There are a bunch of things going on in Section 103. One of the most interesting to me is the introduction of layers of copyright. What happens when a work is built on previous material? Section 103 provides the answer.
https://www.authorsalliance.org/2026/02/13/turtles-all-the-way-down-sec-103/
John welcomes writer and director Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value, The Worst Person in the World) to ask, how do you introduce your characters and their world to the audience? Using the screenplay for Sentimental Value, Joachim lays out how he sets up his themes, characters, conflicts and narrative authority in the first few pages. We […]
The post Introductions with Joachim Trier first appeared on John August.
https://johnaugust.com/2026/introductions-with-joachim-trier
Open Access to research data is an important component of many Open Access initiatives. Open Data allows research to be verified and replicated. It also helps build transparency, accountability, and public trust.
As our latest effort to address the need for clear guidance on open science and open research, we’re excited to announce the launch of a new Open Data Resources page, designed to help researchers, librarians, and research support professionals navigate the increasingly complex landscape of data sharing. As expectations around openness, transparency, and reuse continue to grow, we’ve heard a clear need for guidance.
https://www.authorsalliance.org/2026/02/10/check-out-the-new-open-data-faq/
The 2025 IFDB Awards are ending soon!: Voting ends for the IFDB Awards at roughly midnight EST on February 15th. Make sure you get your votes in early! The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here.
https://ifdb.org/news?item=168
Section 102 maps the general contours of what is included, and then of what isn’t covered. Section 102 tells us what is covered by copyright in broad strokes, and then shows us (and courts) how to paint the finer strokes ourselves.
Congress—really for the first time (in copyright at least)—thought ahead.
https://www.authorsalliance.org/2026/02/06/copyrights-umbrella-sec-102/
The original post for this episode can be found here. John August: Hello, and welcome. My name is John August, and you’re listening to Episode 720 of Scriptnotes. It’s a podcast about screenwriting and things that are interesting to screenwriters. Today on the show, how do you sell and produce an original series in this […]
The post Scriptnotes, Episode 720: Watch Your Tone, Transcript first appeared on John August.
https://johnaugust.com/2026/scriptnotes-episode-720-watch-your-tone-transcript
John and Craig ask, what makes a useful comp? Writers often use comparisons when pitching or discussing projects, but what separates good comps from bad comps, why do we use them, and when do comps hurt more than they help? Basically, it’s The Studio meets My Dinner with Andre. We also follow up on orality […]
The post Blank Meets Blank first appeared on John August.
https://johnaugust.com/2026/blank-meets-blank
The 2025 IFDB Awards are open from Feb 1 to Feb 15! The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here.
https://ifdb.org/news?item=167
Overall Categories
Outstanding Game of the Year 2025
Author’s Choice for Best Game of 2025
Outstanding Game over 2 hours in 2025
Outstanding Short Game of 2025
Outstanding Underappreciated Game of 2025
Most Sequel-worthy game of 2025
Outstanding Worldbuilding of 2025
Outstanding Use of Interactivity in 2025
Outstanding Retro Game of 2025
Outstanding Game for Beginners of 2025
Outstanding Multimedia Experience of 2025
Outstanding technical implementation of 2025
Outstanding NPC design of 2025
Outstanding Puzzle design of 2025
Language Categories
Outstanding German Game of 2025
Outstanding Spanish Game of 2025
Outstanding French Game of 2025
Genre Categories
Outstanding Fantasy Game of 2025
Outstanding Espionage Game of 2025
Outstanding Historical Game of 2025
Outstanding Horror Game of 2025
Outstanding Humor Game of 2025
Outstanding Mystery Game of 2025
Outstanding Romance Game of 2025
Outstanding Science Fiction Game of 2025
Outstanding Slice of Life Game of 2025
Outstanding Superhero Game of 2025
Outstanding Surreal Game of 2025
System Categories
Outstanding Inform 7 Game of 2025
Outstanding Twine Game of 2025
Outstanding Choicescript Game of 2025
Outstanding Inform 6 Game of 2025
Outstanding PunyInform Game of 2025
Outstanding Game in a Custom System of 2025
Outstanding Godot Game of 2025
Outstanding Ren’py Game of 2025
Outstanding Adventuron Game of 2025
Outstanding Unity Game of 2025
Outstanding Bitsy Game of 2025
Outstanding Decker Game of 2025
Outstanding Dialog Game of 2025
Outstanding Videotome Game of 2025
https://ifdb.org/news?item=166
The IFDB Awards is an annual competition designed to award excellence in creating interactive fiction.It is held from February 1st to the first weekend after February 15th each year on the Interactive Fiction Database, and take the form of polls.
Votes are public but anonymized. Every IFDB member is eligible to vote, except for one special poll, the Author’s Choice Poll. Eligibility to vote in the Author’s Choice competition is determined by having a game linked to your IFDB profile (this can be found by editing a game page and use the ‘Link to Author’s Profile’ feature. Authors added incorrectly to a game will not be permitted to vote (for instance, if someone associates a random game they didn’t make to their account).
