Oh to be in the HarperCollins Slack right now
19.12.2025 17:23
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Oh to be in the HarperCollins Slack right now
Publishing's dirty secret coming to light? Early Christmas present, that finally bloody happening!
Silly proud
Decent evening at the Wolfson Prize
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I’ve known Ella for donkeys - in fact she recently found an application I sent to her from 2013 where I wanted to be an intern for her! - and her experience, expertise, vision, and ambition will only make Apple Tree bear greater fruit. I can’t wait to see what the years ahead hold!
Absolutely delighted to be welcoming Ella Kahn to Apple Tree Literary as the company celebrates its first major expansion. Ella joins as a partner and as managing director after 12 years of running DKW Lit Agencg, and brings her stellar list of fiction, YA, and non-fiction clients with her.
America! Fuck yeah!
(Great book this one. YooEssians, keep an eye…)
Well this is a little bit fucking amazing! 😱🤯😍
Honoured as fucking fuck and CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE BFA NOMINEES!!!
(Bona nomination thread linked below!)
I am delighted to see The Green Man's War on the British Fantasy Society Awards 2025 shortlist for Best Novel, and Fight Like A Girl in the Best Anthology category. As always, I read all nominees thinking 'ooh, read that, it's good!' and 'ooh, interesting'.
britishfantasysociety.org/british-fant...
Nature telling us something 😂
The two foxes in my garden that decided to noisily wake me at 5am were clearly more aware of global events than I was, and thought ‘fuck it, we’d better get our freak on while we still can.’
UPDATE TO THE UPDATE: Unbound is, in fact, in administration, but has not completed winding up. There is an administrator’s proposal that is seeking creditor input — AUTHORS, THAT IS YOU.
And then this. It absolutely *sucks*. And it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.
I don’t know whether they were underpaying that book’s royalties back then - I only had mental maths to go off - but it wouldn’t shock me, just as it wouldn’t shock me if it’s being happening to others for ages
Meantime, Unbound were chatting to him. I don’t know the ins and outs, but suddenly he was signing with them for a few more books. I can only assume the whiff of an agent wanting to look at those royalty statements made them jump to it and offer him the world, frankly. 4/
I sucked up the irritation of the last year - he’d done what he thought best, and was talented - and told him he’d been underpaid, based on what facts I had to hand. Other publishers would be interested in working with him, I thought. 3/
He wanted to talk about his options. Book 1 had been pretty successful in the scheme of things. Annoyingly, it was a secondary concept I’d worked up with him, after we’d had some lovely turndowns for another idea, but thems the breaks when it comes to agenting 2/
🧵A few years ago, an author I’d approached a year or so before that got back in touch with me. He’d decided after our first conversations that he’d prefer to take an offer on the table from Unbound. He came back to me because he suspected his royalties weren’t adding up 1/
Yup. And don’t get me wrong, Herne Hill is bloody lovely with seriously expensive and nice houses - but London is culture, surely? And the spaces are for all, including - sometimes - for music
Look at them. A bunch of rich people in their 50s+ who are more concerned by a bit of noise than the pleasure of thousands. I live round the corner from Brockwell Park. Is it a bit of a pain? Yes. But the actual festivals are a few weekends a year. Deal with it.
How do they think Lambeth Council can keep the Country Show free? And awfully convenient that they have no issues with that, either, despite it having the same footprint and being part of the same change of use license. (No shade on the Country Show, which is bloody fab)
Eugh. Brockwell Park festivals are vibrant, great for local businesses, and include Mighty Hoopla, London’s biggest LBGTQ-coded festival. And a small number of millionaires want to ruin the enjoyment of 100k+ ppl for a bit of inconvenience by their mansions www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
I’ve checked that Atlantic article and it appears that Meta has stolen Anti Social, the book I wrote which is still available in hardback, paperback and audiobook formats from wherever you buy books and is a great gift for friends and family alike.
As you should be. This morning ought to be a smug-Una morning
Three of my clients have been shortlisted in four different categories for the @bsfa.bsky.social Award!
Utterly delighted for @unamccormack.bsky.social @manuscriptgal.bsky.social and Aliya Whiteley - here’s to a clean sweep in Belfast…
file770.com/bsfa-awards-...
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Well blow me down with a feather, my lovely #DoctorWho book "Caged" has made the BSFA shortlist for best fiction for younger readers. I can count on the fingers of one hand the times I've got onto an awards shortlist, so I'm a bit chuffed.
file770.com/bsfa-awards-...
Nick - one of life’s good people - moved to Costa Rica last year, only for life to have kicked him & his wife repeatedly in the balls since. This is the latest, worst, in a string of crap they’ve had.
Do help them out if you’ve a spare fiver.
Bought a house. Like, properly exchanged and everything. Blimey.
So, 13 of us are going skiing this week. Earlier today the below happened on the way to the resort. 6 hours later and we’re halfway along our 2h journey 😂😂
Maybe we’ll get there by 1am, 2am? If we’re lucky? At least it’s with good people 😂
"If you miss #TheTraitors, don't worry, The Apprentice is back next week" yeah alright, if you miss Christmas don't worry, it's Ash Wednesday next week. Fuck are you on about.