National Centre for Writing launches Open Doors programme
thebookseller.com – Saturday April 10, 2021
The National Centre for Writing (NCW) is launching an Open Doors programme, with authors including Derek Owusu and Abir Mukherjee, exploring ways of connecting with audiences and reflecting on the role of a writer.
The programme will include an immersive play, new essays, interactive writing resources and micro residencies. Owusu, Mukherjee and Kerri ní Dochartaigh are among those who will create new work as part of the programme, reflecting on how the experience of the past year has impacted their writing.
Cork World Book Festival – 20 to 26 April 2021
thecork.ie – Saturday April 10, 2021
Cork World Book Fest is going online and will virtually welcome Irish and international writers to Cork for an extravaganza of books and writing this April.
David O’Brien, Cork City Librarian, said, “Every April, we look forward to meeting writers from around the world. This year, we’re delighted to bring everyone together in our virtual event space.”
New Magazine Listing: Deep Overstock Magazine
firstwriter.com – Wednesday April 7, 2021
Accepts fiction, poetry, and essays. Issues are themed. Check website for current theme. Prefers essays and fiction to be under 3,000 words. Accepts up to seven poems per theme.
Spectra: The Poetry Movement That Was All a Hoax
daily.jstor.org – Tuesday April 6, 2021
The January 1917 issue of the literary magazine Others was devoted to the poets of the Spectric School of Poetry, a new literary movement, which, as its members described, “push[ed] the possibilities of poetic expression into a new region.” Others was a perfect fit for this experimental work, explains modernist-poetry scholar Suzanne W. Churchill. The journal “had earned a reputation for extremism by publishing daring and experimental poets such as Mina Loy, Marianne Moore, Wallace Stevens, and William Carlos Williams.” There was just one problem: Spectra was a hoax.
World of Books joins with Society of Authors to launch £5k writing award
thebookseller.com – Tuesday April 6, 2021
Used book retailer the World of Books Group has partnered with the Society of Authors to launch a £5,000 award for writers to inspire progressive behaviour change.
The World of Books Impact Award will be granted twice a year to writers working on books focusing on social impact, sustainability or education. It will offer the winning author a sum of £5,000 to support them as they complete their work. The award criteria is linked to World of Books' own guiding values and aligned with the UN sustainability goals of Responsible Consumption and Production, Climate Action and Quality Education.
Applications for the first World of Books Impact Award are open from now until July, with the first award due to be granted in October 2021.
Jacqueline Wilson's guide to getting started writing children's books
stylist.co.uk – Monday April 5, 2021
Children may have a world of technology at their feet nowadays and they countless ways to find entertainment online – but they are still reading. In fact, they are using many technological resources to do so. Research by the Publisher’s Association found that sales of digital children’s books in the UK rose by 50% in 2020 and a survey of 58,346 children undertaken by the National Literacy Trust found that more than a quarter of children and young people said they were enjoying reading more because of lockdown.
So, if you have always wanted to write for children, now is as good a time as any to start – and Jacqueline Wilson would agree. Although she wrote her first book at the age of nine in 1954, she has now written 112 novels for children and her most recent novel, The Runaway Girls, was released only last month. “I cannot imagine not having a book in my mind all the time,” Jacqueline says. “It would feel so peculiar and empty.”
Jacqueline has sold over 40 million books in the UK and her most well-known novel, The Story of Tracy Beaker, has inspired three spin-off series on CBBC since its publication 30 years ago.
It’s safe to say, then, that Jacqueline Wilson knows a thing or two about writing children’s books and she has some advice for aspiring children’s authors – from how to structure a novel to how to get a publisher, to dealing with complex issues in a way that is accessible to children. Here, she give Stylist’s Curiosity Academy the inside track on getting going.
New Literary Agent Listing: Tanusri Prasanna
firstwriter.com – Thursday April 1, 2021
Looks for accessible and wide-reaching, narrative nonfiction set against themes in social justice and representation; memoirs that speak to these issues with authenticity, humor, and heart; and select fiction featuring diverse perspectives, experiences, and even storytelling styles. For YA and middle-grade, she gravitates towards contemporary coming-of-age stories, and ambitious, world-building fantasies. She’s drawn to charming and relatable romances, well-plotted and voice-driven suspense, and stories set in schools or interesting neighborhoods. In the picture book space, she loves wry humor and twisty endings, as well as meaningful, concept-driven texts. She also represents children’s nonfiction that excites the imagination and curiosity of young readers.
Melissa Febos on Her Literary Inspirations, Writing Habits, and Notebook Fetish
interviewmagazine.com – Wednesday March 31, 2021
This is First Draft, in which our favorite writers get to the bottom of their own craft. From preferred writing drinks to whether or not you really need to carry a notebook, we find out all the ways they beat writer’s block and do the work. Before curling up with Girlhood, Melissa Febos’s new collection of personal essays, discover all the elements that helped her get it done.
New Literary Agent Listing: Millie Hoskins
firstwriter.com – Wednesday March 31, 2021
Wants to find exciting new writers of fiction - commercial and literary - and narrative non-fiction.
Finding Ideas To Write About
By Marcella Simmons
Freelance Writer
firstwriter.com – Monday March 29, 2021
Ideas are everywhere. They are in your home, your car, at your work - you can find ideas at the park, the grocery store, the doctor's office, at school or in your bed. Ideas happen everyday, non-stop and you can use them in both fiction and nonfiction as well as poetry. Look around you.
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