Working with Roald Dahl helped me find Harry Potter
bbc.co.uk – Saturday July 20, 2024
he publisher who discovered Harry Potter has said working with Cardiff-born children's author Roald Dahl helped him see the potential in JK Rowling's novel.
Barry Cunningham has worked with some of the most well-known children's authors in the world.
He said Roald Dahl was "a tall, quite grumpy, rather heroic, very frank author" who was adored by children.
"He was occasionally extremely grumpy and short tempered with adults, but never with children," he told the Books That Made Me programme on BBC Radio Wales.
Roald Dahl was born on 13 September 1916 in the Llandaff area of the Welsh capital, and died on 23 November 1990, aged 74.
As marketing director for Puffin, Mr Cunningham travelled around the country with him.
It was during one of those marketing trips that Dahl revealed what he believed was the secret to the success of his books.
First romantic fiction festival held in Manchester
thebookseller.com – Saturday July 20, 2024
The first romantic fiction festival was held in Manchester last week, which saw readers and writers gather from across the country.
Manchester Central Library hosted Love Stories etc festival on 13th July, with 28 author panels, five writing workshops and an immensely popular book stall staffed by romance experts from Waterstones Arndale.
Co-directed and co-founded by Simon & Schuster’s brand development director Sara-Jade Virtue and HarperNorth’s head of marketing and publicity Alice Murphy-Pyle, the cross-publishing festival featured authors from several publishers at all stages of their careers. Authors including Milly Johnson, Harriet Evans, Cesca Major, P J Ellis, Veronica Henry and Isabelle Broom took to the performance space, while workshops from literary agent Lisa Highton, the RNA and publishing staff helped inspire writers.
Digital Audio Up 15 Percent: A 23-Percent Jump YTD
publishingperspectives.com – Saturday July 20, 2024
In its May 2024 StatShot report released this morning (July 18), the Association of American Publishers (AAP) cites total revenues across all categories up 10.8 percent over May 2023, at US$1.1 billion.
Year-to-date revenues, the AAP reports, were up 5.5 percent, at US$5.2 billion for the first five months of the year.
For a second month, the United States’ book publishing industry—as assessed by the StatShot program—shows a significant boost. The analysis shows total gross sales increasing 5 percent, with net sales rising 11 percent, according to the report’s authors.
The trade itself—the commercial books industry and the part of the international business most closely followed by Publishing Perspectives—saw gross sales of 9 percent, but because of a 31-percent decrease in returns, that gross-sales figure jumped to 31 percent. Hardback and paperback formats in the trade saw increases of 21 percent and 17 percent, respectively, in net sales, boosting the year-to-date trade net sales to 5 percent.
United Agents' Kat Aitken and Seren Adams launch new agency Lexington Literary
thebookseller.com – Wednesday July 17, 2024
Kat Aitken and Seren Adams have left United Agents after nine years to found new agency, Lexington Literary.
The agency will be looking for new writers of bold and emotive literary and upmarket fiction, narrative non-fiction with a strong hook, and general non-fiction by experts and academics.
Their clients include Caleb Azumah Nelson, winner of the 2024 Dylan Thomas Prize and bestselling author of Open Water and Small Worlds (Viking), #Merky Books Prize-winning debut novelist William Rayfet Hunter, Granta Best Young British Novelist Lauren Aimee Curtis, and forthcoming debut novelist Róisín Lanigan.
In non-fiction, Lexington Literary represents Forward Prize-shortlisted Ralf Webb, academic Orlando Reade, and Fitzcarraldo Essay Prize shortlistees Asa Seresin and Benoît Loiseau, among others.
Harrogate to welcome crime-writing celebs for return of annual festival
yourharrogate.co.uk – Wednesday July 17, 2024
The 21st Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival is set to return to Harrogate this weekend, organised by Harrogate International Festivals.
The Festival, which takes place at Harrogate’s Old Swan Hotel from 18th-21st July, has been curated by 2024’s Festival Chair, bestselling crime novelist Ruth Ware.
Programme highlights include an all-star lineup of acclaimed writers and global bestsellers including Mick Herron, Louise Candlish, M.W. Craven, James Comey, Lucy Foley and Richard Osman.
It was also include the crowning of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and the much-anticipated Critics’ New Blood panel which showcases four talented debut novelists.
This year’s cohort, selected by a panel of the UK’s leading crime fiction critics, are Jonny Sweet, Martta Kaukonen, Claire Coughlan and Colin Walsh.
For aspiring writers, Creative Thursday offers an immersive day of workshops and talks led by bestselling writers and industry experts, with the unique opportunity to pitch work in the ‘Dragon’s Pen’.
J K Rowling and the magic of her writing ‘shed’
spearswms.com – Tuesday July 16, 2024
Authors have traditionally been seen as 'gardeners' or 'architects' but J K Rowling puts forward a new metaphor for the writing process
‘Are you an architect or a gardener?’ That has become one of my go-to questions for authors of fiction. The framing is that of the fantasy writer George R R Martin, who says that all writers fall into one of the two categories: architects plan meticulously and know exactly how the story is going to be shaped before they write a single sentence. Gardeners just drop a seed in the ground, water it, and wait to see how it’s going to grow.
