Speakers – Writers Weekend

Talk Presenters

Virtual One-to-one Mentors

Success Story Readers

Talk Presenters

Denise Baden Professor of Sustainable Business, University of Southampton Denise followed her first degree in Politics with Economics, with several years in industry, then returned to academia to do a doctorate in psychology. She now teaches and researches in the area of sustainability, social responsibility and business ethics. Much of her research has explored the most effective ways to enable more sustainable behaviour, and she has advised organisations in diverse fields such as constructive journalism, criminal justice, film scripts and business ethics education. In 2018 Denise launched the free Green Stories writing competitions that challenge writers to embed green solutions in their stories. Human stories are a more effective way to engage people in sustainability issues than dry facts. The aim of the competitions is to raise awareness of sustainability issues, practices, policies and technologies via a story. Through normalising green practices in our stories, we can make a real difference. Previous competitions have included short stories, stage plays, radio plays, TV series, screenplays, children's and adult novels and interactive fiction. For details on the 2021 competitions, visit: www.greenstories.org.uk www.greenstories.org.uk Megan Carroll Literary Agent, Watson Little Ltd Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, synopsis and first chapter Looking for: Adult fiction and non-fiction, middle grade and young adult Not interested in: Picture books Megan is a Literary Agent and is building her own list. She is looking for writers in a variety of areas and from a variety of backgrounds. In Fiction, Megan is keen to see high-concept speculative fiction (particularly high-concept love stories) for both commercial and reading group/crossover readers. She is also looking for historical fiction and gothic horror, as well as regional family drama, contemporary women’s fiction, and darkly comic novels. In Children’s and YA, Megan would love to see contemporary YA tackling realistic issues and big, epic love stories as well as funny, female focused MG – think Louise Rennison and Karen McCombie – and an Abi Elphinstone style adventure for that age group too. Megan loves anything creepy and spooky for the MG audience too, and would love to find horror for YA readers. Megan is also keen to see interesting memoir and good narrative non-fiction on film, music, true crime, popular culture and issues from a female perspective. Megan is also growing a list of children’s non-fiction authors and would love to see proposals for ages 7+. watsonlittle.com Tracey Corderoy Children's Author Tracey was born and grew up in industrial South Wales. She is a trained teacher and a mum of two daughters and now lives in a hidden valley in Gloucestershire with her husband and family, where she writes in a little cottage on a hill. A multi award-winning writer, Tracey has now published over 70 books, from picture books to young and older fiction. She has always had a passion for wonderful literature and began writing for children in 2006. Her books include Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam, Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble, The Little White Owl, and the Baddies, Beasties and a Sprinkling of Crumbs series for older readers. Tracey’s head is happily crammed with countless story ideas and she’s loving the adventures that her characters insist they share! www.traceycorderoy.com Abi Daré Novelist Abi grew up in Lagos, Nigeria. She studied law at the University of Wolverhampton and has an M.Sc. in International Project Management from Glasgow Caledonian University. Keen to improve her writing, Abi completed an MA in Creative Writing at Birkbeck University of London, achieving a Distinction. Her first novel, The Girl with the Louding Voice, won The Bath Novel Award in 2018 and was selected as a finalist in The Literary Consultancy Pen Factor competition in 2018. Abi lives in Essex with her husband and two children. https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/client/abi-dare Ella Diamond Kahn Literary Agent and Co-Founder of Diamond, Kahn & Woods Literary Agency Ella is not giving one-to-ones Ella is co-founder of Diamond Kahn & Woods Literary Agency, a full-service boutique agency representing a broad range of authors and genres. She loves the creative side of collaborating with authors, pitching exciting projects and handling negotiations. Ella represents upmarket contemporary, speculative and historical fiction, & some non-fiction. She also represents a wide range of children’s fiction for the 9-12 and young adult age groups. She is passionate about finding and championing new voices, including those traditionally under-represented in publishing. Ella has an MA in Publishing from University College London & a BA in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic from the University of Cambridge. Ella was included in The Bookseller’s list of Rising Stars in 2013, and won the London Book Fair Trailblazer Awards 2016 and the Young Stationers’ Prize 2016. Since 2016 she has regularly worked with London’s Writer Development Agency Spread the Word; has also been involved with Penguin Random House’s WriteNow programme, as well as regularly giving talks on careers in publishing and how to get published at universities, schools and literary festivals. www.dkylitagency.co.uk Adrienne Dines Author and tutor Friday and Saturday One-to-ones for editorial assistance Appointments with Adrienne are 30 minutes each to allow for in-depth feedback on your manuscript or writing concerns and count as ONE of your allotted appointments. Submission Requirement: Cover letter, synopsis and sample of writing with specific query – up to 1,500 words. Adrienne is able to help writers of general adult fiction. She is not able to help with Sci-fi or children’s picture books. Since publication of her novels in the early noughties Adrienne has taught and talked about the craft of storytelling at writers' festivals, in prisons and hospices, and written articles about storytelling and oddly, Series One Land Rovers. She is a writing tutor for Creative Words Matter and works with a number of published authors in shaping their new stories. Ian Drury Literary Agent, Sheil Land Associates Thursday and Friday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, synopsis and first chapter Looking for: Thriller, Historical Fiction, SF/Fantasy, Non-Fiction Not interested in: Young adult or children’s writing Ian has been a literary agent at Sheil Land Associates for 13 years. Before that he worked in the magazine business for ten years before joining Collins in 1994. He moved to Cassell in 2000 and soon became publishing director at Weidenfeld & Nicholson. He is also the author of a number of history books, so has seen this business from all sides. Clients include bestselling fantasy writer Mark Lawrence, historical novelist Robert Fabbri, musical historian Andrew Gant, Michael Tippett's biographer Oliver Soden and military historian Peter Hart. sheilland.com Lissa Evans Author of novels for both adults and children Lissa has written six novels, including Their Finest Hour and a Half (which was filmed as ‘Their Finest’) and a loose trilogy which comprises the best-selling Old Baggage, Crooked Heart (longlisted for the Bailey’s Prize) and V for Victory. Two of her books for children, Small Change for Stuart and Wed Wabbit, were shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. Lissa has a background in radio and TV comedy production; her programmes included ‘Room 101’ and ‘Father Ted.’ lissaevans.com Robert Fabbri Author of historical fiction Robert went to Christ's Hospital School and then read Drama and Theatre at Royal Holloway College, London University, after which he worked in film and TV for 25 years as an assistant director on productions such as Hornblower, Hellraiser, Patriot Games and Billy Elliot. He decided to indulge his love of ancient history and write the sort of book that he would love to read; this resulted in the nine book Vespasian series plus sundry short stories and a stand-alone novel about the Roman general, Arminius. He is currently in the midst of a new series, entitled Alexander's Legacy, covering the wars of the great man's successors. The First two books in the series, To the Strongest and The Three Paradises, have been published and he has completed the third and fourth in the series: An Empty Throne and Babylon. He is now embarking on the fifth. robertfabbri.com Helen Fields Author of crime/thrillers An international and Amazon #1 best-selling author, Helen is a former criminal and family law barrister. Every book in the Callanach series has claimed an Amazon #1 bestseller flag. The last book in the series, Perfect Kill was longlisted for the Crime Writers Association Ian Fleming Steel Dagger in 2020, and others have been longlisted for the McIlvanney Prize, Scottish crime novel of the year. Helen also writes as HS Chandler and has released legal thriller Degrees of Guilt. Her audio book Perfect Crime knocked Michelle Obama off the #1 spot. In 2020 Perfect Remains was shortlisted for the Bronze Bat, Dutch debut crime novel of the year. Now translated into 16 languages, and also selling in the USA, Canada & Australasia, Helen's books have won global recognition. Her historical thriller These Lost & Broken Things came out in May 2020. Her first standalone thriller, The Shadow Man, was published in 2021. www.helenfields.co.uk Jo Fletcher Publisher, Jo Fletcher Books Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, synopsis and first chapter Looking for: Primarily science fiction, fantasy and horror, but also interested in young adult, women's fiction, crime and thrillers Not interested in: Non-fiction, romance, literary fiction, children's, poetry Jo Fletcher is Publisher of Jo Fletcher Books, the SF/Fantasy imprint of Quercus Books, which she set up after 16 years running Gollancz, Orion’s prestigious SFF list. She’s also an award-winning writer, poet and journalist in her own right, and an occasional lecturer in publishing and creative writing. Her authors, who have won every major award in the genre, have included over the years No. 1 bestsellers Sir Terry Pratchett, Eoin Colfer, Sir Arthur C. Clarke and Charlaine Harris, European superstars Andrzej Sapkowski, Frank Schätzing, Markus Heitz and Mats Strandberg, and new stars, including Andrew Caldecott, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone, Sebastien de Castell, Alison Littlewood and David Hair. Jo has won the World Fantasy and British Fantasy Awards. In