Donna Ballman

Which vanity publisher is being sued by 16 authors for deceptive practices? Will ignorance of copyright law be a defense? The libel tourism bill becomes a law. Plus, whose secret identity are BBC lawyers trying to hide? And what Macmillan authors need to do when they get that little contract amendment about e-rights in the mail. These and other writing and publishing headlines are in this week's Write Report.

Which state has joined the pileup of attorneys general investigating Apple and Amazon? Which celeb’s followers convinced a library that gay literature is kiddie porn? Libel tourism soon to be dead in the U.S. thanks to this new law. Plus, one of my favorite legal thriller writers, Paul Levine, blogs about how legal thrillers sometimes fall short, legally speaking. These and other headlines are in this week’s Write Report.

Big busy week for me, even though I’m on vacation. Ha!

My interview on work life balance on Women Lawyers Online is up. You can listen here

I did an article for Women On Writing titled, “Using the Law in Your Story: Character, Plot and Professions.” You can read it here.

Another article I wrote on using the law in writing is up at Selling Books

Lots of news. Which bookseller is defending a poison pill? Who's suing JK Rowling this week? Who dropped their suit against Scribd? Why did Janet Evanovich leave her publisher? These and other writing and publishing news stories are on this week's Write Report.

Why shouldn’t Bloomberg/Wiley authors sign the modifications the publisher is proposing? Which major sports bio went on sale despite threats and bookstores refusing to shelve? Which publisher is accused of sexual harassment? These headlines, plus more of the latest writing and publishing news are in this week’s Write Report.

Thanks so much to the Florida Writer's Association, which just named The Writer's Guide to the Courtroom as a finalist in the 2010 Royal Palm Literary Awards.

This week on Litopia’s podcast The Debriefer, Peter and I talked about the universal e-book format, why it matters that we don’t have one yet, and what authors can put in their contracts to make sure their books appear in all the major e-formats. This headline, plus more of the latest writing and publishing news are in this week’s Write Report.

The Write Report has been named an Awesome Blog by Writing World, the very first blog chosen for this honor. Thanks so much. What an incredible honor. Writing-World.com is an awesome website for writers.

Which monarch is championing libel reform? Which publishers are killing endangered trees to make books? What does Facebook do to dissenters? Which writer is claiming Heroes stole the last season from their comic book? The headlines, plus more of the latest writing and publishing news are in this week’s Write Report.

Which literary agent got busted for stealing from his clients? Which author is dealing directly with Amazon for traditional book publishing? Which book got halted after a libel threat letter went out to everyone connected with it? Is the agency model iPad uses for e-books going to run into antitrust problems in the UK? These and other stories are in this edition of The Write Report.

Why is Amazon suing an entire state? Who’s suppressing whose free speech? Writers have managed to offend which three religions this week? These and other headlines are in this week’s Write Report.