New platform BookBindr launched to 'connect publishers and authors with freelancers'
thebookseller.com – Wednesday November 19, 2025
A new platform, which aims to connect publishers and authors with "skilled, vetted industry freelancers", has been launched by Simon Appleby, founder of Bookswarm, alongside Justine Solomons, founder of Byte the Book.
The new dedicated website platform will feature a "carefully collated" database, enabling users to search for and contact freelancers who are currently open for work, covering essential services such as editing, publicity, design, marketing and more. To be included on the site, freelancers must meet defined criteria, including having a business that does the majority of its work for authors, publishers, agencies and other publishing-related clients.
Other features include search and filter functions, allowing users to choose options based on skill set and genre expertise, and direct contact, so they can reach out directly to freelancers through the platform.
A global publishing scam assisted by AI has targeted Australia. Here are 5 tips to avoid scammers
theconversation.com – Tuesday November 18, 2025
Aspiring authors in Australia are among those who have been scammed by a global network of publishing houses using cloned websites and AI tools. Some boast testimonials using the images and names of real authors, or listing real books they didn’t publish as their own. Several target the Australian market, trading under names such as Melbourne Book Publisher, Sydney Book Publishing, Aussie Book Publisher and Oz Book Publishers.
I’m a publishing expert, and looking at what happened, I can spot red flags in how these publishers operated and targeted aspiring authors, vulnerable to exploitation in their desire for success.
David Tenenbaum, owner of trusted publishing house Melbourne Books, established in 2000 (and specialising in nonfiction), was the first to sound the alarm. He’d received calls from authors who believed they had been dealing with his business – but had actually been speaking to the similar-sounding Melbourne Book Publisher (which even gave out his ABN).
One of the scammed authors, “Andrea”, an aspiring fantasy romance novelist recovering from cancer, told the Guardian she had a video conference with a publishing executive, “Marcus Hale”, who outlined detailed publishing and promotion plans for her novel, down to getting “a presence on TikTok” and a launch at her local bookshop. She realised what had happened when she called Melbourne Books.
Both Andrea and another Australian author, Peter Ortmueller (who also dealt with Marcus Hale), found Melbourne Book Publisher on Facebook. Ortmueller, who lost A$150 he believed was a first down payment on a publishing package, said he thought it was a traditional publisher. Andrea lost A$88, which she was told would buy her an ABN.
Eve White Literary Agency and Spread the Word launch programme for non-fiction writers
thebookseller.com – Tuesday November 18, 2025
Spread the Word, London’s literature development agency, is launching There Is Only Narrative: Non-Fiction Demystified with the Eve White Literary Agency. The aim of the programme is to find and develop new non-fiction writers from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in UK publishing.
There Is Only Narrative will launch on 18th November 2025 with an online survey to better understand the barriers to writing non-fiction and the support writers require from the publishing and agenting industries. The survey will also include a sign-up link to a document helping writers develop a book proposal.
A free online panel event with editors Beth Eynon, Assallah Tahir and Shammah Banerjee, chaired by Eve White and Ludo Cinelli, will be hosted on 9th December. The session will explore opportunities in the non-fiction market, with the aim of demystifying the processes of acquiring and commissioning non-fiction books. A further agents’ online panel event will take place on 22nd April.
"We have followed Spread the Word’s crucial work closely for many years and we are delighted to partner with them on this project," White said. "We aim for it to be a springboard for many future non-fiction classics."
New Literary Agent Listing: Kieron Fairweather
firstwriter.com – Monday November 17, 2025
Actively seeking both fiction and non-fiction, the agent welcomes narrative-driven work that blends personal stories with cultural, historical, or expert insight, as well as projects that uncover hidden meaning or cast new light on familiar events. Interest extends to music history from the mid-century onwards, storied accounts from the world of sport, and practical narratives in arts and craft. Writing that explores the emotional and psychological impact of environments, cities, and landscapes, or challenges the mapped nature of the urban experience, is also encouraged. In fiction, preference is given to literary and upmarket-commercial crossover, with a taste for darker, unsettling worlds whether dystopian, speculative, or rooted in gritty realism. Atmospheric and unconventional voices, quirky narrators, horror elements, and gritty urban realism are all welcomed, alongside stories that amplify working-class perspectives and regional voices across genres.
Why Every Bestseller Feels the Same: the Formula Behind Modern Romance
theteenmagazine.com – Saturday November 15, 2025
One thing about romance novels is that they're going to hit every time! Well, at least they used to. The swoon-worthy confessions, the character edits on TikTok, the yearning, and cute scenes that made us all feel lonely.
