Tales of the unexpected: the surprise boom in UK short stories
theguardian.com – Sunday January 30, 2022
The literary form is enjoying a renaissance, with the pandemic allowing people more time to consume and produce it
Before the pandemic, Deborah Yewande Bankole was on what she describes as a “steady diet of short stories”. She loved seeking out emerging writers and admired the work of Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Julia Armfield and Danielle Evans, but had not considered writing one of her own.
So during lockdown, when furloughed from her job as a creative producer, she found herself with the time to sit down and write, and was surprised when what materialised was her own first short story.
Less than two years on, she has completed a six-month writing course at independent publisher Dahlia Books, been awarded a mentorship by Word Factory, the national short story organisation, with author Toby Litt and hopes to publish a short story soon. “Short story writing allows you to do things in literature in a variety of different ways that perhaps long-form writing doesn’t,” she said.
Indie fears intensify as print prices rocket by up to 40%
thebookseller.com – Monday January 24, 2022
Independent publishers are becoming increasingly worried about hikes of up to 40% in printing costs, with some considering outsourcing to Europe and China to keep prices down, and others fearful smaller presses may be in danger of “going to the wall”.
Publishers are being warned by printing companies to expect a “significant” increase in prices owing to their own supplier costs surging. A combination of a hike in the price of international raw materials, Brexit-related problems and fuel and freight costs have been communicated to publishers as main reasons for the increase.
Vicky Ellis, sales director at Clays, told The Bookseller her own company was experiencing “unprecedented inflation” across all its raw material pricing. “We are keeping the situation under review,” she added.
Call out to authors and publishers as plans unveiled for UCLan Publishing's Northern Young Adult Literary Festival in Preston
lep.co.uk – Thursday January 20, 2022
Authors and publishers are being invited to pitch for a place at a popular literary festival founded and organised by UCLan Publishing.
The Northern YA (Young Adult) Literary Festival, also known as the NYA festival, will take place on May 21 and 22.
This year there will be a special focus on mindfulness, mental health and humour.
Greenstreet joins Paper Literary from C&W
thebookseller.com – Tuesday January 18, 2022
Katie Greenstreet has joined Paper Literary, becoming the first person to be hired by the agency since it was founded by Catherine Cho last year.
Greenstreet makes the move from C&W Agency, where she has worked for five years. A former lawyer, Greenstreet began her publishing career at ICM Partners in New York as an assistant to literary agent Binky Urban.
At C&W, Greenstreet has sold multiple projects across upmarket women's fiction and crime, including Comedy Women in Print-shortlisted The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman (Penguin), Amazon bestseller The Safe Place by Anna Downes (Hodder) and Ericka Waller's Dog Days, which was snapped up by Doubleday in a six-figure pre-empt. In her new role, she will be focusing on adult fiction and crime authors.
Simon & Schuster employee denies he stole bestseller manuscripts
bbc.co.uk – Saturday January 8, 2022
An employee of publishers Simon & Schuster has pleaded not guilty to charges in New York that he posed as literary editors and agents to steal hundreds of authors' unpublished work.
Filippo Bernardini, 29, was arrested at JFK airport and is charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Legal documents allege he registered more than 160 fake online domains.
Judge Robert Lehrburger rejected a request for him to be detained, setting bail at $300,000 (£221,000).
Matt Willey and Dan Crowe Launch 'INQUE' Magazine
hypebeast.com – Thursday January 6, 2022
INQUE is a new literary publication that describes itself as “A magazine without genre.” Founded by Matt Willey and Dan Crowe, the annual title brings together a star-studded list of contributors who provide global writing and extraordinary art, design and photography.
Based in Brooklyn, Willey is an English graphic designer who served as the longtime art director of The New York Times Magazine and was recently appointed to the title of partner at Pentagram. Crowe is the founder and editor-in-chief of magazines, Zembla and PORT — both of which he worked extensively with Willey on over the years.
Literary mystery may finally be solved as man arrested for allegedly stealing unpublished books
theguardian.com – Thursday January 6, 2022
A mysterious fraudster who impersonated publishers and agents to steal book manuscripts in an international phishing scam may have finally been caught, with the FBI arresting a 29-year-old man at John F Kennedy airport in New York on Wednesday.
Filippo Bernardini, an Italian citizen who worked at UK publisher Simon & Schuster, was arrested upon landing in the US on Wednesday. The FBI alleged that Bernardini had “impersonated, defrauded, and attempted to defraud, hundreds of individuals” to obtain unpublished and draft works.
Seymour joins Johnson & Alcock from Andrew Nurnberg Associates
thebookseller.com – Thursday January 6, 2022
Charlotte Seymour has left Andrew Nurnberg Associates to join Johnson & Alcock as a literary agent, as part of a strategic expansion of the agency.
Seymour was named a Bookseller Rising Star in 2021 and has worked for six years at Andrew Nurnberg building a list of authors of literary and commercial fiction, as well as narrative non-fiction. Before that she worked as a literary scout at Eccles Fisher Associates.
The Great Love Inspired Author Search
harlequin.submittable.com – Wednesday January 5, 2022
The Great Love Inspired Author Search is back!
The Love Inspired editors are thrilled to announce that we're bringing back The Great Love Inspired Author Search. Love Inspired and Love Inspired Suspense are on the hunt for some fabulous new authors, and we want you! If you think you’ve got the chops to wow us with your inspirational contemporary romance or romantic suspense ideas, we encourage you to pitch it to us!
For this pitch opportunity, the Love Inspired editors are once again on the lookout for fresh talent. We invite you to show us that you’re the total package in these two stages:
Yeovil Literary Prize entries now open
chardandilminsternews.co.uk – Monday January 3, 2022
An annual competition that raises money to support young people in the Chard and Ilminster area training for careers in the performing and creative arts has been launched.
The Yeovil Community Arts Association has also announced a new category in its 2022 international literary prize writing competition, which opened on Saturday (January 1).
Now in its 19th year, the Yeovil Literary Prize continues to attract more entries each year from accomplished and aspiring wordsmiths from all over the world.
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