forward with any plan to relocate writers’ credits from their rightful position.

Hampstead Theatre's future

2009-07-03T08:09:00.001+01:00

With aritstic director Anthony Clarke having stepped down, on The Guardian Theatre Blog Michael Billington calls for the next incumbent to programme a mix of new plays and neglected classics.

At the moment, the only two London theatres to mix new plays with revivals of forgotten work are the Orange Tree and the Finborough. Both, I should add, are hugely successful, but inevitably operate on a smaller scale. Hampstead could do a similar job, and I suspect there are some rich pickings to be had from the 20th century repertory. From Britain alone, I can think of a dozen plays from John Galsworthy, Somerset Maugham, Emlyn Williams and Graham Greene right up to Arnold Wesker, David Hare, Howard Brenton and Trevor Griffiths that are worth another look.

In the comments, however, playwright David Eldridge calls for more fundamental change, arguing that whoever takes over at Hampstead should:

Eschew the awful development culture which has grown around our theatre like bind weed, alongside rampant over-commissing, which sees playwrights increasingly infantalised and treated with little respect. The theatre in general has always been most succcessful when canny artistic teams have backed playwrights to persue a vision. How an earth did our new writing culture become so like the bone-headed TV development regimes? The new AD could take a leaf out of the Bush's renewed commitment to being a play house where they put on the plays they like most and only give the writer notes when the theatre is committed to the play. I think Stephen Dadry said in the early 90s we need "to listen to the kids". These days the kids seem to be required to listen to the theatre...

Hanif Kureishi - adapting The Black Album for the stage

2009-07-03T07:00:00.001+01:00

In The Guardian, Hanif Kureishi explains how he set about adapting his novel The Black Album for the stage.

We worked on a number of drafts, and it was the usual business of writing: cutting, condensing, expanding, developing, putting in jokes and trying material in different places until the story moved forward naturally. I was particularly keen to keep the banter of students and their often adolescent attitudes, particularly towards sexuality. This was, after all, one of their most significant terrors: that the excitement the west offered would not only be too much for them, but for everyone.

The play opens at the National Theatre later this month.

The death of Moneyball

2009-07-02T08:37:00.002+01:00

As Christopher Hampton proved at the Screenwriters' Festival event a couple of weeks back, Hollywood near-miss stories are strangely fascinating.

The demise of Moneyball, despite the commitment of Brad Pitt, is a case in point. Tough for everyone involved, of course, and it's notable how many times the script appears to have been yanked about. IMDB lists four writers (working on adapting a book by Michael Lewis) and Michael Cielpy in The New York Times says that director Steven Soderbergh also wrote a script.

Cielpy reckons the film being pulled just days before shooting was due to start, could signify a new caution among the studios.

The last-minute demise of a high-profile film project, especially one starring an A-list star like Mr. Pitt, is a rare spectacle in Hollywood — one that is painful, expensive and damaging to all involved. It also happened with “Used Guys,” a high-priced comedy at 20th Century Fox in 2006.

But such disasters — this one is estimated to have cost Sony $10 million in development and preproduction costs — may become more common as an increasingly nervous film business comes to terms with a sharp decline in home video revenue, the diminishing power of even the most popular stars to muscle their projects into production and new uncertainty over complicated bets like “Moneyball.”

Blogging writer Ken Levine, however, reckons the project was doomed from the start.

Update (10.07.2009): Aaron Sorkin to the rescue?

The end of Joost

2009-07-02T08:10:00.001+01:00

Eighteen months ago we blogged about the possibility that Joost might be the future of TV.

Using P2P streaming, they looked set to create a new model of broadcasting that would harness the power of file-sharing.

That was then. Now, as Michael Arrington reports for TechCrunch, they've given up.

They over funded ($45 million before they even launched) and they ignored the fact that users were quite willing to sacrifice quality in online video for the convenience of Flash in the browser. Joost waited until late last year to go all Flash - until then users had to use the downloadable Joost software and allow P2P streaming of shows. In the meantime there was no linking to Joost videos. YouTube and Hulu got all that social media and SEO juice that could have gone to Joost.

Not that the traditional media companies will be cracking open the champagne. They've all got their own problems - see ITV's record low-ratings last week, for example.

Update (02.07.2009): Hulu and YouTube home in on landmark UK deals

Angry Robot imprint launches

2009-07-02T07:00:00.001+01:00

Genre publishing sometimes falls beneath the mainstream media radar, but Harper Collins seems to be going all out to promote its new imprint, Angry Robot. Well, they've sent me two press releases this week, anyway.

Today marks the launch of HarperCollins' new imprint Angry Robot. We'll be serving up 2-3 red hot novels a month for a new generation of readers who've grown up on Hostel and Hellboy, Battlestar Galactica, Gears of War and World of Warcraft and are now looking for adrenaline-fuelled entertainment in books.

Here's the policy on submissions:

We’re not open to unsolicited proposals at this time. If you’re a budding author and want to get more advice on your work we recommend you check out the amazing on-line novel-in-progress review machine that is Authonomy!

If you have an agent, or you are known to us or recommended to us by someone we know, you are welcome to submit proposals for new novels. We require a brief (two pages max) summary of characters, plot and your intentions/inspiration, in that order — plus the opening five chapters.

And here's some more info from the same page:

We’re publishing novels, either standalone or as part of greater series. We’re not looking to publish novellas, short stories or non-fiction at this time.

All our books are “genre” fiction in one way or another — specifically fantasy, science fiction, horror, and that new catch-all urban or modern fantasy. Those are quite wide-ranging in themselves; we’re looking for all types of sub-genre, so for example, hard SF, space opera, cyberpunk, military SF, alternate future history, future crime, time travel, and more. We have no problem if your book mashes together two or more of these genres; in fact, we practically insist upon it.

We’re publishing books for adults; we’re not looking for any YA or teenage titles to publish. We are happy for our books to cover adult themes, situations and “language”.

They're also on Twitter.