mentors

Abiola Bello, author

Abiola Bello is a Nigerian-British, prize-winning, bestselling children’s and YA author. Born and raised in London she is an advocate for diversity in books. Abiola's the author of the award-winning fantasy series Emily Knight and was nominated for the CILIP’s Carnegie Award, won London’s BIG Read 2019, and was a finalist for the People’s Book Prize Best Children’s Book. Abiola contributed toThe Super Sunny Murder Club and The Very Merry Murder Club, which was selected as Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month and Blackwell's Children's Book of the Month.

Abiola's debut chapter book series Wild Magic was featured in The Guardian’s Children’s and Teens Best New Novels and is shortlisted for the Spark! Book Awards.

Abiola's debut YA, Love in Winter Wonderland was an Amazon’s Editor’s Choice, featured in The Guardian’s Children’s and Teens Best New Novels and the US edition is a Junior Library Guild Pick and Target Book Club YA pick. Only for the Holidays was The Bookseller One To Watch, one of Waterstones Best Paperbacks of 2023 and The Love Dare is shortlisted for Peters Children’s Book of the Year 2025.

Abiola has also co-written with footballer Marcus Rashford MBE for the Breakfast Club Adventures.

Abiola won The Black British Business Awards 2023 for Arts and Media and The London Book Fair Trailblazer Awards 2018. She is the co- founder of Hashtag Press, and The Diverse Book Awards. She has appeared in Cosmopolitan, Female First Magazine, The Mirror, BBC1XTRA to name a few.

As well as being a writer, Abiola is a professional dancer. She performed for more than a decade in prestigious venues including The Royal Opera House, The Barbican, Sadler’s Wells, Hammersmith Apollo. Abiola has also appeared on BBC’s The Apprentice, Got To Dance and Street Dance All Stars The Movie.

Amandeep Singh, literary agent

Amandeep joined Graham Maw Christie in 2025. Prior to this she spent 10 years working as an editor, bookseller and agent, most recently at Penguin Random House and The Good Literary Agency.

She has been a judge for the Little, Brown New Voices Award, Future Worlds Prize and Bloomsbury Mentorship Programme and is passionate about developing emerging talent. During her time as a commissioning editor, she published only debut authors and as an agent continues to champion new voices and works in-depth on concept and editorial development.

Amandeep has been a reader for WriteNow, the 4th Write Prize, BAFTA Rocliffe and HarperCollins’ Author Academy. Her authors have won or been nominated for the Creative Future Award, Austrian Science Book Prize, Pushcart Prize and Attitude Pride Award. Amandeep also speaks French and Italian (and rusty Punjabi) and is seeking books with international appeal that entertain and inform.

For non-fiction, she is looking for compelling memoir about universal experiences – Cheryl Strayed’s Wild is a favourite. Amandeep would also like to hear from academics and journalists writing for a trade audience in the areas of politics and current affairs, feminism, relationships, nature and climate crisis, science and economy.

For fiction, she is building a select list of book club and upmarket fiction – character-led stories with lots of heart, such as Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett and Pod by Laline Paull. She is also seeking select fantasy and speculative fiction, from grimdark historical like RF Kuang’s Poppy War trilogy to whimsical cosy romance like Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao.

Christine Cowan, author

I’m passionate about helping authors polish their manuscripts or query packages and prepare them for the next big step—getting them in front of agents. With a deep love for Contemporary and Fantasy Romance, whether New Adult or Adult, and a keen interest in Thrillers and Mystery, I bring a versatile perspective.

In my mentoring approach, I believe in getting to know my mentees personally and professionally. By understanding their unique writing style, I can provide tailored guidance and dive deep into their work alongside them. My goal is to support and elevate their voices, ensuring their stories shine.

As the founder of SmoochPit, a mentorship program focused on uplifting BIPOC romance authors, I’m committed to fostering a safe and supportive environment for all writers. I’m thrilled to be part of the Black Girl Writers Mentorship Program, and I can’t wait to meet fellow Black authors and cheer them on through every milestone. I currently have a cozy Nigerian romantasy coming out in November with Orbit Books.

hannah sheppard, literary agent

Hannah Sheppard has worked on both sides of the publishing industry. She started her career inhouse in editorial (at Macmillan Children’s Books and then at Headline, part of Hachette Publishing Group) but made the move to agenting in 2013. Working inhouse has given her invaluable insight into the workings of the industry and she brings that insight and her editorial passion to her work with the authors she represents. 

She launched her own agency is 2023 where she represents commercial fiction across the children’s and adult’s markets. She runs a monthly drop-in session on zoom to help demystify the publishing industry for authors (application form at www.hs-la.com/the-drop-in) and loves working with authors to develop their ideas for commercial success.  

