Clarke steps up as Association of Authors’ Agents president
thebookseller.com – Thursday February 17, 2022
Catherine Clarke, managing director of Felicity Bryan Associates, has stepped up to the role of president of the Association of Authors’ Agents (AAA), praising outgoing president Isobel Dixon for leading the association with “poise, warmth, immense hard work and resolve, in probably the most challenging two years of any of our lives”.
Clarke said: “Being vice-president for the past two years and working closely with Isobel has given me a lot of insight into what our members are interested in. I’ve seen first-hand how co-operation with other trade bodies in the book industry is vital for campaigning on all the urgent issues of our times, including copyright protection for the authors we represent, and sustainability. We’re also here to help build a truly representative and diverse workforce throughout this industry. With such an engaged and energetic committee, I am honoured to help drive that as president.”
New Literary Agent Listing: Michele Mortimer
firstwriter.com – Thursday February 17, 2022
Currently considers literary fiction, historical fiction, sophisticated crime and mystery, realism-based young adult fiction, and narrative nonfiction. Nonfiction interests include music, sports, wellness, animal welfare, feminism, true crime, sociology, culture both pop and serious, and memoir.
A Word, Please: Seven deadly adverbs to avoid in your writing
latimes.com – Wednesday February 16, 2022
Adverbs are great, right? They let you describe how an action went down — whether it was walking quickly or sleeping soundly or yelling loudly.
But if adverbs are so great, why do editors like me spend a good chunk of our time hacking and slashing them out of articles, stories and other written works? Answer: Because the adverbs you know and love — those dynamic little words with the cute -ly tails — aren’t as benevolent as you think. Some can undermine your message and cast doubt on your credibility. Below we’ll look at seven deadly adverbs to avoid. But first, a few important points.
We don’t need more literary magazines
spectatorworld.com – Tuesday February 15, 2022
At CNN, Leah Asmelash laments the demise of many “long-standing” literary magazines. “The Believer,” she writes, which was started in 2003, “was once at the top of the literary magazine game. A leading journal of art and culture, the Believer published the work of icons like Leslie Jamison, Nick Hornby and Anne Carson. It won awards, it launched careers.” But the University of Nevada, which has housed the magazine since 2017, announced that it was shutting it down: “In a statement explaining the decision, the dean of the school’s College of Liberal Arts called print publications like the Believer ‘a financially challenging endeavor.’”
Oh, boy. Leslie Jamison, an icon? The Believer, a publication that “launched careers”? The only thing missing here is some theme music and a “CNN exclusive” or two.
Asmelash goes on to write about a handful of literary magazines housed at universities with MFA programs that are also shutting down — the Alaska Quarterly Review and the Sycamore Review, among others. We get the predictable “It wasn’t always this way” about halfway through:
Valentine’s Day: Four authors share their thoughts on writing romance
belfasttelegraph.co.uk – Sunday February 13, 2022
With romantic fiction sales increasing 49% last year, just what is it about these tantalising tales that set our hearts ablaze?
Mills & Boon author Lynne Graham believes happy endings are one of the reasons why the romance genre remains so popular. Penning love stories helped the Ballymena-based author to achieve her very own happy ending when she used her first book payment for a special purpose.
“My first advance paid for us to go out to Sri Lanka, where we adopted two of our children,” Lynne says.
“I had a 10-year-old daughter at the time. It felt like a miracle that the cheque arrived at that moment and it was sufficient to cover the travel expenses, so I’ve never forgotten it.”
The mum-of-five is the bestselling Mills & Boon Presents author, with sales of 42 million worldwide.
Write Across scheme aims to find new BBC One drama writers
bbc.co.uk – Sunday February 13, 2022
A scheme to "find and develop the people who will be writing BBC One dramas in five years' time" has been launched by the broadcaster's boss.
Director general Tim Davie said Write Across would be piloted in Liverpool, before similar projects were rolled out across the UK.
He said Liverpool was picked because it was "a city of stories".
Tony Schumacher, who wrote the recent Liverpool-set drama The Responder, welcomed the initiative.
He said starting a writing career was "hard and it's difficult to know where to begin".
Greene Door mentoring scheme returns for crime and thriller writers
thebookseller.com – Saturday February 12, 2022
Greene & Heaton is bringing back its Greene Door mentoring scheme for writers from underrepresented backgrounds, and this year has opened submissions specifically for crime and thriller writers.
The literacy agency launched the initiative as part of the Greene Door Project in November 2021. The project aims to discover writers and help increase diversity of representation in the publishing industry. This time, the opportunity is open to unagented crime and thriller writers who are underrepresented in terms of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability or socio-economic background.
Long-standing literary magazines are struggling to stay afloat. Where do they go from here?
edition.cnn.com – Wednesday February 9, 2022
The Believer was once at the top of the literary magazine game.
A leading journal of art and culture, The Believer published the work of icons like Leslie Jamison, Nick Hornby and Anne Carson. It won awards, it launched careers -- it created a home for off-beat, quirky writing. When the Black Mountain Institute at the University of Nevada bought the magazine, observers spoke of Las Vegas as a potential new hub for literary arts.
Then, in October of last year, the college announced it was shutting the magazine down in early 2022, citing the "financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic." In a statement explaining the decision, the dean of the school's College of Liberal Arts called print publications like The Believer "a financially challenging endeavor."
New Literary Agent Listing: Sian Ellis-Martin
firstwriter.com – Wednesday February 9, 2022
Enjoys reading books with a broad range of themes, such as mental health, sexuality, coming-of-age, race, class and gender. Particularly keen to read books by authors from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds, especially LGBTQIA+ authors, or stories with LGBTQIA+ characters and themes.
“I do not think it is a good story.” Never ask Charles Dickens for writing advice.
lithub.com – Tuesday February 8, 2022
Today marks the 210th birthday of Charles Dickens—novelist, critic, and, from 1859 until his death, editor of a weekly literary journal called All the Year Round. As literary journal editors will presumably understand, the responsibilities stressed him out to the point of dispensing with politeness. We know this because when Dickens’s friend Captain Frederick Marryat’s daughter Florence submitted a piece and asked him for writing advice, he roasted her to hell for even asking for feedback:
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