City University are currently accepting applications for their Novel Studio course 2014/15, with a deadline of 31 May. They're also running a competition this year open to all applicants. The top three applications will be put forward to Christine Green Author’s agency with a view to representation.
It’s a great course and lots of alumni go on to publish. You can apply here.
Triskele Books, The Alliance of Independent Authors and the Chorleywood Literary Festival will be coming together in this autumn to organise an Indie Author Fair in Chorleywood. The event is on the afternoon of Sunday 16th November, indie authors can book a table at which they can sell their books, chat to readers and - if they wish - offer 'Human Library' style one-to-one sessions one specific topics (e.g. design, editing, marketing...) Afternoon teas will be served throughout to encourage people to come in and browse.
You can register to take part here. For any further information please send an email to Catriona Troth at catriona.troth@gmail.com
Those nice people at The Literary Consultancy have a conference coming up on June 13th - 15th and have offered Byte The Book Subscribers a discount
Here are some more details:
TLC is delighted to offer an exclusive 20% discount to Byte The Book subscribers on tickets to its 2014 Literary Conference. Featuring over 30 industry specialists in curated talks and panels, as well as a day of masterclasses, live pitch sessions, and one-on-ones with TLC, ALLi, Amazon KDP & CreateSpace, Arts Council England, epubli and Kobo Writing Life. All attendees are eligible for entry into the Pen Factor Writing Competition, with a prize package worth £3,000 sponsored by Kobo Writing Life.
When booking please quote 'Digi20' to redeem your discount. Offer valid until 30th May.
Website: http://literaryconsultancy.co.uk/2014-conference/
For May’s Byte The Book event, Sara O’Connor (Digital and Editorial Director, Hot Key Books), Theo Gray (co-founder of Touchpress) and Michael Bhaskar (Digital Publishing Director at Profile Books) gathered to discuss the topic of innovation in publishing.
The debate began with a few thoughts on how publishing professionals define this rather elusive word.
Host Justine Solomons thanks May sponsors The Publishers Association (sitting on the pink sofa in the front row).
Theo pointed out that innovation is, by its very nature, almost impossible to predict or anticipate. He stressed the importance of distinguishing between innovation and novelty, stating that proper innovation changes how we do things in a long-term way (the book itself, for instance, was one of our earliest true innovations - and, centuries later, it has barely changed). Michael described himself as “suspicious of the word”, adding wryly that “it’s something people trot out when they want to get an MBA”. For him, genuine innovation needs to be both really new and really useful. So, by this definition, eBooks technically aren’t an innovation, as in their basic form they simply replicate the business model of print books. Sara, meanwhile, was keen to add that innovation needn’t be ‘successful’ (as in monetarily so) to be considered important.
Justine Solomons and panellists, right to left, Michael Bhaskar, Theo Gray and Sara O’Connor
So, what are the current best examples of innovation in the publishing world? Sara praised the work of Nottingham-based sci-fi/fantasy publishers Angry Robot, as well as Macmillan for their recent Instagram “Choose Your Own Adventure” Game. Hot Key, too, are innovating in their own sector of the industry, the children’s market; for example, a recent Hot Key project saw an author writing a chapter a week, actively inviting feedback from young readers, adapting his novel accordingly and listing the contributors’ names in the finished product. Much positive mention was made of the games world, where Theo pointed out that people become millionaires quite literally overnight by displaying extraordinary levels of ingenuity and creative flair. Grand Theft Auto, he said, was spectacularly innovative, but its ubiquity is such that we now sometimes forget this. Michael added that while much recent innovation in publishing has been on the technical side, we’re beginning to see innovation in content, and this is enormously exciting. All the best innovation, he underlined, is author-initiated and story-driven.
A tweeting crowd listening to Michael Bhaskar's comments
The discussion concluded with some reflection on how the publishing industry can innovate more effectively in the future. Sara suggested that publishing professionals need to “blow their own trumpets more”, stressing that we must talk to each other, help each other and share ideas. However, she added that, at its heart, this business is still just “putting one word in front of the other”. Theo underlined the importance of getting it wrong, hundreds of times, then narrowing down to focus on what really works. “Ideas are a dime a dozen,” he explained, “so you have to weed out the good ones”. Michael brought up Clayton Christensen’s book The Innovator’s Dilemma, which postulates that companies find it hard to innovate because innovations, by definition, disrupt pre-conceived business models, and most companies can’t (or won’t) do that. However, he warned, “if you’re not innovating, you’re being innovated at”, and someone else will swoop in to disrupt your model if you’re not prepared to do it yourself.
