Portobello Literary in 2025...
What to look forward to from our authors and our Substack — includes an offer for subscribers!
Hi all,
Happy New Year! Wishing you all the very best for 2025 and may this new year be a creatively fulfilling one.
Portobello Literary in 2025:
There are some cracking books coming up in 2025 from Portobello Literary authors and I am SO excited to tell you about them.
(I have a few others yet to be announced so I can’t shout about them yet but you’ll know as soon as I can share!!)
March 2025: The paperback edition of Moving Mountains, edited by Louise Kenward and featuring Portobello Literary authors Polly Atkin and Victoria Bennett.
March 2025: The gorgeous debut cookbook from beloved Scottish bakery, Twelve Triangles Kitchen Table: Simple Food Made Well by Emily Cuddeford and Rachel Morgan.
April 2025: The paperback edition of The Ghost Lake: A memoir of grief, nature and ancestry in rural Yorkshire by Wendy Pratt.
April 2025: The second poetry collection by Andrés N. Ordorica, Holy Boys. I’ll share the cover as soon as it’s revealed!
June 2025: Awakened, the horror debut novel by Laura Elliott perfect read for fans of The Girl with All the Gifts and 28 Days Later.
July 2025: The unmissable debut adult non-fiction title from powerhouse journalist and disability rights activist Rachel Charlton-Dailey, Ramping Up Rights: An Unfinished History of British Disability Activism.
July 2025: These Mortal Bodies, the lush dark academia debut novel by Elspeth Wilson.
An Offer for Subscribers (existing and new):
If you pre-order any of the above titles from an independent bookshop1 and send me a proof of purchase alongside your Substack account email (by email or DM), I will gift you 3 months free on your subscription to this Substack (for a paperback purchase) and 6 months free for a hardback purchase (Kitchen Table, These Mortal Bodies and Ramping Up Rights)2.
I have linked to my brilliant local bookshop, Portobello Bookshop, as they deliver internationally, but feel free to order from your local one if you prefer.3
These are cumulative up to a year so if you buy more than one book, I’ll add them up. That means that if you order 4 paperbacks, you’ll receive a year’s free subscription. This offer is valid until 31st January 2025.
On Substack:
Here’s what I’m planning this year on Substack for both paid and free subscribers:
Coming up for paid subscribers:
How to write a non-fiction proposal course (starting January)
More Zoom Q&As and feedback/discussion sessions (monthly)
How to structure a non-fiction book
How to approach editing your novel’s first draft
Paid subscribers can also suggest any topics they’d like me to cover.
Coming up for all subscribers:
Updates on Portobello Literary authors and news
Demystifying the industry and writing advice:
How money works in traditional publishing (advance against royalties etc.)
What are Rights?
Interviews with people in the industry
Interviews with authors
Looking at career longevity
Opinion pieces
Full archive
With us moving into 2025, Israel's genocide in Palestine is still ongoing. Let’s hope this year brings an end to this deadly conflict.
I have set up a monthly donation with Medical Aid for Palestinians in their appeal for donations for Palestine and Lebanon and encourage you to do the same if you can afford it. Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) works for the health and dignity of Palestinians living under occupation and as refugees. They provide immediate medical aid to those in great need, while also developing local capacity and skills to ensure the long-term development of the Palestinian healthcare system.
Until next time, keep reading!
Caro
Or directly from Angry Robot in the case of Awakened if pre-order links aren’t updated this month
I… don’t know what to do if you’ve already paid for a yearly subscription so if that’s you, do you want a Zoom 1-2-1 instead? Just let me know!
There are many reasons as to why I’m choosing this offer to be only for indie bookshops: one of them is because authors generally get more money in royalties from a sale from an independent bookshop, than from Am*zon or W*terstones, the other is that the number of indie bookshops has fallen due to financial pressures so it’s good for us to support them!