The Final Chapter of Haunt Publishing: How a Small Press Illuminated the Dark
firstwriter.com – Friday February 6, 2026
For a publisher devoted to shadows, Haunt Publishing’s story ends not with a scream but with a quiet, heartfelt farewell. After eight years championing Gothic, horror, and dark fiction, the Scottish indie press will close its doors on 1 June 2026, returning all rights to its authors and offering a final clearance sale as it winds down operations.
This closure marks the end of one of the UK’s most distinctive small presses—one that carved out a space for underrepresented voices in a genre often dominated by the mainstream.
A Mission Built on Unease, Empathy, and Representation
Founded in 2018 by Rebecca Wojturska, Haunt Publishing emerged with a clear purpose: to spotlight global and marginalised voices in Gothic and horror literature. From its earliest days, the press positioned itself as author-led, paying double the industry-standard royalty rate and compensating writers for events – an unusually generous model in small-press publishing.
Opportunity: Volunteer as a Judge for The Queen’s Commonwealth Writing Competition
royalcwsociety.org – Friday February 6, 2026
As we enter an exciting new chapter of the Royal Commonwealth Society’s flagship youth initiative, we are delighted to announce that applications to volunteer as a judge for The Queen’s Commonwealth Writing Competition are now open!
This year is a particularly exciting time to get involved with the competition. The change in name from The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition to The Queen’s Commonwealth Writing Competition, reflects a broader, more inclusive approach to written expression, embracing creativity in all its forms while continuing to champion the power of young voices across the Commonwealth.
As part of this evolution, the competition’s structure has been redesigned to encourage greater participation and ensure stronger regional representation. The competition will be open to all Commonwealth nationals or residents under 18, bringing participants together within a single age category. In addition to one overall winner, the competition will now recognise one winner from each of the five regions of the Commonwealth, ensuring that excellence in writing is celebrated across all regions.
Bournemouth Writing Festival to return for fourth edition
greatbritishlife.co.uk – Thursday February 5, 2026
Writers and readers will come together for a packed weekend of talks, workshops and literary events.
The Bournemouth Writing Festival will return for its fourth edition from April 24 to 26, filling venues across the town with more than 100 events and activities.
Dominic Wong, festival director, said: “The Bournemouth Writing Festival is all about making writing feel welcoming and achievable, whether you’re just starting out or ready to take your work to the next level.
“We’re proud to offer a wide-ranging programme that mixes top industry expertise with inclusive and accessible events that bring writers together from across the community and the country.”
Writers Are Getting Banned for Writing Like Humans
ucstrategies.com – Wednesday February 4, 2026
A writer got banned from a platform for using em dashes — a punctuation mark she’d used her entire career — because an AI detector flagged her comment as “too polished.” She appealed, confused. The system took 48 hours to admit its mistake. By then, her comment was buried and her reputation questioned.
ChatGPT just quietly changed how it writes to stop using em dashes — explicitly to dodge detection tools that flagged them as an AI tell. The irony? AI learned to overuse them by scraping human authors’ books in the first place. Now professional writers are being punished for the same formal writing habits that trained the AI. The detectors can’t tell the difference, so they’re banning both.
Your writing style is now evidence against you
Human writers are getting flagged as AI-generated for using correct punctuation. One technical reviewer had their work flagged in December for being “too structured” — the appeal took two days to resolve, but the damage was done. Another writer posted as of this week: “I always use em dashes… Has anyone else experienced this issue? I am genuinely confused.”
AI detectors now treat formal writing — clean grammar, proper punctuation, logical flow — as suspicious. The tools were trained to spot “AI patterns,” but those patterns came from scraped human books in the first place. Research shows detectors struggle with false positives on professional writing that looks “too clean.”
Exciting New Opportunity: The Queen’s Commonwealth Writing Competition Reimagined
royalcwsociety.org – Wednesday February 4, 2026
Calling all young writers across the Commonwealth! The Royal Commonwealth Society is thrilled to announce a major evolution of its iconic youth initiative. Formerly known as the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition, this globally celebrated programme now has a fresh new identity: The Queen’s Commonwealth Writing Competition.
This exciting rebrand signals a broader, more inclusive approach to writing, embracing creativity in all forms. From essays to poetry, storytelling, and beyond, young people under 18 can now share their ideas, experiences, and imagination on a global stage.
A Competition for Every Corner of the Commonwealth
The Queen’s Commonwealth Writing Competition has also redesigned its structure to encourage even wider participation. For the first time, winners will be celebrated not only globally but also regionally. Each of the Commonwealth’s five regions will have a dedicated winner, and drawn from those winners will be an overall competition winner. This ensures that exceptional young voices from every corner of the Commonwealth are recognised.
