Pins and Needles

[nalpak retrac]

I skimmed through . . . [the chaosim] . . . thread pretty rapidly. It brings up a problem of my own that perhaps you all--or Mike--could advise me on.

In 1991 or 1992 (not sure exactly, the contract is in a drawer at my mom's house) I signed an agreement with the Italian publisher Mondadori, who had purchased two of my short storis for their Urania line. I believe the stories were to appear in the magazine Millemondi, edited by Giuseppi Lippi, who was also to translate the stories into Italian.

The titles of the stories were "Pins and Needles" and "The Wind Haunted by its Own Ghost."

Never heard anything afterward. I waited. Mondadori's office in Manhattan at Broadway and 8th closed. Around 1996 or 1997 I tried to telephone Mondadori in Italy--I got a janitor or something. Gave up.

The person at Mondadori in Manhattan who was my contact--a friend of mine--told me that Mondadori often ripped authors off.

One or two years ago I did a google search and found my name on a list of authors at the Urania site. I immediately tried contacting Giuseppii Lippi through the Urania e-mail. No response.

A day or two after sending the e-mail to Lippi, I checked the Urania Webpage that had listed my name, and my name had been removed!

Harummph. I am probably a famous speculative fiction writer in Italy and I don't even know it???

Any advice? Comments? Thanks.

[Whiskers]

Carter,

Do a search at Google for that page again. When you see it as a hit, click on the "cached" link to see if it's in google's chache. You might want to print that out if you see your name.

[nalpak retrac]

http://www.fantascienza.net/users/uraniandco/index.html

It used to be at a link that was at the above URL. Perhaps the research and documentation link on the left of the above ("Ricerca & Documenti") might lead to something similar, although it looks like they are revising the system by which their archives can be searched. One used to be able to search through an index of authors, or issues year by year. I don't see it.

I think I originally found it through googling my name together with Mondadori or Urania, something like that.

Thanks, Berry.

[Doc]

Hey Carter. None of my business, but are you curious about what happened in the publishing history or are you worried about the publishing rights (I'm guessing you may have had to sign them over to the publisher)? The publishing rights would probably be my biggest concern. Unless, of course, you're being cheated out of a life of luxury as a famous Italian writer.

[L'Etranger]

Italy's difficult terrain. I wouldn't trust any of the bigger publishing houses with one exception: Editore Feltrinelli in Milano

[nalpak retrac]

Doc,

In this matter I am of course most concerend about my fame in Italy. :lol:

I would like to know if the stories were published to 1. put them down on my c.v., and 2. use the credentials to barter my way forward in publishing more of my work, and so on, and 3. finding out these stories have indeed been published will motivate me, and so on.

I certainly hold the English language rights, and besides Mondodori has nأ¶t paid me thus they own nothing, or so I should think.

LETranger,

Yes, that is what I have heard.

Anybody have a friend who collects Italian science fiction and fantasy?

Or someone with Italian who can navigate round the Urania Web page for me. Or write Urania and innocently inquire about an obscure American, Carter Kaplan by name, who might have published in Millemundi in the 90s?

[L'Etranger]

Carter,

that's why we have Moorcockistas all over the world:
"DigiMac" lives in Northern Italy, perhaps you could ask her.
[broken link]

Saludos,
L'Etranger

[nalpak retrac]

Thanks

LETranger,

Thanks. Good idea. I have emailed DigiMac and asked for help.

CK