New Literary Agent Listing: Natalie Jerome
firstwriter.com – Wednesday June 3, 2020
Has a specific interest in commercial nonfiction across areas of health and wellness, food, current events, culture, music and entertainment as well as looking for vibrant new authors in children’s fiction.
Langlee leaves Kate Nash to join North Literary Agency
thebookseller.com – Tuesday June 2, 2020
Lina Langlee has left the Kate Nash Literary Agency to join the North Literary Agency.
Langlee, whose authors include Christina Courtenay, Sandy Barker, Stephen O’Rourke and Lucy Saxon, will remain based in Edinburgh.
With a background in publishing, Langlee joined Kate Nash as a junior agent in 2018 before winning a promotion last December and being shortlisted for Agent of the Year at the Romantic Novelists’ Association's Industry Awards.
At North, she joins an agency that was set up in October 2017 by four agents based in the north of England and Scotland: Mark Stanton, Allan Guthrie, Kevin Pocklington and Julie Fergusson.
Writing Insights: How Many Pages Should You Write in a Day?
authorlink.com – Monday June 1, 2020
Some writers are worried that they aren’t turning out as many pages as they should, or that they may be writing too fast.
So, let’s look at a reasonable daily output for a typical author. This is how I have answered similar questions on Quora.com.
Let’s do some simple math.
Three Agents Resign After Red Sofa Literary Owner's Tweet
publishersweekly.com – Monday June 1, 2020
The civil unrest in the Twin Cities continues to take its toll on Minnesota's literary community—sometimes in unexpected ways. Thursday evening, the night before protesters set fire to two adjoining Minneapolis indie bookstores and destroying them both, the reaction to a St. Paul–based literary agent’s tweet ended up gutting the boutique agency she owns.
Three agents affiliated with Red Sofa Literary tweeted this past weekend that they have resigned in response to owner Dawn Frederick’s tweet, leaving one subsidiary rights executive besides Frederick still employed there. Frederick's official Red Sofa account on Twitter has been removed.
Amazon Literary Partnership Announces 2020 Grant Recipients
businesswire.com – Thursday May 28, 2020
Following emergency relief donations to Artist Relief and PEN America Writer's Emergency Fund who are providing grants directly to writers impacted by COVID-19, the Amazon Literary Partnership expands support with more than $1 million in funding to 66 nonprofits dedicated to serving writers
Since 2009, the Amazon Literary Partnership has awarded more than $13 million in grant funding to more than 175 literary organizations
For more than 10 years, the Amazon Literary Partnership has supported efforts that help writers tell their stories and find their readers. Following the emergency relief donation to Artist Relief and PEN America Writer’s Emergency Fund, both of which are providing grants directly to writers impacted by COVID-19, the Amazon Literary Partnership today announced an additional $1 million in grant funding to 66 organizations across the country. The funding will support groups that are working to empower writers, helping them to create, publish, learn, teach, experiment, and thrive.
Frankfurt Book Fair 2020 to go ahead
thebookseller.com – Thursday May 28, 2020
After weeks of speculation the Supervisory Board of the Frankfurt Book Fair decided yesterday (Wednesday 27th May) that the fair will take place as scheduled from 14th–18th October.
However it will be a very different Frankfurt. The plan is to run the event not only on the fair's grounds but also decentralized at locations in the city, and as a virtual event.
Strict safety and hygiene measures will be in place based on the coronavirus regulations of the state of Hesse, whose government together with Frankfurt’s mayor has been, and continues to be, deeply involved in getting the fair on the road.
New Literary Agent Listing: Trevor Dolby
firstwriter.com – Wednesday May 27, 2020
Looking for popular science with a clear relevance to everyday life, narrative history, military history, humour, biography, popular culture, natural history and great memoirs by passionate people whose lives have been well lived.
New Literary Agent Listing: Kenzi Nevins
firstwriter.com – Tuesday May 26, 2020
Represents both illustrators and writers for children's picture books, middle grade, and young adult. Interested in magic realism and mythology.
George Orwell’s Six Tips for Better Writing
theunionjournal.com – Monday May 25, 2020
It is often said that there are no rules for writing well. But it is not true. For example, it helps to have on hand the six rules George Orwell proposed. They were remembered by his son, Richard Blair, in an interview made by Bernardo Marín and published by EL PAÍS a few days ago.
1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other made phrase that you are used to seeing in writing.
2. Never use a long word if you can use a short one that means the same thing.
3. If it is possible to delete a word, always do it...
Bookselling Requires a Great Query Letter & It's Harder Than It Looks
bleedingcool.com – Monday May 25, 2020
The query letter is a single page—usually closer to half a page—whose purpose is to explain who the writer is and what their book is about. As Hodapp says, the letter has one goal: to get the agent to request the full manuscript, "period." It's harder than it looks. Agents receive thousands of letters and only respond to a small fraction.
Hodapp spent time explaining so many ways a query can go right or wrong. She talked about "comps," or comparative titles, the one or two existing books that the author's book is most like. Sometimes authors are afraid to mention comps because they don't think the comparison is close enough, or they mention too many– just another example of a challenge the author has to navigate to get the agent's eye. She also talked about tone, how authors can let emotions curdle a letter into a sort of complaint email, which defies the purpose of trying to get a follow-up. Hodapp frequently presents on writing and querying, and her advice is invaluable.
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