More rumours…
Following on from my last post, I was amazed to hear that bookshop behemoth Barnes & Noble is now up for sale. If even they can’t make money, how do the smaller guys stand a chance? Or maybe, as the…
Rumours of the death of bookshops
I got depressed about bookshops recently. A great little London literary magazine, Smoke, has just published its last issue. The editor/founder Matt Haynes explained: Of the hundred-odd shops that stocked our early issues, well over half have now closed. And…
Cinders
Just wanted to share the exciting news that one of my regular readers, Michelle Davidson Argyle (aka Lady Glamis) has just published her first book. I haven’t read it yet, but the extracts I’ve seen were very intriguing. It’s the…
New Yorker 20 under 40
Ah, another list. Another list that makes me feel inadequate, not only because I’m not on it but because I haven’t even read any of the people who are on it. The closest I can get is having seen Chimamanda…
Public Lending Right
It’s sad to see that the budget for Public Lending Right is being cut by the new Tory/LibDem government. It’s a worthwhile scheme that provides income to writers. OK, at six pence per loan it’s not a huge amount, but…
Forecasting the future
The Society of Young Publishers hit on an interesting idea in a recent issue of its magazine inPrint. They dug up an old article from 1998, in which Waterstones Managing Director Alan Giles was giving his thoughts about the future…
Luke Bitmead Writer’s Bursary 2010
My publisher, Legend Press, just announced that submissions are open for the 2010 Luke Bitmead Writer’s Bursary. This is the contest that gave me my break into publishing when I won it in 2008. The prize is £2,500 and a…
Master the Shorts
Lady Glamis just wrote a great series on short story writing. It includes a useful list of markets to submit to, loads of good advice, and also a short story contest. So if you have a story to submit, do…
Kingdom of Ife
Went to see a wonderful exhibition recently at the British Museum called Kingdom of Ife – Sculptures from West Africa. It was a collection of beautiful sculptures, mostly heads like the one pictured, done in bronze, copper and terracotta, and…