Wasafiri Calls for Creative Submissions: Fiction and Non-Fiction | Deadline: 1 May 2026
brittlepaper.com – Monday April 6, 2026
Wasafiri, one of the world’s leading magazines of international contemporary writing, is now open for creative submissions in fiction and non-fiction from 1 April to 1 May 2026.
The magazine is looking for innovative creative writing that, in form, focus, or theme, aims to expand the boundaries of global literary culture. With decades of publishing behind them, Wasafiri has consistently platformed cross-genre and inter-regional conversations, and this open call is an invitation to be part of that tradition.
Question & Agent: Stephanie Delman of Trellis Literary Management
debutiful.net – Monday April 6, 2026
Welcome to Debutiful’s Agent Week! We gathered up some of our favorite literary agents representing the most exciting debut books and asked them some questions about what makes them love a submission, their agenting style, and what books they’re working on.
Stephanie Delman spent 10 years at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates before starting Trellis Literary Management with Michelle Brower and Allison Hunter. Her client list includes countless Debutiful favorites, including Vanessa Chan, Eshani Surya, Jenny Tinghui Zhang, and Gina María Balibrera.
We dug into what makes her a “hands-on” agent, why starting Trellis was the best decision in her life, and what makes her excited for a submission.
The evolving role of fan fiction and independent publishing
sbstatesman.com – Monday April 6, 2026
A core aspect of literature — from the newest young adult, romance or crime thriller novel release to screenplays and award-winning films — is trope. Tropes can be defined by unique, recurring motifs that often speak to the writing’s theme. Popular literary tropes include enemies-to-lovers, found family and love triangles, to name a few.
A place where tropes have always thrived are fan fiction platforms, particularly Wattpad and Archive of Our Own. In the past decade alone, the number of fan fiction uploads and fan fiction engagement has increased exponentially. In 2014, AO3 hit one million published works. In 2018, the platform was home to over four million works. As of early 2026, the site reports hosting over 17 million fanfics.
However, for active engagers in fan fiction communities, it’s undeniable that these fandoms feel less active than they did five years ago. This can be attributed to a wide range of reasons — fandom engagement, the rise of “niche” communities and a new approach to appreciating fan fiction stories — particularly the tendency to hyperfocus on tropes.
New readers make a habit of moving quickly from piece to piece, consuming only to leave “kudos,” the AO3 equivalent of likes, while barely leaving comments or actually reading the entire story.
As popular as this community is, especially in the digital age, fan fiction is seldom spoken about in literary circles. Some claim systemic propagation plays a role in this. Fan fiction is often associated with secrecy as it lends itself to mockery, especially since it is a female-dominated medium.
HarperCollins forges ahead with AI-assisted YouTube series based on books. Some authors have concerns
fastcompany.com – Sunday April 5, 2026
Reactions to two announcements this week underscore how book publishers are treading into thorny new territory.
HarperCollins Publishers and AI-powered animation studio Toonstar have announced a multiyear partnership to coproduce original YouTube series based on HarperCollins titles.
It marks the second announcement this week from the book publishing giant regarding a partnership with an AI-centered company.
On March 30, Harlequin, a division of HarperCollins, said it entered a multiyear agreement to coproduce 40 animated micro-dramas with AI entertainment company Dashverse. Inspired by Harlequin Romance titles, the collaboration launches in April, beginning with an adaptation of A Fairy-Tail Ending by Catherine Mann.
The deals highlight how book publishers are turning to AI as a way to explore new modes of storytelling, but they are also generating backlash from those who are not thrilled about the effort.
I wrote a novel using AI. Writers must accept artificial intelligence – but we are as valuable as ever
theguardian.com – Thursday April 2, 2026
I recently heard an exchange at a playground that should worry the executives at AI companies more than any analyst’s prediction of a bubble. A boy and a girl, maybe 10 years old, were fighting. “That’s AI! That’s AI!” the girl was shouting. What she meant was that the boy was indulging a new and particular breed of nonsense: language that sounds meaningful but has no connection to reality. The children have figured the new world out quickly, as they do.
