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 Ana Garriga and Carmen Urbita 

Convent Wisdom: How Sixteenth-Century Nuns Could Save Your Twenty-First-Century Life

(Nonfiction, November, Avid Reader Press)

“ An infectiously edifying, not-so-saintly self-help book that dives into the wild, wise, and unconventional lives of 16th- and 17th-century nuns, offering advice for our modern age and proving one thing: no matter the century, nuns know best.”

Writes from: Halfway between Madrid (Spain) and New York.

Pre-Convent: We like to think that the seed of Convent Wisdom was planted the night we first met in August 2016. We weren’t the only prospective graduate students visiting Brown University that summer, but we were the only two ones matching our very specific freak: a passion for the lives and texts of 16^th– and 17^th-century nuns. That night, we knew that we would spend years of sleepless nights trying to reduce our fascination for nuns to the rigid formulas of academic writing.

What we didn’t know was that, four years later, in 2020, we’d decide to take our nuns out of dusty archives and aseptic academic journals and bring them to more playful realms. “Las hijas de Felipe,” our podcast devoted to unearthing hidden stories from the 16^th– and 17^th-century stories, confirmed what we already suspected: 16^th– and 17^th-century nuns were refreshingly relatable today. By the time we embarked on Convent Wisdom, we were used to spending most of our days writing—whether our PhD dissertations, academic papers, or podcast scripts—but this book demanded something new. It required us to craft a new voice—the two of us merged in one—and a new genre—rigorous academic research turned into a playful self-help guide.

Time frame: Once we started writing, we finished Convent Wisdom in about a year. But we had been researching, first separately and then together, for more than a decade.

Enter the agent: Our agent found us! She had been listening to our podcast for a while, and she had the feeling that we might have an idea for a book. In fact, when she approached us, we were already conceiving the general idea for the book with our Spanish editor.

Biggest surprise: When we received all the offers at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2023—nine countries plus an auction between seven U.S. publishing houses—we were shocked. It was both a huge surprise and a well-deserved confirmation that our intuition was right: in the crumbling 21^st century we live in, we all need a portable convent to find solace. It was comforting to see that, after all the years spent in libraries and archives, we had found a way to share the stories of those nuns who had captivated us and helped us survive throughout the most challenging moments of our lives.

What I did right: We were not in a hurry to publish, and that helped. Well before the 2023 Frankfurt Book Fair, we were approached by a couple of publishers, but we decided not to go ahead with them. We felt it was hasty at that point, and that their aim was to make a hurried and shallow translation of our podcast into a book. Instead, we decided to wait until we had reached a more elaborate and nuanced idea of the book.

What I would have done differently: We had no idea how to navigate those situations, but somehow our intuition was right. However, we would happily erase all the anxiety and the self-doubt that we went through.

Platform: Our podcast and our social media are great platforms, but only for Spanish-speaking audiences. We’ll have to work on English content to try and gain new international readership

Advice for writers: You don’t have to write on your own. Sometimes, it can be so much better with friends. It worked for us, and it worked for many of our nuns.

Next up: We’re working on a historical audio fiction. We’d also love to launch some episodes of our podcast in English.

Website: LasHijasDeFelipe.com

Mia Jay Boulton and Laurel Boulton 

Of Swamp & Sea 

(Romantasy graphic novel, November, 23^rd Street)

“A woman possessed by a monster must embark on a dangerous and magical journey, accompanied by a monster hunter who could be friend, foe, or lover.”

Writes from: Gulf Shores, Ala.

Pre-Swamp: We’ve really been building the bones of this story since 2014 (the year we got married), and back then, it was almost unrecognizable aside from the characters’ names. It really evolved and transmuted throughout the decade as we worked on the story back and forth alongside our other projects. Of Swamp & Sea began in prose form, as all our work does, before making the leap to an illustrated comic in 2019. We finally wrapped up the art for it earlier this year, meaning it took us around six years to write, illustrate, and color close to 5,000 individual panels. But it only took us less than a year to format them into a five-novel series, the first of which is coming out this November.

Time frame: When we first went searching for an agent, there were still very few Webtoon properties that had made the leap to print—we think the industry was still really figuring out how that could work. We searched high and low through online databases like Manuscript Wish List, looking for someone with a mind for art, romance, and the supernatural. We were so happy when our agent, Lane Clarke, decided to hear us out.

