The contemporary publishing industry is currently navigating a period of profound structural disruption, characterised by a fundamental shift in how literary talent is identified, validated, and brought to market. Historically, the transition from manuscript to published work was governed by a rigid hierarchy of gatekeepers, including literary agents, acquisitions editors, and marketing executives. However, theContinue reading “Literary Merit in the Digital Age: A 2026 Writing Competition Review”
Tag Archives: books
The BookTok Revolution
For any writer working in the United Kingdom today, the landscape of the publishing industry can feel as though it has shifted beneath our feet. We have moved from a world where a book’s success was determined by a handful of literary critics and a six-week window on a front-of-store table to a vibrant, chaotic,Continue reading “The BookTok Revolution”
A Christmas Carol: How Charles Dickens Changed the World with Fiction
As writers, we see A Christmas Carol as the definition of the festive season. Everyone has adapted this cosy fireside myth from The Muppets to the Royal Shakespeare Company. However, to view Charles Dickens’s novella merely as a holiday ghost story is to ignore the feverish, desperate, and highly technical process of its creation. ForContinue reading “A Christmas Carol: How Charles Dickens Changed the World with Fiction”
Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Message, and the Physical Courage of Writing
For any collective of writers, whether aspiring novelists, seasoned journalists, or poets navigating the quiet solitude of the draft, the figure of Ta-Nehisi Coates stands as a singular, provocative study in the power of the written word. He is not merely a commentator on the American condition; he is a craftsman who has systematically dismantledContinue reading “Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Message, and the Physical Courage of Writing”
Helen Garner and the Narrative Construction of Self in ‘How to End a Story’
Helen Garner, born in 1942, is widely recognised as one of Australia’s most significant contemporary literary figures. Her career spans multiple genres, including those of novelist, short-story writer, journalist, and screenwriter. Educated at the University of Melbourne, her literary debut, Monkey Grip (1977), was explosive, immediately establishing her as an original and often controversial voiceContinue reading “Helen Garner and the Narrative Construction of Self in ‘How to End a Story’”
The Booker Prize Winner 2025 – David Szalay
The Architecture of Ambition: David Szalay’s Booker Win with Flesh The announcement of David Szalay as the winner of the 2025 Booker Prize for his novel, Flesh, was more than the handing over of an award; it is the validation for one of contemporary literature’s most distinctive and ambitious aesthetic projects. Szalay has long beenContinue reading “The Booker Prize Winner 2025 – David Szalay”
The Booker Prize Short List – Andrew Miller
This is the sixth and last post in which we examine the six writers shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize, with the winner to be announced on Monday, 10 November. Andrew Miller, The Art of Undecidability, and the Cold Crucible of The Land in Winter Andrew Miller is one of those rare literary figures whoseContinue reading “The Booker Prize Short List – Andrew Miller”
The Booker Prize Short List – Ben Markovits
This is the fifth of six posts in which we examine the six writers shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize, with the winner to be announced on Monday, 10 November. The Architecture of Quiet Confidence: Analysing the Craft of Ben Markovits Ben Markovits’ twelfth novel, The Rest of Our Lives, shortlisted for the 2025 BookerContinue reading “The Booker Prize Short List – Ben Markovits”
The Booker Prize Short List – Kiran Desai
This is the fourth of six posts in which we examine the six writers shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize, with the winner to be announced on Monday, 10 November. The Long Game: Kiran Desai’s Craft, Lineage, and Epic Endeavour As the daughter of the celebrated author Anita Desai, Kiran Desai inherited a literary lineage,Continue reading “The Booker Prize Short List – Kiran Desai”
The Booker Prize Short List – Katie Kitamura
This is the third of six posts in which we examine the six writers shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize, with the winner to be announced on Monday, 10 November. The Forensic Intellect: Inside the Craft and Contingency of Katie Kitamura Katie Kitamura occupies a rare and pivotal position in contemporary literature, one where theContinue reading “The Booker Prize Short List – Katie Kitamura”
The Original Writers Group 