Granta stops publishing short story award winners over AI controversy
theguardian.com – Saturday June 20, 2026
Literary magazine will no longer engage in ‘external publishing partnerships’ after Commonwealth prize furore
The prominent literary magazine Granta will no longer publish the winning entries of the annual Commonwealth short story prize after one of this year’s winners drew widespread accusations of AI use.
The magazine said it would no longer be involved in “external publishing partnerships” in which it had no editorial control.
In a statement to the Guardian, Granta said: “The 2026 selection of the regional winners of the Commonwealth prize caused a great deal of controversy, based on the speculation that one or more of the stories may have been at least partially AI-generated, accusations that were strongly rejected by the authors.
“For the sake of our own editorial integrity, the Granta Trust board has now taken the decision that we will no longer engage in external publishing partnerships. We will keep the Commonwealth prize shortlisted stories on our website in the public interest, and wish our former partner, the Commonwealth Foundation, all the best in its work.”
Scammers targeting emerging and published writers -- BEWARE!
daniellebinks.substack.com – Saturday June 20, 2026
The Lonely-Hearts-Honeypot-Catfish Publishing Scams
Publishing is currently the target of unprecedented levels of scams, made easier and more nuanced by Artificial Intelligence being able to generate and target all corners of our industry.
The Guardian investigative piece into the targeting of self-published authors, really succinctly hits on the shape these scams are taking; “New wave of publishing scams mimic lonely hearts hoaxes of old – swapping promises of true love for the fantasy of literary acclaim. And the wooing process is now fully automated.”
It’s not just that these scammers - like “lonely hearts hoaxes of old” are flattering egos and writing exactly what we all want to hear about our talents, but it’s that AI is making their spiels eerily convincing.
A Writer's Guide to Rejection Letters
poetry.arizona.edu – Friday June 19, 2026
The reality of submitting poetry to literary journals is that there are so many incredible poets doing it, and editors only have so much room in their magazines. All of us are inevitably going to face rejection in the writing world, and if we’re equipped to hit it head-on, we won’t be beaten down when we get that first “thanks but no thanks” letter. And bracing ourselves for rejection, or reframing it as proof of effort, makes us better writers in the long run.
Magazines typically accept less than 1% of the submissions they receive. In Submittable (as of March 2026), my rate of acceptance versus rejections is 174/1801, making my acceptance rate about 10%. I find that knowing this motivates me to submit more—for about every 10 pieces I send in, one will probably be accepted.
Editors are looking at thousands of submissions and can’t always provide feedback or respond personally to submissions. You’ll often see editors acknowledge this in a rejection letter. But if you volunteer to work on a literary magazine (which I highly recommend), you’ll quickly come to understand their perspective. I have read for a few magazines and contests, and when I have, I notice how quickly overwhelmed I can become. It doesn't take long for me to engage or disengage with a poem. Patterns begin to appear:
- Careless errors
- Misnaming the editor or reader
- Not following the submission guidelines
- Stylistic or aesthetic differences (readers are subjective with subjective tastes! And that's OK, but this is why magazines tell you to read before you submit; you may quickly realize just how much they vary in aesthetic interests.)
Understanding these patterns can help improve the likelihood of your work not being rejected.
New Publisher Listing: My Kind of Book
firstwriter.com – Friday June 19, 2026
Publishes sensory stories and picture books designed for children with profound and multiple learning disabilities, with a focus on creating engaging, accessible material supported by ongoing research and the development of innovative formats.
Words, words, words
aeon.co – Thursday June 18, 2026
Strong resistance to AI among writers is understandable. But it obscures what we share with the machines: language itself
Since artificial intelligence went mainstream a few years ago, it has done double duty as a political personality test: tell me what you think about AI, and I’ll tell you who you are. Those worried about climate change focus on energy consumption. Those who denounce late capitalism see it as the ultimate example of corporate monopoly. Those concerned about racism have warned about AI biases. Those studying the effects of colonialism see it as yet another form of exploitation. And those tending toward doom have seen ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Grok as the four riders of the apocalypse.
