Knight Foundation Invests $5 Million in 'Library-Centered' Digital Platform - Publishers Weekly

Today Panzer made a trip to the Publishers Weekly site. There our illustrious kitty found a post about the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). Panzer told you about the DPLA earlier in June when they signed an agreement to license Amazon Publishing books to libraries.

 

According to the post by Andrew Albanese, the Palace Platform Project received a $5 Million investment from the Knight Foundation. The Palace Platform Project is made up of the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) and Lyrasis. It was formed in June 2021. Plans are to have it fully functional by fall 2021. At that time libraries will be able to license ebooks and audio books from the Palace Platform Project.

I thought libraries used OverDrive.

 

Panzer says, "The DPLA is not the Internet Archive Open Library."

 

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a glass of iced tea and two chocolate chip cookies (biscuits) for today's reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to library centered digital platform

To read Panzer's previous post about the DPLA tootle over to Amazon Publishing 

 

 

 

27 Fabulous Writing Conferences in July 2021 - Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity

 Today Panzer made a stop at the Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity site. With a little digging in the posts our kitty leader found one about writers' conferences.

 

Site owner Erica Verrillo's post lists 27 writing conferences and workshops in July. The list includes workshops and conferences that concentrate on fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Some are free and some are pay for attendance. 

It's been really, really hot here.

 

Panzer says, "We didn't check every one, but most (if not all) appear to be online."

Note: This is a long-medium length post. Bring a glass of lemonade and a bowl of ice cream for today's reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to writing conferences

A New Panzerism

 Panzer on keeping pets:

The three main reasons to keep pets:

1) Teaches responsibility;

2) Teaches unselfishness;

3) Teaches cleanliness.

One heartbeat away from the curb.*

 

All true.

But mostly I just keep Mom around to feed me.

Otherwise, I'd dump her in a heartbeat.

* From Cat Wisdom for humans

2021 Strand Critics Awards Nominees - Mystery Fanfare

Today Panzer made a quick trip to the Mystery Fanfare site. There our speedy kitty boy found a post about the Strand Magazine's Critics Awards nominees.

 

According to the post the Strand Magazine announced the nominees for the Best Mystery Novel and the Best Debut Novel Critics Awards. The winners of the Lifetime Achievement Awards and the Publisher of the Year Award were also named. The post lists all the nominees. There's a link included in the post to another post about the announcement, but it contains the same information as this post.

 

She reads it to me.

Panzer says, "Mom subscribes to the Strand Magazine."

 

Note: This is a long-short length or short-medium length post (your choice). Bring a cup of lemonade for today's reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to 2021 Strand Critics Awards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today Is A Special Day

 TODAY IS
 CAT WORLD DOMINATION DAY 

 Ignorance is no excuse.

 

No Post

She has work to do. Not me.

Panzer here.

We're taking the day off so Mom can catch up on some work.

We'll be back tomorrow.

Markets and Jobs for Writers - Practicing Writing

 Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Practicing Writing site. With just a little digging in the posts, he found one about fee-free markets and jobs for writers.

 

Looking for a job? Here they are.

Erika Dreifus' post lists eleven markets and jobs for writers. The post includes jobs for editors, editorial assistants, and fellowships, as well as fiction, nonfiction and poetry publishing opportunities.

 

Panzer says, "Some interesting information included here."

 

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin to read all the markets and job offerings.

 

To read the post tootle over to Markets and jobs

A New Panzerism

 Panzer on unintended consequences:

It's a thin line between cute and chaos.

Cute is ...

when the kitty swats the reflection of a fly in the mirror.

Chaos is ...

when the kitty chases the fly ...

It's the fly's fault. He made me do it.

 

and ...

dives head first into the mirror ...

and ... 

 

the whole thing comes crashing down.

* From Cat Wisdom for humans

Amazon Publishing, DPLA Ink Deal to Lend E-books in Libraries - Publishers Weekly

 Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Publishers Weekly site. With a lot of digging in the posts, our intrepid eternally curious kitty found a post about Amazon and libraries.

I will check it out.

