Turning Pages: The joys of writers' retreats
smh.com.au – Friday April 5, 2019
I've always been a bit sceptical about writers' retreats. They sound so self-indulgent. All that food and wine and yoga and wellbeing in gorgeous surroundings. Aren't you supposed to just get on with it, in your garret or at the kitchen table, surrounded by people? It was good enough for Jane Austen, why isn't it good enough for you?
Yet these retreats are flourishing, and they seem to get more and more lavish and luxurious. Perhaps the first haven for Australian writers was Eleanor Dark's house, Varuna, in the Blue Mountains, and it's still going strong. You can win a residency or pay for your stay, and you can either work away quietly or get feedback from editors and publishers through the various mentoring programs on offer.
New Literary Agency Listing
firstwriter.com – Friday April 5, 2019
Handles: Fiction; Nonfiction
Areas: Adventure; Anthropology; Arts; Autobiography; Beauty and Fashion; Business; Crime; Culture; Current Affairs; Erotic; Gothic; Health; Historical; Hobbies; Horror; How-to; Humour; Lifestyle; Men's Interests; Military; Music; Nature; New Age; Philosophy; Psychology; Science; Self-Help; Spiritual; Sport; Suspense; Thrillers; Westerns; Women's Interests
Markets: Adult; Children's; Youth
Treatments: Commercial; Contemporary; Dark; Experimental; Literary; Mainstream; Niche; Popular; Positive; Progressive; Satirical
A talent management agency, with an extremely strong literary arm. The majority of the works handled by the agency fall into the category of celebrity nonfiction. However, also regularly work with journalists, entrepreneurs and influencers on projects, with a speciality in polemics, and speculative works on the future.
Occasionally take on exceptional fiction authors.
New Publisher Listing
firstwriter.com – Thursday April 4, 2019
Publishes: Fiction;
Areas include: Fantasy; Sci-Fi;
Markets: Adult
Publishes mainly science fiction, but also speculative fiction, broadly defined. Cross-genre/interstitial and SF/F hybrid works are fine; ones with mythic/historical echoes even better. Send query by email with one-page synopsis and 10 pages (or, for medium works (12-42K), the complete ms) as attachments. See website for full guidelines.
New Magazine Listing
firstwriter.com – Tuesday April 2, 2019
Publishes: Fiction; Nonfiction; Poetry; Reviews;
Areas include: Sci-Fi;
Markets: Adult
Science fiction magazine publishing fiction up to 1,500 words; reviews up to 800 words; and poetry up to 19 lines. See website for full guidelines.
How to self-publish your novel
theverge.com – Monday April 1, 2019
Until recently, if you were a writer who had a novel or other work, there was essentially a single path to follow: you tried to find an agent who liked your writing, and who would be able to sell it to a publisher. The process could take months or years — assuming you were able to get on that merry-go-round at all.
David Gaughran, author of Let’s Get Digital and other books about self-publishing, tried that route when he wrote his first novel about 11 years ago. It was an exasperating experience.
“I spent about 18 months querying every agent that I could find in the English-language world and didn’t really get anywhere,” Gaughran says. He was frustrated enough that he thought about giving up. “But then I started looking at self-publishing.”
Since then, self-publishing has become far more than a last-ditch alternative to traditional publishing — it’s a choice that many authors are making from the starting line. But while it’s not all that hard to put out an ebook these days, finding an audience takes a lot more than simply uploading your manuscript and clicking publish: it means going through the entire publishing process on your own, from editing to artwork to marketing, putting your book’s success entirely in your own hands.
New Publisher Listing
firstwriter.com – Monday April 1, 2019
Publishes: Fiction; Nonfiction; Poetry;
Areas include: Short Stories;
Markets: Adult
Constantly strives to discover, cultivate, and nurture authors working in all genres. Publishes Creative Nonfiction, Short-Story, Novel, and Comic/Visual Narrative manuscripts. (Comic/Visual Narrative manuscripts will not be considered without artwork.) Submit via online submission system.
Pen Names: Don’t worry, you can deposit the check
By G. Miki Hayden
Instructor at Writer's Digest University online and private writing coach
firstwriter.com – Monday April 1, 2019
One of the topics I see some jawboning about is whether and why to use/not use a pen name (aka a nom de plume). Since the topic seems to fascinate, and many folks before they’ve even written the book seek out a name to write it under, I thought the subject was worth some air time.
New Publisher Listing
firstwriter.com – Thursday March 28, 2019
Publishes: Fiction;
Areas include: Adventure; Drama; Fantasy; Historical; Humour; Mystery; Romance; Sci-Fi; Suspense; Thrillers;
Markets: Adult; Children's; Youth;
Preferred styles: Commercial; Contemporary; Light; Literary; Mainstream; Popular; Positive; Traditional
We are an independent publisher based in Salisbury, South West of England. We specialise in a wide range of quality fiction including Children's, YA and Adult novels. Our commitment to help our authors achieve success extends to both new and previously published authors.
As an independent publisher, we strive to publish only the best quality works. We constantly seek new and original voices, providing exclusive attention to our authors with a bespoke marketing strategy for each piece of work. Our commitment is to give each publication its every chance for success. With our passion for high-quality books, our dedicated team and personalised approach, we believe that we will forge a long lasting relationship with our authors.
Whether you are a first time author, or an existing author looking for a more personalised service, we would love to consider your work for publication. To see our information, guidelines and to submit your work to us, please visit the website.
New Publisher Listing
firstwriter.com – Wednesday March 27, 2019
Publishes: Fiction; Poetry;
Areas include: Short Stories;
Markets: Adult;
Preferred styles: Literary
Publishes zines, ebooks, chapbooks, and other short form creative literature online and in print. Print chapbooks by solicitation only. Ebooks by solicitation or during an announced contest. See website for full details.
How to Write Poetry About Conflict
theatlantic.com – Monday March 25, 2019
The poet Carolyn Forché has devoted much of her career to writing what she calls the poetry of witness. She coined the term in her introduction to Against Forgetting, a 1993 anthology in which she collected works by 145 “poets who endured conditions of historical and social extremity during the twentieth century.” Forché herself had not endured such conditions, but she had seen them. From 1978 to 1980, she traveled repeatedly to El Salvador, where she bore witness to the violent repression of Salvadoran citizens by that country’s military dictatorship.
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