New Literary Agent Listing: Rory Green
firstwriter.com – Wednesday October 1, 2025
Brings a decade of pastoral experience and a deep zeal for encouraging and equipping the Church. Because of his extensive ministry experience, he is passionate about championing strong pastoral voices to guide the next generation.
Open Call - Getting Your Script Ready
bbc.co.uk – Tuesday September 30, 2025
This year the dates for our Open Call are from noon on Tuesday 4th November to noon on Tuesday 2nd December. Ahead of the submission window opening we turned to Hayley McKenzie for some tips and advice on making sure that your script is in its best shape.
How should writers get ready to submit their script to BBC Writers Open Call, or any other opportunity deadline?
Making sure you have enough time to do multiple revisions before the deadline is critical – don’t send your first draft! Building that evaluation and rewrite time into your process is important if you want to send your best work. So, aim to finish a first draft of the script a few weeks before the deadline to give yourself time to really elevate the script and make it the best you possibly can.
We also encourage the writers we work with to have done a lot of development on the idea/premise, characters and story, including outlining, before writing the first draft. That helps gives the first draft of the script more clarity of intent and a strong shape, which means there is less of the heavy lifting to do in the rewriting phase.
Are fandoms becoming the hottest wellspring of material for books and movies?
russh.com – Monday September 29, 2025
For those who have always harboured a deep passion for the written word – and perhaps aspired to write themselves – the world of fan fiction is hardly new territory. Both emerging and established authors have cut their teeth in the sandboxes offered by some of the most popular fandoms.
At the 2024 RUSSH Literary Showcase presentation, Tongan-Australian author Winnie Dunn spoke of one of her first forays into writing. Stolen moments tucked away in her childhood bedroom drafting fan fiction. The admission was met with a knowing smile by the other emerging authors in the room. Some of them later even divulged to me the particular fandoms they used to experiment with.
Reading and writing fan stories was once an activity kept strictly to LiveJournal and remote internet forums. It's undeniable that what used to be a clandestine guilty pleasure, a haven for hardcore fan culture, has evolved into something accepted by the mainstream.
DEI vs. Story: How Publishing Lost the Plot. Part 1 of 7: The Gatekeepers
pjmedia.com – Sunday September 28, 2025
Once upon a time, an aspiring fiction writer had a fighting chance. If you wrote a good story, polished your manuscript, and braved the slush pile, you might just get picked up. The system wasn’t perfect, but it was meritocratic enough that talent sometimes slipped through the cracks and found its way into print.
That world is gone.
Today, agents and editors, the self-appointed gatekeepers of publishing, increasingly use submission guidelines not as a way to filter for quality, but as ideological purity tests. Want to query an agent? You’d better make sure your story features “marginalized voices,” that your characters are “diverse,” and that your personal identity matches the preferred checklist. Otherwise, don’t bother. Some agencies explicitly state they will not consider manuscripts by authors from “overrepresented groups.” Some agents state baldly that they will not be able to represent white males. Others signal subtly or overtly that unless your work advances the current ideological line — the one centered on race, gender, or sexuality — they are not interested.
This isn’t just rumor. It’s been noticed by people inside the industry. In 2022, Joyce Carol Oates, no right-wing firebrand but one of America’s most respected novelists, said that a literary agent friend of hers couldn’t even get editors to look at debut novels by white male authors. “They are just not interested,” she wrote, calling the situation “heartbreaking.” Best-selling thriller author James Patterson said much the same: white male writers face a harder time breaking in, a trend he called “another form of racism.”
Mainstream media rushed to shut them down. CNN ran a feature insisting the data “disagrees.” Their proof? A Penguin Random House audit showing that between 2019 and 2021, 76 percent of their authors were white (only 34 percent were men, but they downplayed that). A New York Times study that found 95 percent of novels in major houses were by white people. “Not a thing,” industry insiders declared.
But look closer. Those numbers are backward-looking, reflecting backlist contracts and long-established names. They say nothing about what Oates and Patterson were pointing out: the front door is closing. How many of those 2019–2021 books were new debuts by white men, as opposed to reprints or ongoing series from long-successful authors? CNN didn’t ask, because the answer might have proved Oates right.
New Literary Agent Listing: Sonny Marr
firstwriter.com – Friday September 26, 2025
Represents commercial fiction and non-fiction. She loves a strong hook, brilliant pacing and authors who think big-picture when it comes to their careers. Actively looking to grow her list and is always looking to work with artists who have a vision for publishing a book. No children’s books, sci-fi/fantasy or YA.
