Erin Murphy Literary Agents Join Aevitas
publishersweekly.com – Monday February 24, 2025
The agents of Windham, Maine–based children’s book agency Erin Murphy Literary Agency—including founder Erin Murphy and agents Tricia Lawrence, Kevin Lewis, Ammi-Joan Paquette, and Miranda Paul—have joined Aevitas Creative Management. The EMLA backlist will remain under the EMLA umbrella and Murphy's supervision, with business affairs personnel Susan Murrell and Dennis Stephens continuing to process payments and statements on titles sold before January 31, 2025. Murphy joins Aevitas as a partner, Lawrence and Paquette as senior agents, and Lewis and Paul as agents.
“When I began working on a succession plan last year, I spoke with many wonderful agencies whose people were generous with their time and information. I feel so fortunate to have found Aevitas, which ticks all the boxes for me,” said Murphy in a statement. “In addition to being able to immediately provide more support for five agents and more robust systems than we had at EMLA, ACM is full of warm people with esteemed lists, and adding EMLA’s authors and illustrators will increase the presence of ACM Kids & Illustration to the benefit of all. Joining ACM has been a joy, and I’m glad to be shifting roles to focus squarely on representing my clients again, while phasing out my role as agency head.”
2025 San Francisco Writers Conference Review
splashmags.com – Saturday February 22, 2025
The 21st Annual San Francisco Writers Conference (SFWC) was held at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco on the Embarcadero Waterfront, February 6 – 9, 2025. What started as a two-day conference in 2004, under the direction of Michael Larsen and Elizabeth Pomada, has expanded to four days with additional pre/post master classes, an exhibition hall, a free Teen Writers Summit and a Student Forum for university and college students.
The SFWC has become one of the premier writing events in the country. The 2025 conference theme was Learn, Connect, Publish. Whether you are interested in traditional publishing, self-publishing, or a hybrid publishing scenario, the theme reflects the founders’ vision of helping writers get their work published by increasing their skills and connecting them with publishers, editors, agents and other professionals.
Are you a writer? Do you wish you had a connection, to someone special in the writing or publishing world? SFWC presents a great opportunity for networking: meeting, listening, and talking with people who may become a connection for you in your writing journey.
Authors are often called upon to talk about themselves, or speak in an open forum. If you are not comfortable in the spotlight then SFWC can help. You’ll be motivated to push yourself, and get the most benefit from the conference.
I approached my time at the conference not only as a Splash journalist, but as a pre-published novelist wanting to learn how to submit my manuscript about The Life and Art of Julian Ritter, to a traditional publishing house. Here are my impressions and what I learned – hopefully this will help you.
Agents, editors, and authors all need the industry to succeed. Writers often love being holed up alone, spilling their thoughts onto paper. Just as often, they agonize over their words, ability, or direction. This conference is full of people who “get it.” You’ll have support to shed that thin skin, put your work and yourself out there, and take the lumps. Because those lumps will make you better, will present new possibilities, and perhaps, take you to the next level.
CPI and The Agency suffer cyber attacks as publisher profits 'hit significantly'
thebookseller.com – Wednesday February 19, 2025
The UK’s leading book printer, CPI, and The Agency have both been hit by ransomware attacks, The Bookseller understands.
Clients of CPI, including Welsh independent Firefly Press, have been majorly affected with some profits “wiped out”. The cyber attack on The Agency – a London-based literary agency – has been attributed to the Rhysida ransomware group, which previously targeted the British Library, and has allegedly threatened to publish stolen data if not paid a ransom. It is unknown whether the same ransomware group is responsible for the CPI attack.
A spokesperson for CPI told The Bookseller: “In the early hours of Friday, 7th February 2025, our IT systems were disabled, affecting the UK part of our business. After completing initial forensic analysis we were able to determine that we had encountered a cyber attack, despite having significant protection already in place across our entire network.
“As soon as the attack was identified, we engaged specialist external technical support, who along with our own teams have been working to recover our systems as quickly as possible. Our colleagues across the whole business have been working extraordinarily hard to develop workarounds as well as to reimplement our IT systems and have made substantial progress. We continue dialogue with our customers and other stakeholders to ensure that they are fully aware of the status. We expect to resume full services gradually over the coming days.”
A major book publisher announced a change. The industry freaked out.
vox.com – Tuesday February 11, 2025
For the past few months, publishing has been consumed with debate over that ever-divisive topic: blurbs, those breathless little testimonials from other writers that appear on the back of a book’s cover, which hardly anyone likes to write and even fewer people like to ask for.
One big author and one major publisher announced within weeks of each other that they were through with the practice of blurbs, and the resulting conversation threw publishing into a tizzy. In the process, it provided a new lens on who has access to clout and resources in an increasingly precarious industry.