Imogen nelson, senior commisioning editor

Imogen Nelson is a Senior Commissioning Editor at Transworld Publishers, part of Penguin Random House, where she works with authors such as Samantha Sotto Yambao, Sarah Turner (The Unmumsy Mum), Louise O’Neill, Lesley Kara and Harper L. Woods. She edits and publishes a broad range of commercial fiction, including romance, book club, historical, grounded fantasy and thriller. Imogen is available for standalone 1:1 sessions.

Megan carroll, literary agent

Megan Carroll is a Literary Agent at Watson, Little where she has worked since 2014. She is assisted by Ayesha Mukherjee.

Megan is looking for writers in a variety of areas, and from a wide range of backgrounds – she is particularly keen to hear from Black, Asian, and LGBTQIA+ writers across all genres.

In Fiction, Megan is keen to find more authors in the romance space – particularly romcoms, dark romance, sweeping epic love stories, high concept romance, and ‘romantasy’ novels. She’d especially love to see those familiar romance tropes – enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, love triangles, forbidden love etc. – with underrepresented characters and cultures at the centre (think Sara Desai’s The Marriage Game or Jesse Sutanto’s Aunties series).

In fantasy and ‘romantasy’, she is looking for rich and layered world building with unique magic systems and for romantasy, a swoon-worthy romance at its core. She’s keen to see novels exploring different cultures in this space too, and retellings that are exploring largely untold mythology and folk tales.

In YA, she loves contemporary stories with humour and romance at the heart and anything with a really strong pitch or concept. She’d also love to see thrillers and horror stories for this age group too, as well as epic fantasy as long as there’s a thread of romance throughout.

On the younger end, Megan is looking for funny, contemporary middle grade – think Louise Rennison and Karen McCombie but for a modern reader. She’d love to find something as off kilter and unique as A Series of Unfortunate Events (that will always be true) and is keen to find original adventure stories in both fantastical and realistic settings.

Please note, Megan is currently closed to picture book submissions. She is also not the right agent for crime, thriller and science-fiction novels.

anna pallai, literary agent

Anna Pallai has worked in British publishing for over 25 years and is a literary agent and freelance PR with her own agency, AMP Literary. As an agent, she specialises in women’s non-fiction and as a PR, she has worked with some of the biggest names, from Nobel Prize and Booker Prize winners to some of the UK’s most high-profile comedians and musicians. 

sally o-j, editor

uju asika, author

Uju Asika is a multi-award nominated blogger, author, speaker, and creative writing mentor. She is the founder of the Top 10 UK family blog Babes About Town and the author of 3 books including her acclaimed debut, Bringing Up Race, hailed as ‘timely and important’ (Evening Standard Best Books 2020). A former journalist, Uju has also been a screenwriter for some of Nigeria's most addictive TV dramas. Her work has featured widely in the media e.g. BBC London, Woman’s Hour, Good Morning Sunday, Good Housekeeping, Marie Claire and The Observer. Uju was the 2025 Judging Chair for the Children's Wainwright Prize for Fiction and also a judge for The Week Jr Book Awards. She is a member of the Forthwrite Festival advisory panel and recently launched her own creative writing consultancy, Write with UJU. Follow @babesabouttown across social media or visit her author website at ujuasika.com

katie blagden, literary agent

Katie Blagden trained as a literary agent under Arabella Stein at the Bright Agency before joining Ampersand in 2025. Her previous experience includes marketing, bookselling and advertising. She also appeared as a contributor on the Graham Norton Book Club for six seasons.

Katie represents authors and author-illustrators across various genres and age ranges. In adult fiction, she is particularly drawn to SFF, speculative fiction and horror, while in children’s she specialises in middle grade, YA and crossover fiction, and graphic novels across all age ranges. 

lizzie brien, commissioning editor

Lizzie Brien is a Commissioning Editor at Bookouture, where she publishes a commercial fiction list including cosy crime, World War Two historicals and saga, suspenseful women’s fiction and police procedurals. She began her career in freelance proofreading and copyediting, before becoming part of the editorial team at Bookouture in 2021. She loves being part of a company that accepts manuscripts from both agented and unagented authors, and spent several years managing Bookouture’s open submissions portal, pairing new submissions with the right editor. She is especially interested in crime fiction and romance – from sweeping and emotional to spicy and tropey – and would love to help writers shape their story ideas and pitches.

ciara mcellin, literary agent

I am building a list with writers who I can work closely with to build a career. I am actively looking for voices that remain underrepresented in the publishing industry. In fiction, I read widely across literary, upmarket and book club. I am drawn to novels that examine family and relationship dynamics, sexuality, identity, and vulnerability. I am keen to hear from writers who take a fresh approach to these themes, whether that be a new perspective on a traditional narrative or a focus on characters and voices that remain underrepresented. I always want to read beautifully written novels with a strong sense of place, tangible characters and an essence that stays with you long after you’ve finished.

