New Literary Agency Listing: Salky Literary Management
firstwriter.com – Monday April 27, 2026
Represents authors of fiction and nonfiction whose work reflects diverse voices and previously untold stories. Works in partnership with a wider agency network to support prizewinning and bestselling writers, illustrators, and journalists. Focuses on developing impactful narratives and managing careers for clients whose stories aim to influence culture and inspire readers.
Colm Tóibín explores the art of short story writing
spectator.com – Sunday April 26, 2026
When I was 20 and tentatively trying to write, every single person I knew read Ian McEwan’s First Love, Last Rites (1975). It not only gave the short story a good name, but it also gave writing a good name. It was like a punk moment converted into fiction. People used the word “macabre,” but there was a sort of excitement about the characters, the strangeness of the stories, the shortness of some of the stories and just how much contemporary urban life was in them.
Often people suggest I investigate a writer. I was in Toronto about 20 years ago when someone told me about the extraordinary Canadian writer Alistair MacLeod. He had written two books of short stories which were republished in 2000 in one volume called Island: The Collected Stories. The 16 short stories are exceptional in the way they are constructed. They deal with the very fierce, rugged landscape of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. A lot of people living in very isolated ways, where the possibility of love or community is narrowed. It’s almost like having a book of poetry that you can keep to hand and reread.
The Rise and Fall and Rise of American Publishing
scheerpost.com – Saturday April 25, 2026
In January, I wrote for the Winter 2026 issue of LIBERTIES quarterly journal a lengthy consideration of the state of American publishing. LIBERTIES was founded five years ago by Leon Wieseltier, the former longtime literary editor of The New Republic, and my essay is reprinted by ScheerPost with permission. You can access LIBERTIES website at: https://libertiesjournal.com
I’ve been invited by Robert Scheer to write a monthly column. This inaugural essay will give you a sense of my commitment to the world of books and publishing and, more broadly, to the notion that ideas matter. I’m a former editor of the Los Angeles Times Book Review and have headed up several publishing companies, both in New York at Hill & Wang, a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux and at Times Books, a onetime imprint of Random House, and in California where I am currently and for the past ten years the publisher of Heyday, a nonprofit independent press founded more than fifty years ago in Berkeley. I’m the author of Tell Me Something, Tell Me Anything, Even If It’s a Lie: A Memoir in Essays.
As for this essay, I can sum up its essence in a sentence: I think we’ve entered a golden age of independent book publishing, more diverse and robust against all expectation that the Goliaths of mainstream publishing would snuff out the small fry.
Philip Pullman: The thing every writer needs to overcome
bigthink.com – Wednesday April 22, 2026
Sometimes, great writing makes me angry.
It’s nothing to do with the ideas inside, of course. Poets and bestselling authors are good at their game. What bothers me is when those ideas are expressed with such perfect beauty that I cannot hope to match them.
There might be a degree of professional pride to this. When I gawp at an old poet like T.S. Eliot or a modern writer like Samantha Harvey, I’m just jealous. Yes, they might be better trained than I am. Yes, they likely took more time on their writing than I did on this article. But, in the main, I’m left bitterly squinting at how someone can be so damn good.
There’s more to it, though. It’s often said that the joy of great literature lies in poets and writers expressing feelings and thoughts in ways we couldn’t imagine. They name emotions we didn’t know we felt. They dig up what was deeply buried away. But this joy is a coin with two sides.
I would like to invent a word: Psychoklepsis. Psychoklepsis — literally “soul-theft” — is when someone expresses your inner life better than you ever could, and you resent it. It’s when you hear a song, read a poem, or watch a movie, and you say, “I can’t express myself better than this stranger expresses me.” Psychoklepsis feels like some magic of the page ripped open your soul and helped itself to your feelings. Ridiculous, of course, but humans can be ridiculous.
Psychoklepsis is something that many writers and artists have to deal with. Left unchecked, it curdles into paralysis — the feeling that everything worth saying has already been said, and said better. But in this week’s Mini Philosophy interview, we explore a way out.
