Writers' Newsletter
Issue #270
September 2025
|
News |
Some of this month's news for writers from around the web.
5 new Australian publishers are making defiant, weird, grass-roots books
theconversation.com – Friday September 19, 2025
In the past year or so, three Australian publishing mergers happened within a few short months. Text Publishing, Pantera Press and Affirm Press were all absorbed into a larger company. Once a company has shareholders, like Penguin Random House and Simon and Schuster (which acquired Affirm and Text), the business is geared to generate the greatest return for them.
Meanwhile, the closure of 85-year-old literary journal Meanjin has drawn the ire of industry insiders and readers in Australia and abroad.
But there’s also some good news in the launch of five new Australian book publishers: Perentie Press, Pink Shorts Press, Evercreech Editions, Aniko Press and Bakers Lane Books.
Their new work includes short books, graphic novels, short-story collections, experimental writing and literary fiction. Two are launching with prizes for unpublished work: one (worth A$2,500 as an advance towards royalties) for a graphic novel; the other a $10,000 award for an unpublished work of literary fiction by an Australian woman or gender-diverse writer, co-judged by Stella Prize winning author Emily Bitto.
|
Ebury Launches PRH UK’s First Christian Imprint
publishersweekly.com – Wednesday September 17, 2025
Ebury has announced Ebury Vine, the first-ever Christian imprint at Penguin Random House UK. The publisher said the launch is in response to a clear market need, with a resurgence of Christianity around the world, particularly among young people. Charisa Gunasekera, formerly of SPCK Publishing, has been named Ebury Vine's commissioning editor. Gunasekera will also acquire titles for Rider, Ebury's spirituality imprint.
Both imprints sit in Ebury’s Self hub alongside Vermilion and Happy Place Books. The Vine logo, designed by Lucy Thorne, "represents its aims to draw on the deep roots of Christianity to cultivate curious minds and inspire faith-informed growth," said Ebury Self publishing director, Olivia Morris.
"It’s been a pleasure to welcome Charisa to Ebury and see her entrepreneurial flair at work building the fantastic launch list," Morris said in a statement. "Our Rider imprint has long been successful in publishing faith-focused hope and healing, and so this launch is a fitting way to build on this heritage and mark out our ambitious intent to grow this space. There is so much to come. We are excited to reach new audiences and support fresh author talent to flourish here at Ebury."
The Ebury Vine list's first title, Waiting for Jesus: An Advent Invitation to Prayer and Renewal, by author and pastor Rich Villodas, is out on September 18. Gunasekera acquired rights from PRH US, and will publish the book alongside the PRH Christian US Division, which was created last October.
International Copyright RegistrationRegister your copyright online for instant copyright protection in more than 160 different countries worldwide. |
‘It’s a horror story’: budding author loses almost $150k to publishing scams
thepost.co.nz – Sunday September 14, 2025
Looking back, it’s obvious it was all a scam.
But at the time, unmedicated for bipolar disorder and suffering alcoholism, the budding author didn’t think twice about promises of success from fourpublishing houses he now knows are fake.
The Auckland-based author, who the Sunday Star-Times has agreed not to name, spent about $150,000 over two years trying to get his books published and promoted all over the world and has nothing to show for it.
At the time, his unmedicated bipolar disorder meant he suffered from mania, he says, and he was delighted by the idea of massive sales and success with his book
“They would smooth talk me, they would praise my work and tell me how wonderful it was and how it was selling rapidly all over the world and how I'd be really rich soon, and just pay more money for this, and so they they'd throw something at me to pay for.
“They already had my credit card details, so I'd go, oh yes, OK, and so they would play some music while they took some money off my credit card, and then that would be the end of it.”
| Click here for the rest of this month's news > |
Writers' Handbook 2027 - Out Now!
|
Listings |
A selection of the new listings added to firstwriter.com this month.
New Publisher Listing: Saraband
firstwriter.com – Thursday August 21, 2025
Award-winning independent publisher. Currently unable to accept fiction submissions. For non-fiction submissions, please email your book description, table of contents and a sample chapter together with a brief CV relevant to your writing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
New Magazine Listing: Shoegaze Literary
firstwriter.com – Wednesday August 20, 2025
A digital capsule project that publishes poetry and fiction.
The magazine borrows its name and aesthetics from the eponymous musical genre where artists often perform looking down at their effect pedals.
We aim to support and uplift emerging writers through our digital venue by curating a third space for dreamy, distorted alternate realities.
We publish two times a year. Each issue centers around a theme, and we provide a curated "digital plaza" of inspiration for writers. While we do not pay our authors, we also do not charge a reading fee, and engage in heavy marketing, such as launch parties, readings, unique instagram posts, and community building events.
We are extremely active on email and social and always love to hear from and engage with writers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
New Literary Agent Listing: Natalie Barracliffe
firstwriter.com – Thursday September 18, 2025
As I grow my list, I’m particularly interested in fantasy, thrillers and romances in the Adult and Young Adult market. I'm also looking for a chilling horror to sink my teeth into, or a transportive historical fiction.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Click here for more of this month's new listings > |
Articles |
Some of this month's articles for writers from around the web.
