Hachette Employees Protest New Conservative Imprint
publishersweekly.com – Monday November 11, 2024
A group of employees at Hachette Book Group have penned a letter to management condemning the announced launch of a new conservative imprint, Basic Liberty, and hiring of Thomas Spence, former president and publisher of Regnery, to helm it.
On November 7, two days after the presidential election, HBG and Hachette UK CEO David Shelley announced that the Basic Books Group would be adding to its portfolio the Basic Liberty imprint, described as "a new conservative imprint that will publish serious works of cultural, social, and political analysis by conservative writers of original thought." He also announced that Spence—currently a visiting fellow at the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation—had been hired to lead the imprint as executive editor.
Spence worked at Regnery for more than 11 years, and led the company for nearly four years after the retirement of longtime president and publisher Marji Ross in 2019. Earlier this year, following Skyhorse’s acquisition of Regnery in late 2023, he joined the Heritage Foundation as a senior advisor.
New Literary Agent Listing: Kait Lee Feldmann
firstwriter.com – Monday November 11, 2024
I represent illustrators and illustrator-authors who are primarily interested in working on picture books and graphic novels. We’d be a good match if you enjoy wholesome chaos. Let’s make books for the kids who get in trouble for their imagination, the next generation of mad scientists, supervillains, and witches at the end of the street.
First Person: My journey to writing a children’s book
algonquintimes.com – Sunday November 10, 2024
Over seven days, I put my dream of writing a book for kids into motion. The adventure taught me I can do more than I ever thought I could
“No, Auntie! Don’t go!” Kavaiah’s sweet voice stops me just as I’m about to step out the door. She tugs at my hand, holding tight to a new book I bought her, I Am Born to Be Awesome by Mechal Renee Roe. “Just read the book one more time, Auntie, PLEASE!” she begs, her eyes wide. How can I not be compelled to stay?
I smile, settle back onto the couch, and she jumps into my lap, eagerly flipping the book open to the first page. Kavaiah is full of energy when we read. She acts out each line, her four-year-old voice rising and falling with each word, making faces and gestures, soaking in every picture and phrase like it’s her first time hearing them.
I start, “I love the stars,” and she shouts, “I love racing cars!” Then we both chime in, “I am born to be awesome!” She takes her time turning each page, determined to slow me down if I go too fast. With every line, she finds something that resonates, whether it’s her love for bath time or playing in the park. She’s not just listening; she’s living each rhyme, seeing herself in the words and pictures. Each time we reach “I am born to be awesome,” she beams, and I feel it too. Her high-pitched voice makes my heart melt.
I never imagined that enrolling in Algonquin College’s journalism program would lead me to begin to write a children’s book. When the opportunity to write a personal narrative arose, I thought, why not take it further? Why not challenge myself to write a children’s book in seven days? I naively thought it wouldn’t be too hard, after all, it’s a children’s book. How complicated could it be?
Well, as it turns out, it was more challenging than I anticipated.
On the benefits of working slowly
thecreativeindependent.com – Thursday November 7, 2024
Caoilinn Hughes discusses writing as a process of discovery, being a monotasker, and the importance of wisdom in producing good work.
You’ve had a very international life. You grew up in Ireland, where you studied literature and drama. You subsequently lived in New Zealand, where you earned a PhD in English literature, and in the Netherlands, among other countries. Could you describe your path to becoming a writer?
I was always writing, even when I was a kid, aged nine, ten. As a teenager, I wrote a lot of poems, as that’s really what I read. I read poetry and plays, because I was a very slow reader. It felt like a very intimate interaction. There’s all this blank space around the work, and it seemed to invite a direct conversation between the author and the reader. An activity, rather than something that you receive passively.
I went to the North of Ireland to study at Queen’s University Belfast, partly because I didn’t have the grades to go to college in the Republic. And also, a lot of the poets I was reading were from the North, so it felt fated to go there.
Have a penchant for writing? Share your work with these top four magazines
msn.com – Wednesday November 6, 2024
‘TIS that time of the year again, when avenues open up for the writer in you to make a debut. Come January, a lot of literary magazines open up their doors for aspiring and budding writers to submit their fiction and poetry. As a lover of fiction himself, this writer decided to do his fellow writers a solid and, apart from a quick curation, also include a few easy tips to ensure your submissions are accepted.
The best way, says Tanuj Solanki, founder-editor of the Bombay Literary Magazine, is to just read the guidelines. Do people not do that, we ask?
“Well,” he laughs, “our fiction submissions, for examples, are supposed to be between 2,000 to 7,000 words but people end up sending entire novellas. As a result, their entries are never read.” Fair, we think. What else? “It never helps to choose topicality over quality,” he adds. “We had stories around the COVID 19 lockdown when it was in effect, and about the Me Too movement before that, but in the effort to make it topical, the story itself was undercooked. ”Go on, then. Here are some lit mags you can send your submissions to. Thank us later.
Independent publisher The Canelo Group acquired by DK
thebookseller.com – Tuesday November 5, 2024
DK has acquired the independent publisher The Canelo Group. Canelo was founded in 2015 by Iain Millar, Michael Bhaskar and Nick Barreto, and has twice been shortlisted for Independent Publisher of the Year at the British Book Awards.