what little spare time she has, she sings and gardens. jofletcherbooks.co.uk Diana Gabaldon Best-selling Author and Keynote Speaker Diana’s hugely popular Outlander series, set in 18th century Scotland, merges multiple genres, featuring elements of historical fiction, romance, adventure, and science fiction. The first novel in the series was published in 1991 followed by seven additional New York Times hit novels with more than twenty-eight million copies in print world-wide and published in 26 countries in 23 languages, and includes The Outlandish Companion, Volumes One and Two. A television adaption of the Outlander novels premiered in 2014, with Diana serving as co-producer and advisor, and quickly developed a devoted world-wide audience. She has also written several books in a sub-series featuring characters from the main series and a graphic novel titled The Exile set in the Outlander universe. Diana is in the process of completing the ninth book in the Outlander series, Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone. Diana holds three degrees in science: Zoology, Marine Biology, and a Ph.D. in Quantitative Behavioural Ecology, and spent a dozen years as a university professor with an expertise in scientific computation before beginning to write fiction. Her varied writing career includes scientific articles and textbooks and numerous comic-book scripts for Walt Disney! dianagabaldon.com Sharon Gosling Author Sharon started off as an entertainment journalist, writing tie-in 'making-of' books for films and TV shows such as Tomb Raider, Wonder Woman, Men in Black and Penny Dreadful. In 2011, she wrote a middle-grade children's adventure The Diamond Thief. Originally published as an ebook, it was published in traditional format by Curious Fox as their launch title in 2013, and went on to win the Redbridge Children’s Award in 2014. It was followed by two sequels, The Ruby Airship and The Sapphire Cutlass. Her debut young adult novel, FIR, was published by Stripes on their Red Eye Horror imprint in 2017. Since then, she has also written two middle grade adventures for Stripes/Little Tiger: The Golden Butterfly, published in 2019, and The House of Hidden Wonders, published in 2020. Little Tiger will publish another of her middle grade adventures in 2022. In 2020 Sharon signed a two-book deal with Simon & Schuster UK. Her debut adult title, The House Beneath the Cliffs, is due for publication in Spring 2021. Candy Gourlay Children's author Children's author Candy Gourlay was an early adopter of digital platforms, creating a following with her popular blog Notes from the Slushpile and YouTube work. More than a decade later, she left Facebook after revelations of the platform's fatal negligence in the developing world. She has given presentations on digital opportunity, virtual events and author platforms for Booktrust, Society of Authors, SCBWI and the Bookseller Conference. Candy's latest novel, Bone Talk, was shortlisted for the Costa Award and the Carnegie Medal. Her other books have been shortlisted for the Guardian Prize, the Waterstones Prize, the Blue Peter and the Branford Boase. Candy is also a committee member of CWIG (Children's Writers and Illustrators Group) of the Society of Authors. candygourlay.co.uk Simon Hall Author Simon is an author, journalist, business coach, university tutor, and runs his own communications agency, Creative Warehouse. He teaches writing, communication, media and business skills at the University of Cambridge, and for government departments and agencies. He has eight novels published, all in the thriller genre, and non-fiction books on business communication and public speaking and presentations. Follow-up books on the topics of writing blogs and appearing in the media are due out in 2021. Previously, Simon was a BBC News Correspondent for twenty years, working across TV, radio and online platforms, specialising in business and economics, home affairs, and the environment. He has also contributed articles and short stories to a range of newspapers and magazines, written plays, screenplays, radio comedy, and even a pantomime. thetvdetective.com Judith Heneghan Author and lecturer Judith is a novelist, an award-winning writer of children's nonfiction, a senior lecturer and Doctor of Creative Arts at the University of Winchester. While she has written over 60 books for young people, adult fiction is her current focus. Her recent novel, Snegurochka (Salt) was shortlisted for the Edward Stanford 'Fiction with a Sense of Place' Prize in 2020. Judith spent six years as Director of the Winchester Writers' Festival and now divides her time between writing, teaching and working as a mentor with Jericho Writers. She has been an active member of two local writing groups for a number of years. judithheneghan.co.uk M.G. Leonard Children's author Maya is an award-winning, bestselling writer of children’s books. Her books have been translated into over forty languages and a TV series based on the Beetle Boy trilogy is currently in development. She is a vice president of charity Buglife and her beetles have appeared on Blue Peter, Springwatch Unsprung, Countryfile, Meet the Author with James Naughtie, Sky News, and featured in the BBC documentary, The Bug Couple. Her newest project is Adventures on Trains. Maya lives in Brighton with her husband, two sons and pet beetles. She spent her early career in the music industry running Setanta Records, an independent record label, and managing bands, most notably The Divine Comedy. After leaving the music industry, she trained as an actor, dabbling in directing and producing as well as performing, before becoming a digital producer for Shakespeare’s Globe, the Royal Opera House, the National Theatre and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on the West End. Maya is one of the founding authors of #Authors4Oceans, with Lauren St John, campaigning to reduce single-use plastics. mgleonard.com Georgina Lippiett Georgina has an MA in Writing for Children, is an active member of SCBWI-BI and is here to help you make the most of your Writers' Weekend experience. Her love of writing groups and literary criticism makes her well-placed to facilitate your discussions and answer your questions, and her enthusiasm for encouraging courage and creativity in others will be put to good use. Miranda Malins Author and historian Miranda is a writer and historian specialising in the history of Oliver Cromwell, his family and the politics of the interregnum period following the Civil War. She studied at Cambridge University, leaving with a PhD, and continues to speak at conferences and publish journal articles and book reviews. She also enjoys being a Trustee of the Cromwell Association. Alongside this, Miranda works as a commercial solicitor in the City and began writing historical novels on maternity leave. She lives in Hampshire with her husband, young sons and cat, Keats. mirandamalins.com Madeleine Milburn Founder and literary agent, Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV and Film Agency Madeleine is not giving one-to-ones, but see below for her submission requirements. The Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film Agency is a major London-based literary agency with a truly global reach. In 2018, Madeleine was named Literary Agent of the Year at the British Book Awards and was shortlisted again in 2020. She has appeared on The Bookseller’s list of the 150 most influential people in the book trade every year since 2017. With a reputation for spotting new talent and ambitious deal-making, she has launched the careers of multiple bestselling authors, some of the highest-earning in the book trade. Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine has sold millions of copies worldwide and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for over 84 weeks. Madeleine also discovered the Elizabeth Macneal international bestseller The Doll Factory, and bestselling brand authors including C.J. Tudor, C.L. Taylor, Fiona Barton and Holly Bourne. In January 2021, three agency books hit the New York Times bestseller list simultaneously: The Push by Ashley Audrain, Wintering by Katherine May and The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley. Madeleine is not giving one-to-ones at the event, but if you are interested in submitting directly to the MMLA, she is seeking character-led, voice-driven literary and book club fiction with a strong discussion point, moral dilemmas, family dramas with thought-provoking themes, quirky characters, original concepts, thrillers and suspense. Some of her favourite authors outside the agency include: Sally Rooney, Elizabeth Strout, Donna Tartt, Tana French, Hanya Yanagihara, Alex Michaelides, Margaret Atwood, David Nicholls, Anna Hope and Maggie O’Farrell. madeleinemilburn.co.uk Derek Miller Novelist Derek B. Miller is an American novelist, academic, and international affairs specialist. He is the author Norwegian by Night, The Girl in Green, American by Day, Radio Life, and the forthcoming books Quiet Time and How to Find Your Way in the Dark. Miller has a Ph.D. in international relations from the Graduate Institute in Geneva, a Masters in National Security Studies from Georgetown University and studied at Oxford, Hebrew University, and Sarah Lawrence College. Before becoming a novelist, he worked for a decade as researcher and manager at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research on a range of arms control, peace and security, and development-related initiatives as well as numerous think tanks and NGOs. Twilightcrimes.com Kiran Millwood Hargrave Author of novels for both children and adults Kiran is the Sunday Times bestselling, award-winning author of novels for children and adults, including The Girl of Ink & Stars, A Secret of Birds & Bone, and The Mercies. Her books have won awards such as the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, the British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year, Le Prix Rive Gauche à Paris, and the Blackwells Children's Book of the Year, and been short- and long-listed for numerous others including the Costa Book Awards, the Foyles Book of the Year, the CILIP Carnegie Medal, and the Prix Femina. Kiran lives in Oxford with her husband, the artist Tom de Freston, and their rescue cat, Luna. kiranmillwoodhargrave.co.uk Lucy Morris Literary Agent, Curtis Brown Lucy is a literary agent at Curtis Brown, where she represents a range of commercial and reading group fiction, narrative non-fiction and memoir. Her clients include Cash Carraway, Gillian McAllister, Hazel Barkworth and Shobna Gulati. She is a long-time supporter of the Winchester Writers' Festival and Writers' Weekend. She