Normally changes in leadership might not be cause for concern at a writers organization, but given the problems at the Romance Writers of America (not to mention other once-robust institutions), writers started getting anxious when the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association started losing paid staff members and board members over a short time period.
SFWA’s former executive director was unceremoniously locked out of her email and work accounts not long after giving 90 days’ notice on June 30. Then followed the departure of two others in paid positions. Three-year president Jeffe Kennedy resigned on August 1, then the interim president stepped down two weeks later. The resignation announcements were light on details (personal reasons were cited), and the SFWA hasn’t provided much in the way of information.
Long-time SFWA member Jason Sanford, who writes the Genre Grapevine newsletter, conducted numerous interviews with SFWA insiders to learn more. However, because of a broad non-disclosure policy signed by those at SFWA, not much can be said on the record. Still, what Sanford learned and has been able to report is illuminating. The good news: no identifiable financial problems or scandals as of yet. The bad news: managerial malaise, partly exacerbated by growth. Read.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
