Rachel Richardson launches the Rich Lit literary rights agency
thebookseller.com – Saturday September 14, 2024
Rachel Richardson, previously of Watson, Little, has launched the Rich Lit literary rights agency, specialising in children’s books, commercial and upmarket fiction for adults and select non-fiction. The agency will also specialise in international titles, representing global rights on behalf of literary agencies and independent publishers.
Rich Lit will handle foreign rights on behalf of Storm Publishing and Richardson will continue to represent rights for ASH Literary, Holiday House and Little Door Books.
Richardson began her career at Rights People, a rights agency focused on children’s books and has more than 15 years of experience in the industry.
Bridport Prize Memoir Award 2024 competition nears deadline
bridportnews.co.uk – Thursday September 12, 2024
Writers are getting their pens and keyboards at the ready as the deadline is fast-approaching for a prestigious town writing competition.
The Bridport Prize is an international creative writing competition which began more than 50 years ago.
It has a £20K prize fund across different literary forms including novel, short story, poetry and flash fiction. In 2023 the Bridport Prize added memoir to the competition's genres.
The deadline for this year's memoir writing contest is fast approaching on Monday, September 30.
The contest asks what stories we have to tell about ourselves, the good, bad, and how we ended up where we are. The award celebrates life stories, a look back into what was and is.
Entries must be between 5,000 to 8,000 words, including a 300 word overview.
The top prize will be £1500 plus a mentoring package from The Literary Consultancy. The winner is also invited to attend an industry day with London literary agents and publishers and take part in a discussion with the University of Exeter’s Creative Writing Department.
Spread the Word relaunches London Writers Awards for 2025-2027
thelagosreview.ng – Wednesday September 11, 2024
Spread the Word, a prominent UK literature development agency, has announced the relaunch of its London Writers Awards for 2025-2027, per publishersweekly.com. Founded by Booker Prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo and Ruth Borthwick in 1995, the programme seeks to enhance representation in publishing by supporting writers from underrepresented communities.
Since its inception in 2018, the Awards have successfully aided 120 writers, with 50 securing literary agents and over 35 book deals. Ruth Harrison, director of Spread the Word, emphasised the need for renewed support, stating, “The progress made in 2020 to support writers from diverse backgrounds has stalled.”
This Online Writing Platform Wants Budding Authors to Plot an Elaborate Murder
lbbonline.com – Wednesday September 11, 2024
The Novelry, the world’s top-rated online writing school, is inviting should-be authors to plot murders and start covens in its first major advertising campaign, by St Luke’s, the London-based, independent creative agency.
'You’re a writer. Make it official' showcases how The Novelry’s courses enable students to make significant progress on their novels in just an hour a day simply by transforming everyday moments during daily tasks or downtime - into thrilling creative adventures.
St Luke’s does this with a series of animations that begin with intriguing propositions. In one, the line “Plot an elaborate murder…” appears alongside a bottle of poison and skull. Another reads “Start a witch coven…” paired with a pointy hat silhouetted against the moonlight.
Authors report 'worst ever delays' with advances and royalties as some forced to survive on loans — survey
thebookseller.com – Monday September 9, 2024
More than half of respondents to The Bookseller’s survey on advances and royalties revealed problems, with some describing decade-long delays due to "financial terrorism", and some reporting a reliance on loans, hardship grants, and foodbanks.
One author, with 15 years’ experience, revealed the "delays now are the worst I’ve ever known" while another described chasing £30,000. Overall many expressed frustration with the lack of transparency and accountability from publishers and literary agencies.
Across 262 respondents, 52% (137 people) reported issues with receiving advances or royalties with the average delay of over a year though many reported several years delay or even stretching back decades.
Of those who had experienced issues with payment, around 18% (48 people) experienced problems with both advances and royalties, 17% (45) only with advances with around the same number (44) experiencing problems only with royalties. 48% reported no problems at all and there were some notable examples of good practice.
New Literary Agent Listing: Maria Napolitano
firstwriter.com – Monday September 9, 2024
Represents a broad range of fiction, from commercial rom-coms to radical speculative fiction, subversive thrillers, and upmarket book club fiction. She is drawn to character-driven stories, unusual perspectives, genre-bending works, and supremely pitchable high concepts.
New Publisher Listing: Cherry Lake Publishing Group
firstwriter.com – Friday September 6, 2024
We are a publisher of quality children’s books. We publish a wide range of books, including board books, beginning readers, picture books, and select middle grade titles. We accept both fiction and nonfiction submissions. We are committed to the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion and welcome stories from diverse authors. Please browse our website or catalog for examples of the types of books we publish.
Unwin Awards submissions open in inaugural year
thebookseller.com – Thursday September 5, 2024
The Unwin Award has today announced that submissions are now open for the inaugural year of this new literary award recognising non-fiction authors in the earlier stages of their careers whose work is considered to have made a significant contribution to the world.
The award, administered by the Publishers Association, aims to "champion and showcase the value of the UK publishing industry to the world". The Unwin Award has been made possible following a donation from the Unwin Charitable Trust.
Worth £10,000, the winner of The Unwin Award will be awarded to the author for their overall body of work (comprising no more than three non-fiction books), rather than being associated with a specific title.
The award will be judged by an independent panel of judges, which will be announced shortly, with a shortlist revealed in February 2025 and the winner at a ceremony in April 2025.
UK publishers are now invited to submit up to three authors per imprint that fulfil the submission criteria: full information on The Unwin Award eligibility and submission guidelines can be found here.
Why NaNoWriMo supports AI for use in writing in some cases
venturebeat.com – Tuesday September 3, 2024
The organization’s official statement highlights the complexity of AI as a broad technological category, making it difficult to entirely endorse or reject. It also underscores the social implications of AI use, suggesting that to oppose AI outright ignores the realities of class and ability disparities.
According to NaNoWriMo, some writers may turn to AI for practical reasons, such as financial constraints or cognitive challenges that make traditional writing methods less accessible.
As NaNoWriMo’s statement explains: “Not all writers have the financial ability to hire humans to help at certain phases of their writing. For some writers, the decision to use AI is a practical, not an ideological, one. The financial ability to engage a human for feedback and review assumes a level of privilege that not all community members possess.”
The organization also points out that underrepresented minorities are less likely to secure traditional publishing deals, which forces many into the indie author space where upfront costs can be prohibitive. AI tools, in these cases, might provide essential support that enables them to pursue their writing goals.
Black Crow Books: new horror publisher aims to open up 'booming' genre to everyone
thebookseller.com – Tuesday September 3, 2024
Black Crow Books, the new horror-dedicated publisher launching next year, is reportedly off to a strong start as its co-directors say they have already received an "insane" number of submissions, despite announcing the new press only last month.
Jamie-Lee Nardone, publisher and co-director, will helm the new independent alongside Matt Holland, founder of special-edition publisher and online bookshop The Broken Binding. “I don’t think we could do it without each other,” Nardone told The Bookseller.
Last year, the horror genre recorded its biggest year since accurate records began, with a 54% year-on-year increase in value reported by Nielsen BookScan. Submissions in the genre have also been on the rise. Black Crow Books is a response to the “booming” genre and Nardone’s desire to “open” the genre “up to everyone”. She continued: “I think there is a need [in the industry] for people who really understand the genre, to know what they’re looking at.”
Nardone, who has "always been a massive horror fan", is looking to publish titles “that might get overlooked or explore something that isn’t trendy”. She added: "We’re not going to be ticking boxes." Unlike some larger publishers, she said, the smaller independent will have the agility, “the freedom and the expertise to work on passion projects that might get overlooked by bigger publishers”.
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