Rules for discussion and voting
-Voting must be in good faith and be based on personal experience with the games involved.
-Campaigning or organizing voting is not allowed if it breaks the above rule.
-Discussion of games on merit is allowed and encouraged.
-There is no hard limit on how many votes a person can cast in each poll for different games. A player voting for so many games that it makes voting difficult for others (such as voting for every game from the whole year) may have their votes removed, but only after warning.
-Author cannot vote for their own games. Such votes will be removed so that the running tallies are correct. Authors can post about their own games (for instance on intfiction) as long as doesn’t encourage people to break the rules (such as telling people to vote for your game even if they haven’t played it).
Code of conduct
-Voters must abide by the IFDB Code of Conduct. Harassment of other voters (including on other platforms) and creating multiple accounts for one person are prohibited.
Moderation -Votes that are cast incorrectly (for instance, voting for a Twine game in a Choicescript poll) or fraudulently (for instance, using sockpuppet accounts) may be removed.
Eligibility
-For most polls, games are eligible if they are listed on IFDB and have a publication date during 2025.
-For system-specific polls, games additionally must have the appropriate system or genre listed on their IFDB page under the specified field.
-Each poll will have a link to an IFDB search listing suggested games. Outside of system-based polls, users can vote for any game they feel fits the criteria.
-Any IFDB user can edit game pages to confirm eligibility. However, malicious editing (such as adding every genre to a game or adding incorrect systems to a game) will be reverted or removed.
-Any game author can opt out of the competition. Adding a note to the game page during the competition may be helpful to let others know not to vote for it, but opting out should be officially done by messaging the organizer (me, for now).
Results
-Results will be clearly visible throughout the poll. However, there will be a grace period of up to 3 days at the end to allow checking of votes before the official announcements, which will be made on Intfiction and IFDB.
-Polls with very low traffic will not have a winner awarded. This is left up to organizer discretion, but low traffic may include less than 5 votes for the winning game or less than ten votes total cast.
Future of Awards
One of the main purposes of these new awards is to be community-owned and regular. They need to keep working even if I don’t keep working.
The awards begin on February 1st of each year. If Feb 1st passes without the current organizer having created the polls, anyone can create the polls themselves.
The community can propose new changes to awards or new organizers via public discussion. A public yes/no poll on intfiction with more than 50% voting yes can be used to add new organizers. Current organizers can also add in other organizers or successors, subject to a public veto.
https://ifdb.org/news?item=165
For IFComp 2026, we are introducing a new rule addressing the use of generative AI.
The guiding principle is that judges and players should experience work created by humans. Accordingly, all player-facing content in IFComp entries, including cover art, must be entirely created by humans.
Authors may continue to use tools of their choice, including generative AI tools, for development assistance such as editing, debugging, accessibility support, research, limited translation assistance, or coding. Entries may not require judges or players to interact with external AI or generative services during play.
This rule was informed by results from the 2025 post-competition survey and discussion within the IFComp Committee. We thank everyone who shared their feedback; this post-comp survey received the strongest response we have ever had, and it helped guide the Committee’s deliberations.
That’s the update! If you’re interested in some of the information from the post-competition survey that helped inform the decision, keep reading.
Survey charts on the GAI use-case questions from the survey are shared below to give a clearer picture of the feedback we received. Alt text on these images provides the complete percentage breakdown.
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And, finally, we asked “Which of the following best reflects the approach you think IFComp should take regarding GAI in entries? Think of this as the bottom line for a potential new Author Rule.” These are the responses we received:
This is the latest in our series of posts marking the 50th anniversary of the Copyright Act of 1976. To […]
https://www.authorsalliance.org/2026/01/30/you-keep-using-that-word-sec-101/
John and Craig ask, are screenwriters just oral storytellers who happen to write things down? They compare the literate and oral markers of the medium, how it separates screenplays from other literary forms, and consider whether screenplays are just one long pitch. We also look at the upcoming WGA member meetings, follow up on having […]
The post Orality, or Writing to be Spoken first appeared on John August.
https://johnaugust.com/2026/orality-or-writing-to-be-spoken
Since 2022 we’ve seen 75 AI copyright lawsuits filed. The Bartz v. Anthropic settlement has been among the most high profile, and it has made many authors wonder if there are similar settlements on the horizon for the suits based on copying of books. This post surveys the current AI book lawsuits, several of which are on the verge of important decisions about whether, like Bartz, they can proceed as class action lawsuits representing the rights of millions of authors. Keep in mind that this space is changing rapidly, with new lawsuits filed very regularly.
https://www.authorsalliance.org/2026/01/27/ai-class-action-litigation-update-books-where-things-stand-in-early-2026/