For those of you fans of the Twilight Saga, Stephenie Meyer's best selling young-adult serial novels, your wait for the concluding installment may be as endless as a vampire's lifespan.  The series thus far includes four books, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. The fifth and final book in the series, Midnight Sun, was in the works. However, an unedited draft of the story was leaked on the internet this week. So devastating was this leak to the author that she has addressed the issue on her website and decided to put her work on the novel "on hold indefinitely."

It is likely that Meyer knows exactly who leaked the manuscript as she had distributed very few copies, and each copy was unique. It is not clear how the damage of copyright infrigement will be handled in this situation as Meyer is quoted saying, "The manuscript that was illegally distributed on the Internet was given to trusted individuals for a good purpose. I have no comment beyond that as I believe that there was no malicious intent with the initial distribution."

However, she does not neglect to address the problem of copyright infringement, illegal distribution, and the personal pain an author experiences after having an incomplete text made readily available to the world.  

"I did not want my readers to experience Midnight Sun before it was completed, edited and published. ... Unfortunately, with the Internet, it is easy for people to obtain and share items that do not legally belong to them. No matter how this is done, it is still dishonest. This has been a very upsetting experience for me, but I hope it will at least leave my fans with a better understanding of copyright and the importance of artistic control."

Many readers will mourn the possibly permanent loss of what could have been a great conclusion to a wildly popular series. But we do learn and important lesson about the sanctity of an author's work and the profound importance of respecting copywright laws.

 

Time to tell us what you think. Is Ms. Meyer overreacting? Does she owe it to her fans to finish the book? Or is her reaction appropriate? Leave a comment on this thread and we will post your responses in the coming weeks.

 

Oh no! Word had a birthday on Labor Day and we missed it! Dang! Well, happy birthday, WORD. We're very sorry if you've been feeling neglected lately. We are going to try our hardest to keep you up to date this year. And speaking of this year...

Hello readers of READ! Welcome back to school! And welcome to the new era of READ magazine! You should now have in your possession our first issue of the year. It's the one with Icarus flying toward the sun. Oh no his wings are burning! Ack! Will he survive? Turn to page 14 to read all about it!

This year, we are very excited because each issue of READ contains a *new* Writing section. Do you see it? It's there in the back. It starts on page 26, immediately following our exclusive interview with Esther Friesner.

As you can probably tell, my blogging skills are a little rusty. But that's ok because I'm going to be blogging a lot more frequently and practice makes perfect! Yay! And so is Alicia! Yay! And Audra, too! Yay! But if you aren't interested in our word ramblings, send us your poems, stories, and essays. Here at WORD, we love to publish student writing! Email us at word@weeklyreader.com.

OK, that's it for now. Hope you are enjoying Issue 1!

The WORD inbox tells me that some of our student writers are heading back to school. Woe is Jason, indeed! (For those who don't know what I'm talking about will just have to check back on Sept. 12.) Well the editors at READ hope you all had a great summer whether you're already back in a classroom or counting down the days. The editors at READ have been working hard on this year's issues. Thank goodness, though, we did manage to squeeze in some summer fun. Reports indicate that Bry's car climbed Mt. Washington; Audra organized some kind of guacamole fest with lots of friends and lots of chips at an Upstate New York cabin. As for me, I hit the beach a few times and deeply regret never getting to the bottom of the secret of the Montauk Monster. I spent two beachy days there and did observe that the people of Montauk are too relaxed about the whole thing. Weird!

I'd like to use my back-to-school blog post to thank the following students for submitting their six-word memoirs to READ. They were in Cathy Alexander's 7th grade class during the past school year. Following the lead of this book, these fabulous writers tell us a very little something about their lives. The students in blue are appearing in the very first issue of READ. Thanks again writers!

Six Word Memoirs

Determination is my key to success. --Hyrum Weiler

Mom said, "No." Second option: Dad. --Diane Guzman

On your mark. Get set. Splash. --Lydia Pearson

It never hurts to be different. --Katherine Shaw.

