Imprints
lunch.publishersmarketplace.com – Monday June 14, 2021
Astra Publishing House is launching an imprint dedicated to publishing illustrated books for children, to be led by Jill Davis. She was most recently executive editor at Harper Children’s. She will report to coo Ben Schrank and president Leying Jiang. Davis says, “My focus at Astra will be developing authors and illustrators from all over and helping them create unforgettable stories with sparkle, soul, and lots of surprises. The majority of my list will be illustrated books for ages 0–12, with an occasional teen title.”
Pan Mac and bks Agency host free demystifying publishing event
thebookseller.com – Thursday June 10, 2021
Pan Macmillan and The bks Agency are running a free online event all week to demystify publishing for those curious about entering the industry.
Running from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. until 11th June, it has been organised by ERIC, an organisation which hosts immersive career festivals and an app for Generation Z creatives. Pan Mac has received more than 250 sign-ups across a range of ages and backgrounds.
The Get a Job in Publishing event series covers the publishing ecosystem and how it works, as well as providing an introduction to each of the main career paths available. Pan Mac experts include Sara Lloyd, communications director and executive sponsor for diversity, publishing director Kris Doyle, Bluebird publisher Carole Tonkinson, adult publishing m.d. Jeremy Trevathan and Belinda Rasmussen, m.d. of Macmillan Children’s Books.
Trade campaign warns of 'potentially devastating' change to UK copyright laws
thebookseller.com – Monday June 7, 2021
An alliance of organisations including the Publishers Association and Society of Authors has launched a new campaign warning of a “potentially devastating” change to the UK’s copyright laws.
The Save Our Books campaign, also backed by the Association of Authors’ Agents and the Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society, says government plans to reconsider the UK’s approach to copyright and trade following Brexit could lead to fewer books and fewer authors.
The Intellectual Property Office launched a consultation on 7th June which considers a weakening of copyright rules used for exporting books around the world. Changing the way these rules, known as copyright exhaustion, work would present “serious dangers for the health of the books industry”, the campaign argues.
The London Book Fair Returns
publishersweekly.com – Sunday June 6, 2021
After the London Book Fair was canceled just a week before the event was to take place in 2020, LBF is back again—albeit in a web-only format. The fair spans the month of June, with conferences taking place the week of June 7 and a further series of flagship digital events to run June 21–July 1.
LBF kicks off this year with four days of single-topic conferences: “Introductions to Rights” on June 7, “The Writer’s Summit” on June 8, “What Works? Education Conference” on June 9, and “Research & Scholarly Publishing Forum” on June 10. The fair will then reconvene on June 21 and 22 for talks and panels, including Industry Insights sessions focused on publishing issues. On June 23, tech takes center stage with “Digital Technology: What’s Next for Publishing,” and the June 24 program will highlight children’s books and edutainment, as well as scholarly publishing and human resources development.
Curtis Brown launches writing scholarship in tribute to John le Carré
thebookseller.com – Friday June 4, 2021
The Curtis Brown Creative writing school is launching an annual novel-writing scholarship in honour of late thriller writer John le Carré, seeking out "compelling storytelling and political engagement".
The news comes six months after the death of the 89-year-old author, whose real name was David Cornwell. He was represented by Jonny Geller, c.e.o. of the Curtis Brown Group, for almost 15 years.
A bursary will be funded by the Curtis Brown Literary and Talent Agency, with the support of the author’s family. Applications for the first scholarship are now open and will provide full funding for one talented writer of limited financial means to join Curtis Brown Creative’s three-month online Writing Your Novel course running from 6th September to 13th December.
Forest Forge Theatre Company launch The Postal Project
salisburyjournal.co.uk – Monday May 24, 2021
A FREE creative writing project for over 65s is being launched by Forest Forge Theatre Company in Ringwood.
The Postal Project has been made possible thanks to funding from Hampshire County Council’s Local Solutions Fund.
Starting this month and running for six months, the theatre company will send a free pack each month to those signed up with all the materials they need to start writing.
The packs will be inspired by the 40-year-old theatre’s large working archive of props and costumes.
Bloomsbury partners with Get into Publishing to attract regional talent
thebookseller.com – Friday May 21, 2021
Bloomsbury is partnering with Get into Publishing to fund training courses aimed at attracting workers based outside London.
Get into Publishing focuses on rolling out affordable and accessible training to support newcomers looking to work in the publishing industry.
The partnership will sponsor a select number of course places. The criteria for the Bloomsbury-funded positions will consider the applicants’ location in order to attract a more diverse range of talent to the publishing industry from outside London and the South East.
According to the Publishers Association diversity survey of the publishing workforce in 2020, the majority are from the south of England, with 75% of respondents living in South East England or London. Just 2% of respondents were from all other nations in the UK or regions north of London. As a result, Bloomsbury has specified criteria to widen the regional profile of the current workforce to attract workers that may not have considered work opportunities in the capital previously.
Registration opens for Coast Writers’ Conference
advocate-news.com – Friday May 21, 2021
The Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference has posted the program for MCWC 2021, its 32nd year, which — like last year’s event — will be held online via Zoom from Aug. 5 through Aug. 7.
This year’s conference faculty will include keynote speaker Wendy C. Ortiz, workshop leaders Lillian Li, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Saretta Morgan, Chris Dennis, Alex Sanchez, Suzanne Rivecca, Krys Malcolm Belc, and Sam Krowchenko and literary agents Elise Capron and Tricia Skinner, along with other special guests, writers and publishing experts.
A New Force in Fiction: The Novelry.
digitaljournal.com – Tuesday May 18, 2021
Last year, there was a boom in books with sales up by 8.2% in the USA, propelling the publishing industry to $25 bn. Sales of fiction in the UK were up a whopping 25% last year, defying predictions. While J.K. Rowling remains the top-earning author worldwide, there’s room for more at the table in the bookshop!
Home alone, many aspiring authors have been tucking into online creative writing courses, and novelists have found a home at the worldwide writing school The Novelry. Founded by Booker-listed author Louise Dean, the school takes a radically different approach to teaching fiction writing. It all starts with story. According to The Novelry, page-turners don’t happen by accident; they’re constructed. So a writer’s year at The Novelry begins with pairing the author’s desires, interests and experiences to the all-time bestselling books. Borrowing a phrase from T.S. Eliot, if you start with a bang, you won’t end with a whimper. Every writer gets a co-pilot with a bestselling author at their side for the big write, and recent guest tutors have included Paula Hawkins (The Girl on the Train) and David Nicholls (One Day.)
Don’t Self-Publish A Book Before Answering These Crucial Questions
forbes.com – Monday May 17, 2021
While it might be true that self-publishing a book is now easier than ever, it could also be said that self-publishing a successful book might be more difficult than ever.
In 2018 alone, more than 1.67 million books were self-published, so the competition is fierce. It’s not enough to self-publish your book on Amazon and expect readers to find it among millions of other books. As a best-selling author myself, I believe there are many questions you should ask yourself before self-publishing a book, but here are the most crucial questions:
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