Enter the agent: We were surprised by just how difficult it could be to take a vertical-scrolling comic and reimagine it for print format. Every new page felt like a puzzle to solve and an exercise in problem-solving. The goal was always to have the art look as natural as possible, like it was born for the printed page. We really do think we accomplished that goal, and we’re looking forward to current and new readers discovering the story of Mercy and Jonah in a whole new format.

Biggest surprise: Measured persistence has really been one of the keys to getting this far. Every step of the way from creating to publishing has felt like a new obstacle course to learn to navigate and overcome, but we never let a failure steep for too long before trying again. However, we also didn’t let an output goal control our lives, and we still made time for the things we love, for our hobbies, and for each other. It’s important to never give up, while never letting it burn your candle down entirely.

What I did right: I joined a writers’ group. I’ve been in my writers’ group now for over seven years, and I’ve learned so much and grown so much from being in that group. When we started, none of us had books published, and most of us didn’t have agents yet. Now, everyone has at least one book published. Seeing my friends in the group go through that process taught me a lot about what publishing is like and what to expect. So actually, not a lot of things were a surprise to me about the publishing process because I’d already seen how everything plays out through my writers’ group.

What I would have done differently: We do plan on doing it all again, because we want to keep creating forever. Next time, we’ll put more of a focus on future-proofing our projects, mainly through the way we’ll keep our files organized and prepared for both digital and print outcomes.

Platform: Our platform of readers on WEBTOON has followed us through the whole Of Swamp & Sea saga, and we’re endlessly grateful for their loyalty. We hope that many of them will pick up its first print installment for their shelves when it hits storefronts, as a print edition has been much requested since the very earliest days. Of course, we also want to bring the story to the eyes of a new audience, which we’re working on building via social media with the help of our publisher, 23^rd Street.

Advice for writers: Never stop loving what you do: people change, and it’s okay for their stories to change with them. You can’t let the fear of losing what you already have in a project stop you from exploring what it could be. In the end, your finished work is always going to look different than how it started, and that’s a good thing. You just have to see it through to find out what your story becomes.

Next up: After book one, we’ve got four more Of Swamp & Sea volumes on the way. After that? We want to write more adventures about love and magic, and continue telling stories through art. 

Website: Linktr.ee/ofswampandsea

Marco Anderson

This Book Is About Nothing

(Children’s picture book, November, Moon + Bird)

“A hilarious and colourful picture book about a child’s unique journey to making new friends.”

Writes from: London.

Pre-Book: I wrote this book coming out of COVID lockdown. I had not written a book before, so when I had the idea, I definitely did not think that it would get published. But, as the idea kept growing, I became more and more confident in this idea and the reality of it actually being published. 

Time frame: I originally wrote this in a PowerPoint, and we developed the story into what it is now over the next couple of years. I had this idea back in spring of 2021, and we just got the ideas out into a basic PowerPoint presentation. About a month or two later, I first met with the publishing team and showed them my concept. We continued working together over the next four years and turned the idea into a real book.

Enter the agent: I do not have an agent. After coming up with the concept, I was introduced to Etan and the team at Moon + Bird. They helped me do this, and I worked with my dad on this book as well.

Biggest surprise: One of the things that surprised me most was simply how long it takes to get a book published. I originally had the idea in 2021, and now four years later, it’s about to get published.

What I did right: I was really lucky because I didn’t know what I was doing and the team at Moon + Bird was really amazing at guiding me through the process.

What I would have done differently: I really don’t think that there’s anything that I would have done differently with this book, but there are a lot of skills that I learned over the process of creating this book, which I would apply to future books.

Platform: No, I don’t currently have a platform because I’m too busy with my middle school studies.

Advice for writers: The best piece of advice that I can give you is to just keep on going and trying to make what you want a reality.

Next up: Honestly, I have too much homework right now to think that far into the future.

The post Breaking In: November/December 2025 appeared first on Writer's Digest.

In this interview, Tamar discusses how fulfilling one life dream helped lead her to another—writing her debut novel, Restitution—her advice for other writers, and more.

Name: Tamar Shapiro
Literary agent: Dani Segelbaum, Arc Literary
Book title: Restitution
Publisher: Regal House Publishing
Release date: September 30, 2025
Genre/category: Literary fiction; historical fiction
Elevator pitch: After the Berlin Wall falls, German American siblings, Kate and Martin, are faced with a difficult decision: Should they try to reclaim the house in East Germany from which their grandparents fled in the 1950s? But a house is never just a house, and the family secrets they discover drive Kate and Martin apart just as divided Germany is coming together. 

