Explore creativity and take your children’s book idea to the next level
news.suffolkvillage.info – Tuesday April 28, 2026
Budding children’s writers are invited to develop their craft as an author or illustrator.
The Writing Children’s Literature Day event has been organised by the University of Suffolk’s English team in partnership with The Hold, in Ipswich, home of Suffolk Archives.
Specialist workshops, talks and Q&As with authors, illustrators and literary agents from Darley Anderson Children’s Book Agency, the largest specialist agency for children’s books in the UK, will help those attending hone skills, gain insider tips and learn more about the children’s book industry.
Lindsey Scott, the course leader for MA Creative and Critical Writing at the University of Suffolk, said: “Children’s literature has a unique power; the right book at the right moment can ignite a curiosity in a young reader that can help shape who they become. That’s what makes writing for children so important, and so thrilling.
“Many talented writers have a story inside them but don’t know how to take it to the next level. Having the guidance of an experienced literary agent can be transformative; helping them refine their pitch, find their audience and turn that idea into a published book.
Winners and judges out of pocket as £20,000 writing awards appear to have closed
theguardian.com – Saturday April 18, 2026
The Plaza Prizes offered 10 awards in 2025 but some judges say they were not paid, while a number of winners hit back over AI accusations
A competition for new writers that promised a £20,000 prize fund appears to have shut down, leaving winners and judges, including a Booker prize-winning novelist, out of pocket.
Established in 2022, the Plaza Prizes last year offered 10 awards that were judged by the “finest poets and writers in the world”.
However, some of the judges for the 2025 competition say they were not paid, and a number of winners say they had their entries withdrawn after being accused of using AI to create their work – allegations they strenuously denied.
One judge, the 2021 Booker prize winner Damon Galgut, described the competition as a “scam” after he did not get paid for his work judging a fiction section of the annual competition.
Anthony Joseph, who won the 2022 TS Eliot poetry prize, also says he was not paid for his work.
Open Call: The Queen’s Commonwealth Writing Competition
www2.fundsforngos.org – Thursday April 16, 2026
The Royal Commonwealth Society Queen’s Commonwealth Writing Competition is a global platform for young writers aged 18 and under to showcase their creativity through essays, poetry, and storytelling. The competition introduces regional winners across five Commonwealth regions, followed by a global winner, ensuring diverse representation. It promotes creative expression, global dialogue, and youth engagement on important global issues.
What Is the Queen’s Commonwealth Writing Competition?
The Queen’s Commonwealth Writing Competition is a prestigious international contest organized by the Royal Commonwealth Society. It supports young writers from across the Commonwealth by providing a platform to express ideas, tell stories, and engage with global themes.
The competition encourages:
- Creative writing across multiple formats
- Youth participation in global conversations
- Diverse cultural perspectives and storytelling
Bloomsbury Reorganizes Its Global Publishing Business
publishersweekly.com – Wednesday April 15, 2026
After a five-year period from 2021 to 2025 in which U.K.-based Bloomsbury has seen sales double and profits soar 154%, the now £361 million ($484 million) publisher is streamlining its organization.
The publisher’s rapid growth has largely been driven by an aggressive acquisition policy that has seen Bloomsbury make 35 deals in the last five years that has raised the number of employees from 736 to 1,238.
Under the new structure, rather than operate with three major editorial divisions served by a global sales, marketing, and publicity division, Bloomsbury will operate in three vertical business units, with each unit operating with its own editorial, sales, marketing and publicity, rights, and audio functions reporting directly into the managing director of each.
The three new business units will be:
Bloomsbury Global Academic & Professional (A&P), which will be led by Jenny Ridout, whose responsibilities expand to include A&P sales, marketing and publicity, rights, and audio in the U.K., and the rest of world.
Tucker Carlson to launch publishing imprint with books by Russell Brand and Milo Yiannopoulos
theguardian.com – Tuesday April 14, 2026
Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson is set to launch his own imprint and publish books by the likes of Russell Brand and “alt-right” commentator Milo Yiannopoulos.
The imprint, Tucker Carlson Books, will be part of the US-based publisher Skyhorse. “I think most people don’t read books anymore because they’re too absorbed in all the other available media,” said Carlson, according to the Wall Street Journal. He added that those who do “tend to be disproportionately influential in policy conversations and conversations about ideas”.
