Romance Writing Festival
bournemouthecho.co.uk – Tuesday March 11, 2025
One-day festival celebrating romance writing, offering a mix of panel discussions, agent 1-2-1s, workshops, activities and networking opportunities.
Sunday Times bestselling authors Milly Johnson and Paige Toon will headline the inaugural Romance Writing Festival, taking place in Bournemouth on 18th October 2025. They join fellow Sunday Times bestseller Katie Fforde on an impressive programme featuring award-winning authors, editors, literary agents, and publishers.
The one-day event is dedicated to romance writing, offering a mix of panel discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities. Attendees can also book one-to-one sessions with agents and editors or take part in free activities designed to inspire writers at all stages of their journey.
Held at the seafront Grade-11-listed Royal Bath Hotel, the festival will host a marketplace where delegates can meet and mingle with authors, agents, and publishers. Additional activities include Proof Parties, book launches, beach walks, romance-themed literary walks of Bournemouth’s famous authors, and yoga on the beach. Writers will also have the exclusive opportunity to enjoy afternoon tea with editors.
Maven voyage: Amanda Harris unveils her new agency at London Book Fair
thebookseller.com – Tuesday March 11, 2025
Former YMU books division managing director Amanda Harris is launching her new “fresh take” on representation, Maven Literary Management, at today’s London Book Fair.
Harris had previously announced her departure from YMU, which she joined in 2019, in July last of year.
Harris will bring over a host of existing and new clients to Maven. In non-fiction that includes Professor Noel “the Supervet” Fitzpatrick, pop singer and MILF author Paloma Faith, food writer Kathryn Bruton, cookery book star/influencer Christina Kynigos and King’s College London nutritional science professor Sarah Berry.
The fiction list features romantasy author Megan Scott, journalist turned 2025 debut historical novelist Emma Cowing, and Blindboy Boatclub, AKA David Chambers, the Limerick-born satirist, podcaster and presenter whose critically-lauded debut collection of short stories, Topographia Hibernica, hit the bestseller lists on both sides of the Irish Sea.
Former Igloo Books CEO Paul Gregory co-launches new children’s publisher with Vemag-Medien
thebookseller.com – Monday March 10, 2025
Paul Gregory, the former chief executive of Igloo Books, and German publisher Vemag-Medien have launched a new children’s publishing company called Three Wishes as a joint-venture.
Gregory, who stepped down from his role at Igloo Books after six years at the start of 2024, will act as managing director of Three Wishes, which will focus on format innovation, original ideas and stylish design with the aim of bringing “never-seen-before concepts to the global market”.
He told The Bookseller that with Vemag-Medien’s sales “confined to Europe and [with] limited access to English-language markets, Vemag and I saw an opportunity to expand their sales network” with the creation of Three Wishes, which will target the global English-language and co-edition markets and expand the reach of Vemag beyond continental Europe.
Kiya Evans joins Paper Literary as associate agent
thebookseller.com – Monday March 10, 2025
Kiya Evans has joined Paper Literary as an associate agent after five years at Mushens Entertainment, where she started as an intern in 2020 before becoming Juliet Mushens’ assistant in 2021 and being promoted to associate agent in 2023.
Evans has worked on books with authors including Richard Osman, Jessie Burton, Abigail Dean and Saara El-Arifi. She has also begun building her own list of clients, including Annie Summerlee, whose debut romantasy The Book of Blood and Roses sold in major pre-empts in both the UK and US, as well as in multiple international territories, and will be published in January 2026.
Evans will be supporting agents Catherine Cho and Katie Greenstreet on the Paper Literary list and continue to build her own roster of clients. Her first day at Paper Literary will be 24th March.
Graham Maw Christie appoints Amandeep Singh as associate agent as Amy O’Shea steps into agenting
thebookseller.com – Thursday March 6, 2025
Graham Maw Christie Literary Agency has appointed Amandeep Singh as associate agent, while Amy O’Shea has stepped up into agenting.
Singh began her career as an editor at Penguin General, going on to work at HarperCollins, Ebury and the Blair Partnership, before moving into a role as agent at The Good Literary Agency. In 2024 she was a judge for the Little Brown New Voices Award.
Singh is bringing authors including Dr Rupert Whitaker, Dr Paulina Rowińska and Bethany Handley with her to Graham Maw Christie. In her new role, she will be “looking for writers who have a unique story to tell, in fiction or non-fiction”.
Jane Graham Maw said: “We are thrilled to be welcoming Amandeep Singh to Graham Maw Christie. She is a deep thinker with an astute eye for talent and a passion for seeking new voices and perspectives.”
‘Sign our own death warrant’: Australian writers angry after Melbourne publisher asks them to sign AI agreements
theguardian.com – Tuesday March 4, 2025
Australian writers, literary agents, and the industry’s peak body have expressed their concerned after Black Inc Books asked its authors to consent to their work being used to train artificial intelligence.
