The Periodical, NYC-Based Art and Literary Magazine, Launches
openpr.com – Monday May 11, 2026
The Periodical is a non-profit publisher and magazine dedicated to creative writing, criticism, and conversation about literature and the arts, including poetry, fiction, theatre, music, photography, film, and new media. Each issue brings together new writing and portfolios on the past, present, and future of artistic expression. Based in New York City, the magazine was founded in late 2025 by its editors Margarida Assis, Lachlan Brooks, Geoffrey Lokke, Eduardo Pavez, and Ali Yalgin. The magazine will publish its inaugural print issue in 2027. Preorders and annual print subscriptions can be purchased on the magazine's website, theperiodical.org. Readers can also support the non-profit through Patreon-paid subscribers will have access to the magazine's exclusive digital-only content including weekly reviews, essays, and recommendations.
Literature and Translation
The magazine's founding editors first met in graduate school at Columbia University and bring their diverse interests, experience, and expertise to the publication. Lachlan Brooks, an actor and poet, is the magazine's poetry and fiction editor. "My taste as a reader is eclectic: I gravitate toward poems and stories that use language in surprising ways, and will as happily read an experimental, avant-garde work as a conventional one. E. M. Forster, Machado de Assis, Daniil Kharms, and Anne Carson are equally welcome on my bedside table, and may be happy antidotes to one another." According to Brooks, the simple pleasure of reading is still the be-all and the end-all, whether it comes from a work's emotional effect, or (conversely) its undercutting of an emotional effect, its edifying power, "or simply the remarkable feeling I sometimes get that an author is enlightening me. The poetry and short fiction section of The Periodical magazine will have room for new works in the modern and postmodern traditions and works that cleave to traditional forms, as well as writing that forges its own path."
'I'm a literary agent - here's what makes me sign a writer instantly and what most authors actually earn'
news.sky.com – Monday May 11, 2026
Want to make it as an author? Or to choose their fate? The Money team spoke with an agent about what makes a good literary submission, the pitching mistake many authors make, and what she finds "offensive" about the industry for our regular careers feature.
If you've ever spent your morning commute daydreaming about starting afresh with your career, this feature is for you. Each week, we speak to someone from a different profession to discover what it's really like. Today we speak to literary agent Maddalena Cavaciuti, from David Higham Associates (DHA)...
A literary agent might start on a salary... between £30,000 and £40,000 if they're building a list from scratch. As agents build a successful and reliable client list that could comfortably rise to a six-figure salary, including bonuses and/or commission. It's worth noting, though, that some agencies don't pay salaries at all - some agents are paid on a commission share only.
New Literary Agent Listing: Elliot Prior
firstwriter.com – Monday May 11, 2026
Handles nonfiction including history, big ideas, philosophy, self-help, nature and environmental writing, and sport, with a particular interest in strong narrative perspectives, fresh angles on established subjects, and stories that immerse the reader in another time or place. Also seeks fiction that is expansive and stylistic, featuring complex characters and work that engages with major themes through compelling storytelling, along with beautifully written and atmospheric historical fiction.
Defendant Pleads Guilty in $48 Million Nationwide Book Publishing Scam Targeting Hundreds of Seniors
justice.gov – Saturday May 9, 2026
Michael Cris Traya Sordilla, a 34-year-old citizen of the Philippines, pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that he conspired to perpetrate a book publishing scam that caused losses of over $48 million to more than 800 victims throughout the United States.
Sordilla is the first of four defendants to admit his role in a scheme that targeted authors — most of them seniors — by promising to elevate their work to major publishing deals and Hollywood film adaptations, all in exchange for millions of dollars in fraudulent fees.
According to his plea agreement, Sordilla was the founder and CEO of Innocentrix Philippines, which purported to be a “business process outsourcing” company in the Philippines. Sordilla admitted that he and his co-conspirators created and registered phony business entities in the United States, including:
- PageTurner Press and Media LLC (“PageTurner”), which was incorporated in California in September 2017 and claimed to be a book publishing business located in Chula Vista, California
- The Metro Films LLC (“Metro Films”), which was incorporated in California in April 2022 and claimed to be a motion picture and sound recording business located in Los Angeles, California
- WP Lighthouse LLC (“WP Lighthouse”) was registered in Indiana in July 2024 and claimed to be a book publishing business in Indianapolis, Indiana.
How to Publish a Book With the Big 5: 6 Experts Weigh in
pen.org – Friday May 8, 2026
Daunted by the publishing world and how to navigate it? You’ve come to the right blog post.
