WGA Launches Staffing And Development Platform For Agentless Writers
deadline.com – Friday July 26, 2019
The WGA has launched its new Staffing and Development Platform to help writers without agents find work. The platform is part of the guild’s ongoing efforts to outlast the talent agencies in its standoff with the Association of Talent Agents, now in its 104th day.
Details of the platform were outlined to guild members in a new WGA video featuring WGA West board members Angelina Burnett and Michele Mulroney, who also serve on the agency negotiating committee.
“We’re consolidating the tools already in use, like the portal and the weekly memos with newly developed tools and we’re calling it the Staffing and Development Platform” Mulroney said. “This platform will provide all sorts of ways for producers and writers to share and access information about one another. It will help connect you to open writing assignments and development opportunities.”
Abrams Artists Lit Agents Brad Rosenfeld, Paul Weitzman & Karen Kirkland Exit to Launch New WGA Signatory Agency
deadline.com – Thursday July 25, 2019
Veteran literary agents Brad Rosenfeld and Paul Weitzman are leaving Abrams Artists Agency after a 4.5-year stint as VPs and co-heads of the literary division. Partnered with fellow Abrams lit agent Karen Kirkland, the trio have launched a new agency, Culture Creative Entertainment, which has become a WGAsignatory, signing the guild’s new franchise agreement.
According to the principals, CCE will initially focus on writers and directors but will expand to include other areas of representation as they grow.
The move comes more than 100 days into the standoff between the Writers Guild of America and the Association of Talent Agents, which led to more than 7,000 writers firing their agents, including those represented by Abrams Artists.
Crime writers mystified by Colm Tóibín’s criticism
irishtimes.com – Tuesday July 23, 2019
Colm Tóibín aggravated a long-standing literary sore point last weekend when he told a Guardian interviewer: “I can’t do thrillers and I can’t do spy novels.”
Asked which books he felt were most overrated, he said: “I can’t do any genre-fiction books, really, none of them. I just get bored with the prose. I don’t find any rhythm in it. It’s blank, it’s nothing; it’s like watching TV.”
He does not, in fact, watch television. “I don’t have a TV. Everyone talks about the golden age of American TV but it’s done nothing for me.”
Audible's Captions Program Stirs Fears, Frustration Among Publishers
publishersweekly.com – Saturday July 20, 2019
“Outrageous” and “copyright infringement” were the first two (unsolicited) emails PW received from independent publishers when word of Audible’s new program to run text along side its audiobooks began to spread. The program, called Captions, which requires the company to transcribe audio to text, was highlighted in a story in USA Today with a headline touting that Audible is looking to let customers “ ‘read’ an audiobook while [they] listen.” While the company disputes that description, saying Captions is not at all akin to the act of reading, publishers, literary agents, and organizations representing authors are skeptical.
While Audible said in a statement that Captions “does not replicate or replace the print or eBook reading experience,” publishers are unconvinced. “There are real copyright issues here and authors, publishers, and agents should review and clarify their positions,” said Dominique Raccah, CEO of Sourcebooks. “It seems unlikely that Audible was granted these rights.”
WGA’s fight with agents enters Act 2, but there’s no end in sight
latimes.com – Friday July 19, 2019
Like many of his peers, writer Rasheed Newson, a co-executive producer on the Showtime drama “The Chi,” was supportive of his union’s efforts to rein in some of the aggressive practices of talent agencies.
But three months after the Writers Guild of America told members to fire their agents, Newson is growing frustrated with the lack of progress in resolving a dispute that has consumed Hollywood.
U.S. Publishers Report Nearly $1 Billion in Sales as Strong Industry Growth Continues
benzinga.com – Wednesday July 17, 2019
NEW YORK, July 17, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Audio Publishers Association released the results from their annual sales survey, conducted by independent research firm Management Practice Inc., which revealed that the strong growth the audiobook industry has seen in recent years continues. Based on information from responding publishers, U.S. audiobook sales in 2018 totaled $940 million, up 24.5% from the previous year, with a corresponding 27.3% increase in units. This continues the seven-year trend of double-digit revenue growth in audiobooks year over year.
Munsch made m.d. at Abrams & Chronicle Books
thebookseller.com – Monday July 15, 2019
Inez Munsch will move from Hardie Grant Publishing to become m.d. of Abrams & Chronicle Books in September.
She takes over from Brenda Marsh who is returning to the US after serving in the position since June 2016. Munsch will take over the role at the London-based company on 23rd September, the A&CB board announced today (15th July).
Munsch is currently the UK and export sales director at Hardie Grant Publishing. Since she joined in 2014, the company has consistently achieved year on year growth, streamlining and diversifying their sales channels and adapting to the changing market. Prior to joining Hardie Grant Publishing, Munsch spent more than 10 years working at Bloomsbury Publishing where she gained experience working across a variety of different areas of the business that culminated in her role as head of UK sales.
Deep Vellum Acquires Two Publishers, Adds Imprints
publishersweekly.com – Wednesday July 3, 2019
Dallas-based translation publisher Deep Vellum has acquired the backlist of two separate independent publishing house-- Phoneme Media of Los Angeles and A Strange Object of Austin, Tex.--and is expanding into publishing works originally written in English.
Phoneme is a prominent publisher of poetry in translation with a backlist of more than 30 titles from 25 languages, including Rilke Shake by Angèlica Freitas of Brazil, which won both the National Translation Award and Three Percent's Best Translated Book Award for Poetry in 2016. A Strange Object focused on publishing experimental, debut works and has a backlist of seven titles, including Three Scenarios in Which Hana Sasaki Grows a Tail by Kelly Luce, which won the the Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book from Independent Book Publishers Association in 2013.
Walker Books acquires Jennifer Bell MG in six-figure deal
thebookseller.com – Tuesday July 2, 2019
Walker Books has acquired two novels by middle-grade author Jennifer Bell in a six-figure, pre-emptive deal.
Executive editorial director Denise Johnstone-Burt acquired UK, Commonwealth and translation rights to two books, including Wonderscape, which is set in a futuristic gaming world, from Polly Nolan at the Greenhouse Literary Agency.
PFD's Agora Books launches writing community and prize
thebookseller.com – Thursday June 27, 2019
Peters Fraser + Dunlop e-book imprint Agora Books has launched a prize to celebrate its new writers’ group, Lost the Plot, which offers "no-nonsense advice, industry insight, and community connection".
PFD and Agora Books are introducing the community aimed at aspiring commercial fiction authors across all genres. Lost the Plot will provide "no-nonsense advice, industry insight, and community connection" including how to access support on writing, finding representation, and navigating the publishing process as well as connecting with other authors.
The Lost the Plot Work in Progress Prize is for unfinished manuscripts with "the aim is to get books out of a drawer and into the world, to encourage writers to stop procrastinating in pursuit of perfection and get feedback sooner," PFD said.
Get the free newsletter | Submit a news item or article | Get Writers' News for your website
