New Publisher Listing: Velocity Press
firstwriter.com – Monday March 11, 2024
Publishes fiction and nonfiction about the history and innovation of electronic music and club culture.
Rizzoli International to Launch U.K. Publishing Arm
publishersweekly.com – Thursday March 7, 2024
Rizzoli International has announced plans to launch a London-based publishing arm, Rizzoli UK.
Helming the new business is Stephen King, who has been appointed managing director of Rizzoli UK. King was previously managing director of independent publisher Hardie Grant UK.
King will also join the Rizzoli International executive team headed by president and CEO Stefano Peccatori. Also on the executive team are Jennifer Pierson, v-p of global sales, marketing, and operations; Randy Barlow, v-p of finance and administration; and Charles Miers, publisher of all Rizzoli International imprints, who oversees Rizzoli New York, Rizzoli Universe, Rizzoli Electa, and now Rizzoli U.K.
On writing settings that crawl under the skin
crimereads.com – Thursday March 7, 2024
I once attended a writing seminar that claimed the landscape of your childhood home informs the way you move, think, and talk. A rocky, mountainous place might shorten your sentences into a rhythm that makes room for quick bursts of speed; a hot and humid landscape might lead you to consider your thoughts slowly, without straining yourself.
Embarrassingly, I have forgotten exactly who led this discussion (if you’ve attended something similar, please tell me!), but the idea has never left me—that, in the same way some people wind up looking exactly like their dogs, the place where you live can infect you to a deeper degree than you might have realized.
It’s by turns a comforting notion, and a disturbing one. What might you be carrying with you, subconsciously influencing your choices? And what if your relationship to those childhood landscapes isn’t altogether positive? I think of my grandmother, who, when asked about this concept at a dinner not long after, visibly recoiled from the question. Her early memories of Mississippi river flats and anything that land might have imprinted on her were not welcome at our table. She spent much of her life traveling, finally landing in New York, and only conceded to move as far south as Virginia because my brothers and I were children there.
New Literary Agent Listing: Saribel Pages
firstwriter.com – Thursday March 7, 2024
Only seeking to represent picture books and graphic novels. Interested in contemporary, adventure, fantasy, speculative, horror, and mysteries. Accepts queries from the 1st to 7th of each month.
The Nature Writing Prize for Working Class Writers returns for fifth year
thebookseller.com – Wednesday March 6, 2024
The Nature Writing Prize for Working Class Writers returns for its fifth year, offering one year’s free membership to Campaign for National Parks, a £300 paid commission to write a National Parks-inspired piece for Viewpoint Magazine and an Arvon course of choice.
The winner will also receive three one-hour mentoring sessions with a Gaia commissioner, a one-hour mentoring session with a literary agent and a book bundle from Octopus Publishing Group.
The prize, which aims to break down barriers, was set up in 2020 by the writer Natasha Carthew to create opportunity for working-class nature writers of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. It is supported by Arvon Foundation, the Campaign for National Parks and Gaia, an imprint of Octopus Publishing Group. The prize is free to enter and encourages self-identifying working-class writers from all over the UK, whether they live in the country or in towns, cities and other spaces.
A New Publisher Promises Authors ‘the Lion’s Share of the Profit’
nytimes.com – Wednesday March 6, 2024
Authors Equity is tiny but has big industry names behind it. Its founders hope their profit-sharing approach and experience will entice authors.
A new book publisher with an unusual business model, a small footprint and an outsize pedigree that includes some of the biggest names in publishing launched on Tuesday.
The executives behind the publisher, Authors Equity, have run some of the largest publishing companies in the United States: Madeline McIntosh, the former chief executive of Penguin Random House; Don Weisberg, the former chief executive of Macmillan; and Nina von Moltke, the former president of strategic development at Penguin Random House.
The new house is small, with just six employees, but its founders hope that their experience and approach to publishing will attract writers. Contrary to the usual practice, Authors Equity won’t offer authors money upfront or guarantee them a payment — but it will give them “the lion’s share” of any profit that is made, according to Ms. McIntosh.
