March 2025: news for emerging authors
Spring has sprung and so we too must spring into action. I make no apologies for that pun and I hope it made you smile. There was so much author-relevant news last month, including the passing of the award-winning and beloved children’s author Alex Wheatle; the Booksellers Association committing to piloting a mentoring programme for candidates from the global majority to diversify bookselling staff across the country; and even The Bookseller’s own editor Philip Jones reflecting on a request for more representation from Wheatle years ago, and whether The Bookseller did enough to deliver on it.
Feb 2025: news for emerging authors
Dear emerging authors and writers working on emerging soon-ish,
Welcome to this somewhat weighty edition of News For Emerging Authors. Who’d have thought it would only take 2025 a couple of months to let us know that the change I warned you about last month, is very much here and making itself known? Thankfully, I have waded through some long reads from February that tell us exactly what we need to know about engaging with the publishing industry at the moment. Buckle up, there may be some bumps ahead.
Jan 2025: news for emerging authors
Dear authors, creatives and those still unsure about calling themselves writers,
It’s News For Emerging Authors time again. Let’s all collectively look back at the previous month like it’s a crystal ball that could tell us our futures if we just squint hard enough and really believe.
December 2024: news for emerging authors
Dear writers and emerging multi-hyphenates,
Happy New Year! 2024 was a time, wasn’t it? I think the general consensus is that it was fair to middlin’ – but especially tough for those of us in the book writing business. With an increase in author requests for hardship grants and the constant announcement of the next "big best-selling celebrity book", the industry has felt a bit like an unwelcome desert for aspiring authors, with only a mirage of book deals seemingly on offer.
November 2024: news for emerging authors
Welcome to the November round-up. That means it’s already December, but let’s not dwell on that. Instead, I’m going to be honest with you—I had to trawl through a lot of disheartening news about the need for hardship grants among authors and the ever-present problem of chasing payments owed, before I found some nuggets of hope that will power us through into 2025.