Kathy Lette: ‘Older women buy most books so why won’t publishers give them what they want?’
inews.co.uk – Sunday May 15, 2022
The author, whose books have sold 573,275 physical copies in the UK since 1998 believes literature is failing to keep up with the phenomenon of women aging disgracefully
Older women are easily the biggest consumers of fiction. So why is it so hard for an internationally best-selling author to get novels about them published?
That’s the conundrum that Kathy Lette says she has faced. The author, who helped invent “chick lit”, has used an interview with i to reveal the hard time she has had getting publishers to accept fiction about menopausal women who are enjoying life.
“I’m struggling to get publishers interested in books that celebrate older women in a positive way,” she says. “They’re saying, ‘I don’t know if there’s a market for this.’
“If you’re not the hot, young new thing, they’re reluctant to think that you have an audience out there. But, of course, it’s older women who buy books.”
Is there a secret to writing a bestselling book?
smh.com.au – Friday May 13, 2022
How do I write thee? Let me count the ways … no, there are too many to count. Every writer has made their own journey, and no two are quite alike. So how can you possibly teach anyone how to write, say, a novel?
Despite the difficulties, there have probably never been so many writing courses and guides on offer, and people eager to take them up. Two of the latest books by Australian writers are perfect illustrations of how different writing advice can be. Both are eminently absorbing, encouraging and inspiring for the novice. In other ways, they are poles apart.
Inaugural SF Debuts Writing Prize
locusmag.com – Wednesday May 11, 2022
Science Museum in London and UK publisher Hodder & Stoughton have announced the inaugural Science Fiction Debuts Writing Prize. To qualify, “writers must be unpublished and not represented by a literary agent, and residents of the United Kingdom.” The author of the winning entry will receive £4,000, a six-month mentorship with Hodderscape editorial director Molly Powell, introduction to three literary agents, and a full critique. The runner-up will receive £2,000 and a critique, and shortlisted authors will get £800.
New Publishing Imprint Listing: ChristLight Books
firstwriter.com – Tuesday May 10, 2022
Publishes Christian fiction and nonfiction books.
New Literary Agent Listing: Ayla Zuraw-Friedland
firstwriter.com – Friday April 29, 2022
Interested in literary fiction and nonfiction that inspect big questions about queer identity, class, community, and art and technology through a personal lens, as well as poetry and a limited number of graphic or hybrid projects.
Don Winslow: The Complicated Ethics of Writing Violence in Fiction
time.com – Wednesday April 27, 2022
There are some hard ethical questions in the writing of crime fiction.
For me, the most difficult one is how to portray violence.
For one thing, should you depict it all?
And if so, how do you do it with some sense of morality?
I wrestle with this issue all the time. It’s a fine line to walk. On the one hand I don’t want to sanitize violence—I don’t like presenting murder as a parlor game, or worse, a video game in which there are no real consequences. On the other hand, I don’t want to cross that thin line into what might be called the pornography of violence, a means to merely titillate the worst angels of our nature.
The 25 best podcasts for writers
mashable.com – Monday April 25, 2022
Audio can be a bit of a contentious subject among written word lovers. But we're not here to re-litigate the age-old debate over whether listening to audiobooks counts as "reading" (it does, by the way).
Writing can be a lonely profession (or currently unpaid passion, until it can become your profession). But podcasts can bring listeners a sense of community no matter how isolated they are in their interests, both emotionally or geographically. As the illustrious history of famous literary circles goes to show, it often takes a village to produce the singular creative geniuses of an era.
So for established authors or amateur creative writers with big aspirations alike, there's a lot to be gained from the virtual book clubs and writer communities behind the podcasts listed below. Whether you're looking for guidance on the writing process, seeking to learn the fundamentals of great literature or about the publishing industry, or looking for muses to refill your well of inspiration, we've got you covered. From fiction to memoir, screenwriting to playwriting, and prose to poetry, there's an endless world of audio storytellers just waiting to fill your ears with the written word.
New Literary Agent Listing: Sydnie Thornton
firstwriter.com – Friday April 22, 2022
Interested in YA across all genres: fantasy, historical fiction, contemporary that leans literary, as well as thrillers with upmarket qualities and distinctive characterization. As for the adult side, she is actively looking for transportive, complex historical fiction and whimsical contemporary fantasy. Regardless of genre, she’s very likely to connect with manuscripts that bridge the YA/Adult divide. She’s also eager to champion any book that prominently features disability representation.
New Literary Agent Listing: Kate Burke
firstwriter.com – Thursday April 21, 2022
My list is made up of everything I like to read – gripping fiction featuring characters you can’t get enough of and whom you don’t want to part with at the end of a novel. I love dark stories but also uplifting love stories, too, and I’m keen to work with authors from all over the world. I’m fortunate to represent a list of bestselling crime and thriller writers, and authors of contemporary and historical women’s fiction. I’m always open to submissions of commercial and literary fiction.
In terms of what I’m looking for: on the crime side, I love dark thrillers (literary or commercial) that keep me turning the page long into the night and that surprise me with plot twists and interesting narrative structures, crime series featuring new and fresh lead investigators, and high-concept thrillers (contemporary, historical or speculative) that have a ‘what if?’ plot structure and say something about our society now or then. On the women’s fiction side, I love historical fiction that appeals to a reading group market (anything set during or post-WW2 is a particular interest of mine) and contemporary love stories that sweep you away with romance and/or heartbreak. Anything that has a discussable issue at its heart, that sucks you in as a reader and takes you on a rollercoaster emotional journey (tears and laughter!), is what I’m interested in.
On Writing a Social Novel, Giving Clear Feedback, and Outlasting Doubt
lithub.com – Wednesday April 20, 2022
I met Melissa Chadburn in 2011, at the Tin House Writer’s Conference, where I taught her in workshop. You already know that I’m going to tell you that she was brilliant and kind and funny, even back then, so I’ll skip to the part where I get really stoned.
This happened on the final night, when the poet D.A. Powell (bless his soul) proffered me hits off a blunt the size of a drumstick. At some point, I passed along to Melissa the little secret I had been saving for just such an occasion: the Croatian publisher of my debut story collection (“My Life in Heavy Metal”) had—after much anguished consideration—come up with a title that would capture the essence of my work for her readers: Sexburger U.S.A.
Oh my god, did we laugh.
Over the next five years, Melissa did two things for which I am still grateful. First, she took to calling me as Sexburger. Second, she sent me various drafts of her novel for review, absorbing, in the process, some pretty blunt feedback.
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