New Literary Agent Listing: Rochelle Fernandez
firstwriter.com – Wednesday November 23, 2022
Seeking well written manuscripts of any genre with a compelling premise and three dimensional, interesting characters. Based in Sydney, she is passionate about hearing and seeing diverse stories that represent the wonderful multicultural multifaceted society that comprises Australia.
Penguin scraps $2.2bn deal to buy rival publisher
bbc.co.uk – Tuesday November 22, 2022
Publishing giant Penguin Random House has scrapped a $2.2bn (£1.9bn) planned takeover of rival Simon & Schuster.
Last month, a US court blocked the deal, saying it could "substantially" weaken competition in the industry.
Penguin's parent company Bertelsmann said Paramount Global, the owner of Simon & Schuster, decided not to appeal the ruling.
The proposed deal would have cemented Penguin Random House's position as the world's largest book publisher.
"We believe the judge's ruling is wrong" the company said in a statement.
"However, we have to accept Paramount's decision not to move forward," it added.
What's the Key to Writing Realistic Historical Fiction?
crimereads.com – Tuesday November 22, 2022
William Christie says it's all about timelines, a sense of place, and including the right details.
I’m not a historian, just a novelist who happens to be a history fanatic. So when I write a spy novel set during World War II, fake history is unacceptable. Even though my protagonist Alexsi and the situations he finds himself in may be fictional, the story has to be set within the context of real locations, real historical characters portrayed accurately, and an actual historical timeline.
As a history fanatic I feel obligated to offer my readers history that they may not necessarily be familiar with. My previous novel, A Single Spy, was set among the German exile colonies of Azerbaijan, Stalin’s Russia, Nazi Germany, Iran, and a German plot to assassinate Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin at the Teheran Conference in 1943.
Readers clearly appreciated it, so obviously for The Double Agent I couldn’t take the easy way out. Alexsi, who is interested only in personal survival, not ideology, had to make his way out of Iran after betraying both the Germans and the Russians, and being left disappointed in his offer of service to the British.
Of course his journey could not be carefree. Alexsi would have to be dragged to London, think he was safe, then targeted by the Russians and their traitors in British Intelligence. He had to get out of London in order to survive, but the only way he could do that was to offer to spy again. It’s 1944. Where?
‘Very scary time’ for Irish book publishers as print and paper costs soar
irishtimes.com – Monday November 21, 2022
Irish book publishers say it is a “very scary” time for the industry, with supply chain issues and the rising cost of paper and printing putting significant pressure on profitability.
Ivan O’Brien, managing director of O’Brien Press, said the company’s costs have risen “massively”, with increases of about 50 per cent.
“As we got squeezed from every other angle, print availability at a reasonable cost was something that we could rely on, and that is now gone,” he said.
“Timelines have also extended substantially, with another couple of weeks added to the schedule for most projects. Prices will have to go up, but it is unlikely that the market will take the level of increase required for the numbers to work. It’s very scary.”
Tilting At Windmills: Becoming (and Staying) A Writer
evesun.com – Sunday November 20, 2022
I recently finished writing a novel. It is an arson mystery called DOE EYES, and I like it a lot. After dotting the last “i” and scribbling THE END on the final page, the next item on my agenda was to send out query letters. For those not in the know, a “query letter” is a missive that provides an author’s credentials; a plot synopsis; a list of potential markets; a projected audience; the word count, etc., to literary agents who list themselves as “Open to Inquiries.”
This procedure is pretty much the same as it was about a million years ago, when I was trying to sell my first mystery, JULIAN SOLO. My quest then was painful, fatiguing, and frustrating (rejection is no fun). Eventually, however, it was rewarding, as my book was accepted by RLR Associates Literary Agency, with whom I remained until they closed up shop. JULIAN SOLO was also nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of American, and it set the stage for my happy marriage to RLR for over twenty years.
Now, however, I am back to square one ... trying to find a literary agent in a shrinking publishing market, where there are less publishers, less bookstores, more competition, and less books.
New Magazine Listing: Present Tense
firstwriter.com – Friday November 18, 2022
A literary magazine of new writing. Publishes poetry, flash fiction, short stories, and creative non-fiction with a strong sense of place.
New Magazine Listing: Fresh Words - An International Literary Magazine
firstwriter.com – Thursday November 17, 2022
We are open for submissions. We invite poems, short stories, essays, plays, diaries, excerpts from books (published or upcoming submitted by author only), book reviews, interviews and travelogues. Please send all submissions by email. See website for full guidelines.
New Literary Agent Listing: Bea Fitzgerald
firstwriter.com – Thursday November 17, 2022
In books, I’m looking for voice-led, propulsive writing in commercial and upmarket fiction and zeitgeisty non-fiction. While I’m a fan of YA, I’m not the right agent for anything younger, though I’ll be working with the other agents on these titles for any digital opportunities.
Redfern returns to publishing to join Headline
thebookseller.com – Wednesday November 16, 2022
Martin Redfern, currently executive director at Northbank Talent Management, will be joining the non-fiction team at Headline Publishing Group as publisher on 6th February 2023.
Redfern has been a literary agent for nearly six years and is responsible for the agency’s non-fiction books representation. His clients include Iain Dale, Chris Mason, Paul Brand, Brian Cox, Anthony Seldon and Camilla Cavendish.
Before that, as editorial director at HarperCollins and BBC Books, Redfern published authors ranging from Peter Mandelson, John Major and Simon Schama to Jonathan Dimbleby, Dan Snow and Tom Burgis.
UK faces ‘serious loss of writing talent’ due to rising costs, Writers’ Guild survey finds
thebookseller.com – Wednesday November 16, 2022
The UK is facing a “serious loss of writing talent” due to the rising cost of living, a survey conducted by the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) has found.
Of 250 writers surveyed by the trade union, 55% said that rising energy and food costs were impacting their ability to sustain a writing career, with other factors including having less time to work as a writer, or apply for funding, development schemes or other opportunities.
More than two thirds (67%) reported having to rely on their savings in order to manage day-to-day expenditure, while 37% said they had to rely on their partners’ earnings. Moreover, more than 70% of respondents had earned £18,000 or less for their writing work in the last financial year. The majority (over 80%) said they were freelance writers.
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