Tor: the latest developments (or lack thereof)

I wrote to Tom Doherty and two executives at Macmillan yesterday.  I haven’t had a reply from any of them, so I hope the e-mail reached them.  The silence is deafening.  I didn’t make this an open (i.e. public) letter, but it said basically the same thing as my earlier missive.  If this issue gets… Continue reading Tor: the latest developments (or lack thereof)

Neo-Nazis in action

In my open letter to Mr. Tom Doherty of Tor, I mentioned having fought against real neo-Nazis (as opposed to chimerical ‘neo-Nazis’, a label often misapplied to many supporters of the Puppies side of the Hugo Awards debate).  I was referring to the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB, meaning ‘Afrikaner Resistance Movement’), which was one of the… Continue reading Neo-Nazis in action

The conundrum of wider horizons and narrower systems

The current imbroglio over Tor and the actions and words of some of its senior executives is highlighting yet again a conundrum that affects many areas of our lives. Our potential horizons have been broadened immensely by the Internet.  We have at our fingertips a wealth of data and information for which scholars of old… Continue reading The conundrum of wider horizons and narrower systems

Tor-ments and Tor-tures

It’s been an interesting day.  As I expected, I returned home yesterday to find a number of e-mails waiting for me relating to the controversy over Irene Gallo and Tor.  I’ve spent today e-mailing back and forth with a few people, and I’ll share some of those discussions with you this evening. First, a number… Continue reading Tor-ments and Tor-tures

The Tor imbroglio and the progressive narrative

I’ve been . . . not astonished, really, because I’ve seen it all before, but . . . taken aback, at least, by the depth of ignorance, prejudice and blind, religious-fervor-style ‘group-think’ displayed by many of those arguing in favor of Ms. Irene Gallo’s comments that precipitated the crisis concerning Tor.  I’d like to examine… Continue reading The Tor imbroglio and the progressive narrative

An open letter to Tom Doherty of Tor Books

Tom Doherty, one of the seminal figures in science fiction and fantasy publishing over the last several decades and owner of Tor Books, has published a message on Tor’s Web site concerning the current brouhaha over comments made by one of his editors.  You can read the whole thing there, but I’ll publish a few… Continue reading An open letter to Tom Doherty of Tor Books

The latest on the Tor scandal

For those who may have missed the story so far, I refer you to my first and second posts on the matter.  If you haven’t already read them, please do so before continuing with this one. Both posts have been picked up, linked and re-posted by a large number of other Web sites and blogs. … Continue reading The latest on the Tor scandal

Is it time to call for a boycott of a mainstream SF publisher?

I was infuriated to read a remark by Irene Gallo, associate publisher of Tor.com and creative editor of Tor Books, one of the largest science fiction publishing houses.  I’ll quote it in full. There are two extreme right-wing to neo-nazi groups, called the Sad Puppies and Rabid Puppies respectively, that are calling for the end… Continue reading Is it time to call for a boycott of a mainstream SF publisher?