
Influx Press ends acquisitions hiatus
thebookseller.com – Friday January 19, 2024

Independent publisher Influx Press has ended its acquisitions hiatus, with several new titles scheduled for 2024 and a plan to resume full operations by 2025.
Co-founders Kit Caless and Gary Budden founded Influx Press in 2011, seeing significant success with the James Tait Black-winning Attrib. by Eley Williams in 2017, Eliza Clark’s Boy Parts in 2020, and Percival Everett’s Booker Prize-shortlisted The Trees in 2022.
Caless is stepping back from day-to-day operations to pursue academic interests, but will remain on board as editor-at-large.
Budden will be spearheading a new list and new direction for the press. He said: “I’m delighted to have made the decision to continue Influx, after a necessary period of rest and reflection deciding the future direction we wanted to take the press in. I am very excited about our 2024 titles and to be continuing our commitment to publishing bold and innovative literature."

Papatango Announce 2024 New Writing Prize
theatreweekly.com – Thursday January 18, 2024

Papatango today announce that their 2024 New Writing Prize will open for submissions at noon on Wednesday 17 January, until noon on Monday 11 March. This Prize launches a new partnership with Park Theatre, who will co-produce the winning play with Papatango in a full run on their main stage.
Judged anonymously, the Papatango New Writing Prize was the UK’s first, and remains the only annual, opportunity guaranteeing a new writer a full production – for 2025 in Park200 at Park Theatre, publication by Nick Hern Books, a royalty of 8% of the box office, and a £7,500 commission with full developmental support.
In addition, every entrant receives feedback on their script – a commitment made by no other company, especially significant as the Prize averages more submissions on a yearly basis than any other playwriting award.

Buckley joins Hannah Sheppard Literary Agency after three-year break
thebookseller.com – Friday January 12, 2024

Louise Buckley will join the Hannah Sheppard Literary Agency (HS-LA) this month as associate agent, returning to publishing after a three-year break.
Working alongside its founder, Hannah Sheppard, Buckley joins the agency on 15th January and will build a new list of authors with a focus on upmarket and book-club fiction, as well as further developing the agency’s links with co-agents. Both Buckley and Sheppard will be at London Book Fair in March, a year after the agency was launched.
Buckley was most recently an associate Literary Agent at Zeno Agency Ltd where she represented a roster of commercial and literary fiction, including Anne Griffin’s When All is Said (Sceptre), which spent five weeks at number one in Ireland and sold into 17 territories.

2024 CBC Nonfiction Prize is now open
cbc.ca – Tuesday January 2, 2024

The 2024 CBC Nonfiction Prize is currently accepting submissions until Friday, March 1, 2024 at 4:59 p.m. ET.
Keep reading to learn about the prize, what you can submit and what you can win!
Who can enter?
The prize is open to all Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada.
There is no age requirement, but if you are a minor, there is a box to check on the entry form. You will need a parent or guardian's signed authorization only if your entry makes the longlist.
What can you submit?
You can submit original, unpublished nonfiction that is up to 2,000 words. There is no minimum word requirement. Nonfiction includes memoir, biography, humour writing, essay (including personal essay), travel writing and feature articles.

Skyhorse Is Buying Regnery Publishing
publishersweekly.com – Saturday December 23, 2023

Salem Media Group’s sale of its Regnery Publishing division, which was said to be dead in late November, has been revived. On December 21, Skyhorse Publishing announced that it had signed an agreement to purchase Regnery, one of America’s best-known publishers of conservative authors. Terms were not disclosed.
“We are so pleased to acquire this legendary publishing company, founded over 75 years ago, and are committed to building on the strong foundation that the Regnery staff has developed,” said Skyhorse president and publisher Tony Lyons in a statement. Regnery, which has a list of about 1,550 titles, will become an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing and will maintain its own identity, Skyhorse said. According to Skyhorse, Regnery’s sales in 2023 are projected to be approximately $10 million.

Farnham Literary Festival launches ‘First Five Thousand’ writing competition
petersfieldpost.co.uk – Thursday December 21, 2023

Farnham Literary Festival has launched a new ‘First Five Thousand’ writing competition.
Writers aged 18 and over are challenged to submit the first 5,000 words of their novel with a 300-word synopsis. The work does not have to be finished.
One lucky winner will receive £100 and a literary critique of their work, the runner up will get £75 and three shortlisted entries will receive £50.
The judging panel consists of Louise Morrish, BA Paris, Gill Thompson and Melanie Whipman.

Romance publishers to launch string of 'spicy' books aimed at TikTok users
itv.com – Thursday December 21, 2023

The popular romance publishers Mills & Boon are set to launch a string of "spicy" books targeting TikTok users.
From 2024, two titles will be released each month under the umbrella series, named Afterglow, starting in January.
Afterglow will offer “a trend-led, trope-filled list of books with diverse, authentic and relatable characters, a wide array of voices and representations, real world trials and tribulations, all the tropes you could possibly want," says Katie Barnes-Wallis, marketing director at Mills & Boon.
This includes "small-town settings, fake relationships, grumpy versus sunshine, enemies to lovers - and all with a generous dose of spice in every story”.
According to the Mills & Boon website, it sells a romantic fiction book every ten seconds, but it's yet to capture the hearts of contemporary readers.

Begum joins Greyhound Literary as literary agent
thebookseller.com – Monday December 18, 2023

Salma Begum, formerly an editor at Bonnier Books UK, has joined Greyhound Literary as a literary agent, starting today, 18th December.
Begum has also worked for Picador, where she acquired debut authors and worked on the poetry list, and The Good Literary Agency, where she represented a number of emerging talents.
Founder and director Charlie Campbell said: "The last two years have been the most enjoyable and fulfilling of my career and that is down to the colleagues and writers with whom I work."
Co-owner and director Sam Edenborough said: "We’re so proud to welcome Salma to the Greyhound team. Her superb eye for great writing and her excellent network put her in an ideal position to find talented new clients. I can’t wait to get to work selling translation rights for her writers as she develops her list."

PRH acquires independent self-help publisher Hay House
thebookseller.com – Thursday December 14, 2023

Penguin Random House has acquired independent self-help and wellness publisher Hay House.
Nihar Malaviya, c.e.o. of Penguin Random House, and Reid Tracy, c.e.o. of Hay House, announced the acquisition on 12th December 2023 but the terms of the deal were not disclosed. The news comes just two months after PRH UK announced its acquisition of Hardie Grant’s UK publishing business.
Currently a client of Penguin Random House Publisher Services (PRHPS), Hay House will now be able to "further leverage" the resources capabilities of PRH, a press statement said. It will retain its editorial and publishing independence and Tracy will continue to run Hay House as its c.e.o. post-closing. No changes are planned for its London, New York and Carlsbad offices or its management and employees.

Janson-Smith leaves Gleam to start new agency
thebookseller.com – Tuesday December 12, 2023

Agent Oscar Janson-Smith has left Gleam Futures to start his own agency.
Janson-Smith joined the agency in December 2021 after three years as an agent at Kruger Cowne, and was promoted to senior agent in March this year.
Over his two years at Gleam he sold 35 books, translated into 15 languages, with two titles becoming Sunday Times bestsellers. He also promoted new areas for Gleam such as fantasy, finance, craft, cookery and children’s.
Janson-Smith said: “It’s been a busy few months, so this is a delayed announcement, but it’s one that I’m very happy to be making. After a wonderful couple of years with Gleam, I had quite a few offers on the table — but once I’d got this idea into my head, it was hard to get it out again.
Get the free newsletter | Submit a news item or article | Get Writers' News for your website