Want to write a bestselling novel? Use an algorithm
theguardian.com – Sunday September 24, 2017
It’s the multimillion pound question that publishers and writers have been pondering for decades: what makes a bestseller? Attempting to write one could certainly pay off – the highest-paid author in the world, JK Rowling, has made $95m (£70m) in the past year, and the 10 highest-paid authors in the world earned more than $310m between them, according to Forbes.
Interactive fiction and mainstream publishers (Part 2)
thebookseller.com – Friday September 22, 2017
In the first part of my look at interactive fiction, I outlined IF’s roots in early computer gaming, and its revival through engaged communities and innovative producers. In this follow-up, I’m going to look at the future of the form - technological advances in voice, language processing and AI that could give interactive fiction greater commercial and creative traction within mainstream publishing.
Kingsford and Shukla crowd-fund BAME journal and literary agency
thebookseller.com – Friday September 22, 2017
The creators of The Good Immigrant, Nikesh Shukla and Julia Kingsford, are launching a crowd-funding campaign forThe Good Journal - a quarterly literary journal that will showcase UK BAME writers and lay the foundations for a new literary agency to champion under-represented voices.
According to Kingsford, the idea for the journal came about following the response to The Good Immigrant, which published exactly a year ago today (22nd September), and has now sold almost 50,000 copies across all editions to date.
New Literary Agency Listing
firstwriter.com – Thursday September 21, 2017
Handles: Fiction; Nonfiction
Areas: Autobiography; Culture; Health; Lifestyle; Women's Interests
Markets: Adult; Children's; Youth
Treatments: Literary; Popular
See website for specific agent guidelines and contact details, and query one agent at a time. Response not guaranteed unless interested.
Lantana Publishing Breaks into U.S. Market
publishersweekly.com – Wednesday September 20, 2017
Founded by Alice Curry in 2014 to publish children’s books by authors and illustrators from diverse cultural backgrounds, London-based Lantana Publishing has garnered impressive accolades during its first three years. The publisher was shortlisted for the Bologna Prize for Best Children’s Publisher of the Year (Europe Category) at the 2017 Bologna Children’s Book Fair, and earlier this year Curry received Britain’s Kim Scott Walwyn Prize, celebrating exceptional women in publishing.
Now Lantana is entering the American market with the release of four picture books this fall, which clearly reflect its core mission. Distributed by Lerner Publisher Services, Lantana’s debut U.S. list features the work of authors and illustrators whose backgrounds are rooted in an array of countries.
New Magazine Listing
firstwriter.com – Wednesday September 20, 2017
Publishes: Fiction; Poetry;
Areas include: Fantasy; Romance; Short Stories;
Markets: Academic;
Preferred styles: Literary
A not-for-profit online global literary magazine. Our mission is to create a space for writers and artists to share their passion and love for fairy tales as much as we do. We are dedicated to publishing new fairy tales as well as re-told classic fairy tales.
Writing Graphic Sex Scenes Can Be a Feminist Act
motto.time.com – Tuesday September 19, 2017
Why is there explicit sex in my new book? Because I’m a feminist.
Under A Pole Star, my third book, is a novel about late 19th century arctic explorers that features, alongside ice, ambition and rivalry, more than one sexual relationship. And there’s a lot of detail. My central characters fall in love, and yes, they have a lot of sex. I was nervous about how the passages would be received. One Amazon reviewer has already complained about “copious quantities of copulation.” The specter of the Literary Review’s Bad Sex Award, given annually to authors of “poorly written, perfunctory or redundant passages of sexual description in modern fiction,” hovers over us all, tittering. Some judge writing explicitly about sex to be less than literary — or worse, discrediting of female characters. But why should achieving romantic and sexual satisfaction — one of the most difficult challenges we face as humans — be redacted or blurred?
New Literary Agency Listing
firstwriter.com – Tuesday September 19, 2017
Handles: Fiction; Nonfiction
Areas: Fantasy; Horror; Romance; Sci-Fi
Markets: Adult; Children's; Youth
Treatments: Contemporary
See website for individual agent interests, contact details, and submission guidelines. Welcomes submissions about LGBTQ themes and diverse characters and by traditionally underrepresented authors. All queries must be sent by email - no snail mail submissions. No screenplays, poetry, short stories, adult nonfiction, or fiction for adults that does not fall into romance or SFF genres.
Rules of writing from an international best seller
cbsnews.com – Sunday September 17, 2017
Famous spy novelist John le Carré shares his writing tips with 60 Minutes, including how he avoids "fuzzy endings” and why he makes verbs do all the work.
Dutch publishers from Malmesbury open migration themed poetry competition
wiltsglosstandard.co.uk – Saturday September 16, 2017
A PUBLISHER based in Malmesbury has launched a poetry competition this autumn, asking entrants to discuss the topic of migration.
Bernadette Jansen op de Haar, who moved to the UK from the Netherlands in 1983, founded Holland Park Press in 2009 specialising in giving new English-language authors a chance to be published as well as promoting literature from her homeland.
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