Among the titles set to be published by Carlson’s imprint is Brand’s How to Become a Christian in Seven Days, described by Skyhorse as a “testimony and guide to a timeless, yet zeitgeist-capturing, grounded, yet psychedelic encounter with Christ”.
Writers Space Africa Magazine is Calling for Submissions for its 114th Issue | Submit by April 20
brittlepaper.com – Monday April 13, 2026
Writers Space Africa (WSA) Magazine, one of Africa’s longest-running literary publications, now in its 114th edition, is open for submissions for its June 2026 issue. The theme is The Unemployed, and the window closes on 20 April 2026. That’s a tight turnaround, so if you have something to send, now is the time.
Alberta writer loses thousands to self-publishing service with little to show
thealbertan.com – Sunday April 12, 2026
After spending nearly $30,000 to turn his gardening columns into a book, Charles Schroder says he was left with unfulfilled promises.
A St. Albert Gazette gardening columnist is speaking out after spending approximately $30,000 USD on self-publishing services he says delivered little in return, hoping other aspiring authors avoid the same mistake.
Charles Schroder said he turned to self-publishing service Writers Clique to turn years of his Gazette gardening columns into his book, Urban Gardening.
Invoices show he paid roughly $30,000 USD for publishing and marketing services between November 2023 and March 2024.
Schroder said he contacted Writers Clique after receiving three recommendations and was impressed early on.
“They sounded really good. They said let me see the manuscript, and they had a writer there that wrote a summary of the book… it looked like the best gardening book that has ever been written,” he said.
After deciding to go with Writers Clique, the first quoted cost was about $5,000 USD, but additional charges followed.
Schroder said the company promised broad distribution but he has seen little return beyond $300 in Amazon royalties.
The Decolonial Passage is Open for Submissions on the Theme of Ecology | Submit by April 30
brittlepaper.com – Sunday April 12, 2026
The Decolonial Passage, a literary magazine centring African, African-American, and Black diaspora writing, is open for submissions throughout April 2026 for its third issue, themed Ecology. All genres are welcome this month: poetry, short fiction, flash, and creative nonfiction.
The issue takes its cue from Martinican environmental engineer Malcolm Ferdinand’s framework of decolonial ecology, which argues that confronting ecosystem destruction is inseparable from the demand for equality and emancipation and that colonial domination cannot be undone without also transforming the colonial relationship to land, landscape, and non-human life. The editors want work in which human beings are in relationship with their natural environment, plants, and animals, seen through that decolonial lens.
FSG Closes its MCD Imprint, McDonald to Depart
publishersweekly.com – Friday April 10, 2026
In a memo this morning, Mitzi Angel, president and publisher of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, informed the staff that the publisher is closing the MCD publishing program. As a result of the closure, MCD SVP and publisher Sean McDonald will leave FSG April 15.
MCD was launched in 2016 and was the brainchild of then FSG publisher and president Jonathan Galassi. MCD’s goal was "to create a space to publish work and experiment with publishing styles, forms, and genres that are at the edges of FSG’s traditions," Galassi told PW at the time of the launch. But times have changed in the publishing industry and in her memo, Angel wrote that due to “the financial realities” of the industry, FSG has decided to “redirect our attention to FSG’s core programming under the FSG umbrella.” That lineup now includes AUWA Books—which was launched by McDonald in March 2023 under the direction of Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, the drummer and joint frontman for the Roots—FSG Originals, Picador, Quanta Books, and the newly-revived North Point Press.
Submit Applications for Literary Projects Grant Program (Canada)
www2.fundsforngos.org – Wednesday April 8, 2026
Deadline: 04-Aug-2026
The Literary Projects Program provides funding of up to $8,000 for professional non-profit organizations and collectives in Toronto to support literary arts creation, presentation, professional development, and magazine publishing. An additional Accessibility Grant of up to $5,000 is also available for eligible projects.
About the Program
The Literary Projects Program supports one-time or time-limited literary arts projects that contribute to the growth of Toronto’s literary sector.
It funds projects involving:
- Creation
- Presentation
- Professional development
- Literary and arts magazine publishing
Projects must take place within Toronto, and digital projects are also eligible.
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