We've had a lot of gloomy threads lately about the state of the publishing world, so I thought I'd stick in something on the positive side to balance it.
Basically I'm wondering if we're not the only ones depressed by the mulch of celebrity memoirs and bestseller-clones which seem to dominate publishers' lists these days.
In the UK at least, a number of prominent people seem to be throwing their weight behind a search for new writers and fresh voices. There's this, for instance:
The Brit Writers' Awards 2010 for Unpublished Writers
There's an entry fee of £10, but the top prize is £10,000 - which, as they say, is the highest ever offered to an unpublished writer. It seems to be supported by literacy groups, libraries - and the main political parties too (all except the actual government, of course). It looks as if the website isn't quite finished yet, and I couldn't find details of how to submit a novel, but what's interesting is that this is happening at all.
Then there's also this:
The York Festival of Writing
OK, residential workshops aren't new, and doubtless someone's making a profit out of this somewhere, but what is different is the number of agents and publishers supporting it. Some very top people are going to be there - eg Darley Anderson is going himself, so's Barry Cunningham (who launched J.K.Rowling), Simon Trewin of United Artists, Lorella Belli, people from Blake Friedmann, A.M.Heath etc etc. Writers are to be given the chance to pitch 'one-to-one' to agents and editors and get a quickie critique on their work.
What intrigues me most about it is why these agents are going. I know the fee is small (my own agent is going) so the only reason I can think of is that agents are actively looking for new writers and want to encourage anything that improves the quality of submissions and thus increases the chances of a new voice getting out there.
To me this is all good. It also suggests some little tiny green shoots of recovery in there somewhere, as if lists are opening again and those cautious agents and publishers are beginning to stick their heads out and look around for what's there.
Has anyone else seen/heard any good news they can share? Are there any signs in the US yet? Could we (possibly) be starting to see glimpses of a dawn at last?
Or am I just being Pollyanna?
Louise
Basically I'm wondering if we're not the only ones depressed by the mulch of celebrity memoirs and bestseller-clones which seem to dominate publishers' lists these days.
In the UK at least, a number of prominent people seem to be throwing their weight behind a search for new writers and fresh voices. There's this, for instance:
The Brit Writers' Awards 2010 for Unpublished Writers
There's an entry fee of £10, but the top prize is £10,000 - which, as they say, is the highest ever offered to an unpublished writer. It seems to be supported by literacy groups, libraries - and the main political parties too (all except the actual government, of course). It looks as if the website isn't quite finished yet, and I couldn't find details of how to submit a novel, but what's interesting is that this is happening at all.
Then there's also this:
The York Festival of Writing
OK, residential workshops aren't new, and doubtless someone's making a profit out of this somewhere, but what is different is the number of agents and publishers supporting it. Some very top people are going to be there - eg Darley Anderson is going himself, so's Barry Cunningham (who launched J.K.Rowling), Simon Trewin of United Artists, Lorella Belli, people from Blake Friedmann, A.M.Heath etc etc. Writers are to be given the chance to pitch 'one-to-one' to agents and editors and get a quickie critique on their work.
What intrigues me most about it is why these agents are going. I know the fee is small (my own agent is going) so the only reason I can think of is that agents are actively looking for new writers and want to encourage anything that improves the quality of submissions and thus increases the chances of a new voice getting out there.
To me this is all good. It also suggests some little tiny green shoots of recovery in there somewhere, as if lists are opening again and those cautious agents and publishers are beginning to stick their heads out and look around for what's there.
Has anyone else seen/heard any good news they can share? Are there any signs in the US yet? Could we (possibly) be starting to see glimpses of a dawn at last?
Or am I just being Pollyanna?
Louise