The Melbourne publisher, which produces The Quarterly Essay as well as fiction and nonfiction by prominent Australian writers, gave them until today to enter into third-party agreements with an unnamed AI company.
The writers were asked to grant Black Inc “the right to reproduce or use, adapt and exploit the work in connection with the development of any software program, including, without limitation, training, testing, validation and the deployment of a machine learning or generative artificial intelligence system”.
The deal sees the publisher split the net receipts with the author 50/50.
Jane Gregory Bursaries applications open for Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival 2025
thebookseller.com – Tuesday March 4, 2025
Applications are now open for the Jane Gregory Bursaries, which offer three underrepresented writers a unique opportunity to attend the Creative Thursday writing day at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival 2025.
Creative Thursday is pitched by organiser Harrogate International Festivals as “an immersive and inspiring day of workshops and talks led by industry experts and bestselling crime writers” including Vaseem Khan, Mick Herron, Will Dean and Laura Shepherd-Robinson. It takes place on 17th July, the opening day of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate.
The Jane Gregory Bursaries were created to support the next generation of crime writers, offering recipients the opportunity to access the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival. One of the bursaries incorporates a Weekend Break Package with accommodation and tickets to all Festival main stage events, while the Festival’s Creative Thursday Workshops are offered in all three bursaries, along with travel contributions.
The three bursaries offer opportunities to attend the annual Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival and are open to aspiring writers from under-represented groups including, but not limited to, individuals who are Black, Asian or part of a Minority Ethnic group, those with disabilities, members of the LGBTQIA+ community or those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
Former publishing staffers launch new publishing services company BeRead
thebookseller.com – Monday March 3, 2025
The former marketing director at Headline Fergus Edmondson and former head of brand for James Patterson at PRH Merle Bennett have launched a new publishing services company called BeRead.
Launched in February 2025, the “complete publishing partner” aims to work across the UK and US to “support writers and publishers at every stage, from manuscript to market”, focusing on publishing strategy and promotion, author brand development and campaign execution and marketing.
It will, the founders say, offer access to “best-in-class” editors, designers, proofreaders, typesetters and more.
Fergus Edmondson has more than 15 years experience in-house at Headline, Penguin Random House UK, Pan Macmillan and, more recently, as a freelance marketing director, working on books by authors including Maggie O’Farrell, Michael Palin and Robert Harris.
Top Authors Announced to Appear at the Ealing Book Festival
ealingtoday.co.uk – Wednesday February 26, 2025
This year’s Ealing Book Festival is set to feature a line-up of internationally acclaimed authors and tickets are now on sale for the event.
The programme includes talks from Hanif Kureishi, Elif Shafak, Andrew O’Hagan, Tracy Chevalier, Roger McGough, Natasha Brown, Abi Daré and Laura Cumming, alongside a wide range of other events including walking tours, workshops and a children’s poetry competition
The second ever festival runs from Thursday 24 to Sunday 27 April 2025 and is being run in partnership with Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery which will host many of the events along with the University of West London.
Hanif Kureishi, best known as the author of The Buddha of Suburbia and My Beautiful Laundrette, will talk about his new memoir Shattered which charts the devastation and rebuilding of his life after a fall in 2022 left him without the use of his limbs.
Aberdeen crime writing festival proves again why it’s the perfect match
creativescotland.com – Tuesday February 25, 2025
Aberdeen’s international crime writing festival came to a rapturous close on Sunday 23 February as the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers brought down the curtain on Granite Noir 2025. The ninth edition saw over 80 authors, artists and speakers participate over the four day festival, including nine emerging North East writers as part of Granite Noir’s leading Locals in the Limelight series. Audiences travelled from across the country and tuned in around the world to enjoy events that dove into the thrilling world of crime fiction.
Criminal duos were in focus this year, with a live version of the hit BBC podcast Murder They Wrote with Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling performed to a packed out Music Hall on Thursday night. And husband and wife writing teams Nicci French and Ambrose Parry discussed their process and real-life Partners in Crime.
Ben Torrie, Director of Programming and Creative Projects at Aberdeen Performing Arts remarked on this year’s event: “This year’s Granite Noir invited everyone to become our partners in crime, and we’re delighted that so many joined us as accomplices this past weekend. Reading and writing could be considered solitary occupations, but the acknowledgments at the end of any book prove it is anything but a solo endeavour. So too it is the case with this festival. Granite Noir would not be possible without the efforts of the team, our key funders and festival partners and I’d like to take the opportunity to thank all of them for their continued support. Most of all though, Granite Noir couldn’t happen without the support of our audiences and of the city of Aberdeen. As we look forward to our tenth edition next year, I’d like to express my gratitude to everyone who has embraced Granite Noir into the fabric of the city and established its place as one of Scotland’s leading literary events.”
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