Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Splintered Harmony has just become the fastest-selling adult fantasy novel in UK history. Jamie Greenwood and Melissa Welliver unpack what that means for publishing, romantasy and the industry's bottom line, plus the rest of this week's book news.

In this episode:

• Is it important to name disability representation in fantasy? After a listener explained that Violet in Fourth Wing has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), we discuss whether representation needs to be named on the page.

• Why are Sarah J. Maas books selling so well? Record-breaking sales figures, midnight release parties, and how romantasy keeps publishers funding riskier books.

• Why is BookTok mostly women? Why men often hide their love of reading, and how creators like Luke Bateman are changing that.

• Publishing news: Pan Fiction wins Romance Publisher of the Year, the Baillie Gifford Prize and Goldsmiths Prize winners, the Cheshire Schools Book Award shortlist, and the end of the Books on the Bag Readers' Awards.

• Unbound's collapse: Author Tom Cox warns readers about unauthorised copies of his books still being sold, and what happens to your stock and rights when a publisher goes under.

• Adaptations: Sunrise on the Reaping previews and Greta Gerwig's Narnia: The Magician's Nephew.

Listener question: What should you do when your literary agent takes months to read your manuscript? How long is too long to wait, how to pitch your own book to your agent, which book fairs to avoid when sending work, and how to talk honestly with your agent when you feel stuck.

The Chosen Ones and Other Tropes is a weekly podcast about writing, publishing and books. Follow us on Instagram: @writeandwrongpodcast, @melliver and @naomigwrites.

Send us your writing questions and we'll answer them on air.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro and this week's hosts

02:13 Fourth Wing, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and naming disability representation in fantasy

08:43 Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Splintered Harmony breaks UK sales records

20:55 Publishing news: awards, prizes and the Cheshire Schools shortlist

33:45 Unbound's collapse and Tom Cox's warning about unauthorised copies

41:51 BookTok, young readers and why men hide their love of reading

53:17 AI copyright and adaptation news: Sunrise on the Reaping and Narnia

59:50 Listener Q&A: my literary agent hasn't read my book in months

1:08:25 How to pitch your own book to your agent

1:19:50 Outro and where to find us

Thank you so much for supporting the show, it genuinely keeps us going. Tell us in the comments: have you ever waited months to hear back from an agent, and what did you do? We read every reply. And if you have a writing or publishing question, send it our way and we'll answer it on air.

With Melissa away at YALC, Jamie and Naomi tackle the week's biggest publishing controversies, industry trends, and adaptation news.

Episode Breakdown:

• James Patterson's Co-Author Contracts: Author Gina Maxwell alleges Patterson offered a flat $10,000 with no royalties for a romance novel and contractually threatened to remove her name if he significantly edited the manuscript.
• Baldur's Gate 3 Fandom Outrage: T. Kingfisher's Astarion prequel novel faces intense online backlash over IP-mandated backstory changes and narrator Neil Newborn's jarring third-person audiobook delivery.
• The "Trad Wife" Literature Trend: Exploring the Waterstones Book of the Year 2026 shortlist and the sudden wave of fiction deconstructing traditional housewife communities, driven by hits like Yesteryear.
• Sarah J. Maas Formatting Drama: Fans express frustration that Bloomsbury printed the highly anticipated Splintered Harmony noticeably taller than previous books in the series.
• David Walliams Industry Fallout: The children's author is dropped from a major animated movie and loses independent bookshop shelf space as misconduct allegations continue to impact his backlist.
• Hollywood's "Safe" Adaptations: Discussing upcoming screen versions of Dolly Alderton's Pride and Prejudice, Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun, and John Gwynne's completed epic fantasy series The Faithful and the Fallen.
• Bridget Jones Prize: Helen Fielding launches a £2,000 Northern Comedy Writing prize to support unpublished writers from the North of England.
• Publishing Q&A: Advice on navigating the mental toll of losing literary representation multiple times and how to successfully leverage past agency experience when querying new agents.

@naomigwrites - Naomi Gibson, author of Every Line of You, Game Over Girl, Man Muse Monster

@melliver - Melissa Welliver, author of The Undying Tower, My Love Life and the Apocalypse, Soulmates and Other Ways to Die, To the Death

@writeandwrongpodcast - Jamie Greenwood, creator & host of The Write and Wrong Podcast

With Jamie away modelling for romance book covers, Melissa and Naomi take the reins to break down the biggest publishing news, fantasy adaptation castings, and industry controversies of the week.

In this episode:

• James Patterson Enters Romantasy: Discussing Patterson's unexpected genre shift co-authoring "Fire Dance" with Hazel McBride, slated for a June 2027 release.
• HarperCollins' "Wild Lit" Imprint: A look at the new New Adult imprint and the AI-generated art controversies already sparking backlash around its launch.
• Society of Authors AI Backtrack: Unpacking the SoA's withdrawal from an ethical AI charter and the impossible task of keeping the writing process completely air-gapped from AI tools like Grammarly and Copilot.
• Fantasy Adaptations: Reacting to Francis Lawrence directing the Red Rising movie and the Fourth Wing casting announcements featuring Ewan McGregor's daughter as Violet and Emilio Sakraya as Xaden.
• Sally Rooney's UK Distribution: Why UK distribution of Rooney's books was paused over her support for Palestine Action, and how readers are bypassing this by ordering from Irish indie bookshops.
• YouTube Audiobooks: Breaking down YouTube Premium's planned 2027 move into the audiobook market and how royalty payouts might compare to platforms like Audible and Spotify.
• Social Media vs. Creativity: Exploring Leigh Bardugo's comments on how algorithms, echo chambers, and direct reader expectations stifle the author creative process.
• Publishing Q&A: Is it a red flag if a literary agent refuses to "nudge" editors while a manuscript is out on submission?

@naomigwrites - Naomi Gibson, author of Every Line of You, Game Over Girl, Man Muse Monster

@melliver - Melissa Welliver, author of The Undying Tower, My Love Life and the Apocalypse, Soulmates and Other Ways to Die, To the Death

@writeandwrongpodcast - Jamie Greenwood, creator & host of The Write and Wrong Podcast