When Macmillan UK launched its controversial New Writing program - which offers a non-negotiable contract with 20% of the royalties from sales but no advance - the idea was that first-time authors could get published from the slush pile when they might be otherwise ignored, but critics dubbed the measure the "Ryanair equivalent" of publishing. But in a new wrinkle, the company has announced that New Writing will also publish the authors' second efforts, too.

Originally, as the Bookseller reports, subsequent works were to be launched under the company's main fiction imprint, Pan. But ike Barnard, the executive director who came up with the scheme, revealed that the authors' subsequent books would be published under MNW after all. "Authors will feel more comfortable with the same editor [Will Atkins]," he said.

The imprint has broken even, defying both critics' and Macmillan's expectations. The imprint has broken even, defying both critics' and Macmillan's expectations. "The main purpose of the exercise was to find new talent that we could take on and publish. It was never intended that MNW should make a profit, so that has been a bonus," Barnard said.