Well, that's disturbing

Just read this news round-up post at Dear Author (here) and several bits jumped out as being depressing (stop analyzing what I read on my e-reader, you damn Peeping Toms!), but this bit was the worst.

At this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego, CA, Random House Audio will be recreating an audiobook studio right on the convention floor–inviting authors of fan fiction to record a sample of their work for a chance to have their story recorded and produced as a digital audiobook. Stories from the following fandoms are eligible for the contest: Star Wars® The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer”
[...]

Entrants will be required to sign a Submission Form/Release acknowledging that the Fan Fiction is derived from and legally dependent upon the copyright of the previously published work upon which it is based (the “Underlying Work”), and therefore Entrant has no legitimate independent rights to either the Underlying Work or the Fan Fiction, and that the Fan Fiction will be considered work made for hire. The Submission Form/Release is set forth below, and will be available at the Random House Audio recording booth. Entrants are encouraged to carefully read the Submission Form/Release in advance of their recording time.

We sometimes put disclaimers at the top of fics saying the characters and setting etc aren't ours, which is fair enough, but I'm damned if I'd say the story wasn't mine. Because it IS.

As DA adds, they're looking for another Book I Will Not Mention Because I'm Fed Up to the Back Teeth With, not giving authors any chance to shine.