Leadership Shift at Long‑Running Literary Agency as Aaron Priest Retires
firstwriter.com – Tuesday February 3, 2026
A major transition has taken place at one of New York’s longstanding boutique literary agencies. After more than fifty years at the helm of the company he created in 1974, veteran agent Aaron Priest has stepped away from day‑to‑day leadership. His departure marks the end of an era, and the beginning of a new one under Mitch Hoffman, who has now assumed ownership of the Aaron Priest Literary Agency and will serve as its president.
Priest’s career has been defined by his work with a wide range of bestselling and influential writers. Over the decades, he guided the publishing paths of authors including Erma Bombeck, David Baldacci, Philip Caputo, Robert Crais, Heather Graham, Brenda Joyce, Johanna Lindsey, and Robert James Waller. Beyond his client list, Priest helped shape the agenting profession itself as a founding member of the Independent Literary Agents Association, the group that later evolved into today’s Association of American Literary Agents. His interests also extended to the stage: in 2014 he was among the producers of the Broadway adaptation of The Bridges of Madison County, drawn from Waller’s hit novel.
Alice Caprio Joins PFD to Strengthen Its Growing Children’s and YA Division
firstwriter.com – Wednesday January 21, 2026
Peters Fraser + Dunlop has announced the appointment of Alice Caprio as the newest member of its children’s and young adult representation team, marking a further expansion of the agency’s commitment to the sector. Caprio officially steps into the role on 5 January 2026.
Her move to PFD follows a five‑year stretch immersed in the international children’s book market, during which she scouted for London Literary Scouting and later represented authors at Felicity Bryan Associates. That experience has given her a broad view of global trends and a strong grounding in talent development.
Georges Borchardt, Literary Powerhouse Who Brought Global Voices to America, Dies at 97
firstwriter.com – Wednesday January 21, 2026
Georges Borchardt, a towering figure in the world of literary representation and a tireless advocate for writers whose work reshaped modern literature, has died at his Manhattan home at the age of 97. His family said he passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, including Anne Borchardt, his wife and business partner for more than six decades.
For many in publishing, Borchardt was not merely an agent but a cultural bridge. Over a career spanning more than 70 years, he introduced American readers to some of the most influential voices of the 20th century — among them Samuel Beckett, Elie Wiesel, Marguerite Duras, and Eugene Ionesco. His agency, founded in 1967, became a haven for writers whose work demanded both courage and conviction.
Ranking 2025’s Bestselling Adult Publishers
publishersweekly.com – Tuesday January 20, 2026
The dominance of the Big Five publishers over national bestseller lists is nothing new. It's such a given, in fact, that last week the Independent Publisher Caucus launched the Independent Press Top 40 bestseller list in tandem with the American Booksellers Association, with the aim of shining a spotlight on books from independent publishers that would otherwise be unable to crack those lists.
The results of our annual review of bestsellers-by-publisher did indeed show that the Big Five publishers did indeed reign supreme over the 2025 PW adult bestseller lists, powered by Circana BookScan.
But we also found that in 2025, the Big Five lost some of their grip on hardcover bestsellers compared to 2024, accounting for 83% of available slots on the hardcover list, down from 86% in 2024. Their share of trade paperback bestsellers, however, moved up to 42% from 39% in 2024.
As usual, this year’s PW rankings are derived by multiplying the 20 weekly bestseller slots PW gives to each of the adult hardcover fiction, nonfiction, and trade paperback formats by 52 weeks, leaving 1,040 spots for each list.
Penguin Random House grabbed the largest share of hardcover bestsellers, snagging 38% of available slots. The remaining Big Five were bunched up far behind PRH: Simon & Schuster 13%; Hachette Book Group 12%; Macmillan 10%; and HarperCollins 9%.
£50,000 ‘reader-led’ writing prize launched
theguardian.com – Monday January 19, 2026
The award, run by Hachette UK and Libraro, aims to ‘sidestep the traditional barricades of the book industry’ and give readers a role in discovering new talent
A new £50,000 writing prize that allows readers to select the shortlist from submitted manuscripts – and rewards them with cash prizes for their involvement – has been launched by the publishing platform Libraro, in partnership with Hachette UK.
The Libraro prize aims to “sidestep the traditional barricades of the book industry”, according to organisers. Writers upload full manuscripts to the Libraro platform, where readers champion their favourite entries to create a shortlist of six books.
It is open to adult and crossover YA fiction written in English and is designed to give readers a role in discovering new writing talent.
The overall winner will receive a £50,000 prize package from Libraro – comprising £30,000 and an additional £20,000 towards marketing the finished book – alongside a book deal with Hachette UK. Two additional reader prizes of £10,000 each will also be awarded: one to the reader who referred the winning author to the platform, and another to the reader who engages most actively with submissions.
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