Electric Literature Is Launching Its First-Ever Emerging Writers Contest | $1,000 Prize, Publication, and a Residency | Enter by July 15
brittlepaper.com – Wednesday July 1, 2026
Electric Literature, the nonprofit literary platform that has spent seventeen years dedicated to uplifting emerging writers, has launched its very first Emerging Writers Contest, with categories in fiction and poetry. It is open to international writers, meaning African writers are eligible, and the prize package is one of the more generous on offer from an independent literary platform right now.
One winner in each genre will receive $1,000, publication in either Recommended Reading (fiction) or The Commuter (poetry), and two weeks at the Writing Downtown residency program in Downtown Las Vegas. Second-place winners will receive $250 and third-place winners $100. All fiction finalists will additionally receive a review with feedback from a literary agent. Winners will be announced in early 2027.
Alberta author urges caution after book publishing deal cost him more than $40,000
cbc.ca – Sunday June 28, 2026
Two years after publication, Charles Schroder says his book is apparently discontinued
An Edmonton-area writer who spent more than $40,000 on a publishing service is urging other aspiring authors to be cautious when looking to put out a book.
Charles Schroder, an 88-year-old writer whose gardening column is a regular feature of the St. Albert Gazette newspaper, told CBC it’s not even possible anymore to buy a copy of his book Urban Gardening: Planning to Preserving, which was published in April 2024.
“As far as I know, Amazon has discontinued it,” Schroder told CBC News this week. “I'm not sure about Barnes and Noble, and I have received no inquiries from any other booksellers.”
Schroder used a Florida-based company called Writers Clique, which he learned about from a friend. He put together a draft, made up of his columns, and submitted it.
"They gave it to one of their writers who wrote an absolutely beautiful review of the book,” Schroder said. “I thought it'd be a bestseller. She had written [the review] so well. And so I was hooked.”
Nominations open for Val Wood Prize for Creative Writing 2026
www2.fundsforngos.org – Wednesday June 24, 2026
The Val Wood Prize 2026 invites writers aged 16 and above to submit original, unpublished short fiction inspired by the titles of Val Wood’s books. The competition theme is “Titles,” and each entrant may submit only one entry based on a title from Val Wood’s published works list.
The prize includes £100 and a signed copy of Val Wood’s upcoming novel for the winner. Two runners-up will each receive a signed copy of the novel, and the winning entry will be published on the Val Wood website and promoted on social media.
What is the Val Wood Prize 2026?
The Val Wood Prize 2026 is a short fiction writing competition for writers who want to create an original story inspired by the title of one of Val Wood’s published books.
The competition encourages writers to explore how a title can shape a story’s idea, mood, character, setting and direction.
The 2026 competition theme is “Titles.”
Laois author to host free creative writing workshops and publishing webinars for aspiring writers
laoistoday.ie – Monday June 22, 2026
A Laois author is set to help aspiring writers take their first steps towards publication through a series of free online workshops and publishing webinars.
Mountrath native Helen Cullen has curated the Brunel University New Writers Programme for the second year running, bringing together award-winning authors, literary agents and publishing professionals to offer guidance and support to emerging writers across Ireland and the UK.
The initiative is designed to help writers develop their craft while also providing practical advice on submitting work to publishers, literary agents, publications and writing competitions.
Speaking about the programme, Cullen said she hopes it will encourage people who have always wanted to write to take the plunge.
Granta stops publishing short story award winners over AI controversy
theguardian.com – Saturday June 20, 2026
Literary magazine will no longer engage in ‘external publishing partnerships’ after Commonwealth prize furore
The prominent literary magazine Granta will no longer publish the winning entries of the annual Commonwealth short story prize after one of this year’s winners drew widespread accusations of AI use.
The magazine said it would no longer be involved in “external publishing partnerships” in which it had no editorial control.
In a statement to the Guardian, Granta said: “The 2026 selection of the regional winners of the Commonwealth prize caused a great deal of controversy, based on the speculation that one or more of the stories may have been at least partially AI-generated, accusations that were strongly rejected by the authors.