According to DK, Canelo will maintain its independent identity "while benefiting from DK’s resources". DK explained that its imprints (Canelo, Canelo Crime, Hera and August) will reach broader audiences while "preserving their unique identities". A top priority following the acquisition will be Canelo’s "commitment to author and agent care", and DK will invest in and scale those efforts across UK and international markets.
Canelo has combined traditional publishing with digital innovation, and since it was founded has grown a large catalogue of bestselling commercial fiction and has "fostered close relationships with authors and literary agents".
New Literary Agent Listing: Jack Fogg
firstwriter.com – Tuesday November 5, 2024
In fiction, I’m drawn to books which combine compelling storytelling, engaging characters and strong plotting, whether they be considered commercial or literary. I particularly love novels of ambition and scope, which are full of big-hearted characters and aren’t afraid to entertain. In non-fiction, my tastes are broad, and I read widely in the areas of memoir, current affairs, politics, biography, sport, history, psychology, pop science, food and nature writing. I’m especially drawn to great narrative non-fiction which has a deep focus and then expands outwards to explain a whole culture or subculture.
How to write your first novel
luxtimes.lu – Saturday November 2, 2024
Ever thought of writing a short story or a novel? It’s often said we all have a book inside, but just how easy is it to put pen to paper and create something someone else wants to read?
Three published authors who live in Luxembourg and write in very different styles, reveal how they got started, what inspires their writing, help with feedback and editing, and the routes to publication.
Zoé Perrenoud has written a trilogy of what she classifies as dark, young adult fantasy. The first one, Bloodlender was inspired by a garden exhibition at the Pompidou Centre in Metz where “there was an Italian garden full of fantastical statues.”
John-Paul Gomez, famous for his blog Luxembourg Wurst, had his first book of short stories entitled The Idiot of St. Benedict and Other Stories published last year by Black Fountain Press. It won the National Literary Competition in 2022.
“All my stories are off-kilter or weird, or as the publisher described – dystopian. In most there is a bit of darkness more than hope,” he explained.
James Leader describes himself as a poet primarily and then a novelist, and most recently published a book of poetry entitled High Talk. Nevertheless, he has published three novels – Chickendance, The Mysteries of Gogos, and The Venus Zone. He will be launching his new novel Into Babel at the Walferbicherdeeg on Saturday 16 November.
Latest News from BBC Writers - Autumn 2024
bbc.co.uk – Saturday November 2, 2024
Jess Loveland gives an update on what we've been up to over the last few months.
One of my favourite parts of this job is meeting a new group of writers as they join us at the start of one of our development groups. Earlier this week it was the turn of the Scripted 24/25 group (the group formerly known as Drama Room). These 12 talented writers were selected following our Open Call, which closed last December. It must feel like a long wait for the group before they finally arrive at the doors of BBC Broadcasting House, but in that Open Call we received a record-breaking number of submissions (just shy of 5000) and it takes us several months to get through the reading process.
The first ten pages of every script we receive through the Open Call are read by one of our team of freelance script readers, with the most promising moving through various stages until we’ve narrowed the submissions down to around 30, with the writers invited to an interview with us in June/July for a potential place in Scripted. These interviews are an opportunity for us to find out more about each writer, their work so far, their passion for television, and what type of stories they are burning to tell. So, as you can see it’s a pretty exhaustive process and the writers who eventually make it into the Scripted group should be very proud of their achievement.
This group will stay with us for a year. The first six months involve taking part in a programme of webinars and workshops exploring the craft of screenwriting and the industry as a whole. They are then paired up with a Script Editor to develop and write a new original television ‘spec’ script which they can use as a calling card to the industry at the conclusion of the programme. We’ll announce this group at the end of their year on Scripted. Keep your eyes open for the announcement of the previous 23/24 Scripted group, who will be finishing with us soon. We can’t wait to tell you about them!
Pantser vs. Plotter: Authors Debate the Best Approach to Writing
booktrib.com – Saturday November 2, 2024
In another life, I’m a writer who meticulously plans out the entire trajectory of my book before I even touch my fingers to the keyboard. When I sit down to work, I refer to the chapter outline I created, which maps out every beat of the story.
So straightforward! So elegant!
Unfortunately, that’s not my approach. My muse-dependent technique is what’s known as “pantsing,” or flying by the seat of my pants, and if I could change it I one-hundred percent would. Sometimes, the end of the chapter means the beginning of a crisis while I struggle to figure out what’s supposed to happen next?
The other side of the writing equation, being a “plotter,” is tougher during the initial drafting stages since it requires the writer to conceptualize every twist and turn before starting, but it ensures a more predictable writing process as the narrative unfolds, and easier editing.
I’ve tried outlining, but my biggest issue with it is I feel disconnected from the story if I don’t let it unfold naturally. I’ve found that outlining limits the serendipity I crave when I’m immersing myself in the writing process. I love it when my characters surprise me, which happened quite a bit as I worked on my last novel, Unleashed Holiday.
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