Penguin, Bloomsbury, Juggernaut can wait—Twitter is the new fiction publisher
theprint.in – Sunday October 4, 2020
Move over Bloomsbury, Penguin, and Juggernaut — Twitter is now the premier fiction publisher in the era of coronavirus.
When Twitter user Shiv Ramdas wrote a lengthy thread about his brother-in-law buying a truck of rice, his posts received 77,000 retweets and 3 lakh likes within days. That’s how starved people are for a quick, interesting read on social media.
Let’s be honest, it’s practically impossible to get through a 500-page book today when you have to respond to every text, Instagram forward, and see every video on Facebook or Twitter. But fear not, Twitter story threads are the new place to quench that bookworm in you.
And you thought Twitter is only a playground for trolls. After Black Twitter and Dalit Twitter became thriving virtual subcultures, fiction Twitter is slated to be the next big thing.
Anyone can tell a funny, evocative, romantic, or thrilling story on Twitter — 280 characters at a time. All you need is snarky vocabulary, internet inside jokes, and concise sentences. Each tweet becomes a chapter, and each thread, however long you may want it to be, becomes the tale.
New Magazine Listing: Cholla Needles
firstwriter.com – Friday October 2, 2020
We look for poetry that reaches readers, with a special emphasis on poetry that readers desire to return to. Each issue contains 10 distinctly different poets, and we are very happy to introduce new writers to our audience in each issue. We have no restriction as to writing style or format, but do expect that the work submitted is ready for an audience. Payment in US is by contributor's copy, and outside the US is by pdf copy.
New Literary Agency Listing: Laxfield Literary Associates
firstwriter.com – Friday October 2, 2020
We are looking for fiction and non-fiction of the highest quality. We are keen to receive literary and commercial fiction. We are also looking for non-fiction, particularly creative non-fiction, travel writing and nature writing. We do not represent poetry, plays or children’s books.
Shercliff launches Suffolk's first literary agency
thebookseller.com – Wednesday September 30, 2020
A new agency, Laxfield Literary Associates, headed by Cassava Republic's Emma Shercliff, is opening in Suffolk and launching a debut novel prize.
The agency, which is billed as Suffolk's first, opens its doors on 1st October. It was started by Shercliff in association with Blake Friedmann Literary Agency, which will handle translation and screen rights.
Shercliff was prompted to launch the agency partly as a response to the Common People report, led by Professor Katy Shaw of Northumbria University, which highlighted the lack of literary agents outside London.
New Magazine Listing: Atlanta Review
firstwriter.com – Monday September 28, 2020
Accepts submissions of poetry between January 1 and June 1, and between September 15 and December 1. Submit online ($3 submission fee) or by post with SASE.
Foundry Literary + Media Co-Founder Peter McGuigan Launches Ultra Literary
deadline.com – Friday September 25, 2020
Peter McGuigan, who co-created the New York literary agency Foundry Literary + Media with Yfat Reiss Gendell, has launched a new agency dubbed Ultra Literary.
The move comes after the news last week that Gendell exited Foundry to form YRG Partners, taking Foundry agents Tanusri Prasanna, Peter Steinberg and Adriann Ranta Zurhellen and their clients with her. That agency will focus on representing publishing rights for writers and consumer brands.
New Literary Agent Listing: Sarah Bowlin
firstwriter.com – Friday September 25, 2020
Focused on bold, diverse voices in fiction and nonfiction. She’s especially interested in stories of strong or difficult women and unexpected narratives of place, of identity, and of the shifting ways we see ourselves and each other. She’s also interested in food history, wine, and dance.
New Literary Agent Listing: Silé Edwards
firstwriter.com – Monday September 21, 2020
Looking for books that inform our understanding of the world, society and the ways we live. Interested in a range of Non-Fiction from emotive life writing to topical essay-like writing to projects on cookery and food. She is particularly keen on finding experts in their field who want to write about what they know in a way that everyone can understand, appreciate and enjoy.
Also accepts fiction submissions. She is open to all genres, but especially interested in crime thrillers, romantic comedies, poetry and upmarket fiction.
Foundry Literary + Media Co-Founder Yfat Reiss Gendell Exits To Form YRG Partners
deadline.com – Friday September 18, 2020
Foundry Literary + Media co-founder Yfat Reiss Gendell has left the New York book agency to form YRG Partners. She leaves with agents Tanusri Prasanna, Peter Steinberg and Adriann Ranta Zurhellen to launch an agency that will focus on representing publishing rights for writers and consumer brands.
Gendell said the agency will partner with a series of existing and new private equity firm relationships, each active in intellectual property and consumer brand development, to match-make between clients and the investment community, and to create unconventional opportunities that work alongside or independent of existing publishing models. Gendell has represented clients’ publishing rights, typically along with managers, and often as the agency of record for writers who are also represented at other agencies for screenwriting. Gendell will bring that formula to the new agency.
PW Star Watch 2020 Honorees Named
publishersweekly.com – Wednesday September 16, 2020
Publishers Weekly and Frankfurter Buchmesse have named 40 publishing professionals as honorees for PW Star Watch 2020, the annual publishing and bookselling award now in its sixth year. Honorees hail from the U.S. and Canada, and were selected from the ranks of the Big 5 publishers as well as independent and university presses, literary agents, booksellers, and other industry and related organizations.
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, 2020 also marks several firsts for the awards. This year, a charitable component was added to the program, and will benefit the Book Industry Charitable (Binc) Foundation, which provides financial support to booksellers. In another departure from previous years, the celebration, usually held in a downtown Manhattan locale, will be a virtual celebration free and open to all, and will be held on October 13 at 5 p.m. The five honorees selected as finalists will speak, and one Superstar will be announced by Jim Milliot, Publishers Weekly’s editorial director, and Erin Cox, Frankfurter Buchmesse’s U.S. publicist. As in past years, the Superstar will be invited to the virtual Frankfurter Buchmesse 2020 as well as awarded a sponsored trip to Frankfurter Buchmesse 2021.
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