Sentimentality in Poetry: Emotional Imbalance and How to Avoid it
By Maria Foster
Poet and Writer
firstwriter.com – Saturday April 18, 2020
Nothing is going to turn readers off your writing quicker than that sickly, disingenuous whiff of sentimentality that emanates from aggressively emotional wording. That cliched, pandering thing that so many writers fall into the trap of.
All of my mean adjectives aside, it’s usually not something that happens deliberately. It’s not like people are just padding out their writing with sentimentality, knowing that it sounds awful but doing it anyway just because they want to.
What’s going on is probably more of a misguided attempt at something that is actually sincere. When we’re writing something creative and artistic, it’s almost always going to be an expression of emotion.
Sphinx Theatre announces £1,000 commissions for female playwrights and new writing lab
thestage.co.uk – Wednesday April 15, 2020
A new writing programme for female playwrights, offering £1,000 seed commissions and support from writers including Winsome Pinnock and April De Angelis, has been launched by Sphinx Theatre.
The pilot writing programme, called Sphinx Lab, and the commissions have been announced to mark the company’s 30th anniversary.
Emerging to mid-career female playwrights can apply for one of 10 commissions by submitting a CV and an example of their work to Sphinx Theatre by June 15. Further opportunities are to be announced for mid-career to established female playwrights.
Caskie and Mushens part ways after three years
thebookseller.com – Wednesday April 15, 2020
After three years working together as Caskie Mushens, literary agents Robert Caskie and Juliet Mushens have decided to work independently.
Each will continue working with their own clients, the pair confirmed.
New Literary Agency Listing: 42 Management and Production
firstwriter.com – Wednesday April 15, 2020
A fully integrated management and production company, producing film, television and content, representing actors, writers, directors, producers, casting directors and media book rights; with offices in London and Los Angeles.
Literary Magazines Published by Libraries
bookriot.com – Tuesday April 14, 2020
As both an author and library employee, I’m intrigued by libraries that publish literary magazines. Since so many libraries offer services for local writers and writer organizations, it seems like a natural extension.
In fact, last month I had the pleasure of being a judge—along with authors Sarah McGuire and Peter Raymundo—for the Osceola Library System’s third annual literary contest for kids aged 8–17. The theme was “There’s a Monster in My Lit Mag!” and while the ceremony for the winners has been cancelled, the winners will be read in an upcoming episode of the library’s Nonfiction Friends podcast by Jonathan, the amazing Youth Specialist who coordinated the contest.
Faber, Canongate and Profile among indies to furlough staff
thebookseller.com – Tuesday April 14, 2020
Faber, Canongate, Profile, Oneworld and Pushkin Press are among indie publishers who have confirmed to The Bookseller they are temporarily furloughing staff, making use of the government-funded scheme intended to alleviate the business impact of coronavirus. But the scheme also has its critics, with Will Atkinson of Atlantic Books (which is furloughing about 25% of its staff) calling it "clunky" and "completely unsuitable" for the industry.
Andrew Franklin, founder of Profile Books, confirmed: "We've furloughed about 20% of our staff. We asked for volunteers first across all departments, but nobody has been compelled. The criteria we used [took into account] individual wellbeing, the long-term health of the company, and the strain put on the people left behind."
Publishers: Think Like a Kid
blogs.publishersweekly.com – Tuesday April 14, 2020
When we heard the news that one of spring’s most highly anticipated books for kids wouldn’t be coming out until late summer, I’ll be honest: it felt like a gut punch—to kids.
All these children who had just learned they would be sheltering in place at home for weeks to come, whose worlds had shrunk practically to the size of their living rooms, were so in need of the kind of joy a new book by their favorite author brings.
TV Lit Agent Laura Gordon Leaving ICM for CAA Amid Coronavirus Shutdown
variety.com – Sunday April 12, 2020
Hollywood’s talent agencies may be significantly impacted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but agents are still making moves in an unprecedented crisis.
Television literary rep Laura Gordon, who has risen from the assistant level at ICM Partners nearly a decade ago to senior agent, left the shop amicably this week after the expiration of her contract, sources said. CAA is in the process of finalizing her deal, added another insider.
Gordon will join a company that has just instituted across-the-board salary reductions, not to mention one of the majors currently in a contentious battle with the Writers Guild of America over packaging fees. It was not immediately clear if Gordon will be subjected to the cuts made across CAA, which will see “our highest compensated colleagues shouldering a greater responsibility,” a CAA spokesperson said this week.
Agents Weigh Whether to Submit Projects During the Pandemic
publishersweekly.com – Saturday April 11, 2020
The tightening of publishers’ purse strings in response to the economic fallout of Covid-19 has added a new wrinkle to an age-old dilemma for agents: when is the best time to submit their clients’ new manuscripts?
In normal times, deciding when to submit books, and whom to submit them to, is something agents constantly weigh. Now, with huge swaths of the country under quarantine, pub dates of forthcoming titles in limbo, and questions about how long the pandemic will last, literary agents are divided on the best approach. All agents interviewed acknowledged that publishers will need to keep buying books, but many are uncertain about whether they want to send new projects out at such a difficult moment.
“I am definitely thinking about which projects make sense to submit now—in terms of author profile and subject matter—and which ones it’s better to hold,” said Markus Hoffmann, a partner at Regal Hoffmann Associates. “Arguably the right project will get more attention, since there will be fewer submissions overall. And even if lists contract across the board, publishers will need new books for when this crisis is over.”
Post-pandemic poetry: As world comes to a screeching halt, 'digital poets' are writing odes to nature
economictimes.indiatimes.com – Tuesday April 7, 2020
With lockdowns of varying degrees imposed in major economies around the world, and entreaties or orders by national leaders to work from (or stay at) home implemented, there is finally time now for everyone to ‘stand and stare’, as W H Davies put it, just over a century ago. Amid more bucolic imagery, Davies had also written about ‘streams full of stars, like skies at night’, a simile that would be utterly lost on most city dwellers, barring senior citizens perhaps.
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