The Tercentenary Incident The Tercentenary Incident "The Tercentenary Incident" is a science fiction/mystery short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the August 1976 issue of "Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine", and reprinted in the collections "The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories" (1976) and "The Complete Robot" (1982). "Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine" editor Frederic Dannay contacted Asimov in the fall of 1975 with a story proposal: the August 1976 issue, which would be on the stands during the United States Bicentennial, would include a contemporary mystery set in 1976 and a historical mystery set in 1876. He wanted a science
Hack writer Hack writer A hack writer is a pejorative term for a writer who is paid to write low-quality, rushed articles or books "to order", often with a short deadline. In a fiction-writing a hack writer is paid to quickly write sensational, "pulp" fiction such as "true crime" novels or "bodice ripping" paperbacks. In journalism, a hack writer is deemed to operate as a "mercenary" or "pen for hire", expressing their client's political opinions in pamphlets or newspaper articles. Hack writers are usually paid by the number of words in their book or article; as a result, hack writing has a