Authors traditionally set out to procure blurbs after their books have been accepted by publishers and gone through the editorial process, but before the books have been finalized, typeset, and printed. At that point, some combination of author, editor, and publicist reaches out to other writers, ideally famous ones, and ask them to read the manuscript and write a few nice words to go on the back of the published book.
HarperCollins opens Author Academy applications
thebookseller.com – Sunday February 9, 2025
HarperCollins has opened applications to its Author Academy, from which 200 aspiring authors have graduated since January 2021. Applications open today (7th February), and close on Monday, 24th February. The six-week course runs from 9th May.
The academy is now lead by Ken Wilson-Max, publisher of HCCB imprint Kumusha Books, and offers free training to writers and designers from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds to help them "gain the knowledge and skills to succeed in fiction, non-fiction and children’s books".
In previous years students have learnt directly from the experience of authors through a series of Q&As including Jamila Gavin, Sarah Morgan, June Sarpong, Rebecca F Kuang and Charles Cumming. After the course, students will be mentored by members of the HarperCollins team and join the Author Academy alumni network. They also have the opportunity to submit a manuscript for consideration by HarperCollins’ editorial team.
Casarotto Ramsay Hires Two Agents
ca.news.yahoo.com – Thursday February 6, 2025
Casarotto Ramsay & Associates has brought in two agents including one who reps the likes of Essex Serpent writer Anna Symon and Get Millie Black’s Lydia Adetunji.
Tanya Tillett and Kara Fitzpatrick have joined as Senior Agent and Theater Agent respectively. Tillett, who has previously worked for The Agency and the Knight Hall Agency, reps the likes of Symon, Adetunji and Grace Ofori-Attah, who wrote recent James Norton-starrer Playing Nice. She will report to Casarotto Head of Film & Television Jodi Shields.
MyPoolitzer launches AI writing competition with Quantifiction and Blue Denim Press
thebookseller.com – Tuesday February 4, 2025
A writing competition judged by artificial intelligence (AI) and dubbed the "first-of-its-kind" has launched with backing by tech companies MyPoolitzer and Quantifiction with Canadian publisher Blue Denim Press.
Berlin-based submissions management software MyPoolitzer – which drew controversy at the last Frankfurt Book Fair on unveiling its AI-assisted submissions software – has teamed up with AI-based manuscript service Quantifiction, based in the US, and literary trade publisher Blue Denim Press in what they dubbed "a significant milestone in the publishing industry".
All competition entries will be analysed using Quantifiction’s AI technology "Iris", using a combination of Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing to assess manuscripts. "It will evaluate submissions based on sales potential, genre fit and stylistic elements across over 30 dimensions, including reading difficulty, pacing and emotional resonance," organisers said.
Channel 4 Enters New Partnership with New Writing North
worldscreen.com – Monday February 3, 2025
Channel 4 has entered a new three-year partnership with New Writing North to support the development of new and emerging writers in the North of England as part of its 4Skills strategy.
The partnership will include bursaries, bespoke programs of talent development, screen industry insight and expertise, networking, mentoring and peer support to help foster writing talent and those that may want to cross over into screenwriting from other art forms.
It will deliver the Channel 4 Writing for Television Awards, in which Channel 4 will support four emerging writers, selected via open call, for a talent development program, and Slate and Screen Play Weekends, in which Channel 4 will support eight writers who have not supported on screenplays before to attend two weekend events. Also, New Writing North will lead and manage a development slate, and Channel 4 will support five writers with screenwriting experience to be part of this slate, which will get their projects ready.
New Science Fiction Writing Contest from Emirates Literature Foundation
locusmag.com – Friday January 31, 2025
A new writing contest has been announced today by the Emirates Literature Foundation, in collaboration with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai.
The MBRSC Short Story Award: New Voices in Sci-Fi will award science fiction short stories by writers from the United Arab Emirates. The contest is open to writers ages 16–30; submissions may be in English or Arabic and between 1,500–5,000 words. The deadline is 16 November 2025.
Winners will be selected by a panel of judges assessing works for “originality, creativity, scientific accuracy, narrative strength, character development, and overall literary merit.” Twelve stories will be chosen, six in Arabic and six in English. Winners will be announced next year at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature and will receive a commemorative plaque, workshop opportunities, Festival attendance, and publication in an anthology.
Authors and literary agents 'angry and frustrated' by Facebook impersonations
thebookseller.com – Thursday January 30, 2025
Unicorn Academy series author Julie Sykes and art historian Ruth Millington have been plagued by fake author profiles on Facebook and Instagram, revealing "anger, frustration and vulnerability" over the situation.
Other writers such as Kit De Waal and Milly Johnson and several literary agents have also spoken about the online impersonations which have been ongoing for many years but are apparently increasing through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other technology in recent months.
Sykes told The Bookseller: "Someone contacted me on my website in September saying, ‘I think I’ve been talking to you on Facebook,’ and it wasn’t me. The person speaking to him had intimated he could get him a publishing deal with my publisher which obviously made me very concerned."
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