Born of Friendship, the Book Group Is Making Its Mark as an Agency
publishersweekly.com – Saturday December 14, 2019
Walking into the offices of the Book Group, housed in a small (by Manhattan standards) building on West 20th Street, one is greeted by the standard design trappings of literary agencies. Posters of book jackets line the walls and dozens upon dozens of books sit on shelves hanging above desks in cubicles and offices.
In the conference room, where the books of clients sit spine out on shelves that stretch from hip level to the ceiling, the vibe is unusually positive. Those who work in publishing can tend toward glass-half-empty. The eight women who work at Book Group (four principals, one senior agent, one agent, and two assistants) seem different. It feels a bit like stepping onto the set of a TV show about book publishing—one cast by the creators of Friends, featuring characters written by Aaron Sorkin.
New Magazine Listing
firstwriter.com – Wednesday December 11, 2019
Publishes: Essays; Fiction; Nonfiction; Poetry;
Areas include: Short Stories; Translations;
Markets: Adult;
Preferred styles: Literary
Submit short stories and novel excerpts up to 8,000 words, or three flash fiction pieces (1,000 words each), 1-3 poems (up to ten pages total), or creative nonfiction including memoir excerpts, essays, imaginative meditations, up to 8,000 words, via online submission system during the three annual reading periods: January, May, and September.
The Choose Your Own Adventure publishers are trying to get the phrase banned from Itch.io
theverge.com – Tuesday December 10, 2019
Chooseco, which publishes the famous Choose Your Own Adventure series, is apparently trying to stop indie game developers from using the phrase “choose your own adventure.” It’s sending trademark infringement notices to the Itch.io gaming storefront, and so far, they’ve resulted in four game pages being suspended.
Itch.io founder Leaf Corcoran told developers about the takedowns this afternoon. “Warning to any devs using the phrase ‘choose your own adventure’ to describe their games, Chooseco is issuing takedown notices,” he wrote on Twitter. Corcoran tells The Verge that the games include Purrfect Apawcalypse, an “apocalyptic dog dating choose your own adventure game”; a “choose your own dating sim text adventure” game called It’s a Date; an unofficial GameBoy game called Choose Your Own Adventure GB; and New Yorker writer Luke Burns’ A Series of Choose Your Own Adventure Stories Where No Matter What You Choose You Are Immediately Killed by a Werewolf, whose plot is self-explanatory.
New Literary Agent Listing: Ellen Goff
firstwriter.com – Tuesday December 10, 2019
Interested in all genres and formats of YA, especially anything spooky, historical fiction, and graphic novels. She has a soft spot for Shakespeare as well as southern gothic stories that remind her of her home state of Kentucky.
Major Talent Agencies Step Up Global Expansion As WGA Standoff Continues
deadline.com – Saturday December 7, 2019
The television business is becoming increasingly global, fueled by the rapid expansion of the major streaming platforms. That also goes for the major Hollywood talent agencies.
Reps have always looked for opportunities beyond the U.S. But now, because of the increased demand for locally produced international content, they have stepped up their efforts. Also factoring into the acceleration is the ongoing impasse (and legal battle) between the Big 4 talent agencies and the Writers Guild of America which in April ordered its members to fire their agents if they hadn’t signed the guild’s new Code of Conduct.
Call for Names, Editors, and Contributors: Journal/Magazine of Fiction by Academics #CFP
patheos.com – Thursday December 5, 2019
I really shouldn’t start new projects. But I’ve had so many conversations recently with academics in my field about writing fiction that I think the time has come to do something about it. And so I’m going to be announcing soon the launch of a new periodical dedicated to fiction written by academics. This post aims mainly at gauging interest (and more specifically the kinds of interest there may be both from potential contributors and from potentially readers) and tackling a few initial questions that it is better to crowd source now.
New Agent Listing: Mitchell Waters
firstwriter.com – Thursday December 5, 2019
Mitchell Waters represents a wide and diverse array of literary and commercial fiction and nonfiction, including mystery, history, biography and memoir. He is particularly drawn to historical fiction and voice-driven narratives, especially when both dark and humorous. He is also looking for realistic young adult fiction. He served for ten years on the Board of Directors of the Association of Authors’ Representatives and is currently head of the membership committee. Query by email preferred.
New Agent Listing: Jon Cobb
firstwriter.com – Thursday December 5, 2019
Jon reads all genres of fiction but has a particular interest in contemporary middle grade and YA, adult science fiction and fantasy, African-American fiction, literary fiction, and mysteries and thrillers.
Curtis Brown Creative launches TV serial writing course
thebookseller.com – Wednesday December 4, 2019
The Curtis Brown Creative writing school is launching a new course in writing an original TV drama serial.
Run in collaboration with Curtis Brown’ TV, film and theatre agents it promises expert teaching and masterclasses from TV directors, producers and showrunners at the firm’s central London offices.
The 18-week course, led by TV writer, playwright and former Birkbeck Professor Colin Teevan, starts in March.
Point of View Quickly Brings a Story to Life
By G. Miki Hayden
Instructor at Writer's Digest University online and private writing coach
firstwriter.com – Wednesday December 4, 2019
Intimacy with characters will hook your readers
A close point of view, whether first person or third, will supply the inner meaning to a story. Such an intimate point of view brings to any piece of fiction insight, warmth, understandable human foibles, and an empathetic reader attraction to the character. This “limited” point of view facilitates a direct transmission of emotion. Without such a specific character perspective, all the readers have to enlighten them is outer description—although externals can, of course, go a long way to pointing to feeling and shoring up emotional declarations.
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