💌 For Paid Subscribers: My unfiltered thoughts on the state of publishing in the UK right now (and a couple of writer scholarships & opportunities for publishing hopefuls)

Let's get into it!

Welcome back, paid subscribers!

What a time it’s been recently, eh? Everyone I speak to seems to be finding life one of three things: frantic, hectic or busy. I’ve been feeling similar - in fact, those three adjectives have been my responses whenever I’m asked how things are or how I’m finding things. The mood for 2025 has pretty much felt like a revolving door of those three, and that slight chaos feels like it’s also a reflection of the world of publishing (and its adjacent industries) is flailing a bit at the moment - something I’ll get into later in this newsletter. In the midst of this, and the depressing state of the nation, it’s increasingly hard to show up, be present, do your job and plan for a future. And yet, so many of us still are. Amongst the cynicism and sadness, I’ve been trying to find small ways to find joy - soaking in the energy of my friends and family, losing myself in research on the Caribbean for my next children’s book (which I’ve just finished writing the draft text of - woohoo!) and starting the outline of my novel - something I’ve been pouring my heart and soul into for over a year now. With this in mind, I am reminded of the Rumi quote, The wound is the place where the Light enters you. It’s a lesson of not only finding personal growth through hardship, but for creativity in times of strife and difficulty, it’s finding the laughter with loved ones as they work through adversity, it’s delving deep into the pit of darkness to produce something brilliant. It’s with this energy that I approach this newsletter - with fresh opportunities that I hope might speak to some of you readers, as well as honest notes on the state of our industry and how we might move forward. I hope you enjoy reading.

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Let’s get into it 💎