Submit Applications for Literary Projects Grant Program (Canada)
www2.fundsforngos.org – Wednesday April 8, 2026
Deadline: 04-Aug-2026
The Literary Projects Program provides funding of up to $8,000 for professional non-profit organizations and collectives in Toronto to support literary arts creation, presentation, professional development, and magazine publishing. An additional Accessibility Grant of up to $5,000 is also available for eligible projects.
About the Program
The Literary Projects Program supports one-time or time-limited literary arts projects that contribute to the growth of Toronto’s literary sector.
It funds projects involving:
- Creation
- Presentation
- Professional development
- Literary and arts magazine publishing
Projects must take place within Toronto, and digital projects are also eligible.
Question and Agent: Amanda Orozco of Transatlantic Agency
debutiful.net – Tuesday April 7, 2026
Welcome to Debutiful’s Agent Week! We gathered some of our favorite literary agents representing the most exciting debut books and asked them questions about what makes them love a submission, their agenting style, and the books they’re working on.
Amanda Orozco has been a literary agent at Transatlantic Agency since 2020, where she is drawn to stories from Asian and Latinx writers. Her clients include Shoshana von Blanckensee, m. mick powell, and Nick Medina. She seeks work where protagonists have a distinct voice and personality, where the plot is clever, quirky, gritty, or twisty.
We dug into why writers should know everything in publishing takes more time than they’d expect, representing both fiction and nonfiction, and her opinion on genre with a capital G.
Yen Press Launches New Translation Imprint, Avocado House
publishersweekly.com – Tuesday April 7, 2026
Yen Press has announced the creation of Avocado House, a new imprint dedicated to fiction and nonfiction in translation, curated by publisher and editor-in-chief JuYoun Lee. The imprint aims to publish approximately 12 titles per year.
Avocado House grows out of Yen On, the company's existing prose imprint, which has published literary fiction in translation including Keigo Higashino's The Miracles of the Namiya General Store and Kiwamu Sato's Tezcatlipoca. The new imprint gives translation work a distinct identity and dedicated home within Yen Press, which was founded in 2006 as a joint venture between Kadokawa Corporation and Hachette Book Group,
"As divisive as the world can seem at times, books have always remained a great unifier—helping us find commonalities across cultures while celebrating our unique differences," Lee said in a statement. "Avocado House aims to be a true home for authors, a place where their voices can connect with readers far beyond borders and language barriers."
Peelhouse Press Launches as a New Boutique Imprint Focused on Artefact‑Quality Fantasy Books
firstwriter.com – Tuesday April 7, 2026
A new player has entered the small‑press landscape with a distinctly tactile vision. Peelhouse Press, a boutique imprint founded by fantasy author Michael S. Jackson, has officially launched with a mission to create books that feel less like mass‑market products and more like artefacts from the worlds they depict.
Jackson, best known for his epic fantasy series Ringlander, describes the imprint as a response to a growing appetite among readers for high‑quality, collectible physical editions. “Readers want books that feel special,” he has said in recent discussions about the project — books that justify their physical presence in an increasingly digital age.
Wasafiri Calls for Creative Submissions: Fiction and Non-Fiction | Deadline: 1 May 2026
brittlepaper.com – Monday April 6, 2026
Wasafiri, one of the world’s leading magazines of international contemporary writing, is now open for creative submissions in fiction and non-fiction from 1 April to 1 May 2026.
The magazine is looking for innovative creative writing that, in form, focus, or theme, aims to expand the boundaries of global literary culture. With decades of publishing behind them, Wasafiri has consistently platformed cross-genre and inter-regional conversations, and this open call is an invitation to be part of that tradition.
Question & Agent: Stephanie Delman of Trellis Literary Management
debutiful.net – Monday April 6, 2026
Welcome to Debutiful’s Agent Week! We gathered up some of our favorite literary agents representing the most exciting debut books and asked them some questions about what makes them love a submission, their agenting style, and what books they’re working on.
Stephanie Delman spent 10 years at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates before starting Trellis Literary Management with Michelle Brower and Allison Hunter. Her client list includes countless Debutiful favorites, including Vanessa Chan, Eshani Surya, Jenny Tinghui Zhang, and Gina María Balibrera.
We dug into what makes her a “hands-on” agent, why starting Trellis was the best decision in her life, and what makes her excited for a submission.