Red crayons don't taste like cherry. --Emily Randall

Jumped off a moving skateboard, concusions hurt. --Sam Dodson

Jumping on the bed. Bad idea. --Sarah Nay

Toes tap, tutus swirl, I curtsy. --Taylor Brown

Practice makes permanent--not always perfect --Maddie May

High society boy with cheap clothes. --Armaan Velji

Nobody knows what's behind the smile. --Samantha Dean

Amazing athlete, "High achiever", don't contradict! --Jimmy Dyer 

I'm my orthodontist's main Guinea pug. --Lena Pearson

Blonde at heart, has brown hair. --Emily Hewitt

Intake into inquiry; inquary into insight. --Yikan Ge

Kill alarm clock with the hammer! --Stephanie Moon

I'm a header. Strong. Responsible. Determined. --Kyla S. Dickson

Once coccon, now a social butterfly. --Cara Young

To be myself, I act myself. --Suzanne Shorrash

Assigned homework, did homework, forgot homework. --Hope Carlson

Luv 2 text, $300 phone bill. --Katie Conway

Normal kid trying to achieve greatness. --Rory Martin

Burning hole in Dad's wallet. --Kristina Naso

Outside in the yard equals dirty. --Sam McCoy

If not the clown, then what? --Lindsey Foster

School:The nightmare of my life. --Hannah Tippetts

May spontaneously combust from exhaustion. --Katherine Jory

To new world; have new life. --Chuanze Wu

Fantasy sucked me away from reality. --Asaada Corley

I'm out of drawing paper again. --Rachel Pettit

Picked hard road ... paid off later. --Whitney Findley

A Michelangelo at four, still drawing. --Brion Chatman

All I can do is smile. --Krisna Patel

Ten games, undefeated season, golden trophies. --Kylena Branan

OCD, but unorganized to the max. --Katherine McLemore

Stealing is wrong unless it's home. --Zach Langley

At the peak of undiscovered talent. --Jamila Surpris

Come on! What could happen? --Elizabeth Trompeter

Pirrouting when I should be walking. --Hannah Watkins

Cheerleading, softball, school. I'm never home. --Sarah Oliver

99 years of life; Nana died. --Ndia Burton

Hit the balll over the fence. --Zach Gabrielson

Think of sparkling stars, my freckles. --Kara Strom

Illinois to Georgia, missing the snow. --Maddi Miller

Long haired vegetarian, not a hippie. --Morrison Nolan

Life's game: generous winner, gracious loser. --Alex Bowen

Tumbling all day, future gymnast star. --Leah Hodges

Best friends. Broken friends. Better Life. --Karen Eddington

Work piled on. Never stopped stressing. --Alex Marihew

Dumb blonde? I don't think so! --Meredith Pounds

Daddy said he'd visit;he lied. --Liz Shah

Daddy?! Oh wait you're not here ... --Jacoya Davis

Soccer jersey is never grass stain free. --Kimberly Pham

I'm short ... Do not bother me. --Saneen Shakeel

Loves music. Listens all night long. --Elaine Duong

I haven't figured it out yet. --Zane Bader

Global warming rising but still snowing. --Tony Wu

Can't shut up, gets in trouble. --Urvashi Betarbet

Just close your eyes and pray. --Jenna Bass

My life is a question mark. --Mariah Bowen

Grow older, but never grow up. -- Emilie Lostracco

Little brother, little sister, oh my! --Jenna Freeman

Goodbye sweet 7th grade. Hello summer. --Riley Weyner

Karma--my one and only enemy. --Rohan Mahadevia

Georgia to Pennsylvania, still best friends. --Katie Linton

My life doesn't have a hypothesis. --Devan Heyburn

Basketball, basketball, basketball bouncing through life. --Casey Staggs

Gone, but still barking from heaven. --Valerie Ward

My white jersey nevers stays clean. --Rob Youngblood

Smart girl. High standards. No limits. --Laura Anderson

I'm running away, but also forward. --Sarah Tucker

Will work for food. Chocolate anyone? --Natalie Neuman

All A's at heart, D average. --Keith Jackson

Dare to dream, but never sleep. --Aine Imbach

Working hard. Working together. A team. --Lauren Franklin

Don't need a parachute for free-falling. --Schafer Sirmer

Always living like there's no tomorrow. --Mary Helen Bowen

by Sarah-Jayne Kipling

He walks in to holy organ riot
Serpent sway
Unlined mouth
Agitation
That cracks the clay
Where the chieftain lies
"Teach me how to raise the dead," I say
His arms open into a porch

He pulls me back
Cawing
No fleeting mayfly backwards glance
A fetal world
Back, still further back
Into himself
Searing plain and shocked and open
Dark like a dead child's birthday
Rain has yet to be imagined
Inside the earth we reach the pinnacle
Eyeless

Seconds resume

He walks away
Just that
He walks away