is on the judging panel for Discoveries, a new writing development programme launched by the Women’s Prize Trust in partnership with Curtis Brown and NatWest. curtisbrown.co.uk/agent/lucy-morris Kate Mosse Bestselling novelist Kate is a multi-million international bestselling novelist, nonfiction author, playwright and speaker, the Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction and a champion of women’s creativity. She is the author of eight novels & short story collections, including the No 1 multimillion selling Languedoc Trilogy - Labyrinth, Sepulchre and Citadel - and No 1 bestselling Gothic fiction including The Winter Ghosts and The Taxidermist's Daughter, which she is currently adapting for the stage. She has also written four works of non-fiction, four plays, contributed essays and introductions to classic novels and collections. Kate sits on the Executive Committee of Women of the World and is the Founder of #WomanInHistory. She was awarded an OBE in 2013 for services to literature and women. Her memoir on being a carer - An Extra Pair of Hands - comes out in June. www.katemosse.co.uk Kira-Anne Pelican Author, educator and script consultant Kira-Anne Pelican, PhD is a writer, educator and script consultant, specialising in helping writers develop more compelling characters through insights from evidence-based psychology. She is the author of The Science of Writing Characters (Bloomsbury, 2020) and has a 25-year background working in the film and television industries for directors including Stanley Kubrick, the Wachowskis and the Coen brothers. filmscribe.co.uk Chris Riddell Award-winning illustrator and author of books for children. Keynote speaker Chris is an illustrator, author and political cartoonist for the Observer. He has enjoyed great acclaim for his books for children which have won a number of major prizes, including the prestigious CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal an unprecedented three times and the Costa Book Award in 2013 for his book, Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse. Between 2015-2017, Chris served as the UK Children’s Laureate and in 2019 he was awarded an OBE by the Queen for his services to children’s literature. Chris's previous work includes the award-winning Goth Girl and Ottoline series, The Cloud Horse Chronicles: Guardians of Magic, Once Upon A Wild Wood, The Emperor of Absurdia, and last year he illustrated the new edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (Macmillan Children's Books). Alongside his middle-grade fiction and picture books, Chris also enjoys poetry and has edited and illustrated a series of best-selling poetry anthologies including Poems to Live Your Life By, Poems to Fall in Love With and Poems to Save the World With (Macmillan Children's Books). Chris has also collaborated with many highly acclaimed authors and illustrated many of their books including Neil Gaiman (The Graveyard Book, Pirate Stew), Frances Hardinge (The Lie Tree), Paul Stewart (The Edge Chronicles), Francesca Gibbons (A Clock of Stars: The Shadow Moth), Michael Rosen (Honey for You, Honey for Me) and JK Rowling (Beedles and the Bard). This year, Chris has illustrated a gorgeous new edition of Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll in celebration of the 150th anniversary of its publication and the 42nd special anniversary edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Chris lives in Brighton with his family. chrisriddell.co.uk Reshma Ruia Author and poet Reshma is a writer and poet based in Manchester. Her first novel, Something Black in the Lentil Soup was described in the Sunday Times as ‘a gem of straight-faced comedy.’ Her second novel, A Mouthful of Silence, was shortlisted for the SI Leeds Literary Award. Her short stories and poetry have appeared in various British and international journals and anthologies and commissioned for BBC Radio 4. A Dinner Party in the Home Counties is her debut poetry collection. It won the 2019 Word Masala Award. Lemn Sissay said of the collection, ‘Reshma lures the reader into her world through a vivid imagination. Her skill is in how she paints pictures with words, which become whole landscapes and scenes in one’s imagination. She ignites the reader. I feel I am reading someone whom everyone will be reading in future. Read her now! “ She is also the co-founder of The Whole Kahani, a writers’ collective of British South Asian writers. Her short-story collection, Mrs Pinto Drives to Happiness will be out in September 2021. reshmaruia.com Laura Williams Literary Agent, Greene & Heaton Thursday, Friday and Saturday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, synopsis and first chapter Looking for: Literary fiction, upmarket commercial fiction, reading group fiction, psychological thrillers, domestic noir, crime, gothic, ghost stories, horror, young adult, narrative non-fiction, history, popular culture, memoir Not interested in: science fiction, fantasy, picture books, middle grade, erotica, cookery books, lifestyle and wellness Laura joined Greene & Heaton as an agent in 2018. She worked at Peters Fraser and Dunlop from 2011, after completing a degree in Classics at Oxford. She is actively building a fiction list and a small non-fiction list. She is currently looking for literary fiction, edgy commercial fiction, psychological thrillers and high-concept contemporary young adult, as well as narrative non-fiction of all types. Her taste is quite dark, and she loves gothic, ghost stories, horror and anything sinister. She also loves books that make her cry, from big love stories to intense family dramas. greeneheaton.co.uk Vanessa Carlyon Wood Book Designer, Art Director and Co-Founder of Orange Beak Studio Ness Wood is an award-winning book designer and art director and she has worked for many major publishers designing teenage fiction through to picture books. She has taught publishing on the Illustration MA course at Goldsmiths, London and publishing at the University of Central Lancashire, where she is a Leader-in-Residence. Ness has also taught design history at the University of Brighton and has been a judge for the prestigious Bologna Ragazzi Award and in 2018, she was part of the winning team at the British Book Design and Production Awards in the Graphic Novel Category. She is known for her encouraging, straightforward and collaborative approach with illustrators and students. Ness is co-founder of Orange Beak Studio with Maisie Paradise Shearring. It is a collective that mentors illustrators at all stages of their development, from those who are brand-new to illustrators and authors early in their career, to graduates and more established clients. Orange Beak also hold events, lectures and workshops. instagram: nesswood_design_books www.orangebeakstudio.com instagram: orangebeakstudio www.nesswood.co.uk

Virtual One-to-one Mentors

Becky Bagnell Literary Agent, Lindsay Literary Agency Thursday and Friday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: Please upload cover letter, single-page synopsis and first 2,000 words Looking for: children’s books from picture books through middle grade, up to young adult Not interested in: adult fiction/non-fiction Becky is the founder of the Lindsay Literary Agency and has been in publishing for over 25 years. She worked as a commissioning editor at Macmillan before becoming a literary agent in 2008. Becky’s clients have been published and translated across the world and include the multi-award-winning authors, Pamela Butchart, Sue Wallman, Sam Gayton and J. M. Joseph. The Lindsay Literary Agency specialises in writing for children from picture books to young adult novels as well as non-fiction. www.lindsayliteraryagency.co.uk John Baker Junior Agent, Bell Lomax Moreton Thursday, Friday and Saturday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: Please upload tailored cover letter, synopsis and the first 5,000 words of the text or the first two chapters, whichever is longer Looking for: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror for any age range, including children and adults Not interested in: anything that doesn’t fit under the science fiction, fantasy or horror umbrella. John is a junior agent at the Bell Lomax Moreton Agency, providing administrative support across the agency and building his own small, cultivated list, shaped around his passion for Science Fiction and Fantasy. From books with a jaded space captain, an in-over-his-head supernatural detective, or a past-their-prime mercenary crew on one last mission to all possible adventures in between, John is searching for authors who share a passion for subverting expectations and creating rich new worlds of adventure. He is looking for anything under the broad church of SFF, from literary to pulpy, high fantasy to gritty urban, but he would especially love to hear from anyone under-represented in the genre, particularly neurodiverse writers. John is also keen to grow his horror list, but they must be in the vein of psychological terror more than straight gore-fest. belllomaxmoreton.co.uk Ruth Bullivant Book Coach Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday one-to-ones for editorial assistance. Ruth’s appointments are 30 minutes long and count as ONE one-to-one. Submission Requirements: please upload first ten pages of your work-in-progress, or a summary of your book idea (fiction or non-fiction; up to 3,500 words, in MS Word) Able to help with: Non-fiction (all types, except memoir), contemporary fiction, historical fiction, adventure, mystery, thriller, cosy crime, fantasy, young adult and steampunk. Not able to help with: middle-grade or younger, horror, hard crime, memoir, erotica or poetry Ruth is a trained book coach who will give you kind but honest feedback on your first ten pages, or on your idea for a book. You will get an actionable plan so that you can write forward with confidence. In the course of her legal career, Ruth has come across a lot of people who have a great idea for a book but they don’t actually start it, or they start it but can’t finish it. She decided to help them. She earned certification as a personal book coach from Author Accelerator and now she gives one-to-one guidance to writers to help them plan, write and publish their book. She writes tongue-in-cheek thrillers that draw on Greek legends and has been a corporate lawyer in London for thirty years. (Banking law, since you ask. It's exciting. No - really.) She has no cats but sometimes a neighbouring Russian Blue serenades her. He is so aristocratic, she thinks he may be a White Russian, in disguise. www.ruthbullivant.com Megan Carroll Literary Agent, Watson Little