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1 October 2012 - What's new

1 October 2012
  • 'It almost seems as if the only thing which has happened this last week is that J K Rowling has published her first adult novel. There's been no escaping the coverage gleaned by the media from a generally unreachable author...' News Review on this week's big story.
  • Our Writing Opportunity this week is the new Bodley Head and Financial Times essay prize, open to those aged 35 and under, with a prize of £1,000 and a closing date of 18 November.
  • Are you writing poetry but finding it difficult to get it published? Look at our page on Getting your poetry published.
  • 'I'm probably not a natural novelist, but I want to become one. I loved working on A Gate at the Stairs. I know it's not perfect, but that's what novels are allowed to be - imperfect. I know it speeds up at the end like a Toyota- it has a little floor-mat problem at the end...' Lorrie Moore, author of A Gate in the Stairs, in the Observer quoted in our Comment column.
  • Benjamin Zephaniah describes his route to getting published and his journey as a passionate poet.
  • Our topical sites this week are: Agent Hero; Book Publisher Goes To Court To Recoup Hefty Advances From Prominent Writers; and From Texas, Cyprus, Southampton and Manchester - would-be novelists make a bee-line for Curtis BrownSee Curtis Brown listing's Discovery Day.
  • 'A writer without interest or sympathy for the foibles of his fellow man is not conceivable as a writer.' Joseph Conrad in our Writers' Quotes.