
A Canadian woman has launched a writing contest for her luxury home
bbc.co.uk – Tuesday January 22, 2019

A Canadian woman is holding a letter-writing contest for her three-bedroom home near the city of Calgary.
Interested parties must pay an entry fee of C$25 ($19; £15) and answer the question "Why would moving to this lakefront dream home change your life"?
Owner Alla Wagner is leaving the home she says she loves due to poor health.
Inspired by stories of similar contests, she decided to launch "write a letter, win a house" when the C$1.7m home failed to sell.

J.K. Rowling ‘can’t stand’ following rules—here’s what she says to do instead if you want to succeed
cnbc.com – Monday January 21, 2019

J.K. Rowling, author of the “Harry Potter” series and the Cormoran Strike mysteries, has sold over 500 million books. She was the second highest-paid author of 2018, managing to earn an astounding $54 million.
Famously, though, Rowling started out as a single mother surviving on state benefits. “I was jobless, a lone parent and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain without being homeless,” she said in her 2008 Harvard commencement speech.
Rowling, now 53, didn’t turn her life around and get where she is today by abiding by conventional wisdom.

7 Habits Of Successful Writers That You Should Copy Immediately
studybreaks.com – Sunday January 20, 2019

Most writers want to become well-known and make a living by writing, but you’ve probably heard it only happens to some people. Putting in the blood and sweat through a pen (or keyboard) will only get them so far, which can be discouraging. However, the hard work can pay off if writers continue to push themselves by practicing, aka writing, daily.
Do you ever wonder how your favorite author or poet became so popular? As a writer, you might want to be like them one day, which isn’t an uncommon thought. Of course, it won’t happen overnight, and it’ll require a lot of effort, but every writer has a chance to become just like J.K. Rowling or James Patterson. As some people laugh at your optimism to become a successful writer, you’ll have feelings of hopelessness, but the doubt of others can become your biggest motivator.
With these seven tips, you’ll be a few steps closer to being like the writer you admire.
Global Self-Publishing Platform PublishDrive Releases Case Study on how their Groundbreaking Pricing Maximizes Author Profits
prnewswire.com – Saturday January 19, 2019
PublishDrive's subscription pricing option was released on October 4, 2018, the first of its kind in the ebook self-publishing space. Designed for authors selling at least $1,000 monthly, it allows authors to keep 100% of their royalties (after the stores' fee) by paying a flat monthly fee of $100 - no matter how high sales go.
Traditional royalty share options offered by self-publishing services take an average 10% of royalties, which can be significant for high-earning authors. To show that subscription pricing is a smarter choice for high-earners, PublishDrive studied author Rachel Morgan's experience after she enrolled in their new pricing option.

WME Agent David Lubliner Moves to UTA
hollywoodreporter.com – Friday January 18, 2019

Literary agent David Lubliner has left WME and joined UTA, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
A source also tells THR that Lubliner is bringing with him the following clients: About a Boy co-writers and brothers Chris and Paul Weitz, Beatriz at Dinnerdirector Miguel Arteta, Detective Pikachu director/co-writer Rob Letterman and Juliet, Naked co-writer Jim Taylor, among others.
New Literary Agency Listing
firstwriter.com – Thursday January 17, 2019
Handles: Fiction; Nonfiction
Areas: Autobiography; Cookery; Historical; Humour; Lifestyle; Sociology
Markets: Adult; Children's; Youth
Treatments: Commercial; Literary
No science fiction, academic books, scripts, or poetry. Submit online through form on website. No postal submissions. See website for full guidelines.

Kate Burke joins Blake Friedmann
thebookseller.com – Wednesday January 16, 2019

Kate Burke has joined The Blake Friedmann Literary Agency as a senior agent and will focus on commercial fiction.
Burke previously worked as an agent at Northbank Talent Management for six years, and before that spent 10 years as a fiction publisher, at Headline, HarperCollins and Penguin Random House.

Curtis Brown celebrates 120th birthday with novel-writing prize
thebookseller.com – Wednesday January 16, 2019

Curtis Brown is to celebrate its 120th birthday with a series of events spearheaded by a team of young agents, culminating in the Curtis Brown 120 Novel Writing Prize.
Founded in 1899 by Albert Curtis Brown, one of the UK’s longest running independent literary agencies. This year Curtis Brown plans to “celebrate its heritage and offer a unique opportunity to the future.” Agents including Lisa Babalis, Becky Brown, Catherine Cho, Lucy Morris and Norah Perkins will help lead the year's events.
The celebrations will culminate in the Curtis Brown 120 Novel Writing Prize, a mission to find the voices of the future, launched in partnership with the Curtis Brown Creative writing school. The prize will be open to novels both finished and unfinished, across all genres of adult fiction. Details of judging panels, process, prizes and submission dates will be revealed in April.

Robertson Murray Literary Agency launches
thebookseller.com – Tuesday January 15, 2019

Representing fiction, general non-fiction and children’s books, the agency, first announced last summer, is a division of Hilary Murray's talent agency Arlington Management Ltd and is being headed up by Robertson, who most recently was sales and marketing director and paperback publisher at Faber and Faber.

5 Tips for Submitting Creative Writing
culturedvultures.com – Saturday January 12, 2019

A lot of people make New Year’s Resolutions to write more, and some even decide that they are going to submit for publication. Each type of writing has its own rules and norms when it comes to submitting to magazines and websites, but the more you practice, the better you will get at it. Here are our top five general tips for submitting creative writing and poetry – these apply to our Short Stories department here at Cultured Vultures, but they will also set you up for sending your work to all sorts of places.
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