Ltd Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, synopsis and first chapter Looking for: Adult fiction and non-fiction, middle grade and young adult Not interested in: Picture books Megan is a Literary Agent and is building her own list. She is looking for writers in a variety of areas and from a variety of backgrounds. In Fiction, Megan is keen to see high-concept speculative fiction (particularly high-concept love stories) for both commercial and reading group/crossover readers. She is also looking for historical fiction and gothic horror, as well as regional family drama, contemporary women’s fiction, and darkly comic novels. In Children’s and YA, Megan would love to see contemporary YA tackling realistic issues and big, epic love stories as well as funny, female focused MG – think Louise Rennison and Karen McCombie – and an Abi Elphinstone style adventure for that age group too. Megan loves anything creepy and spooky for the MG audience too, and would love to find horror for YA readers. Megan is also keen to see interesting memoir and good narrative non-fiction on film, music, true crime, popular culture and issues from a female perspective. Megan is also growing a list of children’s non-fiction authors and would love to see proposals for ages 7+. watsonlittle.com Anne Clark Literary Agent, Anne Clark Literary Agency Thursday and Friday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, synopsis and first chapter. For picture books – cover letter and full text (up to 1000 words) Looking for: Middle-grade fiction, picture books (you may submit up to three picture books, but we may not have time to discuss all three during the one-to-one.) Not interested in: Young adult fiction, high fantasy Anne launched the Anne Clark Literary Agency in 2012 after twenty years in senior editorial roles within the publishing industry. The agency specialises in representing writers for children and young people and clients include Mike Barfield, Anne Booth, Cath Howe, Rebecca Patterson and Lucy Rowland. www.anneclarkliteraryagency.co.uk Adrienne Dines Author and tutor Friday and Saturday One-to-ones for editorial assistance Appointments with Adrienne are 30 minutes each to allow for in-depth feedback on your manuscript or writing concerns and count as ONE of your allotted appointments. Submission Requirement: Cover letter, synopsis and sample of writing with specific query – up to 1,500 words. Adrienne is able to help writers of general adult fiction. She is not able to help with Sci-fi or children’s picture books. Since publication of her novels in the early noughties Adrienne has taught and talked about the craft of storytelling at writers' festivals, in prisons and hospices, and written articles about storytelling and oddly, Series One Land Rovers. She is a writing tutor for Creative Words Matter and works with a number of published authors in shaping their new stories. Ian Drury Literary Agent, Sheil Land Associates Thursday and Friday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, synopsis and first chapter Looking for: Thriller, Historical Fiction, SF/Fantasy, Non-Fiction Not interested in: Young adult or children’s writing Ian has been a literary agent at Sheil Land Associates for 13 years. Before that he worked in the magazine business for ten years before joining Collins in 1994. He moved to Cassell in 2000 and soon became publishing director at Weidenfeld & Nicholson. He is also the author of a number of history books, so has seen this business from all sides. Clients include bestselling fantasy writer Mark Lawrence, historical novelist Robert Fabbri, musical historian Andrew Gant, Michael Tippett's biographer Oliver Soden and military historian Peter Hart. sheilland.com Eleanor Farmer Editorial Director, Little Tiger Press Friday and Saturday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload one picture book text of 300-800 words Looking for: Picture books. Most genres work in picture book form, but please make sure they’re aged appropriately for your readership. Eleanor is Editorial Director of the picture book list at Little Tiger, a UK-based publisher specialising in children's books. She is looking for new picture book voices, who have interesting and inspiring stories to tell. During her career in children's publishing she has also edited novelty books, non-fiction titles and licensed properties. littletiger.co.uk Ciara Finan Literary Agent, Curtis Brown Saturday and Sunday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload a cover letter, short synopsis and two sample chapters Looking for: Adult and YA writing - myth re-tellings like The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. She is a huge fantasy and sci-fi fan and would love to find new voices in this space. Whether it’s adult or YA, she is eager to find novels from underrepresented writers in this genre that showcase new cultures and histories and that have me reading into the early hours! Books like The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang or The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty are great examples. She also loves the writing of YA standouts like Leigh Bardugo, Sabaa Tahir and Sarah Rees Brennan. Ciara joined Curtis Brown in early 2018 after completing a Masters in Literature and Publishing and she now assists top literary agent Jonny Geller. She is also currently accepting adult and YA fiction submissions. Ciara will be taking over her colleague Isobel Gahan's Saturday and Sunday one-to-one appointments, plus taking a few new appointments. Stevie Finegan Literary Agent, Zeno Agency Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, synopsis and first chapter Looking for: Fantasy, science fiction, children’s books of all ages, including picture books, graphic novels, and narrative non-fiction. She is particularly interested in books from writers who consider themselves under-represented, such as writers of colour, queer, and disabled writers. Stevie joined Zeno at the beginning of 2020 after time served working for science fiction and fantasy imprint Gollancz, adult non-fiction publisher Icon, and almost every Waterstones bookshop London has to offer. Her degree specialised in children’s literature with a dissertation debating what young adult fiction actually is. All of the above strongly influenced the kind of books that excite her, as well as broader narratives that explore stories connected with LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, disability, mental health, and other marginalised experiences. zenoagency.com Jo Fletcher Publisher, Jo Fletcher Books Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, synopsis and first chapter Looking for: Primarily science fiction, fantasy and horror, but also interested in young adult, women's fiction, crime and thrillers Not interested in: Non-fiction, romance, literary fiction, children's, poetry Jo Fletcher is Publisher of Jo Fletcher Books, the SF/Fantasy imprint of Quercus Books, which she set up after 16 years running Gollancz, Orion’s prestigious SFF list. She’s also an award-winning writer, poet and journalist in her own right, and an occasional lecturer in publishing and creative writing. Her authors, who have won every major award in the genre, have included over the years No. 1 bestsellers Sir Terry Pratchett, Eoin Colfer, Sir Arthur C. Clarke and Charlaine Harris, European superstars Andrzej Sapkowski, Frank Schätzing, Markus Heitz and Mats Strandberg, and new stars, including Andrew Caldecott, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone, Sebastien de Castell, Alison Littlewood and David Hair. Jo has won the World Fantasy and British Fantasy Awards. In what little spare time she has, she sings and gardens. jofletcherbooks.co.uk Katie Fulford Literary Agent, Bell Lomax Moreton Thursday and Friday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, synopsis and first three chapters Looking for: Bookclub and commercial fiction, crime and thriller, rom-com, historical, and romance. In non-fiction: true crime, professional memoir, science and nature Not interested in Science fiction, fantasy and children’s books Katie has spent nearly 30 years in the publishing industry and the last 25 years at HarperCollins, in a variety of senior positions, before joining Bell Lomax Moreton in 2020. As a new agent, she is looking for authors in both non-fiction and fiction. In non-fiction she is always looking for a strong narrative voice and ideas-based books that offer different ways of thinking about life. She is also interested in smart true crime, memoirs, nature, lifestyle and books around female and family issues. In terms of fiction, her interests are broad and varied. She likes contemporary and historical, both commercial and literary fiction. It could be anything from a dark and twisty thriller to a sweeping love story to a clever and sharply written romantic comedy. All will have believable characters that you can root for, immersive settings and compelling storylines. She is particularly on the look-out for crime and thrillers but ultimately it could be anything that draws her in. belllomaxmoreton.co.uk/agents/katie-fulford Isobel Gahan Associate Agent, Curtis Brown Thursday, Saturday and Sunday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, short synopsis and first two chapters Looking for: Adult, middle-grade and young adult fantasy, sci-fi, graphic novels and children’s non-fiction. Also happy to consider all other middle-grade and young adult genres. Isobel is an Associate Agent and joined Curtis Brown in June 2017 to work with Stephanie Thwaites. She has a background in children’s publishing and is actively building her own list, looking particularly for young adult and middle-grade fantasy, sci-fi, graphic novels and children's non-fiction. She reads widely but has a particular love for fantasy and especially plots with ambitious world-building and immersive mythologies. She loves books set in ‘our world’ with a mythical strand running through them and fairy-tales that take us somewhere simultaneously familiar and cosy but also strange and eerie. In 2019 she was longlisted for the Trailblazer Award. curtisbrown.co.uk/agent/isobel-gahan Katie Greenstreet Literary Agent, C&W Agency Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, synopsis and first 10 pages Looking for: Psychological suspense, upmarket romance, romantic comedies, family sagas, historical fiction with a feminist bent, anything with a coming of age, '5 minutes to the future' speculative fiction, book club fiction, accessible literary fiction, and memoir Not interested in: Picture books, children’s, young adult, genre romance, science fiction, or fantasy Katie’s career began at ICM Partners in NYC prior to joining