A bit of a serious note, but a very important issue for this fortnight’s BookMachine article. As ever, read the rest of the article over on the BookMachine blog:

On Saturday, Egyptian lawyer and human rights activist, Nasser Amin challenged the law stating the Egyptian authorities are allowed to imprison writers who publish works that are in ‘violation of the public morals’. The statement was made during the court trial of Ahmed Naji, who had an excerpt of his novel The Use of Life, published in Akhbar al-Adab magazine in August 2014. The piece contained explicit sex acts and made reference to the hashish that was used by the main characters. Under the current law, this is enough for the authorities to jail him.

Yet, Nasser Amin isn’t the only writer struggling to exercise his right to freedom of expression. Every year, huge numbers of writers, bloggers and journalists around the world are imprisoned, detained, or even killed, for what they have written. Even now, at a time of year when many of us are thinking about hunkering down with family for the winter, persecuted writers are facing sentences and threats that leave them alone, fearful and in danger.

Continue reading “BookMachine | Not at Home for the Holidays: The writers behind bars for freedom of expression”

It’s been a couple of months in the making, and now I am completely delighted to say that Desk Drawer has been selected for publication in the very first Open Pen Anthology!

My first ever published short story The Yellow Moth was printed in Open Pen, so it seems appropriate that my first inclusion in an anthology will be with them as well! I’m really delighted to be working with editor Sean Preston and all the team again.

The Open Pen Anthology is due for release in March 2016. You can preorder your copy right here.

The IPG do this great regular column where they ask someone ten questions about their job – and, you guessed it, today they asked me! You can read the full interview over on the IPG Blog.

What does your average working day entail?

Landing at my desk, checking in with all our social media outlets, answering any emails that have come in overnight, then getting stuck in to some editing. I do a lot of administrative support around the office and help organize our events as well, so my role is pretty varied. When I have a free moment, I try to get round to reading as many submissions as I can, though there always seems to be more to read than there are hours in the day!

What do you enjoy most about your job?

Definitely reading submissions. I enjoy editing too, but there’s a certain excitement about coming across a gem of a story buried in the slushpile that just can’t be beaten.

Continue reading “IPG | On being an Editorial Assistant”

BookMachine time of the fortnight again – this time, should we be getting rid of the returns system in publishing? Read more here.

Publishing is an unusual industry in many ways, yet perhaps the most bizarre of its kinks is the returns system. Under this system, provided certain criteria are met, booksellers of all kinds are able to return unsold books back to their original publisher. The publisher then has to refund their value and either house the overstock or pulp it.

But has the system become more damaging than it is profitable? And where, when no other industry conducts this practice, did it originate?

Continue reading “BookMachine | It’s not you, it’s me: is it time to divorce the returns system?”

This fortnight on BookMachine, it’s all about colouring!

In the past year the industry has seen a new craze for adult colouring-in books flourish around the world, crossing markets and continents, as stressed-out grown-ups turn to colouring books for peace of mind.

The market has ballooned faster than the London property market, but publishers are beginning to wonder how long this growth is sustainable for. Once it stops growing, will it shrink? And what does the current obsession with these books mean for the industry overall?

Continue reading “BookMachine | Is the Colouring-In Book Craze a Finite Market?”

Big, big, BIG news! Haverthorn Vol 1.2, featuring my work of flash fiction Until Then, Sister has gone live!

You can buy a copy for only £4.50 right here. The magazine also features longer fiction and poetry from a plethora of great writers, so its well worth the purchase.

Until Then, Sister is published on the back of winning Third Place at last year’s Kilburn Literary Festival Flash Fiction Competition.

Many thanks once again to everyone at Haverthorn for being so supportive and friendly. It’s been a real pleasure working with you all!

This fortnight on BookMachine, we’re learning how to lose control to gain independence. Sounds like a contradiction? I thought so too at first.

There is a theory stating that 1000 True Fans are all a person needs to make a living from their own products. Whether you’re selling books, songs, music or paintings, having 1000 True Fans who are willing to spend about £30 per year on your products will keep you afloat. It may sound unlikely, and according to the anecdotes it’s a pretty hard road, but it is possible.

What’s more, the theory is equally applicable to businesses and companies: for every extra person involved, simply add another 1000 True Fans to the total that you need.

But why does this theory work? And why is it becoming more popular?

Continue reading “BookMachine | Love Losing Control: 1000 True Fans and Marketing 2.0”

I’m very pleased to say that Seven Stages, my latest piece of flash fiction has been selected as one of six finalists for the Kilburn literary Festival Flash Fiction Competition 2016.

This is the second year in a row that one of my pieces has been selected and I’m totally thrilled. Thank you so much to the Festival panel for bringing me this far!