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What prompted you to write this book?

Like my narrator Kate, I grew up in the U.S. with a German mother. Also like her, I have spent my life moving back and forth between both countries. Restitution is not autobiographical, and yet the story very much grew out of my experience of always feeling a little torn between these two homes, of always wanting to belong in both.

My mother came from West Germany, and I had no connection to the East until the early 1990s, when my parents moved to Leipzig. I absolutely fell in love with the city over decades of visiting them, so much so that at the end of each trip I loudly bemoaned that I might never live there myself. Then, in 2017, my husband, kids, and I finally made it happen. We moved to Leipzig too, albeit only for a few years. Having achieved one dream, I decided I would grab the chance to fulfill another: I would use the time in Leipzig to write a novel.

I already knew what I wanted to write about. During the decades I spent visiting Leipzig, as well as a stint living in Berlin, I had witnessed first-hand the way the scars of Germany’s division into East and West, as well as its flawed reunification, persisted to this day. I wanted Restitution to tell the story of one ordinary family shaped by these losses, disruptions and hopes across generations and continents. I believe the questions Restitution asks are as urgent today as ever: What remains when people leave entire lives behind? What happens when personal histories are erased? And what—if anything—can heal these wounds?

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

I remember the exact moment I decided I would write a novel about these themes. I was in Iowa City for the Iowa Writers’ Workshop Summer Program, sitting at a picnic table in North Market Square Park, shortly before our move to Leipzig, when the idea first hit me. I began writing right there at that bench, and despite years of revision, some of those early Iowa seeds are still recognizable in the book. I signed my contract for publication six and a half years later in December 2023.

I knew early on how I wanted the book to begin and end, but the details in between changed countless times. I completed the first draft while living in Leipzig, so I had the opportunity to do first-hand research, including many conversations with friends who had grown up in the East, as well as with their parents and neighbors. I also read as much as I could—novels, histories, legal treatises. Everything I learned informed what I wrote, so I was always updating and refining. But the core of the story—the relationship between Kate and her brother Martin—remained constant throughout.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

Absolutely everything about the publishing process has been a learning moment. I came to writing later in life after a long nonprofit career. I’d finally gotten to the point where I felt completely comfortable with who I was professionally, and then I was crazy enough to jump into this new world I knew nothing about. I’ve loved every moment, but it has definitely been an adjustment. The hardest thing to learn was how to let go. I could have kept working on this book forever, and I am very grateful to my publisher for prying it out of my hands. The best surprise along the way was discovering how warm and supportive the writing community is. Sharing writing with others is such an intimate and vulnerable act, and I am grateful for the new friends I’ve made who are not only willing to treat my writing with care and love, but also to share their writing with me.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

I’d often heard writers say that they wrote because they couldn’t not write. Before I began working on my novel, this never made much sense to me. There were so many alternatives to writing. After all, I’d loved my nonprofit work on housing and community development. If the novel didn’t work out, I thought, then I’d just stop writing. So, I was very surprised to discover, halfway into my book, that I, too, could no longer imagine not writing. I’m now well into a draft of my second novel, and writing has become my daily joy. I love the challenge of crafting sentences such that every word feels just right. I have fun puzzling my way through roadblocks and figuring out how to get unstuck. And I learned that I particularly love revision, because it’s through the process of rewriting again and again that I finally discover exactly who my characters are and what it is I want to say.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

Restitution is a family story, and I hope that readers will be drawn in by the family dynamics, especially the complicated sibling relationship that is at the heart of the book. It is also a novel about belonging, about the desire we all have to feel at home in a place and about the many ways this can go wrong. Of course, Restitution is specifically focused on the lingering impacts of Germany’s East-West division and its subsequent reunification. When I look around at what’s going on in our world today, I am convinced there’s still so much to learn from this period in history, especially the way political decisions can breed personal resentment and create societal divisions that are extremely difficult to repair. But Restitution ends on a hopeful note, mirroring my hope that our broken world will see better days.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Don’t give up! There is so much rejection in the writing world, and I know how awful it can feel to be sending queries into a black hole. One way I dealt with this rejection was by setting little goals for myself. For example, every time I received a rejection, I immediately sent out another query or submission on the very same day. That way, I could go to sleep focused not on the rejection but on the fact that I was moving forward. The good news is that there is very likely someone out there who is interested in your story. You just need to keep trying to find the right person while at the same time continuing to find joy in the writing itself.

