New Literary Agent Listing: Carrie Plitt
firstwriter.com – Wednesday June 14, 2023
I am actively building a list of non-fiction and fiction. In non-fiction, I love to represent expert authors who are passionate about their subject, who have something new to say, and who can convey their argument in a clear and invigorating manner. I have a particular interest in books about the issues our society faces today, narrative non-fiction, investigative journalism, popular science, popular psychology, big ideas, nature writing, history and travel. I also love book-length essays or cohesive essay collections, and memoirs that explore wider themes like freedom or education. In fiction, the books I represent range from the very literary to those you might read in a book club. Besides excellent writing, I am often drawn to emotionally complex novels; coming of age stories; sprawling narratives about love, friendship or families; and stories that capture the zeitgeist in some way – even when they are set in the past. I love a good short story collection, especially if the stories are linked together.
New Magazine Listing: Fourteen Poems
firstwriter.com – Tuesday June 13, 2023
Print magazine published three times a year. Each issue includes work by fourteen LGBTQ+ poets, printing their queer takes on sex, love, race, gender and life in the LGBTQ+ global community.
New Literary Agent Listing: Melanie Figueroa
firstwriter.com – Tuesday June 13, 2023
I want to work with the kind of stories that both create and sustain life-long readers—books that make me sigh with contentment, learn something new, or take delight in the unexpected. Those stories stay with you, and they're a gift I want to help give readers by lifting up the voices of talented and hard-working creatives.
Dilemma for UK authors as Russia offers huge sums for escapist fiction
theguardian.com – Monday June 12, 2023
The thirst for escapist literature in Russia has prompted a new bidding war for translated fiction. English-language authors of crime, romance and fantasy novels have received some unexpectedly enticing offers for their books this spring.
But despite the increased price tag on these potential foreign rights deals, the war in Ukraine has led many British writers to resist the lure of Russian money. “We leave it up to our authors to see if they want to accept an offer,” said Kate Nash, a leading British literary agent.
“We see it as an individual decision. We have quite a few offers in from Russia at the moment and one publisher has just increased their bid to get the deal done.”
Author dropped by publisher after posting several 'mean' TikToks about Goodreads reviewer who rated debut book: 'Completely baffling'
uk.finance.yahoo.com – Sunday June 11, 2023
Author Sarah Stusek has been accused of bullying a Goodreads reviewer after she left a four-star review for Stusek’s upcoming book. A Twitter thread seemed to indicate that Stusek’s book publisher had dropped her in response to the allegations. Stusek said she later apologized to the reviewer in a private conversation.
It’s a story that’s taken BookTok — a subcommunity within TikTok dedicated to books and literature, where there is a significant focus on young adult fiction — by storm. Stusek’s book, Three Rivers, is classified as young adult fiction and was slated to be released on Sept. 12.
Stusek, who is a first-time author, reportedly called Goodreads reviewer Karleigh Kebartas a “bitch” in a since-deleted TikTok for posting the first four-star review for Three Rivers, which, according to Stusek, had been getting only five-star reviews up until that point.
New Literary Agent Listing: Caroline Wood
firstwriter.com – Friday June 9, 2023
I represent prize-winning literary fiction and well written commercial fiction. I am actively looking for original, character driven debuts. I love books that transport me to a different time or place, books that have a secret or mystery at the heart of them, books about family and relationships, books that leave me with something to ponder. My authors have won the Booker Prize, the Costa Novel and First Novel Awards, the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, the Prix Médicis Etranger, the Desmond Elliot Prize and the Betty Trask. I greatly enjoy the editing process and work closely with my authors to make their books the best they can be. In non-fiction, I represent primarily cookery and memoirs. I also sell book to film/TV rights for a number of my authors.
The Novel Opening
By G. Miki Hayden
Instructor at Writer's Digest University online and private writing coach
firstwriter.com – Sunday June 4, 2023
The opening of your novel is an opportunity to seize the interest of the agent, the editor, and/or the reader. Opportunities are to be taken, and this is a particularly meaty one. Here is where you set the hook, often within the first paragraph.
What do you want from the persons reading your initial words? You want them to be curious about “what comes next?” And that’s what you want throughout the novel but the initial words or pages is perhaps the only chance you have to elicit that response. Because if you don’t set the hook, the agent, editor, or civilian reader will pass you by.
WME Acquires Ross Yoon Agency in Expansion of Literary Talent Portfolio
variety.com – Sunday June 4, 2023
Endeavor Group Holdings Inc.’s WME announced today it has acquired Ross Yoon Agency.
The Washington D.C.-based agency, Ross Yoon, specializes in literary and commercial nonfiction including memoir, biography, history, popular science, business and psychology. In addition, the literary agency’s president Gail Ross and principal Howard Yoon will join WME as partners.
The current Ross Yoon clients will join WME’s roster — the new clientele will include Ross Yoon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists and authors, business, non-profit leaders, doctors, scientists, academics, politicians and media personalities.
9 Authors Whose TikTok Popularity Helped Get Them Published
bookriot.com – Thursday June 1, 2023
TikTok, specifically BookTok, is now the hottest thing in the publishing industry. And because it has become so popular for readers, it has many aspiring authors feeling somewhat apprehensive. Many feel pressure (warranted or not) to have a huge following on the platform in order to get a literary agent’s interest, and buiding that audience is no easy feat.
Testament to that popularity, TikTok has already worked many wonders in the publishing world. It once unearthed a book published years ago from oblivion to recognition to bestseller. It serves as an alternative to Goodreads for giving recommendations and sharing reviews. It helps children to read more books. And despite others’ criticism of how the subcommunity works, including a backlash about creating hype for “toxic and problematic books,” many believe it’s still beneficial, especially in boosting sales and visibility.
The side hustle that keeps a literary author’s career afloat
theguardian.com – Thursday June 1, 2023
The list of past guest speakers at Crit, the writing workshop that author Tony Tulathimutte runs out of his Brooklyn apartment, reads like a veritable who’s who of 21st-century literary greats. Jonathan Franzen, Hua Hsu and Carmen Maria Machado have all popped by as guests at the eight-week course. And while Tulathimutte describes himself as “literally just some guy” on his website, he’s won an O Henry award, and former students like Beth Morgan and Rax King have gone on to earn lucrative book deals and win highly prestigious prizes.
Tulathimutte, 39, founded Crit in 2017 after winning the Whiting award for his first novel, Private Citizens. While he had previously taught courses at Sarah Lawrence College and the University of Massachusetts, and led workshops for indie companies like Sackett Street Writers, these gigs came and went. Running his own school seemed like a more sustainable way to make a living while maintaining his career as an author (Tulathimutte announced the sale of his second novel, Rejection, earlier this year). According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, writers and authors earn on average $69,510 a year, while an alarming Authors Guild survey showed that its members drew a median income of $6,080 in 2017, down 42% from 2009. “I figured if I could get enough applications coming in, running my own class would be more stable [than waiting for invitations],” Tulathimutte said.
Crit accepts nine students per session. They meet twice a week (Wednesdays and Fridays) over the course of two months. Spots cost $800, netting Tulathimutte approximately $30,000 per year. He supplements his income by accepting freelance writing assignments and visiting faculty positions. He is currently a thesis adviser at Brooklyn College.
In the six years since Crit’s inception, Tulathimutte has managed to build not just a successful side hustle, but a thriving community of writers. He hosts book swaps, parties, even a dedicated Slack channel where alumni can chitchat, form casual writing groups and perhaps land a connection to the agent or editor who will launch their career.
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