Artificial intelligence is here to stay, neither as an apocalypse nor as the solution to all life’s problems, but as a disruptive tool. The recent scandal over Shy Girl, the novel by Mia Ballard, was doubly revealing. Hachette cancelled its publication amid claims it was reliant on AI generation (Ballard has said that an acquaintance who edited the self-published version used AI, not her). But the book was originally self-published. Apparently readers and editors didn’t mind until the use of AI was pointed out to them.
The fact that machines can generate meaning in the first place is an existential curiosity. But for writers, and for young writers in particular, AI has a more practical significance. A recent survey found that 86% of college students use AI regularly, which means that 14% are lying to survey-takers. The ordinary business of quotidian language – writing student essays, emails, memos, all the granular sentence-by-sentence work that once trained writers in their craft – is dissolving. Mastery of style, the laborious gift of the skilled writer, is being automated.
New Literary Agent Listing: Sarah Stamp
firstwriter.com – Thursday April 2, 2026
Handles upmarket women’s fiction with a speculative edge or high‑concept hook, contemporary novels with a strong sense of place, unlikeable narrators, and stories built around unlikely friendships. Seeks literary‑leaning fiction with offbeat or unhinged plots, sharply written commercial romance with a humorous and affirming tone, and compulsive psychological thrillers driven by major twists. Interested in historical fiction across the full range from romance to book club to low fantasy and magical realism. In nonfiction, looks for big‑idea commercial history, narrative or revisionist approaches, lyrical food writing with memoir elements, and memoirs built around a striking one‑line pitch.
Penguin to sue OpenAI over ChatGPT version of German children’s book
theguardian.com – Tuesday March 31, 2026
Publisher alleges AI research company’s chatbot violated its copyright over Coconut the Little Dragon series
Penguin Random House has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging its chatbot ChatGPT violated copyright by mimicking and reproducing the content of a popular series of German children’s books.
The lawsuit, which was filed on Friday with a Munich court against OpenAI’s Ireland-based European subsidiary, states Penguin Random House’s legal team had prompted ChatGPT to write a story in the vein of Penguin author and illustrator Ingo Siegner’s Coconut the Little Dragon series.
In response to the prompt “Can you write a children’s book in which Coconut the Dragon is on Mars”, the chatbot generated text and images the publishing group said were “virtually indistinguishable from the original”.
As well as generating the text of a story, the AI-powered chatbot created a cover featuring Siegner’s orange dragon and two sidekicks, as well as a blurb for the back cover and instructions for how to submit the manuscript to a self-publishing platform.
New Literary Agent Listing: Gwen Beal
firstwriter.com – Monday March 30, 2026
Represents fiction across ages and genres, including picture books, middle grade, young adult, and adult. Seeks picture books ranging from literary to commercial, with a particular interest in author illustrators. Looks for middle grade with adventure and memorable friendships, young adult with slow‑burn romance, accessible worldbuilding, and inventive twists, and adult projects with commercial appeal, strong genre elements, imaginative hooks, and compelling romance. Handles a broad list spanning fantasy, contemporary work, graphic novels, and projects for children and adults, with an emphasis on distinctive storytelling and highly engaging voices.
‘Soon publishers won’t stand a chance’: literary world in struggle to detect AI-written books
theguardian.com – Sunday March 29, 2026
US release of horror novel Shy Girl cancelled and UK book discontinued after suspected AI use, as publishers feel ‘cold shiver’
Recently, the literary agent Kate Nash started noticing that the submission letters she was receiving from authors were becoming more thorough – albeit also more formulaic.
“I took it as a rise in diligence,” she said. “I thought it was a good thing.”
But then she had what she described as her eureka moment: the letter with the AI prompt right at the top. “It read: ‘Rewrite my query letter for Kate Nash including a comp to a writer she represents,’” she said.
Once Nash had seen the prompt, she “couldn’t unsee AI-assisted or AI-written queries again”.
New Literary Agent Listing: Eleanor Lawlor
firstwriter.com – Wednesday March 25, 2026
Publishes commercial women’s fiction, book club fiction and narrative nonfiction, as well as picture books, middle grade, young adult and graphic novels. Actively seeks romance, fantasy and YA, including work rooted in contemporary Irish culture or folklore, atmospheric thrillers and murder mysteries, horror with natural‑world themes, high‑stakes fantasy with complex characters, and anything magical from cosy witches to vampires, werewolves, ghosts, gods and demons. Open to submissions featuring compelling villains and strong central hooks.
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