Writers' Newsletter
Issue #264
March 2025
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News |
Some of this month's news for writers from around the web.
ChatGPT firm reveals AI model that is ‘good at creative writing’
theguardian.com – Wednesday March 12, 2025
As tech firms battle creative industries over copyright, OpenAI chief Sam Altman says he was ‘really struck’ by product’s output
The company behind ChatGPT has revealed it has developed an artificial intelligence model that is “good at creative writing”, as the tech sector continues its tussle with the creative industries over copyright.
The chief executive of OpenAI, Sam Altman, said the unnamed model, which has not been released publicly, was the first time he had been “really struck” by the written output of one of the startup’s products.
In a post on the social media platform X, Altman wrote: “We trained a new model that is good at creative writing (not sure yet how/when it will get released). This is the first time i have been really struck by something written by AI.”
AI systems such as ChatGPT are the subject of a running legal battle between AI companies and the creative industries because their underlying models are “trained” on reams of publicly available data, including copyright-protected material such as novels and journalism.
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Details on the New Owners of Analog, Asimov’s, and F&SF
locusmag.com – Wednesday March 12, 2025
Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction have been acquired by Must Read Magazines, a division of a new publishing company, Must Read Books Publishing. All editorial staff from the magazines have been retained in the acquisitions. Jackie Sherbow has been promoted to editor of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. P.L. Stevens joins the group as publisher.
From Stevens’ statement to Locus:
There are writers who have posted online asking if the magazines have somehow been taken over by unusual interests and we want to reassure people that’s not the case. Ultimately the magazines’ content will remain editorially driven as they have always been, and they might be interested to know that one of our largest single outside financial backers, Michael Khandelwal, is a lifelong regional con attendee (more below). We feel these magazines are extremely important to the legacy and future of these genres, and hope to continue each magazines mission while updating the business behind the magazines in order to reach more readers and writers. The acquisitions were necessary for the magazines to survive and hopefully thrive in the changing publishing economy….
In recent years, magazines have faced significantly rising costs and lower payments from certain retailers.
The company plans to bolster the magazines by expanding their distribution in trade bookstores, increasing their digital footprint, investing more in marketing the magazines to new readers and writers across channels, and using their platform to promote genre fiction authors in general….
As always, the creative missions of the magazines are driven by their longtime editorial staff.
International Copyright RegistrationRegister your copyright online for instant copyright protection in more than 160 different countries worldwide. |
Bournemouth Writing Sanctuary launches for authors
bournemouthecho.co.uk – Tuesday March 11, 2025
A new three-day writing experience for authors at all stages of their journey is launching in Bournemouth.
The Bournemouth Writing Sanctuary will offer dedicated time, expert guidance, and creative inspiration to writers from Friday, June 27 to Sunday, June 29.
The event will be held at Patch in Bournemouth and is designed to provide a distraction-free environment for authors to focus on their manuscripts.
The sanctuary will offer a blend of structured workshops, independent writing time and networking opportunities.
Claire Fuller, winner of the Costa Novel Award and finalist for the Women's Prize for Fiction, will lead the Friday session, guiding writers in honing their storytelling craft and key plot points.
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Writers' Handbook 2025 - Out Now!
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Listings |
A selection of the new listings added to firstwriter.com this month.
New Magazine Listing: The Idler
firstwriter.com – Wednesday March 5, 2025
Please email pitches addressed to the editor. We rarely publish unsolicited material, but we do read everything that’s sent to us. Please note that we cannot offer feedback on rejected articles and pitches.
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New Literary Agent Listing: Olivia Davies
firstwriter.com – Wednesday March 12, 2025
Looking for bold voices and stories that evoke feeling. She reads and represents a broad range of fiction and remains fundamentally curious as to how writers can open life to new perspectives. In non-fiction, she enjoys being guided by a warm, expert voice through topics such as history, religion, war, art, literary criticism, travel, pop culture, and food. More specifically, she's often drawn to personal narratives which upend monolithic constructions of cultural or national identity. For novels, send email with a synopsis and 10,000 words. For nonfiction, if you are an expert in your field, it's fine to contact her at an earlier stage of development.
