Without weighing in on Blackmask.com specifically, there are
a few comments I want to make:
> I assume Al James, Day Keene's son
> is still out there.
Alas, no -- Al James died some time ago. But Al's widow is
still out there, and the copyrights to Day Keene's novels
have passed to her. When we published our edition of HOME IS
THE SAILOR, she's the one we paid for the right to do so.
Even if we hadn't been legally obligated to do so, I couldn't
imagine publishing a book and not paying the author (or the
author's surviving children, if there are any) something. We
can't afford to pay much, but we pay what we can -
- and the difference between paying something and paying
nothing is enormous, at least in terms of allowing me to
sleep at night.
> Bill Miller died many years ago, but
> isn't Bob Wade still alive?
Yes: At least as of a few months back, Bob was alive and well
and living in California.
> I don't think anyone is getting rich
> reprinting old paperback originals. I
> don't think Charles Ardai of Hard Case
> or Greg Shepard of Stark House is
> getting rich.
True enough. Last year we turned our first profit, a
staggering four- figure sum.
> The authors of Black Wings Has My Angel,
> My Flesh Is Sweet, and the various Gold
> Medal and Lion Book originals may be
gone,
> but their families are still here. Mary
> Chaze, Elliot's wife, is still alive.
She is, indeed. I was talking with her last summer about
(among other things) the possibility of our reprinting BLACK
WINGS HAS MY ANGEL, something she has never allowed anyone to
do. It was looking promising -- but then I thought to do a
search on Amazon.com just to be safe and discovered the
Blackmask.com edition. I had mixed feelings when I saw that;
on one hand, I was glad that the book was available again
after so long, but on the other I felt bad that I had to go
back to Mary and tell her I could no longer make the offer
we'd been discussing. But we would never publish an edition
of a book that another publisher has just reprinted a few
months earlier -- so in this case Blackmask's edition
literally was the direct cause of Mary Chaze not getting a
check I would otherwise have written. Of course, to be fair
to Blackmask, if it's true that the book really is in the
public domain, we'd have had no reason other than a
charitable impulse to write that check; and hell, if I'm
feeling so charitable, nothing's stopping me from writing it
now, book or no book. So I'm not trying to paint them in
shades of black and myself in radiant white.
But I will say I didn't feel good about the whole
thing.
--Charles
------------ Charles Ardai Editor, Hard Case Crime
--- In
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "George Tuttle"
<noirfiction@...> wrote:
>
> A question for all: It maybe legal, but is it
ethical?
>
> BlackMask.com reprints public domain editions (they
don't pay the
> author or surviving family for the rights to
publish) of classic
noir
> fiction writers like Elliot Chaze, Day Keene, Wade
Miller, John
> McPartland, Lionel White, Charles Williams, Charles
Willeford, and
Jim
> Thompson. It's probably legal (Authors are often not
good about
doing
> the paperwork required to extend copyright
protection). But is it
> ethical? Shouldn't the families get something? They
may not be owed
> anything, but wouldn't it be nice?
>
> It was one thing when BlackMask.com was reprinting
old pulp
magazines.
> It seemed more victimless. But this new wave of
reprints does not
seem
> right. The authors of Black Wings Has My Angel, My
Flesh Is Sweet,
and
> the various Gold Medal and Lion Book originals maybe
gone, but their
> families are still here. Mary Chaze, Elliot's wife,
is still alive.
> There were several kids. I met some of them when I
work at the
public
> library in Hattiesburg, MS. I assume Al James, Day
Keene's son is
> still out there. Jim Thompson has two kids: Michael
and Sharon.
Bruno
> Fischer also has two: Adam Fischer and Nora Ernst.
John McPartland
had
> two wives: the one he was married to when he died
and the one he
> forgot to divorce. I think Ida was the name of the
later and the
> estate heir. I think there was also a daughter.
Charles Williams
has a
> daughter Alison. Lionel White has a daughter,
January.
>
> And then there is Wade Miller(the writing team of
Bill Miller and
Bob
> Wade). Bill Miller died many years ago, but isn't
Bob Wade still
alive?
>
> Publishers like Hard Case Crime and Stark House
Press give us an
> opportunity to say thanks to the authors of these
books. It may be
too
> late to thank them while they were living, but we
can thank their
> kids, in a token way, when we buy a Hard Case or
Stark House
edition.
> I don't think anyone is getting rich reprinting old
paperback
> originals. I don't think Charles Ardai of Hard Case
or Greg Shepard
of
> Stark House is getting rich. I doubt if
BlackMask.com is getting
rich.
> We are dealing with principles here, and I don't
understand the
> principle that BlackMask.com is advocating for. I
think they are on
> the wrong side of this issue. I know David Moynahan
of BlackMask.com
> has posted on this site before I would welcome his
point of view on
> this issue or for him to correct any misconceptions
I have. I also
> welcome others for feedback on this
issue.
>
> Thanks to all for indulging me and letting me
vent.
>
> George the Librarian
>
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