The announcement that Gillian Flynn had been declared Specsavers International author of the Year last week was only the latest accolade awarded to her. Read more
My Say gives writers a chance to air their views about writing and the writer's life.
Contributions should ideally be 300 to 500 words in length and of general interest. Please email them to us. WritersServices' decision on whether or not to include each contribution is final.
"Write about what you know" - does this adage always make sense?
Contributions should ideally be 300 to 500 words in length and of general interest. Please email them to us. WritersServices' decision on whether or not to include each contribution is final.
The Letters that Publishers Wish they'd never Sent
Most of these are taken from Andre Bernard's wonderful little book Rotten Rejections: The Letters that Publishers Wish They’d Never Sent, now sadly out of print. Read more
Sassy Books - an exciting new imprint for today’s new generation of girl-power readers
Sassy BooksAn Imprint Of John Hunt Publishing.
Hip, real and raw, SASSY books share untamed truths, spiritual insights and entrepreneurial witchcraft with women who want to kick ass in life and start revolutions. is an exciting new imprint for today's new generation of girl-power readers, but how would publisher Lisa Clark define her readership for the benefit of new writers interested in writing for her? "SASSY readers are gutsy girls. They're passionate women who are looking for reading material that challenges, entertains and stimulates them. Read more
It was quite an endeavor for me to start my own literary agency. You have to find the right name and the right type of projects to work on as a literary agent. You have to find ways to let writers know about your agency and what qualifies you to be a literary agent. Read more
Jessie Burton's road to success is interesting because it's only just happened, following the publication of her first novel The Miniaturist in July. Read more
'I like David Foster Wallace's notion that writer's block is always a function of the writer having set a too-high bar for herself. You know: you type a line, it fails to meet the "masterpiece standard," you delete it in shame, type another line, delete it - soon the hours have flown by and you are a failure sitting in front of a blank screen.
'I like David Foster Wallace's notion that writer's block is always a function of the writer having set a too-high bar for herself. You know: you type a line, it fails to meet the "masterpiece standard," you delete it in shame, type another line, delete it - soon the hours have flown by and you are a failure sitting in front of a blank screen. Read more
'Writing isn't like math; in math, two plus two always equals four no matter what your mood is like. With writing, the way you feel changes everything.'
"Our species is the only creative species, and it has only one creative instrument: the individual mind and spirit of man," writes John Steinbeck in East of Eden. "Nothing was ever created by two men. There are no good collaborations, whether in music, in art, in poetry, in mathematics, in philosophy."
UK literary festival organisers face an uncertain future after losing the funding provided by investment group Baillie Gifford, with many paying tribute to the group's "commitment to the industry" pointing to the security the money offered to smaller book events.
Diana Urban is the author of several YA thrillers, including All Your Twisted Secrets and the upcoming Paris catacombs survival story, Under the Surface (Putnam, Aug. 13). In this essay, Urban reflects on why young readers are so enthralled by murder-centric stories, making mysteries and thrillers such hot genres in YA publishing today.
Children in the UK and Ireland are reading fewer books than they did last year, according to a new report, as post-Covid absences from school and a lack of dedicated reading time contribute to lower reading abilities.
If you ever want to feel a sense of awe, try standing near an erupting volcano. The late author Michael Crichton was fascinated with volcanoes for most of his life. And even now, 16 years after his death, among the countless books and papers at his office in Santa Monica you'll find stacks of volcano research.
The Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) has called on the next government to "enshrine protections for writers" in its manifesto recommendations ahead of the forthcoming general election.
The trade union representing writers wants the next government to implement its recommendations around fair pay, fair treatment, sustainability, and copyright and AI.
'Writing is of you, but it's not YOU'
'I like David Foster Wallace's notion that writer's block is always a function of the writer having set a too-high bar for herself. You know: you type a line, it fails to meet the "masterpiece standard," you delete it in shame, type another line, delete it - soon the hours have flown by and you are a failure sitting in front of a blank screen. Read more