the team at C&W, where she has been agenting since 2017. Her taste is broad and ranges from literary fiction to juicy beach reads, but upmarket commercial writing is what she is most interested in reading right now. She is particularly keen to read stories that transport her somewhere new, and she is always a sucker for a glamorous setting. Kate reads widely and is open to anything with writing that grips her, but she particularly loves fiction about food and families, psychological suspense with complex characters and a unique hook, campus novels, historical fiction starring strong women, quirky coming of age stories, and literary works that reveal a darker side of human nature. She is very committed to working with authors editorially and is looking to help build long-term careers for all her writers. cwagency.co.uk/agent/katie-greenstreet Hattie Grunewald Literary Agent, The Blair Partnership Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, synopsis and first 3,000 words Looking for: Women’s fiction, both contemporary and historical, upmarket and book club, crime, psychological thriller and mystery Not interested in: Fantasy/Sci-fi, action thrillers, children’s and young adult, poetry and short stories Hattie represents commercial and upmarket fiction – including women’s fiction, crime and thriller, historical and book club fiction – as well as some non-fiction in the areas of lifestyle and personal development. Before joining The Blair Partnership she was a literary agent at Blake Friedmann Agency, where she worked for six years. Hattie has a degree in English and Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia and is also a poet. In 2020, Hattie was a Bookseller Rising Star and the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Agent of the Year. theblairpartnership.com/submissions Niall Harman Literary Agent Assistant, Curtis Brown Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: Please upload cover letter, synopsis and first chapter Looking for: Literary fiction, accessible literary fiction, crime, thrillers, historical fiction, memoirs, narrative non-fiction, true crime Not interested in: Sci-fi and fantasy Niall joined Curtis Brown as an intern in the Translation Rights department and now works alongside Gordon Wise on his phenomenal list of authors, while also working on his own projects and building his own list. When he starts reading something, be it a published book or unsolicited submission, he is looking to be swept up in a narrative and transported somewhere new. He particularly enjoy books that have a strong sense of place and is constantly drawn to novels that have a strong, compelling voice. In fiction, many of his best-loved reads would be considered accessible literary fiction, and he enjoys crime fiction that continually surprises and leaves him desperate to discuss what happened with other readers as soon as he has hit the final page. In non-fiction, he looks for those same brilliant voices, especially when it comes to memoirs and is keen to seek out books that offer new takes on histories he thought he was familiar with. www.curtisbrown.co.uk/agent/niall-harman Josephine Hayes Children's Literary Agent, The Blair Partnership Thursday, Saturday and Sunday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, one-page synopsis, first 20 pages. If picture book: cover letter and full text of one picture book Looking for: Middle-grade to young adult fiction, picture books and children’s author/illustrators. In middle-grade, she is interested in a good quality mystery or adventure with a dash of light fantasy and wacky fiction with a great sense of humour. In teen and young adult fiction, she’d like to see strong young female characters taking centre stage, standout young adult romance or something with strong relationships and characters who you fall in love with and think about even when you’re not reading. Across all age groups, she is looking for humorous and joyful books with series potential, particularly for readers at the younger end. Jo is also searching for children’s author/illustrators for ages 2-7+ with a contemporary, quirky style and non-rhyming picture book texts. Not interested in: High fantasy or science fiction Josephine studied History at the University of Exeter. After graduating, she joined Bell Lomax Moreton and gradually began taking on her own clients. She joined The Blair Partnership in 2015 and continues to grow her list of children’s clients from picture book to young adult authors. Her clients have won or been shortlisted for accolades including The Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards, WHSmith Non-fiction Book of the Year, The Carnegie Medal, The Blue Peter Book Award, and Crimefest’s Best Crime Novel for Children. Jo enjoys working creatively and hands-on editorially with authors and advising on manuscripts with the intention of finding the right editor and publishing house for the authors’ work. She is currently open to submissions of children’s books that you can nimbly describe in one or two sentences and is particularly looking for stories with unexpected twists, ‘real-world’ books with a sprinkling of magic, a unique voice or unreliable narrator, brilliant world-building, epic journeys and diverse and marginalised children’s authors writing across all genres and age ranges. theblairpartnership.com Penny Holroyde Literary Agent, Holroyde Cartey Limited Thursday and Friday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, synopsis, first chapter, word count at top of page Looking for: all works of fiction and non-fiction for children, including picture books Penny has worked in children's publishing for 25 years for publishers Walker Books in the UK and Candlewick Press in the US and as an agent with the Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency. She founded Holroyde Cartey Limited in 2015 with Claire Cartey, a former art director who has also worked in publishing for 25 years. holdroydecartey.com Harry Illingworth Literary Agent, DHH Literary Agency Thursday, Friday and Saturday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, synopsis, first chapter Looking for: Adult and young adult fiction. Mould-breaking genre fiction with unique voices and strong concepts; books that can crossover from genre fiction to the commercial market. This could come in the form of epic fantasy, high-concept crime and thriller, innovative mysteries, spy novels, anything with a touch of the supernatural or accessible science fiction. Young adult submissions must crossover to adult readership. Not interested in: commercial women's fiction, non-fiction, middle-grade/children's Harry studied English Literature and Creative Writing at Northumbria University before moving to London to work in publishing. He completed internships at Michael O’Mara Books, HarperCollins and Pan Macmillan, gaining experience in different departments of the publishing industry. It was during his placement at Macmillan that he met David Headley and was invited to join the team at Goldsboro Books and DHH Literary Agency. He worked for the former for five years as Marketing & Communications Manager and is now a director of the agency. Harry loves genre fiction and is looking for novels that cross and defy genres but have clear commercial appeal. He responds well to unique voices and strong hooks. He loves science fiction and fantasy of all kinds, especially gritty and epic, and is also looking for speculative and supernatural fiction; strong high-concept crime / thrillers; spy stories and mould-breaking mysteries. dhhliteraryagency.com Gill McLay Literary Agent, Bath Literary Agency Thursday and Friday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, synopsis and first three chapters. If picture book, please send whole script. Looking for: Picture books and children’s fiction, including middle-grade, young adult and non-fiction Since graduating with a Publishing & Marketing BA Honours degree from Oxford Brookes University in 1996, Gill has worked in the world of children’s publishing and offers over two decades of industry experience. Having worked with small independent publisher, Barefoot Books, to large global publisher, Egmont, Gill understands the industry. From product development to co-ordinating marketing campaigns with UK retailers, Gill’s experience offers an understanding of the different roles and sectors within the world of children’s books that together take the author’s stories from idea to reader. Representing children’s authors and illustrators, Gill works with her clients to ensure they are clear about the different roles within a publishing team. Her aim is to nurture clients, creating supportive and successful partnerships between publishers, authors and illustrators. The agency represents writers of poetry, picture books, young fiction, middle-grade fiction, young adult fiction and non-fiction. It also looks after author/illustrators who write their own work as well as illustrating the work of other authors. bathliteraryagency.com Polly Nolan Literary Agent, Papercuts Literary Consultancy Thursday and Friday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload one-page (max) synopsis, first two chapters, and a very short author biography, if relevant. Looking for: Writing for children ages five to young adult, all genres Not interested in: picture books, poetry or sci-fi After almost twenty years' commissioning and editing children's books at some of the UK's top publishing houses, Polly moved to agenting in 2013 and quickly built a talented and successful list of clients. In 2020, she started her own agency and consultancy, PaperCuts Ltd, which represents authors writing for children from 5 to YA, as well as offering advice to anyone needing help with their work. Always on the look-out for a good story, arrestingly told, Polly has a particular love of middle-grade. papercutsltd.com Catherine Pellegrino Literary Agent, Marjacq Scripts Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload short cover letter with any relevant details about their writing - courses, shortlists etc. A synopsis no longer than one page and the first three chapters of their manuscript Looking for: Children’s and adult fiction in all genres, literary fiction and non-fiction Catherine has worked in publishing for over 30 years in-house at Victor Gollancz, Penguin and Bloomsbury in translation rights. She became a literary scout in 2006 and joined Rogers, Coleridge and White Ltd as a Children's Agent in 2007. Moving to France in 2009, she set up her own agency, Catherine Pellegrino and Associates, which was absorbed by Marjacq Scripts Ltd in 2015 upon her return to London. Most of her writers are children's authors, but she has recently begun representing adult writers in commercial fiction and narrative non-fiction. In terms of taste, she leans toward literary fiction and recent examples of authors who she represents are Finbar Hawkins, author of Witch ( Zephyr) and T.C. Shelley who wrote the brilliant The Monster Who Wasn't series for Bloomsbury. Having said that, she is happy to be read writing that is original, funny, engaging, diverse, or heart-breaking, no matter what the genre. marjacq.com Maudie Powell-Tuck Commissioning Editor, Little Tiger Press Thursday and Saturday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, up to three picture book texts of no more than 800 words each. Looking for: Fiction picture books Maudie works as a commissioning editor at Little Tiger Press. She specialises in picture books and adores stories with strong characters, rhythmic language and a healthy dollop of humour. littletiger.co.uk Hazel Prior Author Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday one-to-ones for editorial assistance. Hazel’s appointments are 30 minutes long and count as ONE one-to-one. Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter that states what you hope to get out of the session, one-page synopsis and first chapter Able to help with: General fiction, romance, cosy crime, historical fiction, cross-genre, character-led writing. Not able to help with: Horror and fantasy Hazel is the author of two novels: Ellie and the Harp Maker and Away with the Penguins. Her debut novel was inspired by her love of music, the Exmoor countryside and quirky characters who find it hard to fit into society. Her second novel was inspired by the adventurous spirit of elderly people she knows and her concerns for the environment. Hazel firmly believes that penguins, with their cheerful resilience amidst the harshest conditions on the planet, are an example to us all. Away with the Penguins was selected for both Richard and Judy's Book Club and BBC Radio 2's Book Club and has become a number-one bestseller in ebook. Hazel is also a freelance Celtic harpist and lives on Exmoor with her husband and a huge ginger cat. hazeltheharpist.co.uk Florence Rees Literary Agent, AM Heath Literary Agency Thursday, Friday and Saturday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload one-page cover letter, synopsis (no longer than 100 words) and first chapter. Looking for: Non-fiction that will appeal to anyone engaged with the issues in today's world, particularly millennials and younger. Memoir, if it's about an extraordinary life or very well-written. Commercial fiction, love stories, stories about friendship and relationships. Also looking for novels in the sweet spot between commercial and literary but there has to a compelling plot. Florence's list spans fiction and non-fiction but on the commercial side for both. She is keen to find non-fiction writers who speak to a younger, millennial audience, be that a journalist who is looking to expand an idea, or perhaps an activist with a social media platform. Florence is actively looking for writers who are under-represented in the publishing world, through non-traditional channels, and in her submissions. She is always interested in environmental and social issues. Equally, one of her favourite things to do is escape her day-to-day with a story she cannot put down: of having to read just one more chapter. Characters (real or fictional) can stay with her for years. She has spent memorable hours weeping over the last pages in beautiful, heart-wrenching memoirs such as When Breath Becomes Air and The Last Act of Love. Florence adores clever, gripping page-turners with complicated and flawed characters we haven’t met before, but comforting and funny classics like Georgette Heyer’s Regency novels will always be her cup of tea. amheath.com/agents/florence-rees Jenny Savill Literary Agent, Andrew Nurnberg Associates Thursday and Friday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload a cover letter, synopsis and first chapter Looking for: Fiction only: 7+, middle grade, young adult; Women's fiction, high end, well-written commercial fiction, literary fiction, horror, spooky or creepy novels, gothic thrillers, psychological thrillers, speculative fiction, historical fiction (especially 20th century stories) After working in the theatre, Jenny joined Andrew Nurnberg Associates in 2002. Jenny is always keen to find new voices in 7+, Middle Grade and Young Adult writing. Her children's authors include Keren David, Hana Tooke and Dave Cousins. She loves voice, setting, humour and twisty-turny plots. In adult fiction, she is on the look-out for writers of literary fiction, commercial and literary women’s fiction, well-written thrillers and psychological suspense, gothic thrillers, ghost stories and speculative fiction, time-slip novels, and historical fiction (the whole gamut – including alternate histories). Her authors include Natasha Pulley, Catriona Ward and C J Skuse. She welcomes originality, depth, and the ability to move and surprise in submissions. She particularly welcomes submissions from under-represented voices. www.andrewnurnberg.com Lydia Silver Children's Literary Agent, The Darley Anderson Children's Book Agency Thursday and Friday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter and first chapter Looking for: All children's books, with a special focus on middle-grade and narrative non-fiction. I'm particularly interested in work from under-represented authors. Not interested in: picture books or adult writing After a childhood buried in library books and Beano magazines, Lydia started her career in the editorial team at Egmont, where she commissioned books such as the Carnegie Medal-winning The Poet X. She joined the Darley Anderson team in 2018 and is building an engaging and diverse list of authors and illustrators. With experience on both sides of the commissioning desk, Lydia loves working editorially with her clients and developing ideas from an initial spark into a full manuscript. Lydia represents clients including Soofiya, Alice Harman, Mark Bradley, Rachel Morrisroe and Rashmi Sirdeshpande. If you could sum up her tastes in three words, they would be curious, characterful and heartfelt, and in three books, they would be One of Us is Lying, Nevermoor and You Are Awesome. darleyandersonchildrens.com Emily Talbot Associate Agent, United Agents Thursday and Friday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, synopsis and first three chapters for fiction. For picture books cover letter and one picture book properly paginated/split into spreads. Looking for: Picture books, middle-grade and young adult. In picture books, subject matter can be varied as long as it's suitable for the age group. Particularly looking for funny, voice-led young fiction and middle-grade - the more mad-cap and bonkers the better. Middle-grade fantasy also very welcome as long as the world building is strong. In young adult, she’d love to find a heart-warming and commercial romance story - something like One Day but for a younger audience. Emily is an Associate Agent in the office of Jodie Hodges, and also represents children's illustrators and authors of picture books, middle grade, teenage and YA. She loves books that touch on the gritty realisms of life such as the writing of Louise O'Neill and Holly Bourne. She is also on the lookout for middle grade of any kind; everything from authentic and emotive to humorous adventure. Above all she has a passion for great characterisation and is on the hunt for a distinctive, new voice in children’s literature, whatever age group it falls in. She is also looking for picture book authors and illustrators and her favourite picture books are those with an off-the-wall, irreverent humour. Not Now Bernard frames many a childhood memory for me, for example. unitedagents.co.uk/etalbotunitedagentscouk Angelique Tran Van Sang Literary Agent, Felicity Bryan Associates Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, synopsis, sample of first chapter Looking for: Literary fiction, narrative non-fiction (memoir, essays, investigative journalism, etc.) Not interested in: Children’s/YA, fantasy, crime, sci-fi, romance/erotica Angelique is a literary agent at Felicity Bryan Associates, joining the company in March 2021, after moving from the position of commissioning editor at Bloomsbury Publishing, where she worked with authors including George Saunders, Jhumpa Lahiri, Kamila Shamsie, Patti Smith and Reni Eddo-Lodge. Her own list of acquisitions there included Sour Heart by Jenny Zhang, Scotiabank Giller Prize-winner How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa, Inferno by Catherine Cho, There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura and Asylum Road by Olivia Sudjic. In fiction, she is looking for works that strike the heart and intellect in equal measure – fiction that explores the lives of those not often represented in literature, and fresh and unexpected subversions of known narratives. A strong atmosphere, a voice that is bold and unusual, and a critical eye on the myriad ways in which we live, are important. In non-fiction, she is interested in essays and longform narratives that explore the world we live in today, be that through art, literature, politics or philosophy felicitybryan.com Clare Wallace Children's Literary Agent, Darley Anderson Children's Book Agency Thursday and Friday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, synopsis and first chapter. For picture books: the full text with a maximum of three picture book texts. Looking for: Commercial children's fiction, young adult thrillers and horrors, young adult romance, all middle-grade - ideally with a big hook, a big heart and a standout voice. She is actively looking for submissions from underrepresented communities. Not interested in: Steampunk Clare joined the Darley Anderson Agency in January 2011 and is building both the Darley Anderson Children’s Agency and the Darley Anderson Illustration Agency lists. As chief talent-spotter, Clare loves to discover memorable new characters, bold and unique voices, a strong concept, and gripping storytelling. At the Children's Book Agency she represents picture books, middle-grade, teenage and YA. Her authors include Perdita & Honor Cargill, Caroline Crowe, Martyn Ford, Stewart Foster, A M Howell, Polly Ho-Yen, Rachel Ip, Beth Reekles, Dave Rudden and Deirdre Sullivan. darleyandersonchildrens.com Laura Williams Literary Agent, Greene & Heaton Thursday, Friday and Saturday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, synopsis and first chapter Looking for: Literary fiction, upmarket commercial fiction, reading group fiction, psychological