You might be surprised by how many literary writers are architects – William Boyd always knows exactly how his story is going to end – and how many genre writers (whose twisty plots might seem to imply a bit of planning) are gardeners. Maybe the most successful thriller writer in the language, Lee Child, absolutely makes it up as he goes along, and refuses on principle to go back and tinker with the story: if he writes himself into what looks like a dead-end in the plot, he enjoys the challenge of writing himself out of it. I once heard (though I can’t vouch for it) that Agatha Christie used to wait until the closing pages of the book before deciding who the murderer was.
E M Forster, who liked to complain that his characters got out of hand and told him what to do: gardener. Vladimir Nabokov, asked whether he shared Forster’s struggles with unruly characters, responded with magnificent hauteur: ‘My knowledge of Mr Forster’s works is limited to one novel, which I dislike; and anyway, it was not he who fathered that trite little whimsy about characters getting out of hand […] My characters are galley slaves.’ Architect, then.
AI makes writing easier, but stories sound alike
newsarawaktribune.com.my – Tuesday July 16, 2024
Books and movies of the future could all start to feel the same if creative industries embrace artificial intelligence to help write stories, a study published on Friday warned.
The research, which drew on hundreds of volunteers and was published in Science Advances, comes amid rising fears over the impact of widely available AI tools that turn simple text prompts into relatively sophisticated music, art and writing.
“Our goal was to study to what extent and how generative AI might help humans with creativity,” co-author Anil Doshi of the University College London told AFP.
For their experiment, Doshi and co-author Oliver Hauser of the University of Exeter recruited around 300 volunteers as “writers.”
These were people who didn’t write for a living, and their inherent creative ability was assessed by a standard psychology test that asked them to provide 10 drastically different words.
The scientists then split them randomly into three groups to write an eight-sentence story about one of three topics: an adventure on the open seas, an adventure in the jungle, or an adventure on another planet.
The ‘romantasy’ novel is now an almost $820 million business sweeping publishing
straitstimes.com – Monday July 15, 2024
NEW YORK – Dragons, faeries and happily-ever-after love stories are having a moment.
Sales of romantasy novels – a genre that blends fantasy’s epic quests and mystical characters with romance’s swooning gestures and spicy sex scenes – are projected to jump to US$610 million (S$817.8 million) this year, after hitting a record US$454 million in 2023, according to industry analyst Circana.
The number of books sold reached 11 million in the first five months of 2024, almost double the same period in 2023. And while Circana anticipates the books hitting a saturation point in 2025, their empowered female protagonists and cult followings make them likely to find permanent shelf space in stores.
The demand has been anchored by American author Sarah J. Maas, a romantasy heavyweight published by Bloomsbury Publishing, whose A Court Of Thorns And Roses series – known to fans as Acotar – often serves as an entry point for readers who are new to the genre.
Hounded out of my job in publishing
crowdjustice.com – Monday July 15, 2024
Who am I, and what's the story?
My name is Ursula Doyle, and I have worked in book publishing for more than thirty years. Since 2008 I have worked at Hachette UK, one of the UK’s leading publishing groups, first at its Virago imprint (a sub-brand of the publisher) before setting up my own imprint, Fleet, in 2016. Fleet publishes a wide range of fiction and nonfiction, and Fleet authors have between them won numerous awards, including four Pulitzers.
In 2020 I published Kathleen Stock’s influential book on sex and gender, Material Girls. Since then, I have been a target for abuse by colleagues in the book industry, who have used social media to accuse me of - among other things - bigotry, prejudice, transphobia and hatred, often tagging in my employer, Hachette, and Hachette’s Pride network.
Hachette have done nothing to protect me, and have created a hostile working environment for me and anyone else who shares my views. When two of Fleet's authors complained that my views were transphobic, the company agreed to move paperback editions of the authors' books away from the imprint to another part of the business, damaging my reputation both inside and outside the company. I became ill with stress and associated conditions, and finally resigned. I am bringing a claim of discrimination on the grounds of my gender-critical belief (sometimes known as 'sex realism'), and of sex discrimination.
Best in Rural Writing contest 2024 opens for submissions
agriland.ie – Monday July 15, 2024
Now in its second year, the Best in Rural Writing contest is accepting fiction and non fiction entries under 6,000 words.
Those interested in taking part have until September 30, 2024 to submit their work.
The contest will be judged by Dr. Chea Parton, founder of ‘Literary in Place’, which advocates for rural literacy by providing educational resources on writing and reading, as well as various initiatives for rural teens.
The first place entry in the best in rural writing contest will receive $500, while the runner-up will be awarded $200.
Get the free newsletter | Submit a news item or article | Get Writers' News for your website
