Writers' Newsletter
Issue #226
January 2022
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News |
Some of this month's news for writers from around the web.
Simon & Schuster employee denies he stole bestseller manuscripts
bbc.co.uk – Saturday January 8, 2022
An employee of publishers Simon & Schuster has pleaded not guilty to charges in New York that he posed as literary editors and agents to steal hundreds of authors' unpublished work.
Filippo Bernardini, 29, was arrested at JFK airport and is charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Legal documents allege he registered more than 160 fake online domains.
Judge Robert Lehrburger rejected a request for him to be detained, setting bail at $300,000 (£221,000).
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Matt Willey and Dan Crowe Launch 'INQUE' Magazine
hypebeast.com – Thursday January 6, 2022
INQUE is a new literary publication that describes itself as “A magazine without genre.” Founded by Matt Willey and Dan Crowe, the annual title brings together a star-studded list of contributors who provide global writing and extraordinary art, design and photography.
Based in Brooklyn, Willey is an English graphic designer who served as the longtime art director of The New York Times Magazine and was recently appointed to the title of partner at Pentagram. Crowe is the founder and editor-in-chief of magazines, Zembla and PORT — both of which he worked extensively with Willey on over the years.
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Literary mystery may finally be solved as man arrested for allegedly stealing unpublished books
theguardian.com – Thursday January 6, 2022
A mysterious fraudster who impersonated publishers and agents to steal book manuscripts in an international phishing scam may have finally been caught, with the FBI arresting a 29-year-old man at John F Kennedy airport in New York on Wednesday.
Filippo Bernardini, an Italian citizen who worked at UK publisher Simon & Schuster, was arrested upon landing in the US on Wednesday. The FBI alleged that Bernardini had “impersonated, defrauded, and attempted to defraud, hundreds of individuals” to obtain unpublished and draft works.
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Listings |
A selection of the new listings added to firstwriter.com this month.
New Literary Agent Listing: Charlotte Seymour
firstwriter.com – Thursday January 13, 2022
In fiction, looks for book club and literary fiction as well as outstanding character – and voice-driven crime, thriller and suspense. She loves writing that crosses boundaries, whether geographic or linguistic or in bringing a twist to a genre.
In non-fiction, she is interested in accessible, engaging writing on a range of subjects including popular science, social and cultural history, reportage, nature, the arts, food and cookery. She especially loves hybrid books, for example, when in a memoir, the personal is interwoven with a bigger story or subject.
New Publisher Listing: Wildling Press
firstwriter.com – Tuesday January 11, 2022
Committed to uplifting marginalized voices by offering traditional publishing contracts to authors whose books will make the world a better place! We also offer an educational publishing track as well as a la carte literary services.
New Magazine Listing: Authentic Shorts
firstwriter.com – Tuesday January 11, 2022
An online platform for publishing short stories. We are open minded with regard to the subject of short stories and will consider submissions across all genres.
There is no perfect length for a short story, only the author can decide, but we would expect them to be no more than 7,000 to 8,000 words. This will allow them to be adaptable for online publication, either as a serialisation or under small collections of aligned works.
| Click here for more of this month's new listings > |
Articles |
Some of this month's articles for writers from around the web.
Write it All Down by Cathy Rentzenbrink review – an arm around the shoulder for aspiring authors
theguardian.com – Monday January 3, 2022
In the weeks after my grandfather died in 2019, I spent a melancholy few days sorting through the “Gramps” section of my filing cupboard, mainly the many letters he’d sent to me over the years. It was a way, I suppose, of continuing the 40-year conversation we’d had about books, of keeping his voice loud in my mind. One letter struck me with particular force, though – a page and a half in response to a short story I’d sent him aged 10. It was typical of his letters about my writing: warm yet forthright in its criticism, even at this early stage showing something that I came to recognise as a gift – the fact that he took me seriously as an author, that this was feedback from one writer to another.
Using 'to be' weakens writing
startribune.com – Sunday January 2, 2022
"To be, or not to be, that is the question."
Prince Hamlet asked.
My answer: Not "to be."
Why? Because any form of "to be" — is, was, am, are, were, has been, etc. — delivers the weakest verb in the language. Sentences that perch on a "to be" verb tremble like a reed in a soft breeze.
Tony Birch on writing true characters in fiction
theguardian.com – Friday December 31, 2021
Paul Daley talks to Tony Birch about finding affection on the so-called margins of the inner city, the injustice of climate change and Blak humour. Birch also describes why he doesn’t view his fiction as having a political message
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