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Books for writers

Writers' bookshelf

We invite author-reviewers to recommend their favourite books for writers

Maureen Kincaid SpellerMaureen Kincaid Speller a reviewer, writer, editor and former librarian, is our book reviewer and also works for WritersServices as a freelance editor., freelance editor, reviewer, writer and former librarian, is our first reviewer. Her views are her own and she is completely independent of WritersServices.

She has chosen:  Read more

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'Go for broke'

30 January 2023

'Go for broke. Always try and do too much. Dispense with safety nets. Take a deep breath before you begin talking. Aim for the stars. Keep grinning. Be bloody-minded. Argue with the world.  Read more

'By the time I am nearing the end of a story, the first part will have been reread and altered and corrected at least one hundred and fifty times. I am suspicious of both facility and speed. Good writing is essentially rewriting. I am positive of this.'

— Roald Dahl

Worldbuilding 5: culture

Mon, 30/01/2023 - 6:28pm
Culture

Culture is a slippery concept; it's one of those terms we all know the meaning of until we actually think about it. For the writer, culture can be a two-edged sword: ignore it and your story lacks depth, colour and context; focus too much on it and you risk bamboozling - or worse, boring - your reader into putting the book down.  Read more

Primadonna Prize

Information

Closing date: 
13 March 2023
Entry: 
Unpublished authors 18 years old or over resident in the UK. Entry fee £8
Prize: 
Book contract with HQ with advance of £7,500 and agent representation

The Primadonna Prize for unsigned and un-agented authors will, for the first time, offer the winner a book contract with HQ with an advance of £7,500 for world English rights.  Read more

16 January 2023 - What's new

January 2023
  • ‘It's a big part of the job. Being able to put yourself in their shoes is really important. I'm not a writer, but I watch a lot of author content online and I read a lot of stuff from authors. Having that perspective is really important for me to be able to give my authors context. Their emotions are important. If they're disappointed we didn't sell, so am I.
  Read more