According to the post by Andrew Albanese, as stated in a May 18 press release Amazon Publishing and the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) platform have finally reached an agreement. Per the agreement, DPLA participating libraries will be allowed to lend 10,000 of Amazon Publishing's ebooks and audio books to their patrons. Patrons (and libraries) will need to use the SimplyE app to download the ebooks and audio books and read/listen to them.  Amazon Publishing is a separate entity from the Amazon platform indie authors  use to publish their books. The post includes numerous links to other information about Amazon and DPLA.

 

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty never heard of SimplyE. Guess we'll need to do some research so we can read Amazon Publishing books from the library."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the links included in the post, bring a thermos of tea, five muffins and two chocolate chip cookies (biscuits).

To read the post tootle over to Amazon Publishing and libraries

Windows 11 may be on the way: All the hints Microsoft has dropped so far - CNet

This morning Panzer's trip into the Catosphere took him to the CNet site. While digging in the posts, our inquisitive kitty found one about Microsoft. The post doesn't have anything to do with writing (or cats) but it is interesting.

 

Goodbye Windows 10?

According to Alison DeNisco Rayome post, Microsoft plans an announcement June 24 about Windows future. The company already announced the end of support for Windows 10 in 2025. The post includes sections on possible new features for Windows, a possible new name and other information based on hints Microsoft has released.

 

Panzer says, "But ... But ... They just did that B-I-G Windows 10 update and held Mom's computer hostage for half an hour while it downloaded and updated."

 

Note: This is a h-u-g-e post. Bring a thermos of lemonade, three muffins, two cookies (biscuits), and a bowl of chocolate ice cream for today's reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to Windows 11

Crime Conn Express - Do Some Damage

 In case you're looking for something to do tomorrow, Panzer found a Crime Fiction panel discussion for you to attend. 

 

According to the Do Some Damage site, the CrimeCONN is usually held in Connecticut, but because of the Covid-19 pandemic it was virtual this year. Thursday night from 7pm to 8pm is the final panel. The panel will include crime fiction authors Timothy Hallinan and Cara Black and for Akashic Books Noir Series John Temple.

Well hurry up!

 

The panel discussion is free, but you must register to attend. The post includes a link to register. It appears there are only a certain number of attendees allowed, so hurry and register to attend.

Panzer says, "Be sure to check your time zone to make sure you attend on time."

To read about the panel, tootle over to Crime Conn Express

Legible Launches Browser-Based Reading and Publishing Platform - Publishers Weekly

 Panzer was rudely woken up this morning by clapping and cheering coming from the Catosphere. Dragging his poor, tired, little, kitty body into the Panzermobile, he headed into the Catosphere. Following all the hullabaloo took him to the Publishers Weekly site. There he found a post about the new Legible reading and publishing platform.

Want to give it a try?

According to the post by Ed Nawotka, Legible.com has launched their new browser-based platform in beta mode in the U.S. and Canada. Browser-based means you can read their books on your cellphone, tablet or computer. Currently, they have books uploaded by some publishers, books in the public domain, and books uploaded by authors. Legible will be offering a subscription service, a sponsorship program and a publishing program. The subscription service will offer books for reading for a monthly fee. The sponsorship program will give schools and businesses the opportunity to pay a fee and allow multiple people to read the same material for a set amount of time. The publishing program will let authors upload their own books to the platform. There's a link to the publishing platform included in the post. If you fill out the form to get information about the publishing program, you can choose to visit the site and look at the books there.

Panzer says, "This little kitty followed the Legible Publishing link. It looks like an interesting new publishing venue."

Note: This is a long-medium length post. Bring a glass of lemonade and a bowl of ice cream for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Legible platform

McIlvanney Prize long list 2021 Announced! - Bloody Scotland

I will read all those books.

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard clapping and cheering outside. Following all the jocularity took our curious kitty boy to the Bloody Scotland site. With no digging at all he discovered the long list for the McIlvanney Prize for the Scottish Crime Book of the Year was announced today.

 

There's a YouTube video of the announcement embedded at the site. Below the video is the long list of nominees.

 

To watch the video and/or read the list of nominees tootle over to McIlvanney Prize nominees

Walk It Off - SleuthSayers

 

You can't function without us.

Today Panzer made a quick stop at the SleuthSayers blog. There he found a post by Bob Mangeot about how cats help their human underlings with crime fiction writing.

