Independent Publishing Conference tickets on sale
The Small Press Network (SPN) has opened ticket sales for its 2023 Independent Publishing Conference, which runs from 23–25 November, has been announced.
The conference, which is now in its 12th year, will run as a hybrid event taking place in person at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne and streamed simultaneously online.
Following the Thursday research day and Friday industry day, the program on Saturday, 25 November is devoted to practical workshop sessions. Tickets are available as one-, two- or three-day passes to the conference. For more details, see the SPN website.
Amazon to require AI disclosure under new guidelines; limits on new title numbers
Amazon has updated its Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) guidelines to require users to acknowledge AI-generated content.
The new guidelines distinguish between AI-generated content and AI-assisted content, which does not need to be disclosed. In a post announcing the new guidelines, Amazon said it is ‘actively monitoring the rapid evolution of generative AI and the impact it is having on reading, writing and publishing’.
‘Beginning today [6 September], when you publish a new title or make edits to and re-publish an existing title through KDP, you will be asked whether your content is AI-generated,’ Amazon wrote. ‘As always, whether publishers make use of AI technologies or not, all books in our store must adhere to our KDP Content Guidelines, including the requirement that you accurately inform us when content is AI-generated.’
Amazon defines AI-generated content as text, images, or translations created by an AI-based tool. The guidance states: ‘If you used an AI-based tool to create the actual content (whether text, images, or translations), it is considered “AI-generated”, even if you applied substantial edits afterwards.’
Earlier this year, the Washington Post reported that books entirely generated by AI were flooding Amazon’s marketplace.
The new guidelines on acknowledging AI-generated content came before an announcement later in September that Amazon was ‘lowering the volume limits we have in place on new title creations’ on its KPD platform. In an update posted in the KDP Community Forum on 18 September, the company said it is lowering the number of new titles users can update to the platform daily to three, ‘in order to help protect against abuse’, adding that it expects very few publishers to be impacted by the change, ‘and those who are will be notified and have the option to seek an exception.’
Crime writing award winners
The winners of Australia’s two most prominent awards for crime writing—the Ned Kelly and Davitt awards—were announced last month. Also revealed were the shortlists for the Danger Awards, longlists for the ARA Historical Novel Prize, and the recipients of the 2024 Varuna residential fellowships.
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