Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: Mizzou, Priestess Maya White Sparks, PaganAid and more!

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Over the last week, University of Missouri-Columbia (Mizzou) graduate students and the school’s administration have clashed over a number of issues including student insurance benefits and overall treatment. The more than 1200 students, calling themselves the Forum for Graduate Rights, have threatened to walk-out of their jobs if the school does not meet their demands. These demands touch on everything from equitable pay, health benefits, tuition wavers, housing, childcare and fees. The protest was sparked when the University announced that it would be cutting subsides used to pay for health insurance. Our own Wild Hunt columnist Eric O. Scott is one of the seven organizers of the movement. He is currently a graduate student at Mizzou working toward a PhD in English.

Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: Huntsville Alabama, PAEAN Conference, Oberon Zell-Ravenhart, Witches in London and so much more!

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Pagan Community Notes is a series focused on news originating from within the Pagan community. Reinforcing the idea that what happens to and within our organizations, groups, and events is news, and news-worthy. If you enjoy this series and our other recurring entries, please consider donating to our 2014 Fall Fund Campaign. Your support and donations make it possible for us to keep sharing the news and these important stories with you. Now let’s get started! 

The Interfaith Mission Council (IMS) of Huntsville, Alabama has announced that Wiccan Priest Blake Kirk is scheduled to offer an invocation before the Nov.

Culture

The Question of Self-Publishing

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In yesterday’s post, I discussed the state of the publishing industry with respect to Barnes & Noble’s recent unimpressive fiscal announcements. How would the disappearance of the last remaining large-scale, traditional bookstore affect the metaphysical book industry? After speaking with two industry experts, the answer seems conclusive. A Barnes & Noble collapse, while not at all preferable, would not permanently damage either company. Llewellyn and the Phoenix & Dragon Bookstore both maintain flexible, diverse, customer-driven business structures that are adaptable in this evolving marketplace. Will Barnes & Noble go the same way as Borders?

Culture

Adventures in self-publishing: an interview with John Matthews

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Over the past ten years there has been a significant increase in the number of writers who are self-publishing.  The days of literary agents and big publishing houses may be numbered.   Actual statistics are hard to come by due to the multiple modes of production.  However, several big papers have attempted some estimations. In 2011 the New York Daily News reported that 43% of all paperbacks were self-published, with overall publishing up 287% from 2006.  The Wall Street Journal reported that self-published books were up by 160% over the same period.  Amazon’s publishing arm, Create Space, told the New York Times that “its books increased by 80% from 2009-2010” alone. 

Self-publishing is reasonably affordable and easily available from the “comfort of your own home.”  It promises higher returns on your investment and stardom for authors with no name, following, or agent to call their own.  For many undiscovered writers who fail to attract the attention of the New York-based big six publishing houses or other smaller companies, the self-publishing option is the only option. While readers may still associate the self-published book with the untalented or self-aggrandizing writer, times are changing.  Self-publishing has now become a very viable option for even the most accomplished and prolific of authors.  This mode of production puts the power back into the artist’s hands. Last week I interviewed one such author – John Matthews.  John is an accomplished historian, folklorist, and author.  Over the past 30 years he has written over 90 books on Arthurian mythology as well as a volume of poetry and many short stories.  His children’s book, Pirates, reached the number one slot on the New York Times Best Seller list in 2006.