Literary festival launching on Ireland's Spike Island will be dedicated to crime writing
irishpost.com – Sunday January 2, 2022
A NEW literary festival is set to take place on Spike Island in Cork in 2022 - dedicated to the theme of crime writing.
The Spike Island literary festival will hone in on the popular genre with a series of author talks and workshops, giving attendees the chance to learn more about the subject.
Agents and publishers from the industry will be on hand giving advice, and those looking to write a book can get invaluable insights into the writing and publishing world.
The event is set to take place at Spike Island, a perfectly fitting setting given its historic past.
The island was used as an island prison on four separate occasions over the last 400 years, with the last prison incarnation that opened in 1985 only closing its doors in 2004.
Inaugural Cheshire Novel Prize launches
thebookseller.com – Friday December 31, 2021
A new writing award, the Cheshire Novel Prize, launches featuring judges such as Juliet Mushens and feedback guaranteed for every entry.
Editorial consultant Sara Cox founded the prize — which includes £1,500 for the winner and a £500 runner up prize — to help unrepresented authors. The judging panel includes Mushens (pictured), of Mushens Entertainment, Penguin Michael Joseph editorial director Clio Cornish, along with Moyette Gibbons, communications manager at Black Girl Writers (which will sponsor five black women writers from low-income backgrounds to enter the Cheshire Novel Prize). Other panelists include RCW’s Honor Spreckley, editor Sally O-J and writer Awais Khan.
BookLeaf Publishing’s 21-Day Writing Challenge aims to encourage expression & daily writing
theprint.in – Wednesday December 22, 2021
Research says it takes 21 days to develop a new habit. And this maxim is what BookLeaf Publishing banks upon to initiate one to a new habit — writing. With its 21-Day Writing Challenge, BookLeaf Publishing hopes to spur authors into writing their hearts out and to continue doing so even post this three week period, a habit that’s meant to stay.
Once a participant registers for the challenge, they are supposed to submit a write-up — poems, diary entries, haiku, quotes, etc. — every day for 21 days. The team then compiles these write-ups into a draft and helps the author out with formatting, editing and illustrations, if the author so chooses, before proceeding with the book’s publishing. A consultant gets assigned to the author right at the beginning to make the entire process seamless and one-stop.
The idea for the challenge was born of a short survey the company conducted amongst its team members and authors who’d worked with the company earlier. “We realised that although close to 80 per cent of the respondents wrote in some form or the other, only about 15 per cent of them wrote regularly as a habit. We wanted to change that,” says Musavir Khurshid, CEO of BookLeaf Publishing.
Aspen Words Announces New SF/F Writing Workshop
locusmag.com – Tuesday December 21, 2021
Aspen Words, a longstanding literary program of the Aspen Institute, has announced the addition of a new Sci-Fi/Fantasy Writing Workshop, led by author Fonda Lee, expanding their current workshop offerings into genre literature.
The workshop is sponsored by the General Motors’ Future Fiction Collective, which “aims to decolonize the sci-fi/fantasy genre by increasing the diversity of authors and readers in STEM based literature.” They will provide 10 scholarships for writers to participate in the workshop with a focus of “including underrepresented groups and creating a diverse class.”
Strange and Janson-Smith join Gleam Futures
thebookseller.com – Wednesday December 15, 2021
Adam Strange has joined Gleam Futures as head of publishing while Oscar Janson-Smith has been appointed as literary agent.
Strange (pictured above) arrives at the titles division of the talent management and influencer marketing company after three years running publishing consultancy Strange Media. Before this, he spent 12 years as publisher of the Sphere non-fiction list at Little, Brown, where he worked with a wide variety of authors including Gwyneth Paltrow, Rafael Nadal, Billy Connolly, Val McDermid, Richard Herring and Kevin Pietersen, and with brands ranging from Candy Crush to "The Great British Bake Off".
In his new role, Strange will represent the publishing activities of the agency’s roster of more than 50 entertainment and digital-first talent, as well as working with new authors from emerging and untapped genres who use digital and social media to build narratives and grow audiences.
Charlie Campbell agency renamed Greyhound as Edenborough joins
thebookseller.com – Thursday December 9, 2021
Charlie Campbell Literary Agents will be renamed Greyhound Literary, with Sam Edenborough joining the organisation at the beginning of January 2022 as director and co-owner.
Edenborough (pictured) is leaving The Intercontinental Literary Agency (ILA), where he has been a director and agent. Over the past 20 years he helped to develop the agency’s broad roster of client agencies and publishers, selling rights for a wide range of English-language authors, including prize-winners and global bestsellers.
Yeoh becomes associate agent at Madeleine Milburn
thebookseller.com – Tuesday December 7, 2021
Rachel Yeoh has been made an agent after interning at the Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film Agency.
Yeoh has been appointed as associate literary agent, working alongside founder and director Madeleine Milburn, m.d. Giles Milburn and agents Hayley Steed, Hannah Todd and Olivia Maidment in the adult fiction department.
She will start accepting submissions on 8th December and is considering literary, upmarket, book club fiction and narrative memoir.
Tip: How UK freelance journalists can use ALCS to earn more money from their work
journalism.co.uk – Sunday December 5, 2021
If you have written for any UK-based magazines or journals in the last three years, you could be due a payout
Authors’ Licencing and Collecting Society (ALCS) is a membership-run organisation founded by a group of journalists and authors in 1979. The aim of the organisation is to help all types of freelance writers by collecting the money for secondary uses of their work. That includes photocopies, cable retransmission, digital reproduction and education recording.
Writers' Handbook 2022 now available to buy
firstwriter.com – Sunday November 21, 2021
The 2022 edition of firstwriter.com’s bestselling directory for writers has just been released, and is now available to buy both as a paperbook and an ebook.
The directory is the perfect book for anyone searching for literary agents, book publishers, or magazines. It contains over 2,500 listings, including revised and updated listings from the 2021 edition, and over 400 brand new entries.
Lowis moves to Viney Agency
thebookseller.com – Saturday November 20, 2021
Amberley Lowis has been appointed literary agent at the Viney Agency.
Lowis previously worked as an agents' assistant at Abner Stein for five years and as an editorial assistant at Kyle Books.
She said: "I feel very lucky to have worked with such brilliant colleagues at Abner Stein and have learnt so much from them. I'm delighted to be joining the Viney Agency and I very much look forward to working with Charlie and further expanding the agency over the coming years."
Agency founder Charlie Viney said: "Amberley’s experience and drive stand her in very good stead to substantially add to the agency in the future and I’m thrilled that she is joining us."
Lowis will take up her new role in December.
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