Writers' Newsletter
Issue #274
January 2026
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New SFF Award Announced for 2026 Times/Chicken House Competition
firstwriter.com – Tuesday January 6, 2026
A major expansion is coming to one of the UK’s most prominent competitions for emerging children’s writers. Chicken House has revealed that its long‑running Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition will introduce a dedicated science fiction and fantasy award in 2026, created in partnership with specialist bookseller The Broken Binding.
The new category, titled The Broken Binding Prize, is designed exclusively for YA authors working in fantasy, sci‑fi, and speculative storytelling. Its winner will secure a £10,000 publishing contract with Chicken House, along with a conversation about literary representation with Stevie Finegan of the Zeno Agency.
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News |
Some of this month's news for writers from around the web.
Bournemouth Writing Festival to return for fourth edition
bournemouthecho.co.uk – Friday January 16, 2026
Writers and readers will come together for a packed weekend of talks, workshops and literary events.
The Bournemouth Writing Festival will return for its fourth edition from April 24 to 26, filling venues across the town with more than 100 events and activities.
Dominic Wong, festival director, said: “The Bournemouth Writing Festival is all about making writing feel welcoming and achievable, whether you’re just starting out or ready to take your work to the next level.
“We’re proud to offer a wide-ranging programme that mixes top industry expertise with inclusive and accessible events that bring writers together from across the community and the country.”
Events will take place at Pavilion Dance, Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Patch, Palace Court Theatre, Horseshoe Common and on the beach.
The festival offers a mix of free and ticketed options, with many activities made possible thanks to funding from the Arts Council and ticket sales.
Highlights include Writing on the Beach, children’s writing activities, a dementia-friendly chill-out zone, four book launches and free entry to the Writers’ Hive.
A new Poetry Marquee at Horseshoe Common will offer drop-in sessions and live performances.
Writers' Handbook 2027 - Out Now!
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Submissions open for BBC Short Story Awards 2026
cam.ac.uk – Thursday January 15, 2026
The prestigious awards, supported by Cambridge University, are celebrating their 21st anniversary with judges including Saba Sams, David Almond & Lily Fontaine announced.
The BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University (NSSA) and BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge University (YWA) have opened for submissions.
Di Speirs, judge of the BBC National Short Story Award since its launch, is this year’s Chair of Judges. Joining her on the panel are 2022 NSSA winner Saba Sams, whose highly acclaimed debut novel Gunk was published last year, two former NSSA shortlistees, Tahmima Anam (2016) and Will Eaves (2017), and Costa Best First Novel Award winner, Andrew Micheal Hurley.
Since launching twenty-one years ago, the NSSA has enriched both the careers of writers and the wider literary landscape. Some of Britain’s most renowned writers have won or been shortlisted for the award including Hilary Mantel, Zadie Smith, William Trevor, Jon McGregor, Deborah Levy, Naomi Alderman, Kamila Shamsie, Tessa Hadley, Mark Haddon, Sarah Hall, Helen Oyeyemi, Lucy Caldwell and Rose Tremain.
Sam Eades and Sophie Wilson join S&S as publishers of new imprint in job share
thebookseller.com – Tuesday January 13, 2026
Sam Eades and Sophie Wilson have joined Simon & Schuster (S&S) UK as publishers in a job share, heading up new commercial fiction imprint Skylight. The imprint will sit under executive publisher Phoebe Morgan as part of the Fiction division, with more details to be revealed later in the year.
Wilson began her career at Transworld and has since worked at Headline on crime and thriller, literary and book club fiction. She has worked with authors such as Rachel Joyce, Soraya Lane, Nick Spalding, Lorraine Kelly, Celia Imrie and Julian Clary and rising talent including Candice Carty-Willams, Emma Jane Unsworth and Kate Weston, as well as devising IP for publishers and ghostwriting projects during her years as a freelancer.
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Listings |
A selection of the new listings added to firstwriter.com this month.
