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11 September 2017 - What's new

11 September 2017
  • 'If you had asked me a decade ago, I'd have said there was a distinction between how we and the rest of the world valued short stories. There is, however, a difference between what booksellers think we want and what the reading public want... More than one million people tune in live - and that's not counting those who download it afterwards...' Di Speirs, BBC Radio's book editor, and long-time champion of the short story. The shortlist for this year's BBC National Short Story Award Is announced on 15 September with broadcasts of the 5 shortlisted stories the following week. Our Comment.
  • There's still time to enter the Manchester Poetry and Fiction Prizes 2017, which are closing on 29 September and are open to all writers internationally. There's a £17.50 entry fee and £10,000 for the winner of each prize.
  • Our four-part series from Tom Chalmers, MD of Legend Press, gives a Publisher's view of the submission process and what a publisher is looking for: 'Often a few simple changes in approach can change a manuscript from getting no attention at all to standing out...' He covers Submissions, Judging a book by its covering letter and synopsis, The writer's X-Factor and The changing face of publishing.
  • Mixed fortunes for world's 50 largest publishers are shown in a recent report but more recent figures for US audio downloads show that they have been booming. News Review looks at some recent figures.
  • Our Services for Writers - just a list of 20 services to help you get your work ready for publication. Browse though the individual services pages or use Choosing a service to have a look at what's available.
  • Our links: ten years ago, while sitting at my computer in my sparsely furnished office, I sent my first email to a literary agent, Why I'm Still Trying to Get a Book Deal After 10 Years - The Atlantic; reactions to the just-announced shortlist for the Prize, Man Booker shortlist gets mixed response, Mozley calls for more regional diversity | The Bookseller; for the first time, half of the six nominees for Britain's most prestigious literary award are Americans, Has Britain's Man Booker Prize become too American? Yes. - The Washington Post; and "If you knew the world was going to end in two days, what would you do?" the writer Sara Davidson was once asked. "Take notes," she said without hesitating, Crossing Over: Making Peace with Self-Publishing | HuffPost.
  • From our Endorsements page: 'As a total neophyte as a writer, I have been doing a huge amount of research suddenly as to what services are available to writers, on both sides of the Atlantic, and am amazed that you are able to have someone read a whole book and give a serious critique for just 180 pounds. I think that is incredible value for money, compared to other similar services that appear to be available out there. I hope to be back to you again for more assistance, once I've cleaned up my work! Martin Humphries, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
  • More links: planning an ambitious trip covering four states as a first-time indie author, Creating a Successful Book Tour: Five Tips From an Indie Author; David Lagercrantz's continuation of Stieg Larsson's Millennium series, The Girl in the Spider's Web, The Pitfalls of Continuing a Series After Its Author's Death | Literary Hub; more on the bestseller list scandal, No, I Didn't 'Game' The New York Times Bestseller List | HuffPost; and a bitter family feud over John Steinbeck's estate escalated this week, when a Los Angeles jury awarded the novelist's stepdaughter, Waverly Scott Kaffaga, $13.15 million in damages in an intellectual property dispute, Steinbeck's Heir Wins Lawsuit - The New York Times.
  • From Kurt Vonnegut, this addition to our Writers' Quotes: 'Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college.'