thrillers, domestic noir, crime, gothic, ghost stories, horror, young adult, narrative non-fiction, history, popular culture, memoir Not interested in: science fiction, fantasy, picture books, middle grade, erotica, cookery books, lifestyle and wellness Laura joined Greene & Heaton as an agent in 2018. She worked at Peters Fraser and Dunlop from 2011, after completing a degree in Classics at Oxford. She is actively building a fiction list and a small non-fiction list. She is currently looking for literary fiction, edgy commercial fiction, psychological thrillers and high-concept contemporary young adult, as well as narrative non-fiction of all types. Her taste is quite dark, and she loves gothic, ghost stories, horror and anything sinister. She also loves books that make her cry, from big love stories to intense family dramas. greeneheaton.co.uk Jo Williamson Literary Agent, Antony Harwood Literary Agents Thursday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, synopsis and first chapter Looking for: Middle-grade adventure, younger fiction for ages 5 – 8/7 - 9, ‘own voice’ by BAME authors, women’s fiction, adult psychological thrillers Jo has worked as an agent with Antony Harwood since 2008. She has built up a children's list ranging from picture book authors up to YA. Her clients have been shortlisted for prizes such as the Kate Greenaway Award, Branford Boase and Waterstones Book Prize. She also represents adult thriller writers and women's fiction authors. She is looking for rich stories and voices that sing. Prior to becoming an agent, she spent over 10 years working in publishing PR for DK, HarperCollins and Orion. antonyharwood.com

Success Story Readers

Ilona Bannister Author Ilona grew up on Staten Island and lived in New York City until she married a Brit and moved to London. A dual-qualified US attorney and UK solicitor, Ilona practiced immigration law in the UK before taking a career break to raise her two young sons and unexpectedly found herself writing fiction. When I Ran Away is her first novel and she is currently working on her second. Ilona attended the Winchester Writers' Festival two years in a row when she was writing When I Ran Away and found what she learned there to be invaluable in helping pitch to agents, edit her novel, understand social media, and ultimately, put her on the road to publication. Twitter: @ilonabannister Instagram: @ilona.bannister Kate Bradley Author Kate worked for many years managing services for people who are marginalised by society; her work has taken her into prisons, mental health hospitals and alongside the homeless. She currently works in education and holds a first-class degree in English Literature, in addition to qualifications in creative writing, children's mental health and teaching. Kate lives in a small coastal town just outside of Brighton with her husband and sons. Her debut, To Keep You Safe was released last year and she will read from her new novel, What I Did. Kate is happy to do readings and take questions on writing, her novels and her inspiration. She is also available for workshops. @Kate_Bradley katebradley.co.uk Amanda Campbell Author After graduating as an alumna of the Faber Academy's ‘Writing a Novel’ course, AJ published her debut novel Leave Well Alone in July 2020 which became an Amazon bestseller. Her second novel Don’t Come Looking is due for publication in spring 2021. Until the birth of her twins, which radically changed her life, AJ worked as an accountant in London. One of her twins was born with severe disabilities, and she had to give up work to care for him. It was during this incredibly challenging (and rewarding) time that AJ began to draw on her love of the written word, partly for day-to-day inspiration and partly for her own mental health. Reading or writing, AJ loves nothing more than settling down with a good story. She enjoys most genres and especially thought-provoking novels that beg the question - what would I have done in that situation? AJ lives on the Essex / Hertfordshire border with her husband, two of her three sons, and her devoted cocker spaniel, Max. facebook.com/AJCampbellauthor instagram.com/ajcampbellauthor twitter.com/AuthorAJC ajcampbellauthor.com Louise Fein Author Louise was born and brought up in London. She harboured a secret love of writing from a young age, preferring to live in her imagination than the real world. After a law degree, Louise worked in Hong Kong and Australia, travelling for a while through Asia and North America before settling back to a working life in London. She finally gave in to the urge to write, taking an MA in creative writing, and embarking on her first novel, People Like Us (named Daughter of the Reich in the US and Canada edition). The novel was inspired by the experience of her father's family, who escaped from the Nazis and arrived in England as refugees in the 1930's. The book was published in summer 2020 in ebook, audio and hardback, and in March 2021 in paperback, and is being translated into eleven foreign languages. Louise's second novel, The Hidden Child, will be published both in the UK and the US/Canada in September 2020. She is currently working on her third novel. The Winchester Writers’ Festival was a key moment in her journey to published author. Following a few agent rejections, she met two agents at the 2018 Festival to get feedback on her submission package. Both agents liked her submission and asked to see more of her novel. This was the confidence boost she needed. She sent the novel not only to them but to more agents after their encouragement and signed with her agent later that year, receiving publishing deals in the UK and US in February 2019. She also found the talks and other events at the festival to be very useful. Annie Garthwaite Author Annie grew up in a working-class community in the north-east of England. A school-girl interest in medieval history became a lifelong obsession with Cecily Neville, 15th century matriarch of the House of York. So, at age fifty-five, she enrolled on the Warwick Writing MA programme. Three years later, her extraordinary debut novel Cecily is the result. During a thirty-year international business career she frequently found herself the only woman at the table, which gave her valuable insights into how a woman like Cecily might have operated. Annie met her agent, Imogen Pelham of Marjacq Scripts, at the Winchester Writers' Festival in 2018 when Cecily was still a work-in-progress. She accepted representation from her in January 2020 after submitting the full manuscript. Two months later she secured a publishing deal with Katy Loftus, editor at Viking (Penguin Random House), who describes the novel as 'a riveting, visceral, beautifully rendered account of the greatest unknown player in the Wars of the Roses'. Garthwaite says, ‘It’s been a roller-coaster ride, and Winchester was where it started!’ Tammye Huf Author Tammye is a former teacher whose historical fiction debut, A More Perfect Union, was selected for the Radio 2 Book Club as well as for several prominent Best Books lists. Her short stories have been published in various magazines, including Diverse Voices Quarterly and the Penman Review. She was runner-up in the 2018 London Magazine Short Story Prize. Originally from the USA, she moved first to Germany and then to the UK with her husband and three children. @TammyeHuf tammyehuf.com Jason Mann Cornish Thriller Writer Jason is an award-winning journalist – a recipient of the Best New Editor prize by the British Association of Industrial Editors. He worked on a variety of daily newspapers before moving into the telecommunications industry to eventually become Head of Regional Publicity in England, Scotland and Wales for BT Group, one of the UK's largest companies. In 2019, he took early retirement to focus on his ambition to write thrillers. His first-hand knowledge of the decline of the local newspaper industry and his love of swimming in North Cornwall are key elements of his first novel The Echoing Shore, a Cornish mystery thriller, which was a prize winner at last year's Writers’ Weekend Opening of a Novel competition. Jason can regularly be found surfing (very badly) at Newquay's Fistral Beach where his father was one of the county's early lifeguards. His planned second Cornish novel The Last Days of Catherine Carlyon is based partly on his experience of working in telecommunications. Jason lives with his wife Nicola, daughter Jessica and whippet Patch. Jason writes, ‘I’ll always be grateful to the Writers’ Weekend for the essential role it played in my development as a writer. It provided a wonderful opportunity to listen to other writers, get my work recognized and I met the literary agent who now represents me at the Weekend!’ Hazel Prior Author Hazel is the author of two novels: Ellie and the Harp Maker and Away with the Penguins. Her debut novel is inspired by her love of music, the Exmoor countryside and quirky characters who find it hard to fit into society. Her second novel was inspired by the adventurous spirit of elderly people she knows and her concerns for the environment. Hazel firmly believes that penguins, with their cheerful resilience amidst the harshest conditions on the planet, are an example to us all. Away with the Penguins was selected for both Richard and Judy's Book Club and BBC Radio 2's Book Club and has become a number one bestseller in ebook. Hazel writes, ‘I went to the Winchester Writers’ Festival with no real idea about how to finish my emerging novel and get it published. Not only were my eyes opened by all the useful talks, I came away with several requests for my manuscript... which led to an agent... which led to a publishing deal with Penguin Random House!’ @HazelPriorBooks hazeltheharpist.co.uk Catherine Randall Author Catherine Randall was brought up in Shropshire but has lived in London since graduating from St Catherine’s College, Oxford with a degree in Modern History. She worked as an editor in book publishing before taking a break to bring up her family. Catherine took a Masters in Children’s Literature at the University of Roehampton, writing a novella for young teens as part of her dissertation. Her debut novel, The White Phoenix, an historical novel for 9-12 year-olds, was published in August 2020. As a result of the research she undertook while writing The White Phoenix, Catherine takes a workshop about the Great Fire of London into local primary schools. She has also written two local history plays, performed in 2017 and 2018. She is passionate about encouraging children’s reading, and volunteers with the charity Prisoners Reading Groups (PRG) at HMP Wandsworth. @Crr1Randall catherinerandall.com

Expo Speakers