The evolving role of fan fiction and independent publishing
sbstatesman.com – Monday April 6, 2026
A core aspect of literature — from the newest young adult, romance or crime thriller novel release to screenplays and award-winning films — is trope. Tropes can be defined by unique, recurring motifs that often speak to the writing’s theme. Popular literary tropes include enemies-to-lovers, found family and love triangles, to name a few.
A place where tropes have always thrived are fan fiction platforms, particularly Wattpad and Archive of Our Own. In the past decade alone, the number of fan fiction uploads and fan fiction engagement has increased exponentially. In 2014, AO3 hit one million published works. In 2018, the platform was home to over four million works. As of early 2026, the site reports hosting over 17 million fanfics.
However, for active engagers in fan fiction communities, it’s undeniable that these fandoms feel less active than they did five years ago. This can be attributed to a wide range of reasons — fandom engagement, the rise of “niche” communities and a new approach to appreciating fan fiction stories — particularly the tendency to hyperfocus on tropes.
New readers make a habit of moving quickly from piece to piece, consuming only to leave “kudos,” the AO3 equivalent of likes, while barely leaving comments or actually reading the entire story.
As popular as this community is, especially in the digital age, fan fiction is seldom spoken about in literary circles. Some claim systemic propagation plays a role in this. Fan fiction is often associated with secrecy as it lends itself to mockery, especially since it is a female-dominated medium.
HarperCollins forges ahead with AI-assisted YouTube series based on books. Some authors have concerns
fastcompany.com – Sunday April 5, 2026
Reactions to two announcements this week underscore how book publishers are treading into thorny new territory.
HarperCollins Publishers and AI-powered animation studio Toonstar have announced a multiyear partnership to coproduce original YouTube series based on HarperCollins titles.
It marks the second announcement this week from the book publishing giant regarding a partnership with an AI-centered company.
On March 30, Harlequin, a division of HarperCollins, said it entered a multiyear agreement to coproduce 40 animated micro-dramas with AI entertainment company Dashverse. Inspired by Harlequin Romance titles, the collaboration launches in April, beginning with an adaptation of A Fairy-Tail Ending by Catherine Mann.
The deals highlight how book publishers are turning to AI as a way to explore new modes of storytelling, but they are also generating backlash from those who are not thrilled about the effort.
I wrote a novel using AI. Writers must accept artificial intelligence – but we are as valuable as ever
theguardian.com – Thursday April 2, 2026
I recently heard an exchange at a playground that should worry the executives at AI companies more than any analyst’s prediction of a bubble. A boy and a girl, maybe 10 years old, were fighting. “That’s AI! That’s AI!” the girl was shouting. What she meant was that the boy was indulging a new and particular breed of nonsense: language that sounds meaningful but has no connection to reality. The children have figured the new world out quickly, as they do.
Artificial intelligence is here to stay, neither as an apocalypse nor as the solution to all life’s problems, but as a disruptive tool. The recent scandal over Shy Girl, the novel by Mia Ballard, was doubly revealing. Hachette cancelled its publication amid claims it was reliant on AI generation (Ballard has said that an acquaintance who edited the self-published version used AI, not her). But the book was originally self-published. Apparently readers and editors didn’t mind until the use of AI was pointed out to them.
The fact that machines can generate meaning in the first place is an existential curiosity. But for writers, and for young writers in particular, AI has a more practical significance. A recent survey found that 86% of college students use AI regularly, which means that 14% are lying to survey-takers. The ordinary business of quotidian language – writing student essays, emails, memos, all the granular sentence-by-sentence work that once trained writers in their craft – is dissolving. Mastery of style, the laborious gift of the skilled writer, is being automated.
New Literary Agent Listing: Sarah Stamp
firstwriter.com – Thursday April 2, 2026
Handles upmarket women’s fiction with a speculative edge or high‑concept hook, contemporary novels with a strong sense of place, unlikeable narrators, and stories built around unlikely friendships. Seeks literary‑leaning fiction with offbeat or unhinged plots, sharply written commercial romance with a humorous and affirming tone, and compulsive psychological thrillers driven by major twists. Interested in historical fiction across the full range from romance to book club to low fantasy and magical realism. In nonfiction, looks for big‑idea commercial history, narrative or revisionist approaches, lyrical food writing with memoir elements, and memoirs built around a striking one‑line pitch.
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