New Literary Agent Listing: Hannah Todd
firstwriter.com – Wednesday September 15, 2021
Actively looking for: commercial fiction across all genres including women’s fiction; police procedurals; clever thrillers; cosy crime; romantic comedies; accessible historical fiction focusing on WW2 and including dual timeline novels; sagas; emotional issues-led fiction. If you can make her laugh, cry or fall in love then you’re onto a winner!
New Magazine Listing: Half Mystic Journal
firstwriter.com – Tuesday September 14, 2021
Publishes all genres of poetry, prose, creative nonfiction, translations, and experimental work—as long as each piece pertains in some way to music. See website for the theme of the current issue.
New Literary Agent Listing: Juliana McBride
firstwriter.com – Tuesday September 14, 2021
Loves commercial and literary fiction, young adult novels, and fantasy. Is looking for transcendent stories that linger.
Book Publishing's Rousing First Half of 2021
publishersweekly.com – Sunday September 12, 2021
By any measure, the first half of 2021 was a good period for trade book publishing. Revenue at the companies that report trade sales to the Association of American Publishers’ StatShot program rose 17.6% over the first six months of 2020; NPD BookScan reported that unit sales increased 18.5% in the period; and bookstore sales jumped 30% over what was a miserable first six months of 2020. So it comes as no surprise that the four publicly traded major publishers also posted strong increases in the period.
Of particular note is the fact that while sales were strong, profits were even better, with operating margins showing healthy gains. In general, the publishers cited higher sales of both backlist books and digital content, especially digital audiobooks, for the improved margins. Though supply chain issues and the uncertainty over the delta variant are causing some concerns about how the rest of the year will unfold, publishers are hoping that the increased interest in reading will carry over through the 2021 holiday season and beyond.
How to Make a Zine: A Guide to Self-Publishing Your Own Miniature Magazine
mymodernmet.com – Wednesday September 8, 2021
Even if you’ve never heard of a zine, chances are you’ve probably had one in your hands at some point without even knowing. These handmade booklets provide a way for people to share their art, writing, musings, and give a platform to underrepresented and marginalized voices. If you’ve got something to say, why not use a zine to express yourself? Read on to learn about the history of the zine, and how you can make one yourself.
Jerome leaves Aevitas to join Curtis Brown
thebookseller.com – Wednesday September 8, 2021
Natalie Jerome has left Aevitas Creative Management (ACM) after two years to join Curtis Brown as a literary agent.
She will continue to be based in Newport, Wales, and began work at Curtis Brown on 1st September.
Jerome has been an independent agent with Aevitas since 2019, with clients including Lenny Henry and David Harewood, and she was shortlisted for Literary Agent of the Year at the British Book Awards 2021. Previously she worked at a senior commissioning level at publishers including Ebury, Pan Macmillan, HarperCollins and Bonnier.
‘Unreal’: Samaritans volunteer has life turned around by six-figure book deal
theguardian.com – Monday September 6, 2021
A man living below the poverty line, helping others as a volunteer with the Samaritans, who self-published a book after literary agents showed no interest in his earlier work has had his book snapped up in a six-figure deal by publishers in 20 countries so far.
James Norbury, a 44-year-old self-taught artist and writer, who lives in Swansea, has had his life turned around after his collection of drawings of two unlikely friends – a panda and a dragon – captioned with life-enhancing proverbs, was picked up in the deal, an extraordinary achievement for a debut author.
New Literary Agent Listing: Ginger Clark
firstwriter.com – Monday September 6, 2021
Has a special focus on science fiction, fantasy, horror, romance, and women’s fiction. For children’s works, she represents young adult and middle grade fiction and nonfiction in all genres. Emailed queries are strongly preferred.
How Lindsey Duga became successful young adult novelist
225batonrouge.com – Sunday September 5, 2021
Typing intently on her laptop at Magpie Cafe, Lindsey Duga looks like any other young professional getting an early morning start. But what she’s up to isn’t sending emails or prepping for meetings. She’s working on her next novel.
By day, Duga is the director of accounts at the web development firm Gatorworks. But after hours (and before), she’s a successful fiction writer with five published young adult novels—and more in the pipeline.
Duga, 31, says her writing passion took root in middle school.
Why authors are turning down lucrative deals in favour of Substack
theguardian.com – Sunday September 5, 2021
The subscription newsletter platform Substack announced on Wednesday it had signed an exclusive deal with Salman Rushdie – but he is just the latest in a growing number of authors making the leap to write serialised fiction delivered straight to the inboxes of subscribers who pay a monthly fee.
Several comic book writers and artists have announced lucrative deals to provide exclusive content for the California-based company founded four years ago, in some cases eschewing contracts with Marvel and DC to do so.
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