David Haviland Reedsy Editor David Haviland is a bestselling, award-winning publisher, editor, ghostwriter and author of six books, for HarperCollins, Penguin, Little Brown, and more. His most recent book under his own name, How to Remove a Brain, won the People's Book Prize for Non-Fiction in 2019. Ricardo Fayet Founder and CMO, Reedsy Ricardo Fayet is one of the four founders of Reedsy, a marketplace connecting authors to the world’s top publishing talent—from editors to cover designers, book marketers, or literary translators. He’s the author of several Reedsy Learning courses on marketing and a regular presenter at several prestigious writers’ conferences: NINC, RWA Australia, and The Self Publishing Show Live, among others. He also recently published his first book, titled How to Market a Book: Overperform in a Crowded Market. www.reedsy.com Victoria Hughes-Williams Reedsy Editor Victoria Hughes-Williams specialises in editing crime thriller, suspense, historical and women's fiction. During her time at Pan Macmillan, she worked with bestsellers, including Danielle Steel, Lucy Diamond, Karen Swan, Annie Murray and Andrew Gross. At HarperCollins, she was privileged to work with Cecelia Ahern, Lauren Weisberger and Philippa Gregory. She continues to work with HarperCollins, Pan Macmillan, Bonnier, alongside digital pioneers Bookouture and Aria. No author is the same. No book is the same. That’s why Victoria offers a bespoke service to every project. Andrew Lowe Reedsy Editor In his career in journalism, Andrew Lowe has worked with major titles such as Vogue, GQ, Wired and Total Film, and written for many high-profile publications including The Guardian and The Sunday Times. He has masses of experience in polishing work to improve structure, flow, punch and pace. He's also written three standalone psychological thrillers, a book of three connected short stories, and five books in an ongoing crime thriller series. Dionne McCulloch Reedsy Editor Dionne is an American writer and editor who has lived in the UK for 12 years. She has worked as a professional book editor for nine years, helping writers of both fiction and narrative non-fiction develop their manuscripts and book proposals. She has also been a long and short-list judge for two international novel awards, a PitchWars mentor and is a writer herself, represented by Writers House in NYC. She serves on the advisory board for Paper Nations, a creative writing program run by Bath Spa University. Rebecca Millar Reedsy Editor Rebecca Millar started her career at Penguin Random House, where she became experienced in a wide variety of genres both fiction and non-fiction, but unable to beat her lifelong love of a good mystery, as a freelance editor, she now specialises in crime, suspense and thriller – because she can’t beat the thrill of an unexpected twist – and loves the process of working with an author to shape and mould their writing into its finest condition. She has worked with Sunday Times bestselling authors including Gilly McMillan and Heidi Perks, as well as Top 10 Amazon-charting independent author Simon McCleave, but is always excited to work with writers at all stages of their career to make their manuscript the best it can be. She'd love to write her own crime novel one day, and her 'office' – if you can call the kitchen table that – is littered with Post-it notes of the beginnings of ideas. One day, they'll bloom into fruition, but for now, she just loves helping other authors to make their work truly shine. If you’re interested in finding out more about working with Rebecca, head over to Rebecca Millar Editorial to find out more. Chris Modafferi Reedsy Children's Editor Chris Modafferi is an Italian-American who moved to England six years ago to pursue a career in children's publishing. Since moving to the UK, Chris has worked at Toppsta, Penguin Random House and Bloomsbury. She is currently Editor for Scholastic UK's Illustrated Books list and is always on the hunt for an exciting children's book manuscript. Scott Pack Reedsy Editor Scott Pack is a publisher and editor who has worked in book retail as well as for publishers big and small. He has edited and published books that have been longlisted, shortlisted and won prizes including the Folio Prize, Wellcome Trust Book Prize, Portico Prize, DSA South East Asian Literary Prize, Gordon Burn Prize, Green Carnation Prize, Bisto Children's Book of the Year, Thurber Prize and the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize. Tatiana Wilde Reedsy Editor A commercial book editor with over 20 years' experience, I specialise in literary non-fiction, memoir, biography, current affairs, travel and history and have worked with highly successful established authors as well as rising stars. Hannah Dakin Customer Service Manager, Matador Hannah is head of submissions and leads the Customer Services team at Matador. She takes authors through the early stages of manuscript submission, and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience on the self-publishing process to her role. She has particular knowledge of ISBNs, bibliographic data, printing, marketing and distribution. Hannah guides authors through the process of self-publishing with Matador, helping them decide on the services best suited to their project. She organises our Self-Publishing Experience Days, is on the committee of the Self-Publishing Conference, and has advised authors at a wide range of publishing events. Hannah’s enjoys speaking to authors, sharing her knowledge to help them realise their publishing dreams. Troubador.co.uk Megan Lockwood-Jones Digital Services Manager, Matador Megan heads the Digital Department at Troubador Publishing/Matador Self-Publishing, which handles ebook and audiobook services as well producing our self-publishing podcast. She has held various roles during her time at Troubador and throughout the years has enjoyed being able to develop and launch new services for our authors, such as our audiobook production and marketing, and advise authors at events like the London Book Fair and the Self-Publishing Conference. Megan is one of our Mental Health First Aiders, there for members of our staff to talk to, and to arrange activities to help promote the importance of wellbeing. Troubador.co.uk Jonathan White Sales & Marketing Manager, Matador Before joining the Matador in 2017, Jonathan worked for more than 30 years in many different areas of the book industry. Starting in book retailing, where he was book buyer and bookshop manager for some of the largest London bookshops, he then moved over to publishing, where he has worked for big-name publishers such as Oxford University Press, Chrysalis Books, Anova Books and Phaidon. He has worked in the UK book trade, spent some time in International sales, and lived for a number of years overseas while continuing to work in publishing. Jonathan has extensive knowledge of all aspects of book publishing and retailing, and enjoys nothing better than talking about all aspects of book sales and marketing. Troubador.co.uk Samuel Hodder Literary Agent, Blake Friedmann Literary Agency Sam is not giving one-to-ones this year, but is happy to answer your questions at the Sunday 'Ask the Agent' session, from 12 - 1pm. If you’re interested in submitting to him at Blake Friedmann, he is keen to see a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books. In literary and contemporary fiction, he loves distinctive voices, dark themes, and complex characters (e.g. Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh, Adele by Leila Slimani, Kevin Barry’s Dark Lies the Island), coming-of-age novels, and novels that explore the loss of innocence, desire, deceit, class, or the world of work. Sam is passionate about LGBTQIA+ stories, in all their glorious diversity, and enjoys a pitch-black or offbeat sense of humour. In historical fiction, he is drawn to novels so immersive they can show readers a different way of thinking and being. His favourite historical novels include The Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller and The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gower, and all the novels of Mary Renault! He also welcomes speculative fiction, including fantasy, science-fiction, and the supernatural, where he would like to see novels centred on the characters’ psychological journeys, e.g. the ‘Earthsea’ novels by Ursula K Le Guin, and ‘The Southern Reach Trilogy’ by Jeff VanderMeer. blakefriedmann.co.uk/samuel-hodder Juliet Pickering Literary Agent, Blake Friedmann Juliet is not giving one-to-ones, but is happy to answer your questions at the Sunday 'Ask the Agent' session, from 12-1 pm. Juliet is proud to represent a list of intriguing, conversation-starting, diverse writers, across both fiction and non-fiction. Many of her authors write contemporary stories, often led by themes of identity, coming-of-age, class, gender and sexuality, to name a few. For her, vital qualities to a good story include emotional depth, authenticity, an engaging voice and irrepressible energy. Juliet wants to be surprised, and to see everyday experiences and relationships told with nuance and colour. Juliet loves to bring an under-represented experience to both editors and readers, and some of her most enjoyable moments have been campaigning for authors who have looked for a book to reflect their experience and, not having found it, have written their own to provide that space for others. She’s a proud feminist and loves books that empower women, or that make us feel recognised and heard. blakefriedmann.co.uk Clare Wallace Children's Literary Agent, Darley Anderson Children's Book Agency Thursday and Friday One-to-Ones Submission Requirements: please upload cover letter, synopsis and first chapter. For picture books: the full text with a maximum of three picture book texts. Looking for: Commercial children's fiction, young adult thrillers and horrors, young adult romance, all middle-grade - ideally with a big hook, a big heart and a standout voice. She is actively looking for submissions from underrepresented communities. Not interested in: Steampunk Clare joined the Darley Anderson Agency in January 2011 and is building both the Darley Anderson Children’s Agency and the Darley Anderson Illustration Agency lists. As chief talent-spotter, Clare loves to discover memorable new characters, bold and unique voices, a strong concept, and gripping storytelling. At the Children's Book Agency she represents picture books, middle-grade, teenage and YA. Her authors include Perdita & Honor Cargill, Caroline Crowe, Martyn Ford, Stewart Foster, A M Howell, Polly Ho-Yen, Rachel Ip, Beth Reekles, Dave Rudden and Deirdre Sullivan. darleyandersonchildrens.com