In Conversation: Julia Churchill
Julia joined A.M.Heath in 2013 as Children’s Agent, after four years building up the UK side of the Greenhouse Literary Agency, and six years at the Darley Anderson Agency where she started the children’s book side of the list. She is always on the treasure hunt for new writing talent and considers the slushpile to be the greatest place on earth.
Skipping the barrier
“While I check e-mail for the hundredth time, my friend stares ahead in tight-jawed concentration. She’s had a hard day but is hell-bent on getting not only the front row, but a very specific spot. When I pull out the sensible bag of fruit we’re calling dinner, she waves it away. The grapes are too tart, but I eat them anyway.” D.B. Miller on Stereophonics.
A sense of place: Charlotte Otter’s lens
“The elements of location have to be sprinkled through the story with a light hand, serving to shine a light on the narrative and not distracting from it. Huge chunks of location, just like huge chunks of ill-disguised research, serve to pull the reader out of the story and that’s the last thing a writer wants.” The Woolf talks to novelist Charlotte Otter.
Writing for Young People
“I’m lucky to represent some fabulous writers, but I’m always on the treasure hunt for new writing talent and consider the slushpile to be the greatest place on earth.” Julia Churchill and Sara O’Connor comet to Zürich for a full-day workshop: Writing for Young People. Sat 25 January 2014. 09.00-17.00, Volkshaus.
Making Tracks
Goings-on in Zürich and beyond Writing for Young People – Zürich Workshop – BOOK NOW! With literary agent Julia Churchill (AM Heath) and Sarah O’Connor (Hot Key Books) Sat Jan 25, Volkshaus Zürich, 09.00-17.00 Earlybird Rate: 150 Fr. (until 1 October) Regular price: 200 Fr. Bookclub at the Bookshop The Ocean at the End of the Lane – Neil Gaiman Thurs 14 Nov, 20.15, The English Bookshop Free entry Kaufleuten Events:...
Context: Crossings
Distractions A migrant’s tale: Shaun Tan’s graphic novel, The Arrival. A moving outsider’s tale with barely a word in sight. Where to read online: http://flavorwire.com/407418/the-25-best-websites-for-literature-lovers Synaesthesia – crossing senses. Check out the worlds of David Eagleman, expert on the idiosyncrasies of the brain. http://eagleman.com/synesthesia Coney. “The experience starts when you first hear...
In Conversation: Orna Ross
“I’d been a writer for 22 years when I self-published my first ebook and, from the off, I just loved it. Not just because the books sold more than they had before but mainly for the way it restored to me something I’d lost by working within corporate structures.” The Woolf talks to Orna Ross, writer, poet, and founder and director of the Alliance of Independent Authors.
A Writer’s Sources: Gabrielle Mathieu
“Out came books about hallucinogenic plants, collected during my debauched youth. Dimly remembered information about neurotransmitters wended its way into the story, along with arcane laboratory details about paper chromatography. Easy. More or less.” The Woolf talks with Gabrielle Mathieu, novelist who lives in St. Gallen.
Meet the Editors
“I often find myself making suggestions on word-choice and smoothing sentences off a little, but large scale structure, characterization and narrative arc are not my areas. I’m the guy who polishes what Stephen King would call your little red wagon before you drive it home.” The Woolf talks to the pros of prose: editors.
In Conversation: Susan Tiberghien
“I read with a pencil in hand, to indicate excerpts that I will later use in a workshop. And to underline sentences that are so well written I want to read them over and over again, to taste them as it were and to learn from them.” The Woolf talks to Susan Tiberghien, founder of the Geneva Writers’ Group, and a quiet achiever who lives in Geneva.
In Conversation: Sarah Nickerson
“I love talking to writers about their writing. I want to see how they write and what thoughts went behind the material I read. It gives you ideas for different approaches, and different eyes for your own manuscript.” The Woolf talks to Sarah Nickerson about her Zürich writers’ group.
Switzerland, ISBNs and Authors
“An ISBN identifies your book, like a fingerprint. If you’re based in Switzerland, you need to apply for Swiss ISBNs.” Jill J. Marsh (Switzerland’s representative for the Alliance of Independent Authors) gives a round-up of the advice she gave at the Independent Publishing Event in Zürich.
In Conversation: Barbara Scott Emmett
“I’ve come to realise there isn’t much of a distinction between the different versions of me. When I sit down at my laptop it’s the writer in me that comes out and that writer can take many forms.” The Woolf interviews Barbara Scott Emmett, a writer of the erotic, with many hats.
In Conversation: Ann Söderblom
“I’ve read a lot about book publishing. I follow an author called Seth Godin and I realised that if as an unpublished author I go to a big publishing house, I have no track record. So if I can show some sales and a readership, I might be in a better position to get a deal.” The Woolf talks to Ann Soederblom about her new, independently published book – Coffee Cup Philosophy.
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