As you read these words, an event...

As you read these words, an event of unprecedented criminality is occurring in a Spanish seaside town. Crime writers from all over the world have converged on Gijon (June 29 to July 6) to celebrate the first Semana Negra (literally, “Black Week”; actually, something more like “Mystery Week”).

On Wednesday, a trainload of escritores policiacos (“crime writers”) left Madrid, bound for Gijon, where the port of El Musel has been decorated as a set for a detective movie. The week’s nefarious activities include a book fair, film festival, tango competition (what else would crime writers dance?) and numerous round-table discussions on such topics as Spanish-language detective fiction; European mysteries that steer a course between the English and French traditions; the detective genre and perestroika ; and literature, espionage and the Cold War.

La Semana Negra is the most ambitious project to date of the International Assn. of Crime Writers. The group has held two previous annual meetings in Mexico and the Soviet Union, although some date the founding of the group to an earlier meeting in Cuba.

IACW is, in fact, rare among writers’ organizations because it has offices in both the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The prominent writers’ group, International PEN, does have very active centers in Hungary, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, but none in the Soviet Union. (Helen Graves, coordinator of PEN’s Freedom-to-Write program, also notes that Czechoslovakia has a “dormant” group, while Poland’s PEN was shut down when martial law was declared. In addition, there are PEN groups for writers in exile, such as the Latvian group based in Sweden.)

“One of the principles of IACW is equal East-West participation,” explains Roger L. Simon, president of the North American chapter and creator of the Southern California detective, Moses Wine. “We’re glasnost- oriented on both ends.”

Among the American writers expected to attend La Semana Negra are Ross Thomas, Joe Gores and Donald Westlake. English participants include Graham Greene, Julian Symons, Nicholas Freeling, Lady Antonia Fraser and Simon Brett. Julian Semyonov, head of the Soviet group, will be on hand, as will Masako Togawa, the “P. D. James of Japan.”

The list could go on, but Simon pauses. “There are an enormous number of good writers who are just not known here because they are not translated. A huge percentage of the crime fiction published in the world is American or British. I’m published in 14 countries, for example. But writers who are just as good are not available in English.” Simon cites the “enormously popular” Mexican author (and Latin American IACW affiliate president) Paco Ignacio Taibo II, whose first English translation, “Easy Thing,” is due to be published next year.

One of the group’s objectives is to promote translation, and to this end, IACW has just established the Hammett Prize, the first international literary award in the crime genre. Five finalists for the Hammett will be announced during La Semana Negra, and the winner will be introduced to the international publishing community at the Frankfurt Book Fair in September. Judges consider titles for the award in four languages: English, Spanish, French and Russian. “It’s not truly international,” Simon admits, “but you can imagine how staggering a task it is.” An important part of the prize’s promotional thrust, however, is that 20 publishers worldwide have agreed to issue the Hammett finalists.

Simon reports that discussion is underway for an IACW meeting in the United States, possibly two or three years hence. In American literary endeavors, as with sports, sponsorship is often the sticking point in planning events on such a scale. For this first Semana Negra, Spanish government sponsorship helped bring 80 of the participating writers, including eight from the United States. “We are one of the few countries that doesn’t have a Ministry of Culture,” Simon points out. “The way that sort of thing is done here is through universities.”

The future of the crime genre is the final topic for discussion on the program in Gijon. Says Simon: “Crime fiction is huge right now, and very big in the East Bloc because it’s a way to talk about corrupt bureaucrats.” In fact, Simon would go so far as to argue that an international union of crime writers is a force for good in the world, since one of the common themes in the genre is the fight against corruption. “I’d pick a writer over a politician any day, wouldn’t you?” he asks. “One thing writers share is a healthy distrust of leaders.”

Naval Institute Press has lost a lawsuit it brought against Berkley Books for breach of contract and copyright infringement in Berkley’s paperback publication of Tom Clancy’s best-selling novel, “The Hunt for Red October.” Naval Institute Press issued Clancy’s book in cloth in the fall of 1984 and sold the paper rights to Berkley. The contract stated that Berkley could publish the paperback in October of 1985.