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New Publisher Listing: Perspectives Books
firstwriter.com – Tuesday March 11, 2025
Predominately seeking autobiographical works but will consider fiction also. Novels should be more than 70,000 words and less than 140,000. Also accepts short stories up to 8,000 words. Open minded with regard to the subject of short stories and will consider submissions across all genres.
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| Click here for more of this month's new listings > |
Articles |
Some of this month's articles for writers from around the web.
7 Writing Retreats Around the World For Emerging and Established Writers
electricliterature.com – Sunday March 9, 2025
Writing retreats offer the opportunity for writers to fully immerse themselves in their craft, free from the distractions of daily life. These getaways combine inspiring locations, structured time, and a like-minded community to reignite creativity and boost productivity. Whether you’re seeking solitude to finish a manuscript or a collaborative environment to workshop ideas, a retreat can serve as the perfect catalyst.
I run a writer’s retreat called Studio Luce, steps away from the black sand beach of El Paredón, on the Pacific coast of Guatemala. The retreat is hosted in a 3-bed villa, featuring a newly built writing studio, alongside a tropical garden and pool. We offer week-long author-led retreats throughout the year, bringing together small groups of writers to focus on their craft.
While some retreats are well-known—particularly in the U.S.—there are many hidden gems scattered around the world that offer equally transformative experiences. Here are 7 unique international writing retreats for when you need to get away and focus on your writing:
The Trials and Tribulations of Writing Submissions: A Chat with Professor Emma Törzs and Professor Ben Voigt
macalester.edu – Saturday March 8, 2025
It is March 7th, and if you’ve been regularly scanning the English department emails, you’ll know that today is your final day to submit to the department’s three esteemed writing contests. Today, writers, the arduous two-month waiting period commences. Rather than fret over your submissions, The Words is here to offer solace in the wisdom of Professor Emma Törzs ’09 and Professor Ben Voigt ’10, two of the department’s very own contest winners and talented authors.
Professor Emma Törzs won the Harry Scherman Writing Contest in the category of Creative Prose, and Professor Ben Voigt was selected as the Macalester Finalist for the Academy of American Poets Prize.
Do you recall any part of the writing process for your submission?
B: I was working with a mentor, but I switched from fiction to poetry at the end of undergrad. I wrote this piece for an independent study, and it was inspired by and went along with an art installation. The piece was very narrative, but it had a turn near the end, a volta, and I remember thinking, “So, this is what a poem feels like.”
E: Well, my first experience of writing short stories was in college, believe it or not, in Peter Bognanni’s class. Because I started writing short fiction in creative writing classes, my experience of writing fiction was always sort of tied with the idea of deadlines and readership, which I think has actually helped me a lot. Having readers in mind, having an audience in mind, and working with deadlines is something that you continue to do long out of college if you want to keep writing.
Brilliant writing advice from famous authors
scottishbooktrust.com – Wednesday March 5, 2025
Looking for a little bit of inspiration from the greats? Author Sarah Forbes Stewart shares her favourite writing advice from some of the best writers around.
Writing! The best job in the world – but also, sometimes, the most impossible. If you’ve ever wanted to write, or you already write but are tortured by the blank page staring up at you, maybe it’s time to get some tips from the greats.
Zadie Smith
Zadie Smith, in an interview from 2010, offered this excellent nugget: 'Try to read your own work as a stranger would read it, or even better, as an enemy would.'
I like the brutality of this simple advice. We can all fall in love with our own ideas, characters and dialogue. It’s a worthwhile skill to leave some breathing space and come back to your writing with a critical eye.
F. Scott Fitzgerald
In a 1938 letter to an aspiring author, Fitzgerald wrote: 'You’ve got to sell your heart, your strongest reactions, not the little minor things that only touch you lightly, the little experiences that you might tell at dinner.'
You can write about anything you like – anything! – but you have to put your heart into it.
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