The post Tamar Shapiro: Writing Has Become My Daily Joy appeared first on Writer's Digest.

In this interview, SenLinYu discusses writing about moral greyness in war in their debut fantasy novel, Alchemised, learning to trust their instincts in the writing process, and more.

Name: SenLinYu
Literary agent: Caitlin Mahony, Rivka Bergman
Book title: Alchemised
Publisher: Del Rey
Release date: September 23, 2025
Genre/category: Fantasy/Sci-fi
Elevator pitch: A wartime healer with memory loss is kept captive by a dangerous necromancer as he tries to discover what she’s forgotten.

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What prompted you to write this book?

For me, stories always begin with a question, something I’m thinking through and wrestling with. I find that writing about it in the format of a story, exploring it through the lens of characters who are not me, lets me process the idea from multiple angles, and even if I don’t ultimately arrive at some final answer, I feel more at peace by the end. In the case of Alchemised, I wanted to write something that explored the moral greyness of wartime decisions. A lot of the books I was reading at the time made me feel like many of the choices the characters were making were either glossed over or conveniently without consequence, and so I wanted to write a story that was specifically about those kinds of choices and wrestling with the question of how far is too far.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

The initial idea, dealing with moral greyness in war, came to me in 2017, but writing wasn’t something I was considering at that time, so I jotted the concept in a Google doc and completely forgot about it for almost a year. When I was trying to give myself a creative challenge in 2018, I poked through my graveyard of story ideas and began building a larger plot around the premise. I’d written one story previously, but it had been improvised chapter by chapter, whereas this time I had to sit down and plot out all the details. I realised that the story needed more than my initial premise. So, I started thinking about what other themes and questions would fit and expanded the idea into exploring not only the narratives around war, but also the erasure of actions and labour that doesn’t meet the standard, generic definition of heroism.  

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

Since this was my first book being published, everything felt new and surprising all the time. I tried to be very open to the fact that it was all new and to just adapt along the way as I figured things out, but the way the publishing process veers between slow and fast, where there’s months of relative quiet to suddenly a dozen things to approve, discuss, review within a matter of days was a bit of a panic-inducing the first few times.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

I had only worked with beta readers prior to this, which was a much more chapter-by-chapter process with a lot of immediate back and forth; switching to writing the whole manuscript and sending it over and then having to wait to get feedback was rather anxiety-inducing. However, it really helped me to grow up and learn to trust my instincts rather than always needing immediate feedback and affirmation about my decisions.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

My hope would be for readers to see the world from a slightly different angle after reading it; to question why so much of our lives gets pared down into convenient narratives and wonder at what keeps being left out.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Don’t try to be for everyone. As writers, finding the balance between writing as a craft and writing as a job is a constant struggle, and it can feel necessary to be as broadly appealing as possible in an attempt to “find” your audience. But if your passions suppress what makes you unique as a writer, the people who would be uniquely passionate about your writing won’t be able to tell you apart from everyone else.

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In this interview, Ryan Pote discusses blending genres with his debut novel, Blood and Treasure, his advice for other writers, and more.

Name: Ryan Pote
Literary agent: Mark Tavani, David Black Agency
Book title: Blood and Treasure
Publisher: Berkley
Release date: July 22, 2025
Genre/category: Crossover/Thriller
Elevator pitch: The destruction of the International Space Station and the discovery of an ancient scroll are inextricably intertwined in this debut crossover thriller from a former Navy helicopter pilot.

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What prompted you to write this book?

To write something I hadn’t seen done yet. To break away from the endless copycats and create my own genre fusion, my way.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

Five years. I came up with the character in two previous, unpublished manuscripts. I wrote this novel in early 2023 and sold it to Berkley almost one year after I finished it. Since then, it didn’t change per se, but it got deeper in many ways. My agent had some very good critiques early on about the opening, so I added several chapters and rearranged some events to make it flow much better.