Private Equity Firm Acquires Two Leading Hybrid Publishers
publishersweekly.com – Thursday September 25, 2025
Greenleaf Book Group and Amplify Publishing Group, two of the country’s oldest and best-known hybrid publishing companies, have been acquired by Civica Media, a new publishing company formed by the private equity firm BlackBern Partners.
Civica is headed by CEO Laura Albero, whose background includes leading business development for Lezen Holdings, the publishing company anchored by Arcadia Publishing, and has done strategic advisory, financial modeling, and investor material development for a number of publishing houses and literary agencies. “Greenleaf and Amplify are two of the strongest independent publishing brands in the market today,” Albero said in a statement. “They exemplify the potential of the hybrid model, and we’re excited to provide the resources and platform to help them scale.”
Greenleaf was founded by Clint Greenleaf in 1997 and has been led in recent years by Tanya Hall. It has seven imprints including Wonderwell Press and Kiplinger Books and also provides distribution services. Originally known as Mascot Books, Amplify was cofounded in 2003 by Naren Aryal, who remains CEO and publisher. Amplify has six imprints, including RealClear Publishing.
Mark Manson Used the 4-Hour Rule to Write a Bestseller. Science Says It’s the Secret to Doing Great Work
inc.com – Tuesday September 23, 2025
The author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k struggled for 15 months to write his best-seller before he stumbled on the 4-hour rule. It changed everything.
Back in the 2010s Mark Manson was a well-known blogger, leveraging social media algorithms to attract eyeballs to his Millennial-focused self-help content. His success earned him a book deal. But he was far from sure his online formula would translate into the world of publishing.
Then his book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k came out. It became an instant cultural phenomenon that spawned countless copycats, selling 20 million copies and counting.
“There’s no way to expect that,” Manson told an interviewer. “It’s [a] complete life change.”
So how did a guy known for slinging accessible but smart advice manage to write a book that you now see on basically everyone’s bookshelf? On LinkedIn recently, Manson revealed his struggle to write the book and the essential time management rule it taught him.
It’s a rule that’s backed by a ton of science and that applies to basically anyone who hopes to do great work.
BBC 500 Words creative writing competition returns for children across the UK
bbc.co.uk – Tuesday September 23, 2025
The Royal celebration of children’s creativity invites young writers to submit original short stories, showcasing the best in homegrown storytelling
The UK’s most successful writing competition for children, BBC 500 Words, opens today, Tuesday 23 September.
The competition, supported by BBC Bitesize for Teachers, encourages children of all abilities to dive deep into their imagination and write the story they would love to read in 500 words or fewer, without fear of spelling, grammar or punctuation errors.
Open to ages 5–7 and 8–11, the competition’s return was revealed by Alex Jones on Monday’s episode of The One Show, where she also revealed that the grand final will be held at the iconic Windsor Castle.
The judging panel are Malorie Blackman, Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Sir Lenny Henry, Charlie Higson and Francesca Simon, and, chaired by Alex Jones.
Alex Jones, The One Show presenter and 500 Words judging panel chair said: “We are so excited to be back for 500 Words! It’s a highlight in The One Show calendar and being invited to Windsor Castle for the Grand Final feels really special. I can’t wait to read the brilliant stories and celebrate reading, writing and imagination!”
New Literary Agent Listing: Krista Van Dolzer
firstwriter.com – Tuesday September 23, 2025
Looking for all things MG and YA as well as several flavors of adult nonfiction: narrative, sports, applied but accessible science (especially in mathematics, economics, or psychology), and journalistic narrative.
New Hilary Mantel prize to help emerging writers
bbc.co.uk – Monday September 22, 2025
A new literary prize in memory of author Dame Hilary Mantel has been set up to champion new writers.
The Hilary Mantel Prize for Fiction is being launched on the third anniversary of her death after her private correspondence revealed she had mentored aspiring writers throughout her life.
Organisers of the new biennial prize said it was open to unpublished writers without an agent living in the UK or Ireland, and the winner would get a cash prize, mentoring from an agent and a place on an Arvon Foundation residential writing course.
Devon-based Dame Hilary herself won the prestigious Booker Prize twice and is probably best known for her book Wolf Hall that became a BBC TV series.
The judging panel will be chaired by bestselling author Maggie O'Farrell.
She said: "Encouragement from a writer of Hilary Mantel's stature is nothing short of transformative. It's like winning a thousand lotteries for debut writers."
The two authors shared an agent and it was decided offering an award for unpublished writing was the best way to honour her memory.
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