New Science Fiction Writing Contest from Emirates Literature Foundation
locusmag.com – Friday January 31, 2025
A new writing contest has been announced today by the Emirates Literature Foundation, in collaboration with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai.
The MBRSC Short Story Award: New Voices in Sci-Fi will award science fiction short stories by writers from the United Arab Emirates. The contest is open to writers ages 16–30; submissions may be in English or Arabic and between 1,500–5,000 words. The deadline is 16 November 2025.
Winners will be selected by a panel of judges assessing works for “originality, creativity, scientific accuracy, narrative strength, character development, and overall literary merit.” Twelve stories will be chosen, six in Arabic and six in English. Winners will be announced next year at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature and will receive a commemorative plaque, workshop opportunities, Festival attendance, and publication in an anthology.
Authors and literary agents 'angry and frustrated' by Facebook impersonations
thebookseller.com – Thursday January 30, 2025
Unicorn Academy series author Julie Sykes and art historian Ruth Millington have been plagued by fake author profiles on Facebook and Instagram, revealing "anger, frustration and vulnerability" over the situation.
Other writers such as Kit De Waal and Milly Johnson and several literary agents have also spoken about the online impersonations which have been ongoing for many years but are apparently increasing through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other technology in recent months.
Sykes told The Bookseller: "Someone contacted me on my website in September saying, ‘I think I’ve been talking to you on Facebook,’ and it wasn’t me. The person speaking to him had intimated he could get him a publishing deal with my publisher which obviously made me very concerned."
Trainspotting author on track for world's most prestigious crime writing festival
express.co.uk – Thursday January 30, 2025
Irvine Welsh is among special guests revealed for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival 2025
Irvine Welsh has been revealed as one of the special guests at the world’s most prestigious celebration of crime writing this summer.
The Trainspotting author joins the likes of Lee and Andrew Child, Val McDermid, Kate Atkinson and Mark Billingham at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, supported by the Express, in Harrogate.
Welsh will be making his first appearance at the festival, held at the Old Swan Hotel where crime queen Agatha Christie hid out following her ‘disappearance’ in 1926, to talk about Resolution, the final instalment in his Crime trilogy, now a hit TV series, starring Dougray Scott. This year’s event, which runs from July 17 to 20 in the North Yorkshire spa town, is curated by bestselling Slow Horses creator Mick Herron.
He said: “This year’s Special Guests are an incredible mixture of global bestsellers, familiar friends and writers new to Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, who together guarantee a weekend of thrills, wit and revelations.
Nationwide ‘Words for a cause’ writing competition launched ‘to amplify care workers’ voices’
carehomeprofessional.com – Thursday January 30, 2025
Through creative writing and direct communication, the charity is aiming to highlight the value of care work, address the challenges in the sector, and inspire meaningful change
The Care Workers’ Charity has announced the launch of its “Words for a Cause” Month, taking place throughout March 2025. The charity said this initiative aims to highlight the invaluable contributions of care workers by encouraging storytelling.
A spokesperson for the charity said: “Care workers play an essential role in our communities, offering compassion, support, and dignity to those who need it most. Yet, their voices are often unheard, and their challenges remain underappreciated. That’s why we’ve created Words for a Cause Month – a dedicated time to use the power of words to amplify the voices of care workers and advocate for the recognition they deserve.
“This month-long initiative is about storytelling, advocacy, and action. Through creative writing and direct communication, we aim to highlight the value of care work, address the challenges in the sector, and inspire meaningful change.”
FairyLoot and Transworld launch new fantasy publishing imprint
thebookseller.com – Monday January 27, 2025
The book subscription service FairyLoot and Transworld are launching a new fantasy publishing imprint, the name and logo of which will be announced at the London Book Fair in March.
Debuting in autumn 2025, the fantasy imprint will discover and publish "bold new voices" that "push the boundaries of fiction". It will feature a select number of jointly curated projects, and all titles will be published in physical format across the trade and digitally in audiobook and e-book.
The mission of the new venture is "to forge new paths in publishing and storytelling". Placing a strong emphasis on author relationships, its aim will be to provide authors with creative support to bring their books to life. There will also be a focus on building an engaged community of readers, whose creative energy and feedback will be "channelled into the imprint’s DNA".