In September, NIP’s hardcover was still selling strong when Berkley’s paperback started turning up on best-seller lists. NIP filed suit, claiming that Berkley had jumped publication date and was unlawfully cutting into the cloth sales of the book.

The issue in the case is what constitutes publication date. Since book shipments can take varying lengths of time to reach stores, publishers commonly ship books several weeks before official “publication date.” This practice helps ensure that when advertising is scheduled, authors go on tour, and book reviewers offer their recommendations, the books are actually available in bookstores. Popular titles often appear on best-seller lists before the official release date, particularly when customers have been waiting for a paper reprint to arrive in the stores. The court agreed with Berkley that this publicity release date constitutes official “publication date.”

(The practice of early shipping has also been a sore point for retailers in the industry. It has been argued that publishers can give preferential treatment to favored accounts by shipping hot titles to them faster; one suggested alternative is an “on-sale date.”)

Naval Institute Press executive director, James A. Barber Jr., commented that in the court’s decision, “industry practice took precedence over contract language,” and that “appeal is under consideration.” NIP marketing director Jim Sutton maintains that early shipping is “not standard practice. Naval Institute Press interprets the word ‘publish’ to mean what it means in copyright law. Publication date means the day we ship.”

Meanwhile, Naval Institute Press has also filed suit against author Tom Clancy himself. In an unrelated suit now in arbitration, the publisher claims to own the character Clancy used in the book he published with them, “The Hunt for Red October,” as well as in his later novel, “Patriot Games,” which he published with G. P. Putnam’s Sons. As many authors do after a book’s success, Clancy moved from his original publisher to a larger house; at Putnam’s, he has had two subsequent best sellers. The dispute over the character ownership arose when miniseries rights for “Patriot Games” were under discussion. In general, in the publishing business, unless there is clear intent to give up ownership of a character or a sequel, those rights belong to the author.

Last fall, while the Year of the Reader was in full swing, a Southern California group set to work paving the way for its sequel, The Year of the Young Reader, (YYR), which the Library of Congress has set for 1989. With almost a year’s head start, the Year of the Young Reader Southern California Project is fast becoming a model for other local YYR groups.

Penny Markey, coordinator of children’s services at the Los Angeles County Library, explains that the project steering committee began last September “developing a coalition of interested people--authors, illustrators, booksellers, educators, librarians--and a network of organizations, agencies and groups concerned with children’s literacy. We are asking everyone to promote their individual programs in 1989 under the YYR umbrella to bring attention to the problems we are addressing.”

The Southern California YYR program will be launched on Oct. 2 with a fund-raiser featuring a “silent auction” of original art from children’s illustrators and autographed copies of children’s books. The first YYR event will take place before the turn of the year: a December literacy fair sponsored by Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), a national reading promotion organization known for its large-scale book giveaways. During National Library Week in April, the project hopes to organize a Read-Aloud Festival in cooperation with the Los Angeles Public Libraries. Another festival introducing children (and their parents) to the work of artists and writers working in Southern California is in the planning stages for May, to be co-sponsored with the Society of Children’s Book Authors and Illustrators. And to tie in with National Readers Day in November, a storytelling conference is on the boards as a joint project with the Los Angeles City Office of Education.

Some of those involved even hope that the momentum of a year’s collective campaign will not end with the Year of the Young Reader. Says Marilyn Carpenter, an educational consultant and member of the project steering committee: “This coalition could be a continuing and powerful force for literacy in Southern California.”

(Inquiries regarding the Year of the Young Reader Southern California Project may be addressed to 1016 5th Ave., Arcadia, Calif. 91006; (213) 374-1838. The national committee may be reached through Patricia Abe, Year of the Young Reader, 870 Market St., Ste. 919, San Francisco, Calif. 94102; (415) 788-2573.)