Poetic justice: the rise of brilliant women writing in dark times
theguardian.com – Thursday July 28, 2016
Hera Lindsay Bird has attracted the biggest hoo-ha with a poetry book I can recall,” wrote one reviewer of the New Zealand-born poet, whose recently released debut collection has become a cult bestseller in her home country. And rightly so: Bird’s frank, outrageous writing – see, for example “Keats is Dead so Fuck Me From Behind” – is in turns bleakly hilarious and peppered with pitch-perfect similes (“the days burn off like leopard print”; “Love like Windows 95”). It has made me, like many others, more excited about poetry than I have been in a long time.
PRH hunts for writers from 'under-represented' communities
thebookseller.com – Wednesday July 27, 2016
Penguin Random House UK has launched a nationwide campaign to find, mentor and publish new writers from communities under-represented on the UK’s bookshelves.
The WriteNow scheme aims to find and publish new writers who are "under-represented in books and publishing”. Targeted groups are writers from socio-economically marginalised backgrounds, writers who come from LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer) or BAME (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic) communities, or writers with a disability.
New Magazine Listing
firstwriter.com – Wednesday July 27, 2016
Publishes: Fiction; Interviews; Nonfiction; Poetry; Reviews; Scripts;
Areas include: Drama; Literature; Music; Short Stories;
Markets: Adult;
Preferred styles: Literary
Online journal publishing poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, playwriting, screenplays, interviews, book reviews and music reviews. Send 3-5 poems, one story or chapter, 1-5 flash fiction pieces, one piece of creative nonfiction, or one script. Accepts unsolicited reviews, but also welcomes initial enquiries. For interviews, submit short treatment. See website for full guidelines.
Nielsen Book to launch online ISBN store
thebookseller.com – Monday July 25, 2016
Nielsen Book is launching a new ISBN store allowing publishers and self-published authors to purchase smaller numbers of ISBNs online "within minutes".
Previously publishers wanting to acquire up to 1,000 ISBNs had to use a more labour-intensive manual process, involving completing a form to send to Nielsen by email. But the new service will be automated, asking customers to register (first time users) and log in, choose the number of ISBNs required, and pay online.
Artificial intelligence and the art of reader-driven publishing
thebookseller.com – Monday July 25, 2016
In March a novel co-authored by an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm moved into the second round of submissions for a national literary contest in Japan. What may have seemed like momentary buzz suddenly gave the publishing industry pause. Is technology capable of replicating the human process involved in creating something as powerful as the written word?
While a world where robots rank on the New York Times bestseller list is still light years away, the industry is starting to acknowledge the impact that AI is having on publishing.
Booktrack’s Days are Numbered
goodereader.com – Sunday July 24, 2016
Booktrack is a company that develops soundtracks to books. It started in 2011 and has raised around three million dollars to stay in business. Their technology didn’t seem to take off with consumers and the only way to listen to them is with their proprietary app. I fear Booktrack’s days are numbered.
Booktrack took advantage of most of the hype surrounding the enhanced e-book phenomenon of 2010 to 2012. This is when EPUB 3, Kindle Format 8, iBooks Author and various initiatives were highly touted as the next big thing in digital publishing. Major publishers have failed to embrace audio, video and interactive elements in their e-books because customers have not embraced it. Most of the e-books that do leverage their technology are only available in a few apps and have limited content. The only segment to actually make interactive elements a viable business model is education.
10 Self-Publishing Trends to Watch
publishersweekly.com – Saturday July 23, 2016
The future of publishing is fraught with opportunity and peril. Here are 10 trends shaping your future as a writer and/or publisher.
The rise of e-books: Ten years ago, e-books accounted for less than 1% of the trade book market. Today, e-books account for about 25% of dollar sales and 40%–50% of units. Although the rate of growth has slowed for e-books, the affordability and accessibility of digital will continue to erode print readership.
How to Write a Thriller
wsj.com – Friday July 22, 2016
The works of Megan Abbott, Blake Crouch and James Patterson diverge in style and form, but they’re all about creating a thrill. The three authors, who all have new books out this summer, answered questions about the mechanics of storytelling, the genre’s best works and finding success for a round-table conversation. Here, an edited compilation of their responses from separate interviews.
5 Writing Tips: Donald Ray Pollock
publishersweekly.com – Friday July 22, 2016
Donald Ray Pollock's The Heavenly Table is one of the most delightfully twisted novels of the year, a terror ride through an early 20th century hillbilly hellscape that puts the family of a swindled, good-hearted farmer on a collision course with three brothers on a crime spree. Pollock, whose previous novel, The Devil All the Time, was named one of the 10 best books of 2011, shares five writing tips.
When I decided to learn how to write, I didn’t know any writers, or anything about how to get started. I was forty-five and had worked at the same paper mill in a small town in southern Ohio for twenty-seven years at that point. However, thanks to a program the mill had that helped with tuition for employees who wanted to go to college part-time, I did have a degree in English. Plus, I loved to read. I determined to devote at least five years to writing, and worked at it almost every day. By the time I turned fifty, I had published five or six stories in small literary magazines. Granted, this doesn’t seem like much, but over time, I slowly discovered that it was what I wanted to do; and that’s always a good thing, actually, the very best thing, knowing exactly what you want to do with your life, no matter how hard or frustrating it might be, and writing is, more often than not, pretty damn hard and pretty damn frustrating. Still, I wasted a lot of time in the beginning, and with that in mind, here, mainly for the benefit of beginners, are the major things I’ve learned about writing:
firstwriter.magazine Issue 29: Summer 2016
firstwriter.com – Thursday July 21, 2016
The latest issue of firstwriter.magazine has just been released, featuring quality fiction and poetry submitted from around the world, plus your first chance to see not just the winning poem from our Fourteenth International Poetry Competition, but also all the Special Commendations. To view the magazine click here. To enter your work in our Fifteenth International Poetry Competition click here.
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