Real-world hopepunk, new acquisitions, and more!
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“There's some good in the world, and it's worth fighting for.” -J.R.R. Tolkien Some real-world hopepunk: Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath's final show was the highest-grossing charity concert of all time (Billboard), raising more than $190 million for Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Acorn Children’s Hospice, and Cure Parkinson’s, and coming just weeks before Ozzy passed away at 76. What a legacy to leave, and what an incredible way to go out. 🤘 In this edition:
New acquisitions in JulyWe are pleased to announce the sale of Lauren C. Teffeau’s ACCELERATED GROWTH ENVIRONMENT, a climate-engaged eco-thriller with sapphic romance and a dash of humor, to Brianne Shiraki at Shiraki Press, for publication in 2026. We are pleased to announce the sale of Millie Abecassis’s THE COLOR OF TIME, where Dune meets Charles Perrault’s fairy tale “Donkeyskin” with a sci-fi hopepunk twist, to Brianne Shiraki at Shiraki Press, for publication in 2026. Millie is represented by by A.J. Van Belle at Booker Albert Agency. #SmallPitch submission reviewsWe reviewed hundreds of book pitches as part of #SmallPitch last month, and have a few requested follow-ups currently in the queue. If you sent us your manuscript at our request and you haven't heard back from us yet, rest assured that we are still reading and reviewing; we will respond to every #SmallPitch follow-up we initiated. Upcoming eventsWe’ll be at Bridges Book Fair at the Owen Beach Pavilion in Tacoma on Saturday, August 9. We'll be at the Puget Sound Book Festival on the Bremerton Boardwalk Waterfront on Sunday, August 10. We’ll be at Worldcon in Seattle for at least some of the time between August 13-17. We don't have a booth at any of these events, but we'll be wandering around meeting folks. Ping us on Instagram or BlueSky if you'd like to come say hi! Call for submissionsWe are currently accepting submissions for new novellas & novelettes(10k-50k words), with a hopepunk vibe, targeted at adult audiences. All submissions will be considered carefully, but we particularly delight in fiction that explores the indomitable human ability to stand against the dark and light the way to worlds that could be. We look for stories that remind us to stretch and grow beyond who we were before, to create and build worlds where connection emerges from chaos and community out-competes greed. Above all, we believe that love is more durable than fear and small acts of kindness can lay the groundwork for real change. View our Submission Guidelines Support Shiraki PressWould you like to support our mission to bring more hopeful adult fiction into the world? If so, the best ways you can help today are:
Connect with usFeel free to reply directly to this message with any questions or comments, or email us at connect@shirakipress.com. (For submissions, please click here instead.) You can also find us on Instagram and BlueSky, and at shirakipress.com. |
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Some real-world hopepunk: A Japanese research team has announced complete cancerous tumor elimination in a mouse colorectal cancer model using a single administration of reptile and amphibian gut bacteria. The treatment "outperforms existing chemotherapy and immunotherapy with no adverse effects on normal tissues." They expect future applications across diverse tumor types, opening new avenues for cancer treatment. Holiday recovery Brianne and Josh both had surgery in December. No worries:...
"Good things are possible and we don't have to settle." —Kat Abughazaleh Some real-world hopepunk: Doctors in China report the 1-year results of a clinical trial in which they implanted insulin-producing cells into a patient with type 1 diabetes: "The patient achieved sustained insulin independence starting 75 days post-transplantation." In other words, the patient no longer requires insulin injections to survive, and what's more, the implanted cells were grown from stem cells derived from...
"Those who build walls are their own prisoners." -Ursula K. LeGuin, The Dispossessed Some real-world hopepunk: A landmark longitudinal study of 25,000 randomly sampled Australian adults over a period of 14 years found a strong link between hope and better contemporary and future outcomes: People with high levels of hope have higher levels of wellbeing, education, earning and employment outcomes, perceived and objective health indicators, and are much more likely to have friends and less...