New Literary Agent Listing: Callen Martin
firstwriter.com – Tuesday April 14, 2026
Represents accessible Middle Grade, young adult and new adult fiction across all genres and formats except verse, poetry and picture books. Handles action and adventure, high‑concept storytelling, genre‑led and genre‑hybrid SFF, contemporary and speculative work, thrillers with twists, smart dystopian fiction, fantasy with distinctive or locked‑vicinity magic systems, creature and monster‑based stories, gaming and RPG‑inspired narratives, mysteries, emotional narratives, romance including queer and m/m, and retellings or reimaginings for modern readers. Seeks shorter Middle Grade with strong hooks, big adventures, brilliant worlds, pacey plots, underdog characters, soft boys, human/animal or human/magical‑creature bonds, and stories that compete with gaming and social media for reader attention. In YA and New Adult, looks for strong voice, emotional depth, anti‑heroes, protagonists driven by personal stakes, speculative concepts with clear comparative titles, and projects with blockbuster energy or one‑line pitches. Welcomes submissions with unique magic systems, worldbuilding rooted in linguistics or decoding, music magic, creature systems, and stories with humour, heart, or logical bonkers‑ness.
Writers Space Africa Magazine is Calling for Submissions for its 114th Issue | Submit by April 20
brittlepaper.com – Monday April 13, 2026
Writers Space Africa (WSA) Magazine, one of Africa’s longest-running literary publications, now in its 114th edition, is open for submissions for its June 2026 issue. The theme is The Unemployed, and the window closes on 20 April 2026. That’s a tight turnaround, so if you have something to send, now is the time.
New Publisher Listing: Agenda Publishing
firstwriter.com – Monday April 13, 2026
Publishes academic and specialist nonfiction across economics, finance, geography, history, international relations, philosophy, political economy, politics, public policy, sustainability and urban studies, featuring research-led titles examining global health, maritime security, public memory, vulnerability, youth geographies, climate futures, political movements, constitutional questions, and related contemporary issues.
Too hot to handle? Why it’s time for straight male authors to rediscover sex
theguardian.com – Sunday April 12, 2026
It’s a high-wire act and the risk of an embarrassing failure can weigh heavily – but that’s no reason to avoid writing about sex, argues Black Bag author Luke Kennard
Are straight male writers scared of writing about sex? If you read modern fiction it’s hard to conclude otherwise. Maybe we’re worried that the very presence of a sex scene in our book would feel somehow exploitative or gratuitous. Or maybe we feel our gender has simply said enough on the subject so we should shut up.
Women writing about straight relationships don’t seem as nervous. In fact, sex is often a central element of narrative, and of nuanced portrayals of masculinity; from the slow-burn tenderness and awkwardness of intimacy in Sally Rooney’s work, to the surreal celebrations of and lamentations for the erotic in Diane Williams’s extraordinary short stories.
The Bad Sex in Fiction award wrapped up in 2019. It is not missed – for me, its offence was that it conflated comically bad writing about sex with great writing about sex that happened to be bad. Still, the funniest and most excruciating winners were straight men trying and failing to write sincerely and exuberantly about sex, and landing somewhere between the ludicrously metaphorical and the shoddily pornographic or exoticising. Past winners have included James Frey (“Blinding breathless shaking overwhelming exploding white God I cum inside her …”) and Didier Decoin (“Katsuro moaned as a bulge formed beneath the material of his kimono …”).
Alberta writer loses thousands to self-publishing service with little to show
thealbertan.com – Sunday April 12, 2026
After spending nearly $30,000 to turn his gardening columns into a book, Charles Schroder says he was left with unfulfilled promises.
A St. Albert Gazette gardening columnist is speaking out after spending approximately $30,000 USD on self-publishing services he says delivered little in return, hoping other aspiring authors avoid the same mistake.
Charles Schroder said he turned to self-publishing service Writers Clique to turn years of his Gazette gardening columns into his book, Urban Gardening.