Wattpad to Bestseller: Can Fanfiction Writers Really Go Mainstream?
theteenmagazine.com – Thursday September 18, 2025
In recent years, authors like Ali Hazelwood and Beth Reekles have moved from fanfiction to mainstream publishing. Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis began as Star Wars “Reylo” fanfiction on Archive of Our Own (AO3) before she reworked it into a romance novel. Reekles, who wrote The Kissing Booth, first published the story on Wattpad as a teenager, and later it became a global hit and a Netflix movie.
These success stories raise important questions. Does fanfiction-style storytelling translate well into traditional publishing? Do platforms like Wattpad and AO3 help or hurt new writers? And why is fanfiction so addictive in the first place?
Fanfiction has long been a space where writers can explore beloved universes such as Harry Potter, Twilight, and Star Wars. Over time, some of these writers have reworked their stories and found publishing success. Fifty Shades of Grey began as Twilight fanfiction before being retooled and published.
In Hazelwood’s case, her Reylo fanfic caught the attention of a literary agent on AO3, which launched her career. She then altered names, plot details, and pacing to create The Love Hypothesis.
Other writers have followed similar paths. Estelle Maskame posted Did I Mention I Love You? (DIMILY) on Wattpad as a teenager; the book attracted millions of reads before being traditionally published and selling over a million copies. Filipino author Jonaxx (Jonahmae Pacala) also built a massive Wattpad following that translated into bestselling novels.
AI could never replace my authors. But, without regulation, it will ruin publishing as we know it
theguardian.com – Thursday September 18, 2025
Basic principles need to be enshrined to protect the sacred craft of storytelling from this automated onslaught
The single biggest threat to the livelihood of authors and, by extension, to our culture, is not short attention spans. It is AI.
The UK publishing industry – worth more than £11bn, part of the £126bn that our creative industries generate for the British economy – has sat by while big tech has “swept” copyrighted material from the internet in order to train their models. Recently, the AI startup Anthropic settled a $1.5bn copyright case over this issue, but the ship has undeniably left the harbour and big tech is sailing off with the goods.
As a literary agent and CEO of one of the largest agencies in Europe, I think this is something everyone should care about – not because we fear progress, but because we want to protect it. If you take away the one thing that makes us truly human – our ability to think like humans, create stories and imagine new worlds – we will live in a diminished world.
Many great writers have written about why stories are the lifeblood of humanity and how an artist’s job is to tell us truths we may not want to hear. Having worked with writers such as John le Carré, Elif Shafak, William Boyd and David Nicholls, I know first-hand where great storytelling comes from.
Le Carré was born in 1931 and survived a childhood with a conman father and a mother who abandoned him when he was five years old. He came of age as the cold war began. Treachery and betrayal was his childhood and proved – to paraphrase Graham Greene – to be the bank balance of his writing life. During his time with the secret services, it was through writing reports – and getting feedback from senior officers – that he learned to write. His skill was derived from the personal, his upbringing and his craft.
Five Pointers for Writing a Genius (Even If You Aren’t One)
crimereads.com – Saturday September 13, 2025
"[H]ow do I write a genius level character and, more specifically, a character who is much smarter than I am?"
As a fan of the mystery genre, I grew up reading about these intellectual titans. Sherlock Holmes and his quickfire deductions, Hercule Poirot’s touting of his little grey cells.
I adored reading about these genius detectives, but I never thought too much about the process of creating them.
Yet, when I wrote my story, The Return of Moriarty, I finally had to contend with the strange question; how do I write a genius level character and, more specifically, a character who is much smarter than I am?
It seems almost paradoxical. If I can create characters who exceed my own intelligence, can I go to a party and act wittier than I am? It seems bizarre to tackle a character with faculties you don’t yourself possess and, after finishing the novel, I was surprised to find the same question being asked by aspiring writers across the community.
And yet, my journey to answer this question was fascinating, and the solutions I discovered so chock full of literary theatrics, that I thought it only right to put all my best answers in one place; a set of five tips and tricks for writing a genius, even if you aren’t one.
| Click here for the rest of this month's articles > |
About |
Information about this newsletter and the firstwriter.com site.
Resources for writers
Go to firstwriter.com for the following invaluable resources for writers:
Advertise
To advertise on this newsletter for as little as $30 / £20 click here
Submit
To submit articles, news items, press releases, or any other items of interest to writers, click here
This newsletter has been compiled by firstwriter.com and is protected by copyright. It may not be copied, forwarded, or otherwise distributed in whole or in part without firstwriter.com's written consent.
While every effort is made to ensure that all information contained within this newsletter is accurate, readers are reminded that this information is provided only as a list of potential leads that the reader should follow up with his or her own investigations. Unless otherwise stated, firstwriter.com is not associated with and does not endorse, recommend, or provide any assurances relating to any of the organisations, events, persons or promotions contained within this newsletter, and cannot be held responsible for any loss incurred due to actions taken in relation to information provided. Inclusion does not constitute recommendation.
Please do not reply to this email. The address from which this has been sent is not capable of receiving emails and sending an email to it may cause your subscription to stop. If you have any queries or require any assistance please contact us by going to https://www.firstwriter.com/contactus/
© firstwriter.com 2025