Come along to the North London Tavern on 28th October for a public vote with live readings of all six shortlisted stories. There’s also a great restaurant downstairs if you want to arrive early for dinner.

For more information, see the Festival website.

Every industry has a dark side – even light and fluffy ones like publishing, as we find out on BookMachine this fortnight.

Once again the practice of faking bad reviews has made the headlines, but this time Amazon is the good guy. The online book retailer has announced that it will sue 1,114 ‘fake reviewers’ in a lawsuit filed in Seattle, Washington. The reviewers, dubbed “John Does” as Amazon does not yet know their real names, have been selling their services on the internet out-sourcing site fivrr.com, promising five-star reviews for as little as $5 (about £3.24).

Continue reading “BookMachine | 1000 Fake Reviewers: What does publishing’s underbelly say about us?”

This fortnight for BookMachine, I felt moved to write about very serious and relevant topic. The refugee situation at the moment is really untenable, not just in Europe but around the world.

There are many organisations you can donate to to help those most in need, but my favourite one is UNHCR, who do really excellent work everywhere. If this sort of thing really gets you in the gut, though, rather than simply donating clothes or tents to a camp, maybe consider volunteering there: in Calais in particular, they now need people to help sort through all the donations almost more than they need donations themselves.

Rant over, here’s the article:

Continue reading “BookMachine | Refugee libraries in Calais and beyond”

Building skills in the workplace can be a bit of a minefield – but it doesn’t have to be, and arguably, shouldn’t be. Find out more in this fortnight’s BookMachine article.

Back in the day where a ‘job-for-life’ attitude ruled the workplace, developing skills was a less urgent need than it is today. In a fast-paced world where many young people are encouraged to move between jobs every couple of years, having a solid foundation of skills is crucial to your CV. Yet, it can be tricky to know how to find training courses and funding to build these skills in the first place.

Continue reading “BookMachine | A 3-step beginner’s guide to building skills in the workplace”

I’m completely thrilled to announce that Until Then, Sister has been selected for publication in the incendiary Haverthorn Magazine. Many thanks to the folks over at Haverthorn for choosing it – I’m so excited!

Last year, Until Then, Sister won Third Place in the Kilburn Literary Festival Flash Fiction Competition, and it’s lovely to now be able to announce it’s publication as well.

Issue 1.2 in which the story will be featured is due out in November 2016 – keep your eyes peeled!

How do we best get books into readers hands? Or should I say, onto their devices! Find out in this fortnight’s BookMachine article.

Last week, Apple announced partnerships with 50 publications across 18 publishers, who had all signed up to provide content for the new Apple News app. The platform will aim to provide the best digital news reading service available, in a move to commit to the mobile-first world of technology that we now live in.

There is an increasing pressure on the publishing industry to embrace new technologies such as this. In recent years, we’ve had to fundamentally reassess how we distribute and monetize our content, and continue to do so as new platforms like Apple News present themselves. But how can we best use these technologies to our advantage?

Continue reading “BookMachine | Build or borrow: Making the most of digital distribution platforms”

This fortnight on BookMachine I talked about two of my great loves: short fiction and the digital revolution!

There’s no way around it: short fiction is having a moment. With events like the London Short Story Festival growing an extraordinary amount each year, the publishing industry’s liminal little brother is taking its fair share of the limelight. And it’s got a few things to teach us into the bargain.

A short history of short fiction

The short story in the modern day form, outside the folktales and poetry of Scheherazade and The Canterbury Tales, sprang into existence at some point in the mid-19th century. Through the first short story was arguably Walter Scott’s The Two Doves, short stories really took off outside the UK, mainly in Northern America. Short fiction did not become fashionable in Britain until the 1880s, when writers such as Kipling, James and Wells brought it to the fore.

Continue reading “BookMachine | Short Story, Tall Order: On adapting short fiction for digital audiences”

What are the crucial elements at either end of the publishing scale? Find out in this fortnight’s BookMachine article!

Publishing is an industry that operates between polarities, constantly engaging a series of balancing acts that define the kinds of books we sell and the profit margins we make. But are there canaries in the cage that tell us when we’re veering too far one way or the other? Is it possible to tell when the balance is out of sync before we reach the tipping point? And has the digital revolution of the past few years changed that?

Continue reading “BookMachine | Balancing Act: Keeping publishing’s polarities in check”

As part of my duties reporting for BookBrunch, I was lucky enough to yesterday attend the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize 2015.

The Prize, celebrating its fifth birthday in 2015 with a really extraordinary bookish cake, awards £5,000 to eight writers every year. Its aim is not just to help one writer, but to support eight fiction writers from diverse backgrounds and genres across the UK. More than one of the winners talked about how important this was for them, and that the prize money would go towards enabling them to write their next book.

Continue reading “The Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize”