"The power of the internet:" How a Chicago writer founded an international literary magazine from her bedroom
cbsnews.com – Friday June 5, 2026
Saber-toothed tigers have been extinct for millennia, but for one Chicago writer, the name is alive with meaning.
Sabr Tooth Tiger Magazine is a new Chicago-based publication with, as founder Madeline Blair describes it, "claws, teeth, and heart."
The name has a dual meaning. "The Arabic word 'sabr' means steadfastness, resilience, and patience," Blair said, which she learned as she began to explore Islam.
The 2023 University of Illinois creative writing graduate wanted the name to carry the magazine's mission.
"Saber-toothed tigers used to be a huge pinnacle of strength and ferocity, so I want that to exhibit our strength in writing," she said.
But strength and resilience aren't just themes in her magazine. They're a part of her own life. Blair had lived with long COVID for nearly a year after her first infection in 2022.
She described "strange" health issues: lung problems, blood vessel complications, "bruising so severe my arm would turn purple after blood draws," Blair said. "Doctors noted hazy opacities on my lungs, but couldn't fully explain."
Star-studded line-up unveiled for Scottish crime writing festival
thenational.scot – Friday June 5, 2026
Richard Osman, Lucy Foley and Lee Child will be among the authors taking part in a “sensational” crime writing festival in September, organisers have announced.
Writer Denise Mina, guest programmer for the Bloody Scotland festival, has unveiled the programme for the event which takes place in Stirling later this year.
Other authors appearing include Liz Nugent, Sarah Pinborough, Gregg Hurwitz and Robert Bryndza, as well as Irish crime writer Andrea Mara and one of China’s bestselling writers Cai Jun.
Scottish writers on the line-up include Harriet Tyce, Chris Brookmyre, Alex Gray, Lin Anderson, Louise Welsh and Graeme Macrae Burnet.
Denise Mina said: “If Bloody Scotland 2026 is even half as much fun as I had helping to put this festival together then it’s going to be bloody brilliant. See you there!”
Broadcasters Robert Peston, Olly Smith and Jeremy Vine will also be taking part in the festival, as will Irish comedian and Father Ted actor, Ardal O’Hanlon.
There will also be a range of non-fiction events including How to Clean A Crime Scene with Ben Giles and A History Of Modern Britain In Twenty Murders with Professor David Wilson.
Publishing professionals are becoming prime targets for impersonation
thenextweb.com – Thursday June 4, 2026
An aspiring author receives an email from a “literary agent” expressing enthusiasm about their manuscript. The message is polished, personalized, and professional. The sender references recent bestsellers, adaptation potential, and submission strategy. The agency website looks legitimate, the LinkedIn profile appears credible, and the tone sounds authoritative and reassuring. Then comes the catch with one of the following: a “representation onboarding fee,” a paid representation package, a marketing retainer, or perhaps a request for the full manuscript that surreptitiously disappears into piracy networks. The real literary agent whose identity was stolen may not even know the scam is happening.
As Mark Gottlieb, an Executive Vice President & Literary Agent at Trident Media Group, has observed firsthand: artificial intelligence has not merely accelerated publishing fraud, it has industrialized it. Increasingly, literary agents have become some of the easiest and most effective identities for scammers to impersonate.
For over 100 years, literary agents have served as trusted intermediaries between writers and the publishing industry. They have functioned as curators, advocates, negotiators, editors, strategists, and gatekeepers. Their role has traditionally depended on one essential currency above all else: trust. Tech-driven impersonators are threatening to erode that trust.
New Literary Agent Listing: Flo Sandelson
firstwriter.com – Thursday June 4, 2026
Handles speculative fiction across adult and young adult markets, with a strong interest in work that blends the real and the imagined. Seeks emotionally rich stories with grounded worldbuilding, including urban fantasy, high fantasy, dystopian fiction, and speculative narratives that tilt subtly into the surreal. Particularly drawn to writing that explores technology, the environment, identity and memory in intimate, character driven ways, as well as literary leaning speculative fiction that is bold and playful with form. Interested in YA fantasy with emotional depth, convincing worldbuilding, morally complex protagonists, and both romantic and non-romantic stakes. Welcomes work featuring mythology, reimagined non-Western traditions, real world commentary framed through fantastical or dystopian settings, and horror or suspense with strong emotional intelligence.
Renowned authors to appear at this year’s Frome Festival
frometimes.co.uk – Wednesday June 3, 2026
A wealth of literary events, including talks from well-known authors and writing workshops, are planned as part of this year’s Frome Festival.
The group organising the literary events, Words at Frome Festival, says this year’s festival will feature more events than in previous years, alongside the 10th anniversary of the Frome Publishing Fair.
Local author Alison Clink, speaking on behalf of the group, said, “We have many more literary events this year than in the past. Audiences will be treated to talks by well-known writers, writing workshops and the opportunity for budding novelists to meet with literary agents who will be coming to Frome to help guide them towards publication.”
During the festival, which runs from 3rd to 12th July, Frome will welcome Booker Prize shortlisted author Andrew Miller, who will discuss his latest novel The Land in Winter with author Emma Craigie; novelist and biographer Nicholas Shakespeare, whose political thriller Frame 37 is published this May; novelist and academic Emily Hauser, author of Mythica, a study of women in ancient Greek mythology; plus Satish Kumar, Winnie Li, Lily Dunn, Harriet Derioz, poets Kate Fox and Jenny Mitchell, and local authors Peter Clark and Annie Elliot.
New Literary Agent Listing: Maria Carolina Ministeri
firstwriter.com – Monday June 1, 2026
Looking for adult, crossover, and YA fiction across genres that feature compelling characters, complex relationships, and immersive settings (real or imagined). Please send your query letter, contact information, and the first 15 pages of your manuscript via email.
Whisper it: becoming a mum can make you a more productive writer
theguardian.com – Friday May 29, 2026
Before having a child, I had endless days to think about writing. Now, half an hour can suddenly become a window of creativity
Becoming a parent is hard. Eight to 12 hours a day are spent breastfeeding or preparing formula milk and washing bottles. In addition, there is carrying, singing, soothing, putting to sleep, trying to sleep yourself and waking up to repeat this several times a night. So many new activities that before were unknown, filling up every day.
This is time that was once completely at your own discretion, and the new constriction is a shock.
But – after the necessary physical and mental healing – it is also what can make parents become creative about their use of time: being a parent can make you more productive by using the gaps in the daily routine. While enhancing productivity is a trope of self-optimisation content, this is not a capitalistic productivity. Caring for a baby can feel like a remove from the self previously constructed. To me, writing felt like an alleviation of this loss of self. Simply draft a paragraph, a few sentences, get on with a text as a means to stimulate the insufficiently challenged mind.
New Magazine Listing: The Blue Bell Review
firstwriter.com – Wednesday May 27, 2026
A student-run digital magazine that accepts writing, art and multimedia from students ages 6-16 based anywhere in the world. Aims to amplify youth voices. Publishes poetry, short stories, essays, op-eds, book reviews, fiction, nonfiction, and creative writing. Also features visual art in any medium or style, including paintings, drawings, digital art, and photography, along with audio pieces such as podcasts, audio essays, spoken word, and music, and video work including short films, animations, and video essays under two minutes. Accepts only original, unpublished material apart from work previously shared on personal blogs or social media. Reviews all submissions blind and considers simultaneous submissions. Seeks work suitable for a student editorial board, avoiding violent, discriminatory, or overly mature content. Publishes selected pieces in a quarterly digital magazine, weekly newsletter, and online platforms, with rights reverting to the author after publication.
Laura B. McGrath on Middlemen
press.princeton.edu – Sunday May 24, 2026
Middlemen rewrites literary history from the perspective of one of its most important but least visible figures: the literary agent. Chronicling the story of agents in the United States from the 1950s to today, Laura B. McGrath uncovers their critical role in the making of American literature. From the famed three-martini lunch to the Frankfurt Book Fair, Middlemen takes readers behind the scenes to show how agents influence what we read. Along the way, it explains why many debut novelists never publish another book, why agents champion short story collections even though they sell poorly, how agents advocate for writers of color in a system that values whiteness, and why there are so many New York novels.
What do literary agents do?
Laura B. McGrath: Literary agents represent authors in every aspect of a book deal: they receive manuscripts, submit them to the appropriate editors, and handle every aspect of the sale. This may seem cut-and-dried, but agents exert a great deal of influence over books! After the receive a manuscript, they work with an author to revise it—and they won’t send it to editors until they believe it’s ready. They work behind-the-scenes to make sure that editors are excited about a manuscript, primed to read it favorably and buy it for as high a price as possible. They serve as confidantes and advisers to authors throughout the entire publication process, educating them about the process and advocating for them when necessary. And, in an ideal world, an agent represents an author over many years and many books, helping them strategize about their long-term career prospects. Their influence may happen behind-the-scenes and it may be challenging to quantify, but it is, nevertheless, incredibly powerful in shaping the books that we read.
Introducing The Colby Review
news.colby.edu – Friday May 22, 2026
Writer-in-Residence Zach Peckham and 23 student editors band together to create a brand-new, student-led literary journal
Zach Peckham earned this launch party. The standing-room-only crowd in the Mary Low Coffeehouse. His colleagues peppering the room. Students jockeying for space, juggling iced matcha and chilled cold brews. Even the sunlight streaming through the bay window felt deserved.
Everyone was fired up, and the buzz wasn’t from the caffeine.
Peckham approached the mic, his sandy hair slightly ruffled from the heat and energy. “I came here this year to teach editing and publishing courses and to make this object,” he declared jubilantly, holding up The Colby Review, a brand-new, student-led literary journal published by the Creative Writing Program. “I guess we were successful—we have an object!”
As faculty editor of The Colby Review, he had been anticipating this moment for months.
“I’ve had the time of my life getting to be here with you all,” said Peckham, his yearlong residency nearing its end. “And what we put together here is messy, and cool, and confusing, and fun as hell.”
The inaugural issue of The Colby Review is available in hard copy and has an online presence.
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