Another full to capacity crowd at The Club at the Ivy.
Finally, observed Michael, there’s no such thing as a new idea - just an old one, reinvented. Which must mean it’s time for the rest of us to get out there and do some reinventing...
Words by Chris Russell, photos by Daniel Solomons.
If you enjoyed this report why not book to join us at The Club at The Ivy on Monday 16th June 2014 .
Often cited as a favourite conference for all those in children's media, we're very pleased to announce that The Children's Media Conference are offering Byte the Book subscribers an extended early bird discount this year. Here are some more details:
Registration is now open for The Children’s Media Conference which takes place from Wednesday 2nd to Friday 4th July in Sheffield.
Visit www.thechildrensmediaconference.com to register.
The CMC Early Bird rate of £255+ VAT is now on sale until 7th May and is available for everyone to buy.
Special Offer After 7th May:
When the CMC Early Bird booking period is over, our members will be able to still get the special discounted rate of £255 + VAT right up until the start of the conference - a saving of £85 + VAT on the full rate of £340 + VAT.
After 7th May, please contact info@bytethebook.com to get your discount code which you’ll need in order to register for the special offer.
In the meantime The CMC team are looking out for volunteers to produce sessions. If you want to be involved please contact The CMC Editorial Director, Greg Childs . A complimentary pass is given to all Session Producers.
With the theme ‘Child@Heart’, CMC 2014 is getting back to basics and considering what it means to be a child in Britain today. It’ll look at how shifting technology, global media brands, pan-platform properties, public service providers, engaging in the live space, mobile media and kids and teens as media-makers impact on that perspective.
The CMC is the UK’s premier gathering for the kids’ media and entertainment industry. Last year it welcomed over 900 delegates from television, radio, film, games, interactive media, magazine and book publishing, the licensing and toy sectors and the arts and culture sectors.
Come and meet the people you didn’t know you needed to meet, and learn the things you didn’t know you needed to know.
Do you fancy doing some creative writing in warmer climes? How about taking a writing course out in Greece? Here are some more details:
The British Council and Kingston Writing School are proud to announce the second annual International Creative Writing Summer School in partnership with Kingston University, London. This year the Athens International Creative Writing Summer School will be bigger and better, with specialist workshops for anyone wishing to enhance their skills and talent as a writer. Established writers and Kingston University professors will work in small groups with writers from across the world on an intensive programme which will involve workshops, a range of writing activities, group discussions, readings and one-to-one tutorials.
Whether you are an aspiring writer embarking on your first writing project, an accomplished writer, poet or a writer somewhere in between, the International Creative Writing Summer School will give you the opportunity to explore and develop your imaginative and expressive potential and maximise the impact of your work.
Courses
ATHENS
Fiction / Flash Fiction Writing Course
Two-week course: 2nd- 14th June 2014
with Adam Baron and James Miller
Non- Fiction Writing Course
Two-week course: 2nd- 14th June 2014
with Maurice Walsh and Norma Clark
Mixed Genre Writing Course
Three-week course: 2nd – 21st June 2014
with Bonnie Greer, Catherine Smith and Jonathan Barnes
Poetry Writing Course
Two-week course: 16th- 28th June 2014
with Jane Yeh and Paul Perry
Fiction Writing Course
Two-week course: 16th- 28th June 2014
with Julia Stuart and Dr. James Miller
Literary Translation course
Two-week course: 16th- 28th June 2014
With David Connolly (second name to be announced soon)
Lecture Series
British Literature and Art in Greece
Every Saturday from 31 May to 28 June 2014
THESSALONIKI
Fiction Writing Course
One –week course: 2nd -6th June 2014
with Paul Bailey
Information
For further details of the creative writing courses, the application procedure and accommodation advice, please contact Maria Papaioannou:
Email: Maria.Papaioannou@britishcouncil.gr
Telephone: +30 210 369 2336 / 333
Fax: +30 210 361 4658
Postal address:
Maria Papaioannou, British Council, 17 Kolonaki Square, 106 73 Athens, Greece
Early Bird Deadline: 7th April 2014
Deadline for the applications: 12th May 2014
Host: Justine Solomons, Chair Sam Missingham, Panel: Jon Woolcott (Buying and Marketing Director at Stanfords Map and Travel Specialists Bookshop), Julia Kingsford (Business Development & Consumer Insight Consultant at ValoBox) and Simon Edwards (Director of The Little Ripon Bookshop and Consultant at BIC). Our sponsor on this occasion was The Great British Bookshop.
