Cory Doctorow on 'The Hour' - a blog on the author instead of the book

Last night I was watching The Hour, as Morgan Freeman was on, an interview I knew would be interesting, being one of the more highly respected actors of our time. Although it was a good interview, the interesting aspect was that Stroumboulopoulos’s second interview was with the author of one of our next novels, Cory Doctorow who wrote ‘Little Brother’. He was not on to talk about his materials or latest novel, but to talk about the issue of copyright and the internet.

In the introduction about him, it is explained that Doctorow’s materials are all available free online, as he feels that this is the way to both increase how many people have access to his novels, as well as taking a stance on the copyright laws that currently exist. He said through the interview, that having his novel free online has not hindered his sales, but feels they have increased them, as not all people will read the entire novel online or on the computer, instead reading some, enjoying it, then purchasing it. Having over 90,000 copies in hardcover print of ‘Little Bother’ helps to prove this fact.

Doctorow’s main issue with the copyright laws that exist, even with online purchases or items such as the kindle, is that there is no ownership involved in the material in question, and the licensing agreements one is forced to agree to make it impossible for the consumer to have any legal standing no matter what the case. Another topic that was discussed was the penalties for breaking copyright laws, using the example of France, where if one is ‘accused’ of breaking online copyright laws three times, they, and the household are banned from the internet. The key here is that there is no proof needed for the ban, only an accusation, and there are talks about implementing this in Canada.

Bringing this interview into the realm of YA, Doctorow’s views on the internet and copyright would be very appealing to teen’s, increasing interest in his novels, especially the fact that one can access them online. Although legal in this sense, in my opinion for teens it is not the fact that it is legal or illegal online, but that it is online. As well, he appeared on a talk show that would be more appealing to YA’s then other news/talk shows, and although Stroumboulopoulos’s career on Much Music may not be known to YA’s, the live audience at the show displays that he is in touch with this generation. At least for me, this increased my interest in the upcoming novel, without even hearing about it. For YA’s this may work as well, show the author in an interesting light and connecting to the issues of their generation, barely mentioning the actual novel but managing to bring readers in.