Bloody Scotland: Virtual Scots crime writing festival goes global on its debut
sundaypost.com – Sunday November 1, 2020
The Bloody Scotland festival, usually held in Stirling, featured leading authors including Ian Rankin, Val McDermid, Ann Cleeves, Chris Brookmyre and Lee Child.
Organisers confirmed the three-day virtual festival attracted nearly three times the record 10,000 who attended in person in 2019.
The event also “went global”, with authors discussing their work in five continents and audiences logging in from more than 20 countries around the world.
Bob McDevitt, Bloody Scotland’s director, said the success of this year’s virtual festival had inspired a rethink of the traditional format to combine live and online content in future.
‘Thank God we have that’: Wattpad author says writing gig became coronavirus emergency fund
globalnews.ca – Sunday November 1, 2020
When Caroline Richardson’s husband was temporarily laid off in the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, money became a concern.
The family of four was down to one income and the bills kept coming. There was the mortgage, car payments and two kids who wouldn’t stop growing and needing new clothes just because the economy was going through a rough patch, she recalls.
Luckily, though, Richardson’s long-time hobby came to the rescue. Government employee by day, Richardson is a writer of — in her own words — “mature, steamy romantic stories with a happy ending” in her free time.
It’s a labour of love she’s kept up for years, says Richardson, who has four book-length stories under her belt. But it wasn’t until one of her most recent works took off on Wattpad, an online storytelling platform, that her pastime became a lucrative side-gig.
New Literary Agent Listing: Caroline Dawnay
firstwriter.com – Friday October 30, 2020
Interested in serious nonfiction and literary fiction. For submissions please email a short cover letter, biographical note and the first 10,000 words of your text.
Bridport Prize to be held online this year
bridportnews.co.uk – Thursday October 29, 2020
BRIDPORT’S creative writing competition will be broadcasting its award ceremony for the first time ever this year – and everyone is invited.
The ceremony for the Bridport Prize – one of the most prestigious open writing competitions – will take place at 6pm today (Thursday).
The annual ceremony traditionally takes place at the Bridport Arts Centre and is strictly invitation only. However, due to the pandemic, this year’s ceremony has had to go online.
The award has helped launch the career of a number of famous writers, including Kate Atkinson and Kit de Waal.
New Literary Agent Listing: Jon Michael Darga
firstwriter.com – Thursday October 29, 2020
Represents both nonfiction and fiction. He is most interested in voice-driven pop culture writing and histories that re-cast the narrative by emphasizing unexpected or unheard voices.
Making $$ Editing Freelance With Your Skills
By G. Miki Hayden
Instructor at Writer's Digest University online and private writing coach
firstwriter.com – Wednesday October 28, 2020
Writers can always use “extra” dollars, and these days the “extra” is very much necessary. Okay, we may not know how to do much other than push words here and there, but if we do that well, our abilities, honed over the years, may bring in the hoped-for bucks—freelancing as an editor for other writers. The nice thing about taking on projects this way is that we can sleep late and work at home in our sweats, another important point these days. Some of us do it, so why not you?
New Publishing Imprint Listing: Ruby Fiction
firstwriter.com – Wednesday October 28, 2020
Publishes thrillers, women’s fiction and romances without the hero’s point of view, between 60,000 and 100,000 words, suitable for a female adult audience.
New Literary Agent Listing: Sarah Ballard
firstwriter.com – Wednesday October 28, 2020
I have extremely broad taste in fiction and non-fiction, but the underlying quality of the work that I’m interested in is a sense of urgency, and an attempt to make a change in the world, whether that is fiction with a compelling plot or structure overlaying a set of big ideas; memoir-ish non fiction flavoured with obsession and unfolding a hidden agenda; or meticulously researched history which changes our world view. I have a particular interest in feminism and feminist approaches - but exploring ideas or angles which are completely new to me is one of the great joys of my job. I prefer to work with writers who are more-or-less based in the UK, and are aiming to deliver a book every one or two years, and for whom I can add something to every area of their creative lives.
New Literary Agent Listing: Eli Keren
firstwriter.com – Wednesday October 28, 2020
I am particularly interested in smart and engaging popular science, as well as literary and commercial fiction. I do not represent authors for children's and YA literature.
New Literary Agent Listing: Jemiscoe Chambers-Black
firstwriter.com – Monday October 26, 2020
Currently building her client list in the middle grade, YA, and adult categories. She is also interested in considering illustrators and author-illustrators.
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