This proved to be another highly popular evening with a great turnout. Sam began by examining the cause of the decline in indie bookshops, as reported by the Booksellers Association. Julia then spoke about the role of Amazon, pointing out that though livelihoods had been destroyed by the demise of the traditional bookshop, there was a positive gain in Amazon’s ability to bring books to all. Simon said customers continued to be appreciative of the personal service good bookshops were able to offer and Jon spoke about the benefit to specialist customers of being able to engage with bookshops specific to their requirements. Sam then talked about the huge success Foyles was enjoying and felt this amply demonstrated the desire for a good bookshop was still current at the present time. Julia, (formerly head of marketing at Foyles) felt it was important for bookshops to find ways of promoting book reading to the non-reading element of the public.
It's standing room only again at Byte the Book (photo by Sam Missingham)
A discussion followed about the practice of ‘Showrooming’ in which people browse in shops but buy online. The panel had a mixed response with Jon pointing out that if a customer bought from Stanfords online it was still a sale for the shop itself. And with regard to Amazon, although they unquestionably dominated the market Simon pointed out that initially they had endured heavy losses. Sam then questioned whether it had been wise for Waterstones to deal with Amazon. Jon maintained they had no choice as it was necessary to be able to sell Kindle in shops.
It was generally felt by the panel that the real issues in bookselling were the questions about how the market could be broadened to include the non book buying sector. Julia felt that Sainsbury’s and Tesco’s entering the market as booksellers was important in that it would bring books into more lives. Sam then spoke about the direction bookselling might take and wondered how the landscape would look in say, ten years’ time. Simon was optimistic that there would still be a good demand, especially for very beautiful books and people would continue to enjoy seeing what was on offer in bookshops. Julia hoped that future trends would include finding new ways to disseminate brilliant content into as many new hands as possible as it was invaluable to create more readers of high quality material. Jon wondered whether the book trade was at a turning point. But in sum he too felt that overall there would not be a dramatic decline in the sphere.
Our panel from left to right: Julia Kingsford, Jon Woolcott and Simon Edwards with guest chair Sam Missingham
A number of questions were raised from the floor, covering such topics as the position of non-fiction in future markets and also how works of translation were likely to fare. Simon said these were presently better catered for than ever before. A member of the audience asked whether publishers listened to booksellers sufficiently and Jon felt that there could be room for improvement here. Future marketing methods were also discussed, prompted by further questions from the audience, and a number of Interesting ideas were put forward concerning experiments with ‘bundling’ and other tenable book selling strategies. Much more needed to be thought about on the subject of format, and how hardback, paperback and E book might work together more cohesively at some future point. Julia said that the public wants easy access to what is available and it was hoped that future marketing methods would make this increasingly possible to achieve.
March Byte the Book sponsors, The Great British Bookshop/PrintOnDemand Worldwide: Andy Cork, Jean Roberts, Andy Simpson and Lisa Bass.
This was an engaging event in which the audience as well as the panel, were clearly highly enthused, and participated fully in the discussions which occurred. All in all this created a lively and energetic ambience which made for the excellent and positive networking which then took place.
Words by Jay Merill , photos by Jennifer Mills unless otherwise stated.
Review by Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone
Pre-order this book here.
When I begin a novel, I anticipate a journey into new or differently interpreted experiences and I hope to be provoked into new or deeper avenues of thought. Wounding satisfied all these hopes. The novel tells the story of Cora, a woman in her thirties, who seems to have everything: a loving husband, two children (boy and girl), a good job, a house with a garden. But Cora is not happy, she is lost in a world in which the demands of others, specifically of the family, define her, robbing her of a sense of her own identity.
Half of the narrative is in Cora’s husband’s voice. He tells us the story of how they got together and their life as a couple. He is so desperate to make their marriage work that despite being haunted, almost mesmerised, by the absence he senses in Cora, he does his best to see what we all expect to see, not what is really there.
