
Mind body spirit publisher Toran Press to launch at LBF
thebookseller.com – Monday March 28, 2022

A boutique body, mind and spirit press is launching at London Book Fair, focusing on "beautiful, thought-provoking" books for children and adults.
Toran Press was conceived by Vineet Sharma, who is also m.d. at Parragon Publishing India, and Nicola Deschamps, former brands and licensing publisher at Parragon Books and owner of Target Editorial.
The press will focus on publishing books orientated towards the mind, body and spirit market promoting positivity and wellness in children and adults. Its name has been derived from the Sanskrit word to describe a colourful and meaningful decoration that was traditionally used to adorn front doors on celebration days.

Get your creative writing juices flowing
kemptonexpress.co.za – Sunday March 27, 2022

Writers 2000 is an interest group for writers at all levels and has been running its annual writing competition for many years.
The 2022 competition has been launched and interested writers are encouraged to put their thinking caps on and come up with original ideas.
The theme for the competition is A Twist of Fate and this must be the inspiration for these categories:
• Fiction
• Flash fiction
• Non-fiction

London Book Fair 2022: agents' hotlists
thebookseller.com – Sunday March 27, 2022

Thrillers continue to prove popular among this year’s gamut of upcoming titles, alongside themes of climate change, grief, resilience and hope.

The New Hampshire Writers’ Project Annual 603 Writers’ Conference Explores Telling Better Stories
indepthnh.org – Friday March 18, 2022

Award-winning biographer, editor, historian and screenwriter, Geoffrey C. Ward best known for his collaborations with Ken Burns to join NH Writers’ Project Chair Masheri Chappelle in soulful conversation at morning plenary session
Concord, NH, March 15, 2022 — The New Hampshire Writers’ Project (NHWP) is hosting its annual 603 Writer’s Conference virtually on Saturday, June, 4, 2022. The day kicks off at 8:30 a.m. with an in-depth conversation with special guest Geoffrey C. Ward; and culminates with NHWP’s signature Pitch Party that offers attendees the opportunity to make their best book pitch to a panel of professional literary agents, publishers, editors, and celebrated authors. The Pitch Party offers a cash prize of $250 for the winner. Previous Pitch Party winner, Brinda Charry, landed a two-book publishing deal following her win.

Blake Friedmann to launch online open week for writers
thebookseller.com – Tuesday March 8, 2022

Literary agency Blake Friedmann will opens its virtual doors next week, with a series of events dedicated to “demystifying” publishing and agenting and to supporting writers seeking representation.
Beginning on 14th March, the agency will host a week of live #AskAgent sessions, top tips videos, agent blogs and book giveaways running across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The agency said it aims to offer “insights and transparency” with key focuses into how book deals work, how to navigate the submission process and find an agent, how an author and agent work together, understanding the publication process, and earning income as an author.

Fantasy fans crowdfund record £17m for author Brandon Sanderson’s new novels
theguardian.com – Sunday March 6, 2022

Fantasy author Brandon Sanderson might not be a household name like George RR Martin or JRR Tolkien, despite having a legion of loyal fans.
But that might be about to change. Sanderson, 46, although traditionally published and regularly selling upwards of 2m copies of his sweeping, epic novels, launched a crowdfunding campaign on Tuesday to self-publish four novels he had written during lockdown.
When he woke up on Wednesday, it was to, in effect, one of the biggest book deals in history. And less than three days after launching the project on Kickstarter he broke the platform’s record for the highest earnings in its 13-year existence.

TNB hopes to inspire young writers through weekly writing prompts
theaquinian.net – Monday February 28, 2022

Theatre New Brunswick began posting weekly writing prompts on their social media pages on Feb. 14 to entice and inspire young and old writers alike.
Jena Elizabeth McLean, an artist-in-residence at TNB, is the one in charge of the weekly writing prompts which included phrases such as “today is the best day” and “into the impossible.”
“[It’s important to give] a writer time to explore an idea in an unstructured, low-stakes way that keeps their writing muscle active,” she said.
McLean said the idea originated from workshops TNB puts on for young creatives.

Best Australian Yarn: The world’s richest short story competition now open
perthnow.com.au – Sunday February 27, 2022

WA is now home to the world’s richest prize for professional and amateur short story writers, as The West Australian launches an ambitious new competition with a prize pool of $50,000 thanks to help from the Minderoo Foundation.
The Best Australian Yarn gives writers, both professional and aspiring, the opportunity to win a $30,000 major prize and $20,000 in other awards — a financial incentive rarely seen in short story competitions.
The contest, being launched today at Perth Festival’s Writers Weekend, is designed to showcase the value of storytelling and participating in the arts.

Deadline looming for entries to Neil Gunn Writing Competition
northern-times.co.uk – Tuesday February 22, 2022

The deadline is looming for entries to the 2021-2022 Neil Gunn Writing Competition.
The competition, which is being run by High Life Highland in conjunction with the Neil Gunn Trust, opened in September and closes on Friday, March 4.
Entries are invited from adult writers worldwide in two sections - adult poetry and adult short story. There is an entry fee of £8.
Veritas Said to Bid to Take Publisher Houghton Mifflin Private
bloomberg.com – Monday February 21, 2022
Veritas Capital is bidding to take private Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Co., the publisher of education materials and research, according to people familiar with the matter.
Veritas could merge Houghton Mifflin with its portfolio company Cambium Learning Group, said one of the people, both of whom asked to not be identified because the matter isn’t public. A final decision hasn’t been made and other bidders may emerge for the Boston-based company, they said.
Representatives for Houghton Mifflin and Veritas declined to comment.
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