
Competition launched to find new crime writer – and the prize is a two-year book deal
inews.co.uk – Monday March 4, 2019

A competition has been launched in a bid to find the next big crime writer, with the prize of a two year book deal up for grabs.
The Big Issue magazine has joined forced with Avon (part of the HarperCollins publishing house) to promote the venture, and submissions are invited from across the UK.

Max Edwards launches new agency Apple Tree Literary
thebookseller.com – Thursday February 28, 2019

Max Edwards has left Mulcahy Associates to form his own agency, Apple Tree Literary, focusing on non-fiction and genre fiction.
Edwards worked previously as assistant at United Agents and Rogers, Coleridge and White alongside agent Natasha Fairweather, before joining Mulcahy Associates at the end of 2017 as an agent.

Lindsay Literary Agency scholarship for 'under-represented' author returns
thebookseller.com – Thursday February 28, 2019

The Lindsay Literary Agency is sponsoring a place at the Winchester Writers’ Festival for a children’s author from an “under-represented” background for the second year running.
Launched last year, any author without an agent from the UK or Ireland can apply if they are LGBTQ+, from a BME background, disabled or from a ethnic, cultural or religious minority. Applicants can be unpublished but must be writing children’s fiction (YA or middle grade).

LAW and Factual Management launch The Soho Agency
thebookseller.com – Tuesday February 26, 2019

Literary agents Lucas Alexander Whitley and Factual Management have merged their staff together to form the Soho Agency.
The organisations initially joined forces in 2017 and said they had now brought together their literary and talent management into the new organisation. Staff will work out of the office in Wardour Mews, Soho, they first moved to eight months ago.

Blockbuster author James Patterson to visit UK for crime writing festival
home.bt.com – Monday February 18, 2019

American author James Patterson will make his first visit to the Theakston Old Peculier crime writing festival later this year, it has been announced.
The event, which is described as the world’s biggest celebration of the crime genre, will also feature an appearance by Bodyguard and Line Of Duty creator Jed Mercurio and will see Safe author Harlan Coben in conversation with Rebus creator Ian Rankin.

Abrams Artists Agency Hires Simon Green To Run Book & Publishing Division
deadline.com – Tuesday February 5, 2019

Abrams Artists Agency has hired former CAA agent Simon Green, with the industry veteran set to lead the company’s Book and Publishing division. He will be based in New York and begins immediately, marking the latest move to bolster the entertainment talent and literary agency’s agent and client roster under new ownership.
Green launched CAA’s Book Publishing Department in 2009, growing that division’s biz from scratch before exiting in the spring. He had spent 17 years before that at Pom Inc., a lit agency started by his dad, Dan, the longtime Simon & Schuster publisher.

United Talent Agency Names 8 New Partners
playbill.com – Tuesday January 29, 2019

United Talent Agency announced the addition of eight agents to its partnership, representing artists and talents from theatre, film, television, literature, music, sports, video games, and more.
Among UTA’s new partners is Mark Subias, a veteran theatre and literary agent who has been with UTA for the past seven years. Subias’ client roster includes The Color Purple Tony winner Cynthia Erivo, Pulitzer winners Suzan Lori Parks and Annie Baker, Eclipsed playwright and The Walking Dead star Danai Gurira, as well as Tony-winning A View from the Bridge director Ivo van Hove, who will direct the upcoming Broadway revival of West Side Story.

Diana Athill, writer and editor, dies aged 101
theguardian.com – Friday January 25, 2019

Writer and editor Diana Athill, whose clear eye on life and literature inspired authors and readers alike, has died aged 101. The news was confirmed by the publisher Granta.
Athill combined a glittering career in publishing, where she worked with writers including Philip Roth, Margaret Atwood, Jean Rhys and VS Naipaul, with award-winning success as an author herself, turning her flinty gaze on love, work and approaching death in memoirs including Instead of a Letter, Stet and the Costa biography prize-winning Somewhere Towards the End.

A Canadian woman has launched a writing contest for her luxury home
bbc.co.uk – Tuesday January 22, 2019

A Canadian woman is holding a letter-writing contest for her three-bedroom home near the city of Calgary.
Interested parties must pay an entry fee of C$25 ($19; £15) and answer the question "Why would moving to this lakefront dream home change your life"?
Owner Alla Wagner is leaving the home she says she loves due to poor health.
Inspired by stories of similar contests, she decided to launch "write a letter, win a house" when the C$1.7m home failed to sell.
Global Self-Publishing Platform PublishDrive Releases Case Study on how their Groundbreaking Pricing Maximizes Author Profits
prnewswire.com – Saturday January 19, 2019
PublishDrive's subscription pricing option was released on October 4, 2018, the first of its kind in the ebook self-publishing space. Designed for authors selling at least $1,000 monthly, it allows authors to keep 100% of their royalties (after the stores' fee) by paying a flat monthly fee of $100 - no matter how high sales go.
Traditional royalty share options offered by self-publishing services take an average 10% of royalties, which can be significant for high-earning authors. To show that subscription pricing is a smarter choice for high-earners, PublishDrive studied author Rachel Morgan's experience after she enrolled in their new pricing option.
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