“For the sake of our own editorial integrity, the Granta Trust board has now taken the decision that we will no longer engage in external publishing partnerships. We will keep the Commonwealth prize shortlisted stories on our website in the public interest, and wish our former partner, the Commonwealth Foundation, all the best in its work.”
Scammers targeting emerging and published writers -- BEWARE!
daniellebinks.substack.com – Saturday June 20, 2026
The Lonely-Hearts-Honeypot-Catfish Publishing Scams
Publishing is currently the target of unprecedented levels of scams, made easier and more nuanced by Artificial Intelligence being able to generate and target all corners of our industry.
The Guardian investigative piece into the targeting of self-published authors, really succinctly hits on the shape these scams are taking; “New wave of publishing scams mimic lonely hearts hoaxes of old – swapping promises of true love for the fantasy of literary acclaim. And the wooing process is now fully automated.”
It’s not just that these scammers - like “lonely hearts hoaxes of old” are flattering egos and writing exactly what we all want to hear about our talents, but it’s that AI is making their spiels eerily convincing.
Cheltenham Literature Festival sounds alarm over scam emails targeting writers
boringnews.co.uk – Tuesday June 16, 2026
Cheltenham Festivals has warned authors, literary agents and speakers to ignore fraudulent emails and messages that falsely claim to represent the Cheltenham Literature Festival. The urgent alert, published on 5 June, describes a wave of unsolicited communications that invite recipients to take part in the festival programme and, in some cases, ask for money.
Cassava Republic Press Is Now Accepting Manuscript Submissions for Literary Fiction and Speculative Fiction
brittlepaper.com – Monday June 8, 2026
Cassava Republic Press has announced its 2026 manuscript submission windows, inviting writers to submit works across fiction and nonfiction categories on a rotating basis throughout the year. The first window, for Literary Fiction and Speculative Fiction, is open now, with a deadline of June 30, 2026, at 23:59 BST. Two further windows follow later in the year.
Cassava Republic wants work in its best possible shape before submission. Writers should send a 500-word summary of the book alongside the first three chapters of the manuscript, submitted as a Word attachment. The file should be named in the following format: date of submission (dd.mm.yy), first name, surname, book title — for example, Cassava Submission: Yinka Allen, To Play With Fire. The author’s name should appear only on the title page and nowhere else in the manuscript.
Killer Shorts Horror Writing Competition Open NOW With New Category for Feature Screenplays!
bloody-disgusting.com – Sunday June 7, 2026
The annual genre competition dedicated to finding and launching the next generation of horror writing talent, this year’s Killer Shorts is now officially open for entries!
Founded in 2019, Killer Shorts has established itself as a premier industry launchpad. The competition connects screenwriters and prose authors directly with the executives, managers, and producers who actively greenlight and option dark genre cinema.
But this year’s competition isn’t only about killer horror shorts…
For this brand new season, Killer Shorts is expanding its categories to include feature-length screenplays alongside its traditional short script, one-page script, and short story divisions.
Wiley Buys Emerald Publishing
mrweb.com – Sunday June 7, 2026
In New Jersey, research publisher Wiley has acquired Emerald Publishing from Cambridge Information Group (CIG) in an all-cash transaction valued at £337 million. The buy strengthens Wiley's offer in the social sciences - especially economics, business and finance.
Wiley, established in 1807, is today positioned as 'a global leader in research, publishing and knowledge solutions... dedicated to the creation and application of knowledge'. It operates AI-powered platforms which it says 'transform how knowledge is discovered, accessed, and applied.'
Emerald was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in the UK. The 'scholarly' publisher boasts nearly 500 journal brands, 8,000 book titles, and an extensive archive of case studies and backfile content worldwide. Wiley's positions in accounting, management, strategy, education, engineering, information and knowledge management, operations, public policy and environmental management will all be boosted by the deal, and will deepen its proprietary content offer for AI and data analytics. Following the buy Wiley's journal portfolio will rise to c.2,500 titles.
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