Because of these several impediments, as well as other technical difficulties, you will find typos and occasional replication of text. In our humble opinion, typos show that the logs are of *live* chats, not canned interviews, and minimal editing of these logs has taken place.

Cory Doctorow's Home Page

[Cory_Doctorow_] Hi there! I'm Cory Doctorow, the newly crowned winner of the Y2K Campbell Award -- still on cloud nine!
[Cybling] Congradulations on winning!
[Pam] Congratulations
[Stormwindz] Congrats man!
[Cybling] Are you going to Disney World?
[Stormwindz] To see the pretty balloons?
[Cory_Doctorow_] Just came from Disneyland last weekend, in fact...
[Cory_Doctorow_] If anyone wants a recap of the speech, hit http://www.craphound.com/thanks
[Cybling] Is this your first major award?
[Cory_Doctorow_] Yes, it is. I was up for the Sturgeon in 1999 for my story "Craphound," but I lost to Ted Chiang (another Campbell winner)
[Cory_Doctorow_] Hard to complain about losing to Ted Chiang -- like losing to Ray Bradbury or something
[Cory_Doctorow_] I was at the same table as his agents at the Nebs. The guy has written four short stories and nothing else, and he's still got FOUR agents, including a film agent
[Stormwindz] That would be tough
[g]
[Cybling] How many stories have you written so far?
[Cory_Doctorow_] Written? Oh, many many many. I started when I was 12, after all. But I've sold about 20...
[Cory_Doctorow_] I sold my latest, "Power Punctuation!" last night, before the Hugo Ceremony, to Patrick Nielsen Hayden, for Starlight 3
[Cybling] How long did it take before your first story was published?
[Stormwindz] Think of it this way, you have less people to pay when you do sell.
[Cory_Doctorow_] I started submitting when I was 16. I made my first semi-pro sale (a not very good story called "2000 Year Checkup," now lost to obscurity) -- but it was TEN YEARS before I made my first pro sale
[Cybling] Have you made enough to quit your day job yet?
[Cory_Doctorow_] Not by a significant margin. Short stories pay approx $0.01/hr and down. I started a software company last year called openCOLA (www.opencola.com) that has just started in on raising its second round of venture financing. We've got 50 employees and offices in Toronto and San Francisco
[jimusb] Do you care to quit your day job or is there something for you to be gained by remaining employed at something other then writting?
[Cory_Doctorow_] So I'm bi-coastal
[Cory_Doctorow_] Oh, there's plenty of good reason to stick with my job -- for one, I haven't vested my founder's equity yet. For another, I'm working of totally kickass tech, inspired by a novel that I've just finished.
[Cory_Doctorow_] For a third, I'm working with the smartest people I've ever met.
[Cybling] What was the first thing you did after winning yesterday?
[jimusb] Those are more then reasons to stay but a way of life.
[Cory_Doctorow_] I fired up my 2-way blackberry pager and spammed everyone in my address book with the news
[Cory_Doctorow_] I had replies by the time I found my seat again
[Cory_Doctorow_] And the news was on the net within about 10 minutes
[Cybling] Have you made any contacts here at World Con?
[Cory_Doctorow_] Winning a Campbell is like being blessed by the fairy godmother. you're vaulted out of obscurity and into celebrity, and everyone wants to shake your hand.
[Cory_Doctorow_] I've had authors I've idolized all my life stop me, apologize for disturbing me, and tell me how much they like my stuff.
[Cory_Doctorow_] I've had three or four hotshot agents try to poach me from my agent.
[Cory_Doctorow_] And all the pretty girls keep making eyes at me.
[Cybling] Who are your biggest influences?
[jimusb] Authors that is not the girls.
[Cory_Doctorow_] Oh, lots and lots. I grew up on Heinlein and Asimov and Bradbury and Ellison et al.
[Cory_Doctorow_] But lately, I've been reading mystery writers, like Carl Hiaasen, Elmore Leonard and John D MacDonald.
[Cory_Doctorow_] Kids' writers kick all kinds of ass. Pinkwater, Carroll, Goldman...
[Cybling] How many World Con's have you attended?
[Cory_Doctorow_] This is my fifth -- SF, Winnipeg, LA, Baltimore, here.
[Cybling] Do you still collect autographs?
[Cory_Doctorow_] I get the occassional author to sign my PDA using a paint program. Though to be honest, the last autograph I got was Penn Gillette of Penn and Teller, at Bally's in Vegas.
[Cybling] What stories are in the pipeline?
[Cory_Doctorow_] I've got a bunch of stuff on the horizon. As I mentioned, I just finished my first novel ("Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom") and the early editorial response has been very postivie.
[Cory_Doctorow_] I've just had a story published in the August Interzone, and I've got two forthcoming in Century (though to be fair, those stories have been forthcoming for eight years now), as well as a story in the new magazine Black Gate, around December. Asimov's will be running a collaboration with Michael Skeet, "I Love Paree," in December as well.
[Cory_Doctorow_] My new book is something called "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Science Fiction," for Macmillan (www.cigsf.com), and it's just hit the stands.
[Cybling] Have you changed your business card to now read "Campbell Award Winner"?
[Cory_Doctorow_] No, but I have updated my Website. I set up the revised pages before leaving for the Con and logged in last night and made them live before bed.
[Cybling] Do you prefer novels or short stories?
[Cory_Doctorow_] Do you prefer chocolate or steak?
[Cory_Doctorow_] The question's a hard one to answer. Short stories are like a kick in the teeth in the dark from a stranger. Shocking and amazing and alarming.
[Cory_Doctorow_] Novels can immerse you wholesale in new worlds, transport you and make you forget the whole daily world.
[Cory_Doctorow_] They're both wonderful, when done right.
[Cybling] Any final questions for Cory?
[Cybling] OK, Thank you for spending some time with us
[Cybling] Good luck in the future!
[Cory_Doctorow_] Thanks a ton. Back to the Con saltmines for me...
[Cory_Doctorow_] Good night everyone.