23 July 2012

'I like this age (68). Everything still works. I play squash twice a week. And I feel at peace with myself for the first time, in particular with my decision to be a writer. Writing never came naturally and I still have to force my hand to do it... Richard Ford in the Observer, quoted in our Comment column.
Our latest links to interesting blogs or articles posted online has produced the following: “Destroy Amazon!”: Rakuten Kobo and Kodansha's Tokyo Love-in and Penelope Trunk's How I got a big advance from a big publisher and self-published anyway.
'The purchase of Author Solutions Inc by Pearson this week for $116m marks the first significant investment by an established publisher in a self-publishing service. Author Solutions was formed in 2007 from the merging of iUniverse, AuthorHouse and other related self-publishing services. Perhaps surprisingly in view of the booming self-publishing market, the company had been put up for sale earlier this year.' News Review on the latest acquisition news.
Our Writing Opportunity this week is the National Poetry CompetitionAnnual poetry prize run by the UK-based Poetry Society established in 1978; accepts entries from all over the world; over 10,000 poems submitted each year, closing on 31 October, which attracts entries in English from all over the world.
Our checklist on Entering competitions helps you to review how you approach competitions and to make sure you give yourself the best possible chance of winning.
Our reviewer, Maureen Kincaid Speller a reviewer, writer, editor and former librarian, is our book reviewer and also works for WritersServices as a freelance editor., said of the The Arvon Book of Life Writing by Sally Cline and Carole Angier: 'Many people want to write about someone's life, perhaps their own, and there are courses to suit every level of interest, from university masters degrees to local college qualifications' and concluded that it was: 'a brisk and helpful guide on how to set about writing a life story... It is a sensible account of life writing from experienced practitioners of what is both art and craft, and I recommend it!'
'The good ended happily, the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means.' Oscar Wilde in our Writers' Quotes. Our enormous backlist of quotes contains a cornucopia of writers sayings.