IALA to Host a Virtual Panel on ‘The Business of Writing’
asbarez.com – Thursday November 14, 2024
The International Armenian Literary Alliance will host “The Business of Writing,” a free and virtual panel discussion with literary agents and editors Arevik Ashkharoyan, Aram Mrjoian and Patricia Mulcahy. The event will take place on Zoom on November 23 at 9 a.m. Pacific | 12:00 p.m. Eastern | 9:00 p.m. Armenia Time.
Ashkharoyan will discuss the process of submitting, accepting and rejecting work as well as speculate about publishing trends. Mrjoian and Mulcahy will explain what authors should consider before submitting work to a publisher, the most common mistakes authors make when pitching or submitting their work, and how they approach the craft of editing. The overall purpose of this panel is to provide insight about publication success from the perspective of experienced agents and editors.
The panel discussion, to be moderated by IALA board member J.P. Der Boghossian, will be followed by a brief Q&A session to offer Armenian writers an opportunity to ask questions to the panelists. A recording of the event will later be available on IALA’s YouTube channel. Register for the event online.
Oliver Malcolm launches eponymous publishing transformation agency
thebookseller.com – Wednesday November 13, 2024
Ex-Hodder & Stoughton managing director Oliver Malcolm has launched his own consultancy, Oliver Malcolm Publishing Transformation.
Designed to empower publishers, agents and authors, the consultancy “aims to help navigate the rapidly changing world of publishing” and includes free support for neurodiverse individuals.
The announcement follows news of Malcolm’s departure from Hodder & Stoughton after two years as managing director.
National writing competition for sixth form students open now
girton.cam.ac.uk – Monday November 11, 2024
Girton College’s annual Humanities Writing Competition is now open for submissions.
The competition is an opportunity for students in Year 12 (or equivalent) to research and write beyond the curriculum, using one or more of five selected objects from Girton’s on-site museum, the Lawrence Room Museum as their focus. Essays or creative responses (such as dramatic monologues, short stories, or poems) are equally welcome.
Focusing on Girton’s museum collection in the Lawrence Room, the Humanities Writing Competition aims to use ancient objects as a starting point for thinking across curricular divides – about the varieties of human experience that these survivals from the past can embody and reflect and the trains of thought they can set off.
Hachette Employees Protest New Conservative Imprint
publishersweekly.com – Monday November 11, 2024
A group of employees at Hachette Book Group have penned a letter to management condemning the announced launch of a new conservative imprint, Basic Liberty, and hiring of Thomas Spence, former president and publisher of Regnery, to helm it.
On November 7, two days after the presidential election, HBG and Hachette UK CEO David Shelley announced that the Basic Books Group would be adding to its portfolio the Basic Liberty imprint, described as "a new conservative imprint that will publish serious works of cultural, social, and political analysis by conservative writers of original thought." He also announced that Spence—currently a visiting fellow at the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation—had been hired to lead the imprint as executive editor.
Spence worked at Regnery for more than 11 years, and led the company for nearly four years after the retirement of longtime president and publisher Marji Ross in 2019. Earlier this year, following Skyhorse’s acquisition of Regnery in late 2023, he joined the Heritage Foundation as a senior advisor.
New Literary Agent Listing: Kait Lee Feldmann
firstwriter.com – Monday November 11, 2024
I represent illustrators and illustrator-authors who are primarily interested in working on picture books and graphic novels. We’d be a good match if you enjoy wholesome chaos. Let’s make books for the kids who get in trouble for their imagination, the next generation of mad scientists, supervillains, and witches at the end of the street.
First Person: My journey to writing a children’s book
algonquintimes.com – Sunday November 10, 2024
Over seven days, I put my dream of writing a book for kids into motion. The adventure taught me I can do more than I ever thought I could
“No, Auntie! Don’t go!” Kavaiah’s sweet voice stops me just as I’m about to step out the door. She tugs at my hand, holding tight to a new book I bought her, I Am Born to Be Awesome by Mechal Renee Roe. “Just read the book one more time, Auntie, PLEASE!” she begs, her eyes wide. How can I not be compelled to stay?
I smile, settle back onto the couch, and she jumps into my lap, eagerly flipping the book open to the first page. Kavaiah is full of energy when we read. She acts out each line, her four-year-old voice rising and falling with each word, making faces and gestures, soaking in every picture and phrase like it’s her first time hearing them.
