Reading Force is delighted to welcome submissions from adults, children and young people to its 2025 Memoir Writing Competition
cobseo.org.uk – Monday June 30, 2025
Reading Force is delighted to welcome submissions from adults, children and young people to its 2025 Memoir Writing Competition. First prize is a publishing contract with Pen & Sword Ltd.
The shared-reading charity has launched its 2025 writing competition and warmly welcomes entries from anyone and everyone in the tri-service community, including spouses and partners, children and young people, serving personnel, and veterans. Entries can be submitted until 31st August and winners will be announced in January 2026.
Reading Force is thrilled to have launched another writing competition because they were so impressed and moved by the entries in their first competition in 2022, and wanted to give another opportunity for the Forces community to voice their stories – be they about moving home, memorable events in service, special friendships and relationships, children and young people’s experiences of military life, the ups and downs and everything between.
Calling all aspiring authors! Here's your chance to win a one-to-one session with a literary agent - plus £1,500
goodhousekeeping.com – Thursday June 26, 2025
Do you have a brilliant idea for a book but need help getting it down on paper? GH has teamed up with literary agent Nelle Andrew from Rachel Mills Literary agency to give readers the chance to win valuable feedback on their writing, plus support in finishing their novel.
We’re after someone whose work is unpublished and is without a literary agent. Entries can be in any genre of adult fiction (not children’s or YA, short stories, poetry, drama or plays, or any non-fiction). The winning entry will be the one that grabs our attention, shows the most promise and leaves us wanting to read more.
First prize is £1,500, plus a one-onone, hour-long mentoring session with Nelle, and an extract will be published by GH online. Six readers will get written feedback from a literary agent. So get writing!
New prize for translated poetry aims to tap into boom for international-language writing
theguardian.com – Tuesday June 24, 2025
A new poetry prize for collections translated into English is opening for entries next month.
Publishers Fitzcarraldo Editions, Giramondo Publishing and New Directions have launched the biennial Poetry in Translation prize, which will award an advance of $5,000 (£3,700) to be shared equally between poet and translator.
The winning collection will be published in the UK and Ireland by Fitzcarraldo Editions, in Australia and New Zealand by Giramondo and in North America by New Directions.
“We wanted to open our doors to new poetry in translation to give space and gain exposure to poetries we may not be aware of,” said Fitzcarraldo poetry editor Rachael Allen. “There is no other prize like this that we know.”
TikTok parent ByteDance is shutting down its short-lived book publisher
techcrunch.com – Monday June 23, 2025
TikTok parent ByteDance’s book publisher 8th Note Press is closing up shop, according to a report from The Bookseller.
Through its #BookTok community, TikTok has become an irreplaceable engine for publishers to drive book sales; even self-published authors have found unprecedented success by capturing a viral moment on TikTok. ByteDance took the next logical step in 2023, figuring that if the app was revolutionizing book sales, then it may as well cash in on selling its own books.
Romance and Fantasy Book Categories Soar in UK and US
authorlink.com – Sunday June 22, 2025
Romance and fantasy categories of books in the UK saw record sales last year, according to data gathered from more than 7,000 UK booksellers. Romance & Sagas, as they are officially categorized, increased from £62m in 2023 to £69m in 2024, while Science Fiction & Fantasy saw an even bigger bump – from £59m to £83m, the BBC reports. Both categories have seen these numbers skyrocket since the pandemic, growing year-on-year – back in 2019, romance’s sales sat at £24m, and fantasy at £29m.
We at Authorlink found a parallel boom in the US romance and fantasy markets, driven by the same cultural forces. While the reporting metrics differ—the UK often reports sales value (£) while the US tracks unit sales—the trends are strikingly similar.
Women under 35 years old make up more than half of romantasy purchases, figures show.
Literary agent Rebeka Finch, 28, told the BBC the “voracious” appetite among this demographic, largely driven by BookTok, reflects broader consumer habits. She likens romance readers to Swifties – Taylor Swift fans – known for owning multiple copies of the same album and wanting to feel a tangible connection to their favorite artist.
UK audiobook revenue up by almost a third last year
theguardian.com – Wednesday June 18, 2025
Income from audiobooks reached a record £268m in 2024, according to figures from the Publishers Association
Whether it’s plugging in to Benedict Cumberbatch reading Austen while doing the washing up or listening to Meryl Streep narrate Nora Ephron’s Heartburn on the way to work, the UK is increasingly getting into audiobooks.
Audiobook revenue generated by UK publishers rose by 31% between 2023 and 2024, with income from audiobooks reaching a record £268m last year, according to the Publishers Association (PA), the body representing UK publishers.
“We’re seeing a real demand for audiobooks given the unique way they fit into our increasingly busy lives,” said Debbie Hicks, creative director at The Reading Agency charity. “Audiobooks make reading more accessible, whether that’s for people with dyslexia or visual impairments, or simply those who struggle to find time to sit down with a traditional book.”
Many listeners value “the ability to multitask” that comes with audiobooks, added Hicks. “You can listen to audiobooks while commuting, exercising or doing chores. For young adults especially, audiobooks are a natural fit with how they live and read.”
Audiobooks have “soared in popularity over the past 10 years”, said Dan Conway, chief executive at the PA. “The same is true of podcasts, so clearly audio content in general is hugely on the rise.”
Hailsham Festival launches 2025 creative writing competition
sussexexpress.co.uk – Saturday June 14, 2025
CALL FOR ENTRIES! -SUBMISSION DEADLINE 1ST AUGUST. Creative writing has always played a big part in the Hailsham Festival and once again the Creative Writing team at Hailsham Festival is running their annual competition for writing short stories and poetry.
This year we are inviting submissions from junior, teenager and adult writers in the following short story and poetry categories:
Allow the writing inspiration to flow
fortmyers.floridaweekly.com – Friday June 13, 2025
Round 4 of Florida Weekly Writing Challenge begins
The 15th annual Florida Weekly Writing Challenge launches its fourth round this week, offering photo prompts to inspire readers to write short stories. For Round 4, you have until 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, June 24, to email us your original story. You may submit only one story per each two-week round.
Writing Challenge rules for this year
1. For each round, you have until 11:59 p.m. of the listed deadline date to email us your original story using only one of the two photographs shown for the round as your starting point.
2. Type your first and last name, email address, phone number and city/state of residence above your story.
3. Next, type a title at the top of your masterpiece.
4. Keep your entry to a maximum of 750 words, which includes your contact information and title (no minimum word count). No poetry, please.
Bloody Scotland crime-writing festival line-up announced
bbc.co.uk – Friday June 13, 2025
Authors Kate Atkinson, Kathy Reichs and Jo Nesbo will be among those appearing at this year's Bloody Scotland crime-writing festival in Stirling.
Rebus creator Sir Ian Rankin is the first guest programmer for the festival, which runs in the city from 12 to 14 September.
The festival also includes Horrible Histories author Terry Deary and broadcasters Steph McGovern, Jeremy Vine and Rev Richard Coles.
Sir Ian described the event as "the world's friendliest and most-inclusive crime fiction festival."
Last call for entries to Wells Festival of Literature writing competitions
glastonbury.nub.news – Thursday June 12, 2025
Writers of all stripes have until 30 June 2025 to submit their work for this year's Wells Festival of Literature competitions.
With entries already pouring in from across the globe, the contest is drawing everyone from creative writing students to young rappers and poets.
There are four categories this year, each judged by a respected figure in the literary world: Open Poetry (Camille Ralphs), Short Story (Judith Heneghan), Book for Children (Fleur Hitchcock), and Young Poets (Sanah Ahsan).
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