New Literary Agent Listing: Lily Kovacs
firstwriter.com – Wednesday April 22, 2026
Handles fiction blending suspense, mystery and psychological drama, including post‑apocalyptic and survival narratives, as well as work with a Gothic atmosphere, multigenerational sagas, morally ambiguous characters and exploration of the queer experience. Seeks nonfiction with strong investigative journalism or emotionally candid narrative. In the wider speculative field, she is interested in character‑driven fantasy with intricate world building, distinctive magic systems, memorable side characters, banter and slow‑burn reveals. Looking for speculative dark academia, adult urban fantasy featuring varied magical creatures, and historical fiction infused with magical realism.
New Publisher Listing: Lucent Dreaming
firstwriter.com – Tuesday April 21, 2026
Publishes novels by UK‑based writers across any genre with a preference for literary, speculative, surreal, contemporary, historical, and magic realism or low fantasy work. Seeks beautifully written fiction that is readable and explores inner lives, relationships, identity and society, featuring characters readers can root for. Avoid stories involving zombies, vampires, werewolves, fanfiction based on non‑public‑domain texts, gratuitous violence, or erotica. Also publishes poetry pamphlets and a magazine.
5 Freelance Writing Side Hustles For People Who Love To Write
forbes.com – Monday April 20, 2026
Side hustles are popular amongst working Americans. SurveyMonkey found that 37% of workers have a side hustle. They’re a great way to earn extra income, especially as 43% of Americans did not experience a pay rise in the past year, and living costs continue to bite.
If you’re someone who considers themselves a bit of a wordsmith, you should explore a writing-based side hustle to supplement your income. While AI has lowered the barrier to entry for written content, the myriad of AI-generated “slop” on the internet has led to increased demand for creative, strategic, and nuanced human writers and communications professionals. Tech Radar reports that communications jobs have surged by 25.2%.
Here are several side hustles that leverage your writing expertise and can be turned into a profitable freelance writing business.
Fantasy becomes reality for next-gen speculative fiction authors riding self-publishing boom
abc.net.au – Sunday April 19, 2026
Make-believe is having a moment.
At Clunes Booktown this year, a literary festival in regional Victoria, between half and two-thirds of the authors peddling their wares were writers of so-called "speculative fiction".
That term is a somewhat clumsy umbrella term that covers everything from fantasy, science fiction, and horror, to "romantasy", alternate histories, and stories set in dystopian futures.
Australian book sales also point to a boom in these genres and sub-genres.
According to Nielson Bookdata, science fiction and fantasy sales have more than doubled between 2019 and 2023 to more than $50 million annually.
Winners and judges out of pocket as £20,000 writing awards appear to have closed
theguardian.com – Saturday April 18, 2026
The Plaza Prizes offered 10 awards in 2025 but some judges say they were not paid, while a number of winners hit back over AI accusations
A competition for new writers that promised a £20,000 prize fund appears to have shut down, leaving winners and judges, including a Booker prize-winning novelist, out of pocket.
Established in 2022, the Plaza Prizes last year offered 10 awards that were judged by the “finest poets and writers in the world”.
However, some of the judges for the 2025 competition say they were not paid, and a number of winners say they had their entries withdrawn after being accused of using AI to create their work – allegations they strenuously denied.
One judge, the 2021 Booker prize winner Damon Galgut, described the competition as a “scam” after he did not get paid for his work judging a fiction section of the annual competition.
Anthony Joseph, who won the 2022 TS Eliot poetry prize, also says he was not paid for his work.
New Literary Agent Listing: Meredith Miller
firstwriter.com – Friday April 17, 2026
Handles adult fiction and nonfiction across a wide range of categories. Represents bestselling and award‑winning authors producing transportive fiction rooted in vivid settings and personal narratives, including dark or darkly humorous work about women challenging expectations, as well as contemporary novels exploring relationships, family dynamics, and coming of age. Seeks fiction with fearless voices, high‑concept ideas, and elements of thriller, speculative, or horror. Nonfiction interests include voice‑driven memoirs, narrative nonfiction that reads like fiction, social justice writing, cultural criticism, music and pop culture, elevated true crime, deep dives into unusual subjects, and essays examining race, class, and identity.
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