“As a financially conservative person, I would be very nervous asking people to invest in a new company that was dependent on beating other companies with the size of its checkbook,” Ms. McIntosh said. “I feel very confident about competing based on the experience that we can offer.”
Literary agent claims ‘Half of British publishers will not take books that have any Jewish content’
thejc.com – Monday March 4, 2024
Writer also told a mention of her book was dropped over the 'hassle' involved in mentioning Jews or Judaism
An anonymous literary agent has said that half of publishing houses in the UK will not take books that have Jewish content or are by Jewish authors.
The agent was speaking to Stephen Games, founder of the independent publisher EnvelopeBooks, who revealed their conversation to The Telegraph.
Games said: “A very well-known literary agent of great repute and associated with books that one would immediately recognise said that he is having difficulty with his Jewish authors or writings on Jewish subjects because he just finds that much of literary London is now a no-go zone for Jews.
“He said there is no point putting proposals up to commissioning editors as they just are not interested,” Games went on.
According to Games, there is “a climate of growing hostility against Jews”.
Anjali Singh on Launching Her Own Literary Agency
publishersweekly.com – Monday March 4, 2024
In her nearly 30-year career in publishing, Anjali Singh has worn many hats. Before joining Ayesha Pande Literary as an agent in 2015, Singh was the editorial director at Other Press, and prior to that had worked as an editor at Simon & Schuster, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Vintage Books. And before all that, she got her start as a book scout. She's perhaps best known for her work in world of graphic novels, having acquired and championed Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis after stumbling across it during a trip to Paris. She later went on to help launch the careers of such authors as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Samantha Hunt.
Now Singh is making yet another exciting pivot: launching her own literary agency.
At Anjali Singh Literary, launching this month, Singh will continue to represent literary fiction, nonfiction, children's literature, and graphic novels. She will bring her entire list over to the new boutique agency, comprising roughly 55 authors and illustrators. Her literary authors include Susan Abulhawa, Nawaaz Ahmed, Zara Chowdhary, and Bridgett Davis, and her graphic novel clients include Joel Christian Gill, Tessa Hulls, John Jennings, Deena Mohamed, Steenz, Salman Toor, and Ivy Noelle Weir. She will also offer consulting services through the agency.
Peters, Fraser + Dunlop launches mentorship scheme for new writers
thebookseller.com – Monday March 4, 2024
The Peters, Fraser + Dunlop (PFD) Literary Agency is launching a mentorship scheme for new writers, offering at least three places on the programme. The scheme is launching as the agency celebrates its 100th anniversary, and is open to non-agented applicants from a range of backgrounds.
Writers will be paired with an agent who specialises in their genre of fiction. Following an initial meeting to discuss the vision for the book — where mentees will be provided with an introduction to the industry — the agent and writer will set deadlines, with a view of completing or editing the manuscript in a year.
Stewart Talent Hires Two Former A3 Lit Agents To Head Launch Of New York Literary Division
uk.finance.yahoo.com – Saturday March 2, 2024
Stewart Talent is expanding its literary footprint with the hires of A3 veterans Ron Gwiazda and Amy Wagner, who will launch the agency’s New York literary division.
“We at Stewart Talent are thrilled to welcome Ron Gwiazda and Amy Wagner to our organization,” the Agency said in a statement. “Their extensive knowledge of the industry, coupled with their passion for cultivating literary talent, makes them the perfect duo to spearhead the launch of our New York literary division. We are confident that under their leadership, Stewart Talent will continue to thrive and solidify its position as a leading force in the entertainment industry.”
Gwiazda brings over 36 years of experience in literary representation, having played a pivotal role in shaping the careers of numerous artists. Wagner boasts an impressive background in talent management and development, having garnered widespread recognition for her ability to connect talented artists with meaningful opportunities, according to the Agency.
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