Twelfth Annual Papatango New Writing Prize Opens For 2020 Submissions
broadwayworld.com – Tuesday December 3, 2019
The Papatango New Writing Prize, now in its twelfth year, opens for submissions today, Tuesday 3 December 2019, until 9pm on Sunday 2 February 2020.
The Papatango New Writing Prize was the UK's first - and remains the only annual - opportunity guaranteeing a new writer a full production, publication by Nick Hern Books, a royalty of 10% of the gross box office, and a £6500 commission with full developmental support for a follow-up play. It is also unique in producing the winning play within the same year. Since 2019, the winning play has toured the UK following its London premiere.
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. Writers nurtured in this way have gone on to see their scripts produced at many leading venues across the UK.
Bad Sex Awards 2019: Two writers share 'Britain's most dreaded literary prize'
inews.co.uk – Tuesday December 3, 2019
In an echo of the Booker prize two writers have won the 2019 Literary Review Bad Sex In Fiction Award.
The judges struggled to pick just one winner so chose French author Didier Decoin with his novel The Office of Gardens and Ponds and John Harvey, a life fellow at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, with his book, Pax.
The judges were swayed equally by raunchy passages in Decoin's and Harvey's books.
HMH to Launch Children's Graphic Novel Imprint
publishersweekly.com – Friday November 22, 2019
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is the latest publisher to announce a children’s graphic novel imprint: Etch, which will gather all of HMH’s graphic novels into a single imprint, will debut in September 2020. The launch catalog will consist of seven titles, with plans to publish about 15 books per year.
Publisher Catherine Onder will oversee the imprint, but editors from the HMH children’s imprints Clarion, Versify, and HMH Books for Young Readers will all acquire properties for Etch. “I’ve been so impressed by the passion from the team, across both editorial and design, and the talented roster of creators that they’ve brought on board,” Onder said. “This variety of perspectives, interests, and expertise is key to our providing graphic novels for every reader.”
The Rothman Brecher Ehrich Livingston Agency Signs Deal With the WGA
deadline.com – Tuesday November 19, 2019
Respected TV and film literary boutique The Rothman Brecher Ehrich Livingston Agency, a member of Association of Talent Agents, has reached a deal with the Writers Guild.
“Rothman Brecher Ehrich Livingston is pleased to announce that it has signed a new Franchise Agreement with the WGA,” the principals said in a statement to Deadline, declining further comment.
RBEL is the fourth established ATA member mid-size agency to break ranks and sign with the WGA, joining another literary boutique, Kaplan Stahler, as well as Buchwald and Abrams Artists, and comes only a week after the guild’s most recent pact with Abrams Artists. Verve, which is not an ATA member, was the first notable agency with writer clients to reach an agreement with the WGA in May.
Ward, Desser Have New Roles at Random House
publishersweekly.com – Tuesday November 19, 2019
At Penguin Random House's flagship imprint, Andy Ward has been promoted to publisher, while Knopf's Robin Desser has been tapped as senior v-p and editor-in-chief. Ward is replacing Susan Kamil, who died, suddenly, last month.
In an announcement about Ward's promotion, Gina Centrello, president and publisher of Random House, said Ward, who is currently editor-in-chief at RH, has shown "steady, caring stewardship, as well as his own talents as an editor." Centrello said that Ward, in his new role, "will help set the priorities for not just Random House but also the Dial and Hogarth imprints," as well as acquiring and editing.
National Centre for Writing seeks working class writers
thebookseller.com – Saturday November 16, 2019
The National Centre for Writing in Norwich is relaunching its Escalator Talent Development Scheme seeing under-represented voices in fiction from the East of England with a special focus this year on writers from working class backgrounds.
Now entering its 15th year, the writing programme is supported by the Arts Councils and has worked with almost 100 writers, helping launch the careers of Michael Donkor (published by 4th Estate), Megan Bradbury (Picador), Miranda Doyle (Faber), Guinevere Glasfurd-Brown (Hodder) and Kate Worsley (Bloomsbury)
The 2020 scheme is keen to receive applications from early career writers who self-identify as from a working class background, or writers who wouldn’t ordinarily have the opportunity to benefit from this kind of support, the National Centre for Writing (NCW) said. “Working class voices remain critically under-represented in contemporary fiction and NCW seeks to address this through Escalator and its talent development programme more broadly,” the Centre added. The Bookseller’s investigation into class earlier this year revealed that around 80% of people in the publishing industry who identify as working class their career has been adversely affected by their background.
Strong year for Children's publishing as W H Smith unveils Books of the Year
thebookseller.com – Thursday November 14, 2019
W H Smith has unveiled its Books of the Year, with the retailer recognising two children's books for the first time.
In recognition of the "diverse choice across children’s publishing and the importance it plays in supporting literacy and engagement in young readers", W H Smith has chosen both bestselling rhyming read-aloud picture book Oi Puppies! (Hodder Children's Books) by Kes Gray and Jim Field, and the inclusive Izzy Gizmo and the Invention Convention (Simon & Schuster Children's UK) by Pip Jones and Sara Ogilvie as its Children's Books of the Year.
Beth O'Leary's debut novel The Flatshare (Quercus), which has sold 15,362 copies through TCM, has been named Fiction Book of the Year. W H Smith said the "brilliant rom-com" story of Tiffy and Leon who share a flat but have never met is "one of the most uplifting debuts of 2019".
Folio Lit Acquires Emma Sweeney Agency
publishersweekly.com – Thursday November 7, 2019
Folio Literary Management has acquired the Emma Sweeney Literary Agency (ESA), effective January 2, 2020. The latter, founded in 2006, represented such authors as Sara Gruen and Edgar Cantero.
In a release about the deal, Folio said authors at ESA have won a host of major literary awards, including the Nobel and the Pulitzer. And Gruen's 2006 novel, Water for Elephants, has Folio noted, sold over 10 million copies worldwide.
CalArts’ Creative Writing MFA Program Is Seeking Applications for Fall 2020
hyperallergic.com – Thursday November 7, 2019
CalArts’ MFA Creative Writing Program—a two-year master’s degree dedicated to fostering the experimental impulse, is seeking applicants for Fall 2020. A non-tracking program that allows students the freedom to study across genre and form, CalArts MFA Creative Writing Program is designed for writers who want to push beyond traditional boundaries and discover new modes of expression through language. With new faculty members Michael Leong and Anthony McCann, and exciting guests including the 2020 Katie Jacobson Writer in Residence, John Keene, there’s never been a better time to apply.
Centered in the storied creative laboratory that is CalArts—an electric community of boundary-pushing visual and performing artists—the program’s rigorous courses can be supplemented by enriching electives from across the institute. CalArts incredible faculty, stellar reading series, and genre-busting literary magazine, SubLevel, afford our students the opportunity to work and study with some of the most exciting writers publishing today. Postgraduate professional development opportunities such as teaching fellowships, and artist residencies, gird our graduates for the demands of life as a working writer.
BookLife Launches Paid Review Service for Self-Pubbed Books
publishersweekly.com – Wednesday October 30, 2019
BookLife, Publishers Weekly's website and monthly supplement dedicated to self-publishing, has launched BookLife Reviews, a paid reviews service open exclusively to self-published authors.
BookLife Reviews will be written by Publishers Weekly reviewers, but remain distinct from Publishers Weekly reviews. The service is designed to help self-published authors reach readers by providing them with credible and reliable assessments of their work from reviewers with expertise in their genres and styles.
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