To unravel insider secrets on how to be published with the Big Five, PEN America hosted a panel discussion where award-winning author Susan Shapiro spoke with six industry experts. Audience members heard helpful tidbits from Johanna V. Castillo, a literary agent at Writers House, Eamon Dolan, an author and editor at Simon & Schuster, Deborah Garrison, a poet and editor at Penguin Random House, Clarence A. Haynes, an author and freelance editor, Emi Ikkanda, an author and editor at Penguin Random House, and Kevin Nguyen, an author and editor at The Verge.
If you couldn’t make the event, hosted at the family-owned independent bookstore P&T Knitwear, here are five takeaways:
Consider starting small.
To kick off the conversation, Shapiro shared one of the lines she frequently tells her students looking to publish books in any genre: “Three pages can change your life.” “Say somebody has an idea, even for a book, I always think it’s a million times easier to write a great three pages and publish that than 300,” she said.
Back when Garrison worked at The New Yorker, the pieces she pulled from the slush pile — written by authors whom “nobody had ever heard of” — would become projects that would be nominated for prizes like National Book Award, she said.
Pitt’s Writing Program launched a new literary journal
pittwire.pitt.edu – Thursday May 7, 2026
Diana Khoi Nguyen, associate professor and interim director of the Writing Program in Pitt’s Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, has launched 3 Sisters, a new online literary journal publishing poetry, fiction, nonfiction, essays, art and hybrid work.
The inaugural issue features contributions from a wide range of writers — including a Pitt undergraduate and a folio from students at Carlow University. The journal was built and edited by a team of current Pitt MFA students and alumni who aimed to publish work that crosses or defies traditional genre categories.
Why Writing Stories For Children is So Much Harder Than Writing Stories For Adults
lithub.com – Thursday May 7, 2026
A few years ago, my longtime children’s book editor rejected my idea for a new middle grade novel. The rejection hit me hard – the story, of the daughter of a celebrity chef who moves to a small town after being adopted by her older brother, was really tugging at my heartstrings. But the editor’s rejection was swift and brutal; there was no version of this manuscript she was going to accept.
Some stories plant deep in your creative brain and come out through songs heard on the radio and random daydreams in the shower. They will not, simply, leave you alone. It occurred to me that the story would actually be much more interesting from the perspectives of the daughter’s brother and one of the elderly women who lived in the town. I wrote the first chapter longhand on a boat and dashed it off to my agent, who confidently told me he could sell it. He did, and so began a brand-new chapter of my career.
Since the publication of that book (The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County), I’ve written another novel for adults (The Supper Club Saints) and a handful of additional middle grade novels. I’ve continued to carve out a career path in both age groups by the skin of my teeth, somehow finding myself writing for two very different audiences.
Why this group of writer friends decided to launch a literary magazine in Toronto
streetsoftoronto.com – Wednesday May 6, 2026
One spring evening last year, Tia Glista hosted a dinner party for a few friends; she has the very good habit of connecting people from disparate parts of her life together. Not long before the dinner party, Glista, Winnie Wang, Adrianna Michell and Emma Cohen had discussed their struggles writing freelance and had tossed around the idea of starting a literary magazine. After dinner, Michell remembers sitting on the floor of Glista’s apartment, looking around the room at her friends, and pointing out their complementary strengths could make such a concept truly possible.
Toronto Review, the aptly named literary magazine borne out of that fateful dinner party, officially launched on April 27, featuring works from Haley Mlotek, Zak Jones, Furquan Mohamed and Claire Foster, among others.
“An exciting idea that everyone had been ruminating on began to feel possible when we noticed that we were a resourced group of people in terms of the gifts that we could offer one another and the complementarity of those strengths, but also literally our resources beyond the initial group,” says Abby Lacelle, who rounds out the editorial team alongside Glista, Wang, Cohen and Michell, with Sonja Katanic helming the visual design. With one new piece online every week, Toronto Review operates without a paywall to ensure the accessibility of their work.
Martin Literary Management Changes Hands
publishersweekly.com – Wednesday May 6, 2026
Sharlene Martin, president and longtime owner of Martin Literary Management, has announced the sale of the agency to Jennifer Newens. It will be rebranded as Martin-Newens Literary Management.
Newens has served as VP of MLM since 2023. As a part of the change in ownership, Newens will relocate the agency from Seattle, Wash. to Oakland, Calif., overseeing day-to-day operations of the business and focusing adult nonfiction.
New Literary Agent Listing: Eryn Kalavsky
firstwriter.com – Wednesday May 6, 2026
Handles nonfiction with a focus on deeply explored subjects that illuminate broader cultural or personal truths. Seeks narrative nonfiction, cooking, lifestyle, psychology, sports, nature, spirituality, wellness, humor and pop culture, with interest in projects that inspire more fulfilling living, strengthen relationships, build community, or spark curiosity about taste, style, adventure and wonder. Particularly receptive to work with a southern sensibility or west coast tone.
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