Some books that I have read recently that have left a lasting mark: What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt, Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt, Trespasses by Louise Kennedy, Monkey Grip by Helen Garner, My Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley and Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck.

In non-fiction, I enjoy narrative, memoir and essay collections. I am interested in hearing from experts, academics, critics and journalists writing about society and culture and I am excited by writers seeking to revise, reshape or revolutionise the conversation in their area of expertise. Some of my favourite titles include How To Survive A Plague by David France, The Transgender Issue by Shon Faye, the Living Autobiography Series by Deborah Levy, Last Witnesses: Unchildlike Stories by Svetlana Alexievich, King Kong Theory by Virginie Despentes. I am keen to add more cookbook and food writing to my list and am looking for emerging and distinctive voices in this area, particularly for someone who can work across both these forms. Some personal favourites include: M.F.K Fisher, Laurie Colwin, Ruby Tandoh, the Vittles Project, Ixta Belfrage, Alison Roman and Russell Norman.

katie fulford, literary agent

Katie Fulford is an agent at Bell Lomax Moreton having joined 5 years ago after working at HarperCollins for 25 years. At HarperCollins she held a number of senior positions including Group Rights Director, Managing Director Collins non-fiction, Managing Director of Children’s and senior publishing roles in Harper Fiction, 4th Estate and William Collins.

She reads widely and has broad tastes but is looking for fiction in both book club and commercial, including and in particular high concept and hooky crime & thriller, romance that will sweep me away (spicy or not) and immersive bookclub fiction that asks questions, has memorable characters and will keep me thinking about it long after I have finished reading.   

jennifer hunt, associate publisher

Jennifer Hunt is an Associate Publisher at Bookouture where she publishes digital-led commercial fiction. She began her career at The Soho Agency, so has also represented authors and sold their books to publishers. Growing up, she wasn’t exposed to any creative industries, so she understands how important it is that publishing is more transparent, and working at a publisher that accepts unsolicited, unagented manuscripts is really important to her. She’s particularly interested in unreliable narrators and dark secrets in gripping fiction, in compelling romance authors, and those who want help submitting their books and polishing their pitches.

mattie whitehead, editorial director

Mattie Whitehead is the Editorial Director for fiction at Nosy Crow, working on books for readers aged five through to twelve, and across all genres. She's been in publishing for over ten years and is lucky enough to have worked with some amazing authors including Sita Brahmachari, Cynthia So, Annabelle Sami, Sophie Cameron and Davina Tijani, to name but a few. Mattie would love to work with authors at all stages of their writing process - those who have an idea they want to develop and authors who already have a completed manuscript that's ready for editing. She's happy to look at stories from picture books up to YA.

saffron dodd, literary agent

Saffron has always loved reading books for children and young adults, and is extremely passionate about highlighting and supporting diverse voices in publishing. She has a background in media and communications and a Masters in Children's Literature.

liza deblock, literary agent

Liza started in publishing as an assistant at Eccles Fisher Associates in 2018. Working for literary scouts provided a foundation in understanding the international book market and she learned exactly what readers across the world are looking for. She then moved into the world of literary agenting and learned from the brilliant Robert Caskie and Silé Edwards amongst others while working at a boutique agency. She began building a curated list of authors across the spectrum of fiction and non-fiction, selling their rights in the UK, US, and beyond. Her authors include Fortnum & Mason Debut Food Writing winner Sally Abé, cookbook writer Dominic Franks, HWA Debut nominated Stacey Thomas, thriller writers Natalie Chandler and Carys Green, and speculative writer Pim Wangtechawat amongst others. 

eva verde, author

Eva Verde is a writer from East London. Identity, class and female rage are recurring themes throughout her work. She has published two novels with Simon & Schuster: Lives Like Mine and In Bloom. Her third novel, Them Girls, is out in April 2026.

Eva's love song to libraries, I Am Not Your Tituba forms part of Kit De Waal’s Common People: An Anthology of Working-Class Writers. Her words have featured in Marie Claire, Grazia, Elle and The Big Issue, also penning the new foreword for the international bestselling author Jackie Collins Goddess of Vengeance.

Eva lives in Essex with her husband, children and dogs.

lydia vassar-smith, editor

Lydia Vassar-Smith has worked in publishing for over 25 years and publishes bestselling crime fiction authors K.L. Slater and Patricia Gibney and historical fiction writers Suzanne Goldring and Lily Graham. Before Bookouture (where she’s worked for ten years) she worked at Harper Collins, Penguin and Transworld and has always been passionate about publishing commercial fiction. She loves helping potential writers hone their hook and shaping ideas with the goal to reach as many readers as possible.