Why the literary middle is disappearing, and what it means for readers

There is a particular kind of book I worry about more and more. It is not the huge publishing event novel with a six-figure campaign and a table display in every bookshop.

 It is not the aggressively marketable thriller, nor the prestige title already carrying prize buzz before most readers have turned page one. It is the intelligent, well-written, emotionally exact novel that sits somewhere in between.

What’s on my radar: when a cover makes me preorder

There is a very particular thrill to a cover reveal. I know there is for me. It is such a delicious moment. 

It is not the algorithmic sort of thrill, not the flash-sale urgency of consumer culture, but that quieter jolt. The moment you see a cover and think, I don’t know what this is yet, but I want to live inside it. I admit I do sometimes (not always) judge a book by its cover. I do not feel guilty for doing so.

Is fan fiction the new slush pile? What editors are really looking for

There was a time when fan fiction lived in the shadows, tucked into forums, buried in tags, dismissed as derivative, and looked down upon. It wasn’t writing. It was adoration as typing. 

Not anymore. Now, it’s edging toward centre stage, commanding the attention of publishers, agents, and readers alike.

How long before AI writes a Bestseller? A Literary Thought Experiment

How long before AI writes a New York Times bestseller?

It’s a question that lingers like a subplot, unresolved, faintly unsettling, impossible to ignore. Earlier this year, a publishing data analyst sparked headlines by predicting that an AI-written book could top bestseller charts by 2030.