New Literary Agent Listing: Shanika Hyslop
firstwriter.com – Thursday January 15, 2026
Literary agent specialising in commercial and book club fiction, including women’s fiction, romance, family sagas, thrillers, mysteries, speculative work, magical realism and historical fiction. Also handles lifestyle and self‑help, including health, wellness, method and diet cookbooks, spirituality, parenting, careers, high‑performance and personal finance. Seeking strong hooks, voice‑led narratives, inventive suspense, atmospheric mysteries, hopeful magical realism, genre‑bending historical fiction and platform‑led lifestyle and personal development projects.
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New Publisher Listing: 3dtotal Publishing
firstwriter.com – Tuesday January 13, 2026
Publishes high‑quality art books featuring inspirational and practical tutorials for artists working in film, games, animation, and publishing. Produces beautifully designed, durable volumes aimed at hobbyists, students, and professionals seeking to develop artistic skills. Commissions instructional material from a diverse range of artists worldwide and invests heavily in production to create collectible, long‑lasting books.
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New Literary Agent Listing: Rebekah Winslow
firstwriter.com – Friday January 9, 2026
Looking for fantasy, science-fiction, historical fiction, mysteries, upmarket fiction, and speculative fiction. She does not represent children's, YA, non-fiction, or erotic romance.
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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.
The case for changing genres
thebookseller.com – Saturday January 10, 2026
I often say The Odds of You, my debut contemporary romance, is a book that snuck up on me. But for you to really get it, I need to set the scene.
It’s 2023. My debut book, The Curse of Saints, has just released in the UK and become an instant Sunday Times Bestseller. I’ve just turned in book two of the trilogy, The Curse of Sins. My career has got off to a stellar start in the romantasy genre.
Enter The Odds of You. A book that’s not only in a different genre, but has an incredibly different voice and style from my romantasy trilogy.
If you’re in the industry, you’re likely scratching your head and wondering why, with a romantasy trilogy that’s "doing well", would I ever decide to change genres so early on in my career.
Here’s the truth, in all its unflashy glory: it just happened.
A Long Game by Elizabeth McCracken review – here’s how to really write your novel
theguardian.com – Thursday January 8, 2026
The novelist and writing tutor delivers bracing advice that demolishes familiar ‘stick to what you know’ nostrums
Trope, POV, backstory, character arc. In the 30 years since I was a student of that benign, pipe-smoking, elbow-patched man of letters Malcolm Bradbury, the private language of creative writing workshops has taken over the world.
What writers used to say to small circles of students in an attempt to help them improve their storytelling technique has become a familiar way, often parodic and self-knowing, of interpreting the grand and not-so‑grand narratives of our time. “Don’t worry about Liz Truss’s YouTube series – she’s just having a main character moment.”
The most intense distillation of this system of thought (if you can even call it that) has always been the craft book, the writing manual. These are sometimes written by the most successful in the profession (like Ursula K Le Guin’s Steering the Craft) or the most successful at advising the profession (Robert McKee’s Story) but most often they are put together by novelists and screenwriters towards the close of their academic careers as creative writing tutors. John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction is the grandaddy of this subgenre.
Half of UK Novelists Believe AI Is Likely to Replace Their Work Entirely
goodmenproject.com – Thursday January 8, 2026
Just over half (51%) of published novelists in the UK say that artificial intelligence is likely to end up entirely replacing their work as fiction writers, a new report from the University of Cambridge has found.
A new report involving hundreds of literary creatives from across the UK fiction publishing industry reveals widespread fears over copyright violation, lost income, and the future of the art form, as generative AI tools and LLM-authored books flood the market.
Just over half (51%) of published novelists in the UK say that artificial intelligence is likely to end up entirely replacing their work as fiction writers, a new report from the University of Cambridge has found.
Close to two-thirds (59%) of novelists say they know their work has been used to train AI Large Language Models (LLMs) without permission or payment.
Over a third (39%) of novelists say their income has already taken a hit from generative AI, for example due to loss of other work that facilitates novel writing. Most (85%) novelists expect their future income to be driven down by AI.
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