Around the Web: A New Language Trend, Copyright Laws, Reading Books About Girls, and Who's to Bl

Hello everyone and happy Friday!

Today, as usual, I’ve got some interesting links for you to check out! If you're interested in language, law, and books, read on.

Voldemorting

You’ve heard of search engine optimisation, right? Well, Voldemorting might be its opposite. Voldemorting—which comes from Harry Potter’s dark lord—is a phenomenon in which writers avoid names or terms by using an alternative. If you like word play (or just want to know what people are talking about on social media), check out linguist Gretchen McCulloch’s explanation of Voldemorting on Wired.

Copyright Law Myths

This might be dry for some of you, but if you’re a creator you might be interested in some copyright information. Copyrightlaws.com broke down ten myths about Canadian Copyright law and this is a good place to start learning more.

Reading Books About Girls

As an author who has written books about female characters, Shannon Hale has heard all kinds of comments about whether boys should read her novels or not. She discusses this bias and argues that children shouldn’t be discouraged from reading about other genders in the Washington Post. This is a good article to read if you’ve even hesitated to buy a book for a boy because of female characters.

Don’t Blame the Editors

The chair of judges for the Man Booker Prize made a comment suggesting that some novels submitted could have been shorter. Sam Jordison, editor and founder of Galley Beggar Press, says this is an implicit critique of editors, but that authors are ultimately responsible for their books. In making this argument, Jordinson gives some information on the relationship between authors and editors that you may find interesting.

That’s it for now, everyone. What have you been reading around the web this week? Please let us know in the comments or tag us on social media.