WRITERS’ NEWS
http://www.writers-online.co.uk JULY 2019^79Bloodhound sniffi ng out talent
UK CRIME MARKET
Gary DalkinIt’s a FunnyOld WorldCrime writer Patricia Highsmith, we’re told,
was ‘so attached to her garden snails that she
once took 100 of them in her bag to a party
so that she’d have someone to talk to’.
Also, she is known to smuggle them
through airports in her bra.
Her unusual travel companions and choice
of party goers were highlighted in The Week’s
regular column, It Must Be True... I read it in
the tabloids.
There was also the story of Magdalena
Dusza who has only one snail – but hers is
very large. ‘She bought the giant African snail
from a pet shop in Krakow six years ago,
and is now so devoted to it, she takes it out
of its tank and cuddles it on the sofa while
watching TV.’- Critic and essayist Charles Lamb
(1775-1834), best known for Essays of Elia,
also tried his hand at writing for the stage,
according to The Mammoth Book of Literary
Anecdotes.
‘In 1809 his farce Mr H was badly
received at the Drury Lane Theatre. In the
theatre pit Lamb joined in the general hissing
which greeted his own effort. Afterwards he
explained that he had done this because he
was “so damnably afraid of being taken for
the author.”’ - Advertising copywriting has kept the wolf
from many a writer’s door. Novelist Fay
Weldon is credited with creating the punning
slogan ‘Go to Work on an Egg’ for the Egg
Marketing Board in the 1960s. She insisted
‘it was her crack creative team that penned
the line’. - ‘I always strive, when I can, to spread
sweetness and light. There have been several
complaints about it.’
PG Wodehouse, quoted in The
Washington Post.
Derek HudsonBased in Cambridge and founded in 2014 by publisher Fred
Freeman and best-selling author Betsy Reavley, Bloodhound
Books has become one of the UK’s leading publishers of
crime fiction, with a roster of authors including the bestselling
Rob Sinclair (The Red Cobra), Dreda Say Mitchell (Spare
Room), Rob Ashman (Suspended Retribution) and Anita Waller
(Strategy). Books are sold as ebooks and print on demand
rather than through physical bookshops.
The imprint is currently accepting submissions from authors
with or without representation and are looking for crime
fiction, suspense, mystery, domestic noir and psychological
thrillers and chillers. No non-fiction, young adult, children’s,
science fiction, erotica or romance.
All books must be at least 60,000 words long. Make your
submission by email to [email protected].
Include the first twenty pages of your manuscript, a complete
synopsis of your work, no longer than 1,500 words, and a
cover letter about yourself and your writing career to date.
Bloodhound Books is a member of the Crime Writers’ Association and the Independent
Publishers Guild. Their titles have sold over 4 million copies to date. Full guidelines are on the
website: http://www.bloodhoundbooks.com/submissionsWin $1,000 first prizes and Hollywood industry
introductions in ScreenCraft’s competitions for books and
short stories with cinematic potential.
- The ScreenCraft Book Competition is for books with
the potential to be adapted for cinema. There are prizes
of $1,000 and $500, plus introductions to Hollywood
agents, managers, producers and executives and a phone
call with the ScreenCraft development team to discuss the
project. To enter send the first 20,000 words. The entry fee is $59 for submissions received by
30 September, then $79. The closing date is 30 November. - The ScreenCraft Short Story Competition is for short fiction (from flash to novella) with
cinematic potential. There are prizes of $1,000 and $300, plus Hollywood introductions and
a consultation with the ScreenCraft team to discuss the project. The entry fee is $39 before 30
September, then $59. The closing date is 30 November.
Website: https://screencraft.org/screenwriting-contests/
Score with ScreenCraft
Cloudbank covered
Cloudbank magazine is the journal of Cloudbank Books and editor,
Michael Malan, is addicted to poetry. The magazine is a poet’s delight,
‘at least 65 pages of poetry and short prose’ as well as a couple of book
reviews. Read the back issue samples at the website to get an idea of
the wide range of what is published.
Submissions are accepted year round. 30 April, 2020, is the cut-off
for the next issue. Simultaneous submissions are accepted but not
reprints. Postal submissions are accepted, although you can submit
through the website. Submit no more than five poems or flash piece
(each less than 500 words). Your name, address, and email address
should be included on each page of the submission.
Response time is ‘slow’. There is a $200 prize for one poem or piece
of flash in each
issue and two contributors’ copies for each
published writer.
Details: Cloudbank, PO Box
610,Corvallis, Oregon 97339-0610;
website: http://cloudbankbooks.com