Off Assignment, Literary Magazine of Travel Writing, Launches Online
prweb.com – Tuesday September 6, 2016
Off Assignment, a magazine of literary travel writing, recently launched the first of its online content, answering the demand for authors to enhance their published work with compelling experiences and details left unsaid. Forged by today’s top journalists, essayists, and travel writers, Off Assignment is a publication dedicated to candid storytelling. The magazine, which grew out of a grassroots series of live storytelling events featuring writers such as Gay Talese and Sloane Crosley, now publishes a weekly series called “Letter to a Stranger,” short essays about memorable strangers from past journeys. In its first weeks, the series has featured contributors such as New York Times bestselling authors Leslie Jamison and Lauren Groff, as well as memoirist Howard Axelrod and National Book Award winner Julia Glass.
From Zero to Hero: the next generation of passionate publishers
thebookseller.com – Tuesday September 6, 2016
So it's back to school this week, and as relieved parents return to their desks, there will undoubtedly be some speculation about whether the complex summer holiday juggling might be made just a bit easier by running your own business. While flexibility might be one reason often cited for setting up a new business on your own, there are clearly many more complex motivations for making the leap. Some of the most exciting new publishing ventures to launch in recent years have had very varied motivations for getting started, but there are certainly some themes emerging across this next generation of publishers.
A Rough Six Months for Big Book Publishers
publishersweekly.com – Saturday September 3, 2016
The trade publishing segment has been operating in a low-growth environment for several years, and that trend appears to have continued into 2016. Financial reports for the first half of 2016 from five major publishers showed that none of the companies had a sales increase in the first half of the year; HarperCollins had the best top-line performance, with only a minor sales decline compared to the first six months of 2015. Earnings fell at three publishers in the period and rose at two. Though sales of print books have stabilized, all five reporting publishers said sales of e-books fell in the first six months of 2016 compared to the January–June 2015 period.
Pay-back time for publishers: authors forced to return their advances
theguardian.com – Friday September 2, 2016
Though he’s fallen out spectacularly with his publisher, Seth Grahame-Smith at least has the consolation of joining a stellar club of writers whose deals for much-anticipated books were terminated. It emerged this week that Grahame-Smith, the man behind Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, is being sued in the United States for breach of contract by Hachette, which wants half his $1m advance for a two-book deal returned. Hachette claims the second book’s typescript was eventually submitted “34 months” late, and was too short and substandard, “in large part an appropriation of a 120-year-old public domain work” (unnamed, but presumably 1897’s Dracula).
Unwin goes solo with 'dream' independent agency
thebookseller.com – Wednesday August 31, 2016
Jo Unwin is embarking on her “dream” of owning a fully-independent literary agency after nearly three years of working in association with Rogers, Coleridge and White (RCW).
The Jo Unwin Literary Agency Ltd (JULA) will be based in new offices in London’s Somerset House and she will continue to represent her roster of debut and bestselling authors including Kit de Waal, Nina Stibbe, Cathy Rentzenbrink, Richard Ayoade and Jenny Colgan, while looking to expand her list.
Feds Target "Predatory" Publishers
insidehighered.com – Monday August 29, 2016
The Federal Trade Commission on Friday filed a complaint against the academic journal publisher OMICS Group and two of its subsidiaries, saying the publisher deceives scholars and misrepresents the editorial rigor of its journals.
Why Indie Agency RWSG Sold to WME: "It Felt Like a Crossroads"
hollywoodreporter.com – Friday August 26, 2016
When literary agency Rabineau Wachter Sanford & Gillett agreed to be acquired by WME, the decision represented a recognition that in a changing market, an independent books-to-film firm — even one as respected as RWSG — might not have the resources needed to thrive.
New edition of Writers' Handbook
firstwriter.com – Thursday August 25, 2016
The 2017 edition of firstwriter.com’s bestselling directory for writers has just been launched, and makes the perfect book for anyone searching for literary agents, book publishers, or magazines. It contains over 1,300 listings, including revised and updated listings from the 2016 edition, and over 500 brand new entries.
The Ends of the World: a call for submissions
firstwriter.com – Thursday August 25, 2016
" ‘We live in a time of social, economic and ecological unravelling,’ we wrote seven years ago in the Dark Mountain manifesto. ‘All around us are signs that our whole way of living is already passing into history.’ When we wrote those words they were, to many, highly debatable. They seem less debatable today. The world is changing faster than ever, and a sense of powerlessness is spreading. All over the world now, it seems, people are turning their minds to the big question: what happens now?"
WME Acquires Literary Agency RWSG
yahoo.com – Tuesday August 23, 2016
WME has acquired Rabineau Wachter Sanford & Gillett (RWSG) Literary Agency, the talent agency announced on Monday.
Founded in 2000, RWSG works with authors and writers of film and television to help bring their stories to the screen. Many iconic works of literature have been adapted through RWSG, including the upcoming films “The Girl on the Train” and “The Snowman,” and previously “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” Its television projects include “The Leftovers,” “Olive Kitteridge,” and the upcoming “Berlin Station.”
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