Trying to write a novel? A Marrakech ‘book camp’ might unlock your literary skills
ft.com – Monday January 27, 2025
There’s nothing like shopping to form a bond between strangers. It was the glue for two women of letters who met at Lahore Literary Festival a few years ago. “We ended up hanging out, talking about books and shopping. There is a great picture of us in an old haveli. I remember your hair was bright blue, and a blue parrot settled on your shoulder,” says Bloomsbury editor Alexandra Pringle of her encounter with future creative partner, the writer and historian Alex von Tunzelmann. The blue hair is long gone, although von Tunzelmann has gone for purple ahead of their next writing masterclass.
Together with their mutual friend, editor and literary consultant Faiza Khan (Pringle had hired her to run the Bloomsbury list in Delhi), they talked of opening a boutique with a curation of goods and artefacts truffled from their travels. “We realised that our love of objects is founded in storytelling – I do believe everything holds a history and a life,” says Pringle, who lives on a houseboat in Chelsea filled with Staffordshire figures, fine porcelain and ancient finds from Morocco. The idea of a writing retreat then blossomed with the input of author and journalist Nesrine Malik, and, in 2022, Silk Road Slippers was founded.
There are myriad writing retreats out there, often staged in picturesque locales such as the south of France and largely attracting a certain tranche of middle-class England. This literary double act, however, was determined to establish a fully immersive workshop with hands-on exercises, seminars, one-on-one feedback and the central attraction of a guest author. The masterclasses held in Marrakech got underway in November 2023 with Shehan Karunatilaka as the first guest author. Esther Freud (23-28 February) and Alan Hollinghurst (2-7 March) are top billing for the upcoming spring masterclasses, which cost £3,200 per person (with a £1,000 deposit payable on acceptance).
Chicagoan Charlie Donlea on Writing Best-Selling Mysteries
classicchicagomagazine.com – Monday January 27, 2025
With titles like Don’t Believe It, Some Choose Darkness, and The Girl Who Was Taken, you know that you are in for a thriller where surprises lurk around every corner. No wonder Chicagoan Charlie Donlea is a USA Today and a number one best selling author internationally. Along with a Charlie Donlea mystery to get me through this week’s artic cold I added a further stay-at-home pleasure of speaking with the Chicago best-selling author himself about his craft.
Writing the manuscript for his tenth thriller is keeping Donlea indoors this week as well as working with a team to develop his Twenty Years Later into a television series. He may will have news to share soon. His newest hardcover Guess Again will be released in August 2025.
Not only do we love the plot twists that keep you guessing until the final pages, the clever red herrings we fall for and the great destinations where Donlea’s novels are set (including Chicago and Door County as well as faraway places like St. Lucia) we find characters you care for, something lacking in many mysteries.
Here’s what we learned from Donlea on a day when it was two degrees in Chicago.
Writers' Handbook 2025 now available as an ebook
firstwriter.com – Saturday January 25, 2025
Following last month's release of the print edition of firstwriter.com's 2025 edition of its Writers' Handbook, the digital editions are now also available from various outlets around the world. These include:
New Media Writing Prize open for entries
bournemouth.ac.uk – Saturday January 25, 2025
The 2024/5 New Media Writing Prize is now open for entries, with cash prizes for the best in interactive digital narrative, literature, and journalism.
The NMWP is seeking original works of “born-digital” storytelling (fiction or non-fiction): works created on digital devices, for digital devices. These include hypertexts, participatory films, i-documentaries, Twine stories, transmedia novels, and more.
The competition is free to enter. The main prize of £1000 is sponsored by if:book, with £500 prizes for best journalism (sponsor: FIPP media) and a “people’s choice” category (sponsor: Wonderbox Digital). Winner of the student prize will win a year’s membership from sponsor Writers Online.
Why do editors 'ghost'
bukiebooks.substack.com – Saturday January 25, 2025
I saw some recent discourse about this on the Substack app, but it’s been a topic of heated conversation within publishing, between writers and agents, and between agents and editors for the past few years. Some of you may recall Jonathan Karp’s infamous mandate that editors must respond to agent submissions within a month1, after he learned about ghosting.
In the past few years, there have been more instances of editors simply not responding to submissions from agents. They will respond to the pitch, but after receiving the manuscript, neither reject nor ask for a call, even after multiple follow-ups and sometimes even after calls and auction rules are set.
If you are an editor I work with who follows me here, this isn’t about you. You are all perfect. Also, thanks!
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