From fake dating to the same three tropes on rotations, romance novels have become predictable. However, authors are relying on this predictability because it sells. It causes authors to play it safe and adds no depth to the genre.
It is no secret that the same copy-and-paste format has a little or a lot to do with the business behind the publishing industry. Literary agents are always looking for the next big thing, the story that will make them revenue and not just dust up on library shelves.
It’s why one of the key things that agents look for in an author is numbers, such as how many followers they have or their network. This is a major factor in the stories and authors that get published, which then leads to literary agents now picking the same type of storylines and similar authors to the point the whole market is overusing the same ideas.
Bright Agency promotes Georgia Tournay-Godfrey to literary agent
thebookseller.com – Friday November 14, 2025
The Bright Agency has promoted Georgia Tournay-Godfrey to literary agent.
Tournay-Godfrey first joined Bright in 2019 as an assistant, before becoming an associate agent. She works across picture books, preschool, non-fiction and graphic novels.
She said: “I’m all about ideas. I’m looking for picture books that take risks but that trust children to notice, question and feel. I’m drawn to creators who resist neatness or convention, whose work is oddly funny and imaginative, or unusually profound. I’m drawn to stories that exist at the edge of the ordinary, that hold space for both the strange and the beautiful.”
Tournay-Godfrey added: “I’m especially eager to champion creators from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. The voices too often left unheard, yet rich with perspective, humour and truth.”
New Publisher Listing: Toller Press
firstwriter.com – Friday November 14, 2025
Publishes books that spark a love of reading across a wide range of genres, from adventure and fantasy to real-life drama, humorous tales, and serious narratives featuring either animal or human characters. Material should be engaging for young readers, with strong storytelling that places the reader first and encourages imagination, curiosity, and emotional connection.
BFLA Open Week: What is the most challenging part of your role?
blakefriedmann.co.uk – Thursday November 13, 2025
While we love to celebrate the publishing industry – amazing authors, essential books, and a whole world full of readers – sometimes it can feel like an uphill battle. In today’s BFLA Open Week Question of the Day, we asked the team:
What is the most challenging part of your role?
Please take a look at everyone’s answers below, and come back tomorrow for the final instalment of this year’s Open Week!
Isobel Dixon, Head of Books
Agenting requires a great deal of intelligent nerve, in fighting for your authors, in tricky negotiations, and the mettle required to deliver bad news – rejected submissions, editor departures, frustrating reviews (or lack of them). The trade’s rate of change is swifter than ever before – editor moves, corporate mergers, retailer shifts – and we are the steady point for our clients, supporting and strategising in response to perpetual publishing flux. Physical stamina is required too as we don’t control publishing schedules – several client titles can be published on one day and we have to be prepared and there for each unique scenario.
New Magazine Listing: My Mind Beautiful Magazine
firstwriter.com – Thursday November 13, 2025
A complimentary magazine for Women of Color that articulates and represents the unrelenting courage, strength, resilience, and fragrance of our unrestrained creativity and colorful history while nourishing the human soul and feeding the human spirit. We strive to inspire and empower women. Inside this magazine are "Pages of Purpose" educating and instigating women to reshape our perception of how we see ourselves individually and collectively while overruling the distortions and misrepresentations of Women of Color. What makes this niche publication so unique is that we offer great content. We offer what Women need, what they want, and what they don’t even know they need.
Inside the editorial process of Chapman’s art and literary magazines
thepanthernewspaper.org – Monday November 10, 2025
From poets to music producers, painters to playwrights, filmmakers to photographers, Chapman is home to a thriving creative community. And each semester, art and literary magazines like Calliope, Ouroboros and The Underground offer Chapman creatives of all mediums a home for their work.
But how do the editors of these magazines decide which pieces to accept into each issue? Let’s delve behind-the-scenes into the selection and editing process for Chapman’s art and literary publications.
Calliope, the oldest literary magazine at Chapman, published its first issue as its current iteration in fall of 2014. The publication accepts a wide range of written and visual work, including poetry, fiction, nonfiction, scripts, photography, digital art, paintings and drawings. Currently, Calliope’s editor-in-chief is senior screenwriting major Joshua Olatunji.
Ouroboros, which published its first issue in fall of 2020, specializes in work that falls within the speculative genre. The magazine accepts written and visual works of various mediums including poetry, fiction, scripts, sculptures, animations, photography, digital and traditional art. The magazine’s current editor-in-chief is junior creative writing major Selah Sanchez.
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