 

To read the post tootle over to Sleuth Sayers

A New Panzerism

 Panzer on recorded history:

I really need a kitty-sized collar camera.

Then ...

I could capture wonderful leaps, acts of amazing balance,

and ...

It's magic!*

 

sudden feats of startling magic,

when ...

hairballs appear without warning.

* From Cat Wisdom for humans

Authors Upset Over Goodreads Bugs - Publishers Weekly

 Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard crying and shouting coming from outside the Panzermobile. Following all the noise, took our brave kitty boy to the Publishers Weekly site. With hardly any digging at all he discovered a post about Goodreads was causing all the upset.

According to the post by Michael Seidlinger, authors' reader book reviews and star ratings are disappearing from their ebooks on Goodreads. Goodreads workers acknowledge there's a problem with the disappearances. They are working on resolving it, but there's no date for when it will be fixed. Some authors, however, have been able to complain directly and have had their reviews and star ratings returned. Goodreads is owned by Amazon.

Inquiring kitties want to know.

 

Panzer says, "It would be interesting to know if the disappearances are only in one genre or spread out everywhere."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Goodreads

OverDrive to acquire Kanopy - Publishers Weekly

 Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Publishers Weekly site. With no digging at all he found a post about OverDrive and Kanopy.

 

According to the post by Andrew Albanese, OverDrive is buying Kanopy. OverDrive is the major supplier of materials to libraries. Kanopy is a library service which makes documentary videos, movies and educational videos available to library patrons for free. There are links included in the post about OverDrive's previous acquisitions. There's no real information about what the acquisition will mean for the continuation of Kanopy.

Goodbye Kanopy?

 

Panzer says, "Mom watches educational videos on Kanopy. This little kitty wonders what will happen now."

 

Note: This is a short, short medium length post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to Overdrive and Kanopy

Amazon devices will soon automatically share your Internet with neighbors - ARS Technica

Panzer was shaken awake from his afternoon nap by booing and hissing coming from the Catosphere. Hopping in the Panzermobile, our brave kitty followed all the noise to the ARS Technica site. There with a digging at he found a post about the new Amazon Sidewalk was causing all the noise.

 

According to the post by Dan Goodin, Amazon's new Sidewalk is a wireless service which allows your neighbors' Amazon devices to share your wifi service and your devices to do the same with their wifi. Not heard of Amazon Sidewalk before? Well, if you live in U.S., your Amazon devices got automatically added to the service on June 8. This is what is called an Opt-out Service which means you are responsible for opting out of the service even if you didn't know you were added to it. The post has information about what devices are included in Amazon Sidewalk and what you need to do to remove your devices from the service.

We've got your back.

 

Panzer says, "One of our neighbors is a big, ugly, slobbering pitbull. I don't want him using our wifi. Oh, wait. We don't have any of those Amazon devises, so he can't use our wifi."

 

Note: This is a long post. Bring a huge glass of lemonade and a big chocolate cupcake for today's reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to Amazon devices

Fastly outage: Why it just broke Amazon, Reddit, Paypal, Twitch and much of the internet - CNet

This morning as Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere, the Panzermobile was suddenly violently shaken by crying, screaming and the gnashing of teeth outside. With the Panzermobile barely able to make any headway in all the chaos, our brave kitty boy finally made it to the CNet site. There he found a post about the morning collapse of the internet was what was causing all the angst.

Definitely an interesting morning.

The post by Katie Collins explains the internet crash was caused by Fastly. Since numerous sites use the Fastly cloud computing service, its outage was the cause of all the 503 error pages this morning. It took about an hour for Fastly to start getting  things straightened out. The post goes into extensive detail explaining what happened and why.

Panzer says, "Did you have any problems getting here this morning?"

Note: This is a huge post. Bring a thermos of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Fastly outage

A New Panzerism

 Panzer on democracy:

She's so funny.*

Mom and I both get to vote on stuff around here.

What I'll do.

Where I'll go.

Isn't it cute how she thinks her vote counts?

* From Cat Wisdom for humans

International Booker: David Diop, Anna Moschovakis - Publishing Perspectives

Tonight Panzer discovered the 2021 International Booker Prize was announced on June 2.