Wounding is painful to read because it asks difficult questions we prefer to avoid. At the heart of Wounding is what society sees as the unnatural mother, the monster we hide in a labyrinth of excuses, tiredness mostly. Every mother has experienced a longing to be alone and a subsequent feeling of horror once the longing is granted – what are we now the needs of others are not there to direct our actions? Every mother has lost control, shouted, felt remorseful, a failure. Cora is the deepest expression of those anxieties and though she does nothing beyond what could be tamed into normality, her coldness is shocking even to Cora herself. She understands her own monstrosity and seeks to absolve herself in pain. Some may find this search unnerving, it is a religious sort of purging she seeks, and eventually it consumes her. The pain remakes her, allows her to feel herself again. The beginning of the novel suggests that that remaking process is ongoing, that the challenges of marriage and parenthood cannot be easily shrugged off, and remain even after the darkest of actions.
Provoking debate around the difficulties of being a modern mother makes Wounding a seriously important contemporary novel, but Wounding is not only contentious it is also beautifully written. You feel drawn in to the extent that I almost couldn’t breath as the words compelled me to absorb myself in Cora’s world. Wounding is a beautiful, brutal novel that should be on the top of all the most important reading lists of 2014. Out in April and published by Bluemoose Books, make sure you pre-order your copy now.
Rebekah's novel Home has just been re-published by Red Button and is available to buy here
We were really excited to hear about CompletelyNovel's event next month, it sounds like a great opportunity for authors and readers alike. Here are some more details:
Author applications are now open for The One Big Book Launch – a unique event that aims to ensure that good books get read, however they’re published.
With hundreds of thousands of books published every year, the indie author or small press are finding it increasingly difficult to get their book noticed over the masses. Often, book sales don’t represent the quality of the writing or storytelling, but rather the ‘name’ of the author.
To help change this, the publishing platform CompletelyNovel have partnered with Literally PR, to create The One Big Book Launch – a unique event where authors can come together, share publicity and share their celebrations at a top London venue.
On April 30th 2014, 10 outstanding authors will be chosen to launch their respective books at The Free Word Centre in London, among members of the press, literary scouts and their family and friends. As well as celebrating their achievement, authors can expect increased publicity for their book from press, sponsors and their peers.
There will be free-flowing wine and canapés on the evening, and authors involved will each have a stall to sign and sell books. They will also have the chance to do a book reading to an eager crowd of up to 200 guests. Exclusive discounts and prizes will be available to all those involved from event sponsors Kobo Writing Life, Scrivener and Moo.com.
Helen Lewis at Literally PR says: “We are thrilled to be part of this incredibly exciting, début event. We've organised many media parties and book launches over the years. They’re such a fantastic way to celebrate the author’s hard work and move on to the next phase in the literary process – getting people to know about your book! One Big Book Launch provides authors with a chance to experience a successful and fun book launch event for their own book.”
All authors with books published between 1st January and 30th April are invited to submit for a place in the event at https://completelynovel.com/press/one-big-book-launch. Books will be judged by a panel from CompletelyNovel and chosen on the quality of writing, and commercial potential.
Review by Tracey Sinclair.
If you like the ‘classic’ ghost stories of Susan Hill and her ilk, then you’ll love this tale of an Arctic adventure gone tragically wrong. Tense, atmospheric and gorgeously written, it is as much a study of love, class and loneliness as it is a ghost story. In fact, my main criticism would be that giving it the subtitle ‘A Ghost Story’ might be a good marketing ploy by the publishers but detracts from the pleasure of the book itself, where for much of the time we are left wondering whether we are seeing a genuine haunting or the unravelling of a man lost to utter isolation.
It is 1937 and the working class Jack Miller has found himself in severe financial straits and agreeing to join an Arctic exploration with three keen but inexperienced Oxbridge graduates. Despite initial tensions – Jack feels his impoverished state and the class differences keenly – the expedition gets off to a good start but is soon subject to various calamities which result in Jack being left alone to hold the fort in a remote, frozen region. One which, it soon becomes apparent, holds more than the usual dangers…
Paver, who is best known perhaps for her children’s books, is a sparse and elegant writer, her prose beautifully capturing the snow-bound scenery and the solitude of the protagonist. The ghost story is serviceably creepy, but it isn’t that which is compelling – it’s the finely observed characters, an achingly romantic doomed love story (only briefly touched on, but still heart wrenching) and a sense of desolation that stays with you long after the book is over. She also captures well the small slights of poverty, the friction of class and the insecurities of someone who is doubly an outsider. It’s not a long book: I read it in one sitting some time ago, while the winds were howling at my windows, an unintendedly suitable soundtrack. Clichéd though it is to say of a ghost story, it’s a tale that has haunted me since.
Tracey Sinclair’s second novel in the Cassandra Bick Chronicles series, Wolf Night, was self-published earlier this year and can be purchased here.