People in the arts and culture have felt particularly threatened by AI because the technology seems to be coming for the things they cherish the most: the creative use of images, words, and ideas. The latter two, words and ideas, have been in the centre of the storm because generative AI is based on language and because ideas are closely associated with the words in which they are expressed. In response, writers have largely opted for resistance, defending the genuine creativity of humans against the machines. My social media feeds have been flooded with AI-slop gleefully produced and circulated by colleagues hoping to prove that AI can’t be creative. Let’s call this the Creative Resistance.
How to Write a Novel in 33 Days
lithub.com – Thursday June 18, 2026
There’s a popular idea, fueled by countless Hollywood movies, of how writing a novel works. It goes something like this. Author is struck by inspiration. Author sits down and types in a frenzied montage, words flowing directly from the ether onto the page. Within a few hours/days/weeks, a book appears.
I used to think this was (charitably) an exaggeration, or (uncharitably) bullshit. My experience of the writing process always involved much more conscious effort, and much more uncertainty. I spent my time stumbling through first drafts, doubling back, second-guessing everything I wrote. I had accepted that even if the pure-inspiration model was real, it wasn’t something I would ever experience.
But then an image came to me: a young woman in the back seat of a car, returning to the burnt-out ruin of the house where she once lived as a member of a cult. Within a few days, the rest of the story coalesced around her: the charismatic leader she was going back to find; the power he had offered her, to control and manipulate what others perceive as reality; and the community she had lost.
You Have Permission: Elizabeth-Jane Burnett on Creating Space for Experimental Writing
womensprize.com – Thursday June 18, 2026
Through my career of teaching and sharing writing, the response I have heard most is “I didn’t know you could do that.” Too often, even without realising it, we restrict ourselves into categories, genres, forms, sometimes even thoughts, that were not of our own making. We have shrunk our writing even before picking up a pen or starting to type.
It’s an internal shrinkage that’s somewhat different to imposter syndrome, where we may know what we’re striving for but aren’t sure we have the right tools or accomplishments to achieve it. It is a diminishing that comes from not realising that alternative options even exist. If imposter syndrome is a hesitation to move forwards, then permission-giving is someone taking off the blinkers so that we can see, and move, in all directions.
One of my biggest early permission-givers was a literary scene rather than a person – in the transatlantic US and UK experimental poetry communities of the 1960s, I found a freedom in form and in the means of production that gave me a pathway – and permission – for expression that felt more fluid than more mainstream modes of writing. In the UK, a wide range of styles, including visual and sound poetries, were involved in what US poet Eric Mottram called the British Poetry Revival. A lot of this writing was distributed by way of the “mimeo revolution” that saw poets taking control of their own publishing.
Cheltenham Literature Festival sounds alarm over scam emails targeting writers
boringnews.co.uk – Tuesday June 16, 2026
Cheltenham Festivals has warned authors, literary agents and speakers to ignore fraudulent emails and messages that falsely claim to represent the Cheltenham Literature Festival. The urgent alert, published on 5 June, describes a wave of unsolicited communications that invite recipients to take part in the festival programme and, in some cases, ask for money.
How to write like a Booker-nominated author
thebookerprizes.com – Tuesday June 16, 2026
Behind every Booker Prize novel are routines and rituals that define the work. Here, 12 authors and translators reveal how they shape a story from beginning to end
‘A good writer needs a good rubbish bin,’ said Richard Flanagan, speaking backstage at London’s Guildhall after winning the Booker Prize in 2014. ‘I don’t think I’m much of a writer, but I’m a better re-writer,’ he added wryly.
Jokes aside, Flanagan’s sentiment captures something essential about writing life: it is rarely straightforward, but shaped by habit and a constant urge to improve.
Perhaps you are working on your own book and looking for inspiration, or simply curious about how real writers get words on the page. So, if you’ve ever wanted to get inside the mind of a Booker or International Booker Prize-nominated author, you’re in the right place. From silence and structure to cats, coffee, and carefully built routines, we’ve gathered 12 pieces of advice from fiction’s most acclaimed writers.
New Literary Agent Listing: Marc Gerald
firstwriter.com – Tuesday June 16, 2026
Represents writers, artists, creators and influencers for the book publishing world, developing material from original concept through to completion. Handles general fiction, mystery, suspense, thriller, biography, business, finance, history, religious, mind body spirit, health, travel, lifestyle, cookbooks, sports, African American and science. Places books with major houses and develops projects across platforms. Accepts submissions by email with the first 25–50 pages.
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