 

According to Porter Anderson at Publishing Perspectives, At Night All Blood Is Black by David Diop and translated by Anna Moschovakis won the 2021 International Booker Prize. The post includes quotes from the novel, information about why the novel was chosen as the winner and explanations about the prize.

That's it for today.

 

Panzer says, "If you go all the way to the end of the post, you can watch the ceremony."

Note: This is a very long post. Bring a big mug of tea and a large muffin for your reading. If you plan to watch the ceremony at the end, bring some more tea to drink.

 

To read the post tootle over International Booker Prize

An Interview With Terrie Farley Moran - Writers Who Kill

After some adjustments on the Panzermobile's rockets today, Panzer took a short trip to check out his handiwork. Our mechanically inclined kitty found an interesting post at the Writers Who Kill blog.

 

Jessica? Is she real? How do they collaborate?

Grace Topping has an interview with Terrie Farley Moran about the her involvement with the Murder, She Wrote books.  Terrie Farley Moran is the new collaborator with Jessica Fletcher on the books. In the interview Moran explains how she was offered the writing opportunity, the number of books in the contract and when they will be published.

Panzer says, "If you're a fan of the cozy mystery series, this will be interesting to you."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for your reading pleasure.

 

To read the post tootle over to Murder She Wrote

The British Book Awards - The Booksellers

 Today Panzer went to The British Book Awards post(s) at The Booksellers site.

 

The site has videos of the program for the presentation of the British Book Awards for the Book of the Year and Trade Awards. There's a link in the Welcome message to view individual author and illustrator interviews in the Nibbles Studio. Below the first 2021 program video is the author and illustrator interviews as one video. After the second 2021 program video is The Winners section. If you click on either the "Book of the Year" or the"Trade Awards," you'll be taken to the finalist list with a description of each one.

Okay. Where's my tuna popcorn?

 

Note: Since this is a collection of videos, it's a very l-o-n-g post. However, since it is videos, you can take a break whenever you want. Bring popcorn, pop, your slippers, a blanket to get comfortable and enjoy the videos..

 

To watch the videos tootle over to British Book Awards

The 2021 Shamus Award Finalists - The Private Eye Writers of America

 Mom is under another deadline so Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today was a short one. Our speedy kitty boy stopped in at the Private Eye Writers of America's site. With no digging at all he discovered a post about the Shamus Awards.

 

According to the site's news post, the finalists for the 2021 Shamus Awards have been announced. The awards are presented each year for novels and short stories with a PI as the main character. The four categories for the Awards are Best PI Hardcover, Best Original PI Paperback, Best PI Short Story, and Best First PI Novel. The finalists in each category are listed in the news post.

 

Mom said it will end. I believe her.

Panzer says, "Let's hope that Covid-thingy is in the rubbish bin by this Fall for the winners announcement."

 

Note: This is a short-medium length post or a long-short length post, depending on what you think. Bring a cup of tea and half a muffin for today's reading.

 

To read the list of finalists, tootle over to Private Eye Writers

June Is Flaming Murder

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today was a productive one.

 

Our inquisitive kitty boy discovered June is National Crime Reading Month in the UK. 

 

In honor of that there are crime reader and writer events planned throughout the month of June and on July 1.

 

They are:

June 3  - Reading Party with Greg Buchanan

June 5 - Crediton Literary Festival (with a crime focus)

June 15 - Crafting Compelling Coppers

June 24 - Crime Scenes

July 1 - Crime Writers Association Daggers Awards live presentation

 

All are online. Although they are free, you must register and have a ticket to attend. 

 

I'm going. Are you?

Go to the Events page, read through the descriptions and pick which you're interested in attending. On the left side of each event description is a button for more information. Clicking this will take you to another page. Scroll to the bottom of that page and you'll find registration information there.

To go to the Events page tootle over to Events

 

 

 

 

A New Panzerism

 Panzer on things to think about:

If the shoe fits, ...

 

a cat won't wear it.

Shoes don't look good on cats, not even sandals.

And ...

Just stating the obvious.

 

If you ever see a cat wearing socks

 

And ...

 

sandals, ...

You might want to back off on the catnip a little.