Australian author, literary agent, consultant

Australian writers: think twice before diving into the publishers’ slush pile

February 26, 2012 Improve your writing

Have you noticed that some of Australia’s leading book publishers are actively seeking unsolicited manuscript submissions? It has been years since most publishers accepted unsolicited manuscripts, whether fiction or nonfiction. Until recently, most manuscripts arrived via a literary agent, whose decision to represent the author was supposed to indicate quality. This recent development is the [...]

Reading irrespective of the subject: Geoff Dyer on nonfiction

February 20, 2012 Memoir

Regular readers know of my lit-crush on Geoff Dyer (see here and here). In this interview with ASH Smyth over at Guernica on the occasion of his new book Zona, he has many interesting things to say, but here I’ll focus on what he says about nonfiction book proposals and the differences between writing fiction and nonfiction. [...]

Turning academics into writers for general readers

February 15, 2012 Memoir

I’ve already made it clear I’m a fan of Griffith Review, though for this reason and that reason I could be considered one-eyed. I wanted to alert you to their Humanities in the Community masterclasses in Brisbane and Melbourne, which is a partnership between Griffith Review and the Writing Centre for Scholars and Researchers (WCSR) [...]

Applications to Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund due 24 February

February 14, 2012 Grants for writers

If you’re an Australian nonprofit supporting creative artists, your project may be eligible for a grant from CAL’s Cultural Fund. Read on to find out. If so, you’ve got less than ten days to get your application in. What is Copyright Agency? Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) provides simple ways for people to reproduce, store and [...]

Fiona Higgins’ The Mothers’ Group is almost here!

February 11, 2012 Client book news and links

I am delighted that my client Fiona Higgins’ debut novel, The Mothers’ Group, will be released in just a few weeks. Allen & Unwin are publishing the book in Australia, where it’s already getting a lot of buzz from booksellers. There’s a lot more going on behind the scenes with this wonderful book that I [...]

Put on these glasses if you’re going to write memoir

February 5, 2012 Improve your writing

In her “three-part rant” on the PEN Center USA blog, Shanna Mahin makes a series of sharp and timely points about the art and craft of writing memoir. Like many readers, myself included, Shanna is tired of memoir being considered the “red-headed stepchild of the literary world”. She writes: Good memoir adheres to the same guidelines [...]

Mamamia announces e-book publishing division

January 31, 2012 Publishing

Publisher Mia Freedman has just announced on her Mamamia website that her company will be publishing e-books in 2012. Managing Editor of Mamamia Publishing will be Rebecca Sparrow, columnist, author, and until recently, Mamamia’s deputy editor. The Mamamia platform is a textbook launching pad for an e-book publishing venture. Over the past several years, [...]

My most-retweeted writers’ resources links

January 29, 2012 Memoir

Here’s a quick round-up of writers’ resources I recently pointed to on Twitter that have proven popular retweets: My How to find grants for writers contains links to both US and Australian foundations and funding bodies and was my most popular tweet of last week, followed by the brilliant Poets & Writers resource Top Ten Topics for [...]

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Australian author, literary agent, and grant writer/researcher