New Magazine Listing: BBC Doctor Who Magazine
firstwriter.com – Tuesday October 11, 2022
Magazine for fans of Doctor Who, aged 6-12.
Association of Authors’ Agents to focus on smaller agencies and demystifying the craft
thebookseller.com – Monday October 10, 2022
A round-table with the exec at the Association of Authors’ Agents reveals a group champing at the bit to get back to Frankfurt—and to ensure there is space there for a broader spread of talent.
I am met in the reception of 50 Albemarle Street by Marsh Agency deputy m.d. Jemma McDonagh. The grand townhouse retains its Regency elegance and its stately drawing rooms still look like the sort of places gouty periwigged men might have, over brandies, discussed how best to put down a colonial uprising. “What about a spot of genocide, m’lud?” you can almost hear a foreign office mandarin suggesting to enthusiastic assents.
The address is also a landmark in British literary history: for 190 years it was the John Murray headquarters and in one of its drawing rooms, John Murray II infamously burned Lord Byron’s memoir after the poet’s death. Murray, incidentally, paid what (if The Bookseller had been going at the time) might have termed “a significant four-figure sum” for the memoir—an eye-watering 2,000 guineas (presumably world all-languages; not clear if audio or film/TV rights were mentioned). Ever the canny operator, Murray squeezed the rights-holder (Byron’s friend, the poet Thomas Moore) to get his money back with interest.
Hive-mind writing: how two children’s authors brainstormed a book on Twitter
theguardian.com – Sunday October 9, 2022
They had never met and lived 3,000km apart, but Zana Fraillon and Bren MacDibble conspired online to write a YA pandemic novel – well before Covid hit
It’s a chilly night in Melbourne and children’s and young adult fiction writer Zana Fraillon is trying to write dialogue for her character. She’s stuck. Instead of making more coffee, she’s hitting up Twitter for some ideas. It’s a hive-mind moment.
Fraillon posts asking her writer buddies for help: “My WHOLE book relies on me discovering the next line.”
Of that night back in 2019, Fraillon says: “I was working on a novel, and I was having a plot problem. I’m not big on social media but I posted a question on Twitter to all the writers out there, asking, if this is the situation, where can I go with this?”
British art magazine Elephant to fold after publisher pulls funding
theartnewspaper.com – Saturday October 8, 2022
The British art magazine Elephant will cease publication at the end of this month after its publisher Colart International Holdings Limited pulled the title’s funding, citing the current economic crisis and a downturn in global sales of art supplies.
Colart purchased Elephant in May 2017 but will no longer fund the print and digital magazine. With no other funding available, the magazine is set to fold at the end of October unless a new owner is found.
"Colart is actively in conversation with several parties about taking over the magazine," says Karen Spinner, Colart's commercial director.
A Literary Magazine Editor Explains How to Pitch Fiction
slate.com – Saturday October 8, 2022
On this edition of Working Overtime, hosts Isaac Butler and June Thomas reply to a listener who wants some advice on pitching fiction to literary magazines. For help, Isaac and June turn to J. Robert Lennon, a novelist and short story writer who is also the editor of EPOCH, the literary magazine associated with Cornell University. In the interview, Lennon describes the pitching process for EPOCH and explains what he and his colleagues are looking for when they review submissions. He also offers advice to anyone who might be considering pitching their fiction.
New Literary Agent Listing: Morwenna Loughman
firstwriter.com – Saturday October 8, 2022
I am looking for narrative non-fiction, particularly across smart thinking, pop-science and pop-psychology - as well as lifestyle and cookery. I’m open to all types of fiction.
New Magazine Listing: The Lake
firstwriter.com – Friday October 7, 2022
Submit up to five poems within the body of an email or attach one Word document with POETRY SUBMISSION in the Subject line. Please also include a short third person biography (50 words max.). If you have a publication or personal web site then you can also include a link to the site. I will respond to all submissions within two to three weeks. If after that time you haven't heard from me let me know via email.
New Magazine Listing: Astronomy Now
firstwriter.com – Tuesday October 4, 2022
The UK’s biggest astronomy magazine. Since 1987 it has been essential reading for astronomers in the UK and around the world. Each month, the magazine contains features, reviews, news and practical guides on all aspects of astronomy, from the latest scientific discoveries to advice for those discovering the night sky for the first time.
New Publisher Listing: Pen & Ink Designs Publishing
firstwriter.com – Monday October 3, 2022
The publisher has been operating since 2012 on a small basis originally by publishing a selection of children's picture books and other short story books. This was followed by the publication of an award winning historical novel and due to a physical move of the business to Wales the company began working with another small independent publisher. Due to the pandemic this publisher had to retire from the business leaving the business to continue under the ownership of the original proprietor. Since then the publisher has become a member of and been accepted as a small independent Welsh Publisher by the CCPW Group (backed by Literature Wales). They have published a small quantity of manuscripts both fiction and non-fiction and offer a variety of services aimed at assisting new and developing writers.
Trade associations hit back as 300 authors accuse publishers of 'undermining libraries'
thebookseller.com – Sunday October 2, 2022
More than 300 authors including Neil Gaiman, Naomi Klein, and Lawrence Lessig have teamed up with advocacy group Fight for the Future with an open letter demanding publishers and trade organisations "cease efforts to undermine the essential contributions of libraries to an accessible and inclusive world of books”.
The letter mainly focuses on the lawsuit brought against the Internet Archive, over its Open Library programme, involving mass scanning and distribution of literary works under a process called Controlled Digital Lending (CDL) which publishers and trade organisations have criticised for “facilitating the distribution of millions of pirated books without paying a penny to the authors and publishers who produce them”.
There is also reference to the Association of American Publishers (AAP) suing to block a Maryland law that would have required publishers to offer commercially available e-book licences to libraries on “reasonable terms”.
The Authors Guild called the open letter "highly misleading” while the AAP and Publishers Association (PA) have sought to stress that the Internet Archive is “not a library” but instead “a pirate website”.
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