I also changed the title, which then imbued the novel with a theme of blood and treasure (which is now driving the whole series). It was already there, but the right people help you pull it out. Then, I had to make some serious plot changes for the publisher before I even signed the contract, then it went through multiple rounds of editorials, but only because I turned it back early, so it had time to be reviewed again. Each person had unique insights and gave me room to make new revelations that I layered more and more. My film agent, Sanjana Seelam at William Morris Endeavor, read it and gave me some insightful steers. This was where I basically deconstructed the book (at copyright stage at this point) and almost turned it into a completely different novel with how deep the revision was. It was here where I developed the story into more of a crossover with deeper treasure hunting elements worked into the story.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

Yes. A lot of what I’d “heard” about traditional publishing was very, very misguided. Everyone is super nice. Beyond nice. I retained creative control and got to implement whatever changes I felt the book really needed. I was very much involved in the cover development and helped steer it to where it ended up. I got to choose the audiobook narrator from eight auditions. I was much more involved in the entire process, and I always felt that it was my book.  Everyone loves to collaborate. If you’re interested in collaborating and letting other people pick apart your work, to help you make it better, then you will have a great experience in publishing. But I also learned that everything takes a really long time in publishing. Especially for a fast writer like me, I had to learn to keep busy writing other projects to stay fresh and focused.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

Yes. Always. For my process, I usually write very fast, but this book just poured out of me. I wrote the entire thing—from first word to final draft—in nine weeks.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

I hope readers feel they got their money’s worth. Everyone who reads a book reads a different book, because of our unique perspectives. I hope that each reader has some part of this book grab them and linger with them a little while afterwards. If I’ve done that, then I’ve succeeded.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

There’s a ton of advice about breaking into this industry. Don’t listen to ANY of it. Listen to your gut. The industry wants new. They want fresh. Write something special, and don’t give up until you sell it. My book didn’t change; my attitude and my representation did. Don’t settle.

The post Ryan Pote: On the Collaborative Nature of Publishing appeared first on Writer's Digest.

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We first connected with Adam Oyebanji during his debut novel’s publication and featured him in our March/April 2024′s Breaking In column. Now that his next publication is hitting the shelves today, we’re reconnecting with him.

What was the time frame for writing this latest book?

Although this is my fourth book to be published since I “broke in” (Braking Day was followed by A Quiet Teacher and Two Times Murder, both mysteries), Esperance was actually written third. I’m trying to alternate between SF and Crime, although Esperance mixes both! To get back to your question, though, it was written in 2022-23 and has been waiting to be born ever since.

Has your perspective on the publication process changed since your debut was published?

I still feel very grateful to be here, and I think it’s important not to lose sight of that. I’m lucky to be able to write, luckier to have an agent and publishers, and luckiest of all to have readers who seem to like my books. These are things to remember whenever the enthusiasm levels drop.

In terms of what’s changed, I think the process as a whole is simply less mysterious, so I’m less hesitant about speaking up if I feel something isn’t quite right. Plus, I sometimes get invited to parties and book festivals!

What was the biggest surprise while getting this book ready for publication?

Editors. The publishing houses, like many businesses, have been going through a lot of changes recently, mostly driven by a desire to keep costs down and profits up, which is what businesses do, after all. In consequence, a lot of editors have been laid off and/or moved on, which meant that Esperance has had more editors than I would have expected. On the plus side, though, they’ve all been great to work with. I love working with people who love books!

What do you feel you did really well with this novel?

Everything, of course! More seriously, I’m proud of being able to talk about a dark subject through the light and pacy lens of a speculative crime thriller. Library Journal describes Esperance as “recommended for readers who love intricately blended genre stories that ask big questions,” and I couldn’t ask for better than that. I hope people will see Esperance as a fun read that sometimes makes you think. Then, on a more granular level, I feel I’ve done a pretty good job with the dialog. I like to think I’m good at the back-and-forth that keeps people engaged with the characters while the story rattles along underneath.

Anything you would have done differently?

Absolutely! Every time I write a novel, I learn something along the way about how to write a novel. Reading Esperance now, I keep thinking why did I use that word and not this, this motivation and not that. I suspect a lot of writers feel this way. Left to ourselves, we’d tweak forever and nothing would ever get published!

Would you like to share some advice for our readers?

Persevere. All you can do is write. You have no control over anything else, so concentrate on that. Write because it gives you joy or because you find it meaningful in some other sense. If the “other” stuff happens, great! But you can’t really write for that, and I would suggest you don’t try. It either happens, or it doesn’t. No good can come from worrying about it.

What’s next for you?

I’m returning to the universe of Braking Day: a murder mystery (sort of) in space! There’s a supporting character in Braking Day that I really enjoyed writing. This new novel is set twenty years earlier than Braking Day and is told from that character’s point of view. After that, I’d quite like to write the follow-up to Two Times Murder, but one thing at a time!

Where can our audience find you online?

Website: AdamOyebanji.com

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