
Poetry, love and psychosis: can writing help us come to terms with mental illness?
theguardian.com – Thursday February 23, 2017

Paula Keogh never intended to write about her relationship with Michael Dransfield, one of the most prominent – and colourful – poets in Australian literature.
“I was actually doing a PhD on Michael’s poetry,” she tells Guardian Australia. “And my supervisor discovered that Michael and I had known each other and been very close, and she said, ‘Hang on, I don’t know whether you’re writing the right thesis here, maybe you should write a memoir!’”

Furniss Lawton Literary Division Assistant
jobs.thebookseller.com – Tuesday February 21, 2017

Role: To work within Furniss Lawton, the literary division of the James Grant Group. The role will be to assist and support the literary agents in the six-person Furniss Lawton team, with a particular focus on working with Rowan Lawton and Eugenie Furniss in the effective running of Furniss Lawton. This is an exciting opportunity for someone passionate about publishing and the media to learn more about the industry and the skills necessary in managing authors and talent clients.

Sydney book club finish writing second novel together titled The Shifting Light
dailytelegraph.com.au – Saturday February 18, 2017

MORE than six years ago, the members of a Sydney book club came up with the idea of writing a book together to fund a trip to Russia.
The women, who called themselves the Book Sluts because they would read anything, were in the Blue Mountains on a weekend away drinking vodka and discussing Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment.

Publishers hire ‘sensitivity readers’ to screen manuscripts for offensive content
washingtontimes.com – Saturday February 18, 2017

Authors and publishers are increasingly hiring “sensitivity readers” to screen books for culturally offensive material before sending them to market.
A cultural climate that has the publishing industry increasingly under the microscope by fans has created a demand for specialized book scanners. Individuals are paid a small fee, roughly $250 per manuscript, to look for content deemed problematic.

Abridged 0 - 49: Babel Submission Call
firstwriter.com – Thursday February 16, 2017

Abridged is looking for poetry and art for its 0 – 49: Babel issue.
Up to four poems can be submitted and art can be up to A4 landscape and should be 300dpi or above.

Publishers Association of New Zealand announces Association Director appointment
booksellers.co.nz – Wednesday February 15, 2017

The Council of the Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) today announced the appointment of Catriona Ferguson to the role of Association Director.
Catriona is currently the Chief Executive of the New Zealand Book Council and was previously a Literary Advisor for Creative New Zealand. She brings a wealth of knowledge to the Association, particularly in the areas of grants and funding – and equally a life-long passion for books, reading and outstanding creative content.

Faber CEO speaks out after winning trade publisher of the year
theguardian.com – Friday February 10, 2017

Faber & Faber’s chief executive has called for publishers to oppose crackdowns on free speech and the rise of so-called fake news. Stephen Page made his comments after the publisher of TS Eliot, Kazuo Ishiguro and Costa book of the year winner Sebastian Barry scooped the Frankfurt book fair independent trade publisher of the year award.

D H H Literary Agency launches The Dome Press
thebookseller.com – Friday February 10, 2017

D H H Literary Agency has launched its own publishing company, The Dome Press.
The press, whose name is taken from the The Dome periodical that was published in London's Cecil Court by the Unicorn Press in the late 1800s, will have "a broad approach", covering all genres. Its ethos is to "champion great storytelling and give authors a voice" and to discover and nurture both new and established writers while embracing "fresh outlooks".
How print beat digital in the book world
straitstimes.com – Saturday February 4, 2017
If the media industry needed proof that it moved too quickly to devalue its print products on the way to chasing digital audiences, the book industry has been making a convincing case in the last few years. The rise of print book sales and decline in e-books in 2015 was no accident. Last year, the trend continued, and self-publishing in electronic form no longer seemed as good a bet as in previous years.

Winners of the Fifteenth International Poetry Competition announced
firstwriter.com – Tuesday January 24, 2017

firstwriter.com is pleased to announce the winner and special commendations in its Fifteenth International Poetry Competition, which closed on November 1, 2016.
Get the free newsletter | Submit a news item or article | Get Writers' News for your website