I start, “I love the stars,” and she shouts, “I love racing cars!” Then we both chime in, “I am born to be awesome!” She takes her time turning each page, determined to slow me down if I go too fast. With every line, she finds something that resonates, whether it’s her love for bath time or playing in the park. She’s not just listening; she’s living each rhyme, seeing herself in the words and pictures. Each time we reach “I am born to be awesome,” she beams, and I feel it too. Her high-pitched voice makes my heart melt.
I never imagined that enrolling in Algonquin College’s journalism program would lead me to begin to write a children’s book. When the opportunity to write a personal narrative arose, I thought, why not take it further? Why not challenge myself to write a children’s book in seven days? I naively thought it wouldn’t be too hard, after all, it’s a children’s book. How complicated could it be?
Well, as it turns out, it was more challenging than I anticipated.
On the benefits of working slowly
thecreativeindependent.com – Thursday November 7, 2024
Caoilinn Hughes discusses writing as a process of discovery, being a monotasker, and the importance of wisdom in producing good work.
You’ve had a very international life. You grew up in Ireland, where you studied literature and drama. You subsequently lived in New Zealand, where you earned a PhD in English literature, and in the Netherlands, among other countries. Could you describe your path to becoming a writer?
I was always writing, even when I was a kid, aged nine, ten. As a teenager, I wrote a lot of poems, as that’s really what I read. I read poetry and plays, because I was a very slow reader. It felt like a very intimate interaction. There’s all this blank space around the work, and it seemed to invite a direct conversation between the author and the reader. An activity, rather than something that you receive passively.
I went to the North of Ireland to study at Queen’s University Belfast, partly because I didn’t have the grades to go to college in the Republic. And also, a lot of the poets I was reading were from the North, so it felt fated to go there.
Have a penchant for writing? Share your work with these top four magazines
msn.com – Wednesday November 6, 2024
‘TIS that time of the year again, when avenues open up for the writer in you to make a debut. Come January, a lot of literary magazines open up their doors for aspiring and budding writers to submit their fiction and poetry. As a lover of fiction himself, this writer decided to do his fellow writers a solid and, apart from a quick curation, also include a few easy tips to ensure your submissions are accepted.
The best way, says Tanuj Solanki, founder-editor of the Bombay Literary Magazine, is to just read the guidelines. Do people not do that, we ask?
“Well,” he laughs, “our fiction submissions, for examples, are supposed to be between 2,000 to 7,000 words but people end up sending entire novellas. As a result, their entries are never read.” Fair, we think. What else? “It never helps to choose topicality over quality,” he adds. “We had stories around the COVID 19 lockdown when it was in effect, and about the Me Too movement before that, but in the effort to make it topical, the story itself was undercooked. ”Go on, then. Here are some lit mags you can send your submissions to. Thank us later.
Independent publisher The Canelo Group acquired by DK
thebookseller.com – Tuesday November 5, 2024
DK has acquired the independent publisher The Canelo Group. Canelo was founded in 2015 by Iain Millar, Michael Bhaskar and Nick Barreto, and has twice been shortlisted for Independent Publisher of the Year at the British Book Awards.
According to DK, Canelo will maintain its independent identity "while benefiting from DK’s resources". DK explained that its imprints (Canelo, Canelo Crime, Hera and August) will reach broader audiences while "preserving their unique identities". A top priority following the acquisition will be Canelo’s "commitment to author and agent care", and DK will invest in and scale those efforts across UK and international markets.
Canelo has combined traditional publishing with digital innovation, and since it was founded has grown a large catalogue of bestselling commercial fiction and has "fostered close relationships with authors and literary agents".
New Literary Agent Listing: Jack Fogg
firstwriter.com – Tuesday November 5, 2024
In fiction, I’m drawn to books which combine compelling storytelling, engaging characters and strong plotting, whether they be considered commercial or literary. I particularly love novels of ambition and scope, which are full of big-hearted characters and aren’t afraid to entertain. In non-fiction, my tastes are broad, and I read widely in the areas of memoir, current affairs, politics, biography, sport, history, psychology, pop science, food and nature writing. I’m especially drawn to great narrative non-fiction which has a deep focus and then expands outwards to explain a whole culture or subculture.
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