Invoices show he paid roughly $30,000 USD for publishing and marketing services between November 2023 and March 2024.
Schroder said he contacted Writers Clique after receiving three recommendations and was impressed early on.
“They sounded really good. They said let me see the manuscript, and they had a writer there that wrote a summary of the book… it looked like the best gardening book that has ever been written,” he said.
After deciding to go with Writers Clique, the first quoted cost was about $5,000 USD, but additional charges followed.
Schroder said the company promised broad distribution but he has seen little return beyond $300 in Amazon royalties.
The Decolonial Passage is Open for Submissions on the Theme of Ecology | Submit by April 30
brittlepaper.com – Sunday April 12, 2026
The Decolonial Passage, a literary magazine centring African, African-American, and Black diaspora writing, is open for submissions throughout April 2026 for its third issue, themed Ecology. All genres are welcome this month: poetry, short fiction, flash, and creative nonfiction.
The issue takes its cue from Martinican environmental engineer Malcolm Ferdinand’s framework of decolonial ecology, which argues that confronting ecosystem destruction is inseparable from the demand for equality and emancipation and that colonial domination cannot be undone without also transforming the colonial relationship to land, landscape, and non-human life. The editors want work in which human beings are in relationship with their natural environment, plants, and animals, seen through that decolonial lens.
Indie authors are redefining the publishing world
dailyuw.com – Saturday April 11, 2026
Throughout writing this series, I’ve realized that one of the biggest myths about the publishing industry is that there is a single “right” way to publish a book. As nice as that idea may be, there is no golden standard or easy-to-follow tutorial. Every author needs to choose the path best for them.
One of the most important decisions an author must make is whether or not they choose to traditionally publish their book with the help of a publishing house or to self-publish it.
In recent years, self-publishing (also known as independent or indie publishing) has grown exponentially. According to Bowker, the official ISBN agency for the United States, over 3.5 million books were self-published last year, a 38.7% increase from 2025. In comparison, only 640k books were traditionally published in 2025.
FSG Closes its MCD Imprint, McDonald to Depart
publishersweekly.com – Friday April 10, 2026
In a memo this morning, Mitzi Angel, president and publisher of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, informed the staff that the publisher is closing the MCD publishing program. As a result of the closure, MCD SVP and publisher Sean McDonald will leave FSG April 15.
MCD was launched in 2016 and was the brainchild of then FSG publisher and president Jonathan Galassi. MCD’s goal was "to create a space to publish work and experiment with publishing styles, forms, and genres that are at the edges of FSG’s traditions," Galassi told PW at the time of the launch. But times have changed in the publishing industry and in her memo, Angel wrote that due to “the financial realities” of the industry, FSG has decided to “redirect our attention to FSG’s core programming under the FSG umbrella.” That lineup now includes AUWA Books—which was launched by McDonald in March 2023 under the direction of Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, the drummer and joint frontman for the Roots—FSG Originals, Picador, Quanta Books, and the newly-revived North Point Press.
New Publisher Listing: House of Kel
firstwriter.com – Thursday April 9, 2026
Independent publisher specialising in finely crafted science fiction, fantasy and romantasy. Seeks imaginative, well‑developed manuscripts that explore journeys beyond the known. Focuses on elevating distinctive voices within speculative fiction and related genres.
New Literary Agent Listing: Kelly Karczewski
firstwriter.com – Thursday April 9, 2026
Represents fiction and nonfiction. In fiction, seeks sharp, contemporary, commercially driven work with strong hooks, surprising prose, lightly speculative elements, spiky humor, or central unlikeable female characters, along with queer stories in horror and literary fiction. In nonfiction, represents digital creators in the self‑help space, including personal finance, mental wellness, and sex and dating, and looks for expert‑driven nonfiction by authors with a defined specialty or professional niche, as well as distinctive Substack voices.
Get the free newsletter | Submit a news item or article | Get Writers' News for your website
