Paradigm Hires Voltage Pictures Film Exec Babacar Diene, Ups Four To Agent
deadline.com – Saturday February 5, 2022
Paradigm on Thursday said it has hired Babacar Diene, the veteran film financing, sales and production executive who had been a VP at Voltage Pictures. He will become a Content Agent at Paradigm, which also said today it has promoted four staffers to agents.
Diene, based in Los Angeles, was most recently VP Acquisitions & Development at Voltage, the international finance, production and distribution company he joined in 2012. During his tenure he co-produced titles including Ava, starring Jessica Chastain, Colin Farrell, John Malkovich, Common and Geena Davis; Good Kids starring Nicholas Braun, Zoey Deutch and Julia Garner; Fathers & Daughters, starring Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried and Aaron Paul; and Pay the Ghost starring Nicolas Cage. His executive producer credits at Voltage include Time Is Up, Archenemy, Safer at Home, Redemption Day, Follow Me and Drive Hard.
Interview: Publisher aims to revive short story market
authorlink.com – Wednesday February 2, 2022
For new writers, short story anthologies are a wonderful way to explore a range of styles and get a sense of what editors are looking for in contemporary fiction. For spouses, Mark Wish and Elizabeth Coffey developing an anthology was a way to help keep the short story form alive and offer something new and interesting to readers. They created Coolest Stories Press and put out a call for Coolest American Stories 2022, which was just released. They share their process here:
Indie fears intensify as print prices rocket by up to 40%
thebookseller.com – Monday January 24, 2022
Independent publishers are becoming increasingly worried about hikes of up to 40% in printing costs, with some considering outsourcing to Europe and China to keep prices down, and others fearful smaller presses may be in danger of “going to the wall”.
Publishers are being warned by printing companies to expect a “significant” increase in prices owing to their own supplier costs surging. A combination of a hike in the price of international raw materials, Brexit-related problems and fuel and freight costs have been communicated to publishers as main reasons for the increase.
Vicky Ellis, sales director at Clays, told The Bookseller her own company was experiencing “unprecedented inflation” across all its raw material pricing. “We are keeping the situation under review,” she added.
Greenstreet joins Paper Literary from C&W
thebookseller.com – Tuesday January 18, 2022
Katie Greenstreet has joined Paper Literary, becoming the first person to be hired by the agency since it was founded by Catherine Cho last year.
Greenstreet makes the move from C&W Agency, where she has worked for five years. A former lawyer, Greenstreet began her publishing career at ICM Partners in New York as an assistant to literary agent Binky Urban.
At C&W, Greenstreet has sold multiple projects across upmarket women's fiction and crime, including Comedy Women in Print-shortlisted The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman (Penguin), Amazon bestseller The Safe Place by Anna Downes (Hodder) and Ericka Waller's Dog Days, which was snapped up by Doubleday in a six-figure pre-empt. In her new role, she will be focusing on adult fiction and crime authors.
Simon & Schuster employee denies he stole bestseller manuscripts
bbc.co.uk – Saturday January 8, 2022
An employee of publishers Simon & Schuster has pleaded not guilty to charges in New York that he posed as literary editors and agents to steal hundreds of authors' unpublished work.
Filippo Bernardini, 29, was arrested at JFK airport and is charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Legal documents allege he registered more than 160 fake online domains.
Judge Robert Lehrburger rejected a request for him to be detained, setting bail at $300,000 (£221,000).
Matt Willey and Dan Crowe Launch 'INQUE' Magazine
hypebeast.com – Thursday January 6, 2022
INQUE is a new literary publication that describes itself as “A magazine without genre.” Founded by Matt Willey and Dan Crowe, the annual title brings together a star-studded list of contributors who provide global writing and extraordinary art, design and photography.
Based in Brooklyn, Willey is an English graphic designer who served as the longtime art director of The New York Times Magazine and was recently appointed to the title of partner at Pentagram. Crowe is the founder and editor-in-chief of magazines, Zembla and PORT — both of which he worked extensively with Willey on over the years.
Seymour joins Johnson & Alcock from Andrew Nurnberg Associates
thebookseller.com – Thursday January 6, 2022
Charlotte Seymour has left Andrew Nurnberg Associates to join Johnson & Alcock as a literary agent, as part of a strategic expansion of the agency.
Seymour was named a Bookseller Rising Star in 2021 and has worked for six years at Andrew Nurnberg building a list of authors of literary and commercial fiction, as well as narrative non-fiction. Before that she worked as a literary scout at Eccles Fisher Associates.
The Great Love Inspired Author Search
harlequin.submittable.com – Wednesday January 5, 2022
The Great Love Inspired Author Search is back!
The Love Inspired editors are thrilled to announce that we're bringing back The Great Love Inspired Author Search. Love Inspired and Love Inspired Suspense are on the hunt for some fabulous new authors, and we want you! If you think you’ve got the chops to wow us with your inspirational contemporary romance or romantic suspense ideas, we encourage you to pitch it to us!
For this pitch opportunity, the Love Inspired editors are once again on the lookout for fresh talent. We invite you to show us that you’re the total package in these two stages:
Yeovil Literary Prize entries now open
chardandilminsternews.co.uk – Monday January 3, 2022
An annual competition that raises money to support young people in the Chard and Ilminster area training for careers in the performing and creative arts has been launched.
The Yeovil Community Arts Association has also announced a new category in its 2022 international literary prize writing competition, which opened on Saturday (January 1).
Now in its 19th year, the Yeovil Literary Prize continues to attract more entries each year from accomplished and aspiring wordsmiths from all over the world.
Literary festival launching on Ireland's Spike Island will be dedicated to crime writing
irishpost.com – Sunday January 2, 2022
A NEW literary festival is set to take place on Spike Island in Cork in 2022 - dedicated to the theme of crime writing.
The Spike Island literary festival will hone in on the popular genre with a series of author talks and workshops, giving attendees the chance to learn more about the subject.
Agents and publishers from the industry will be on hand giving advice, and those looking to write a book can get invaluable insights into the writing and publishing world.
The event is set to take place at Spike Island, a perfectly fitting setting given its historic past.
The island was used as an island prison on four separate occasions over the last 400 years, with the last prison incarnation that opened in 1985 only closing its doors in 2004.
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