Literary Agents

Anna Pallai
(full)

Anna Pallai is the founder of AMP Literary, a boutique PR and literary agency which specialises in women’s narrative non-fiction. Her clients include Terri White, Natasha Devon, Nadine White, Maddy Anholt and Annalisa Barbieri. She started her career in Faber and Faber’s press department where she devised and managed nationwide publicity campaigns for Booker Prize winners, A list celebrities and breakout authors alike. She is the author of 70s Dinner Party (Square Peg, Vintage). She can be found on Twitter @mono80

Emily Glenister
(Full)

Emily Glenister trained to be an actress at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, graduating in 2010 before working as an agent and agent's assistant in offices that represented the likes of Charlotte Rampling, Sir Roger Moore, Liv Ullmann and Max von Sydow. In 2020, after assisting David Headley for four years in all aspects of the agency, Emily was made an Associate Agent.

Specifically, Emily is looking for female-led commercial and reading-group novels, as well as diverse / own voices, with an emphasis on crime / thriller (not political or environmental & very little police procedural), upmarket commercial women's fiction with a unique hook, epic love stories, post-eighteenth century history (though will make an exception for the Kings and Queens of England & Scotland throughout all ages), and gothic novels / ghost stories. Emily is drawn to the dark and stories that are a little bit "messed up".

Authors similar to what Emily is looking for would be: Abi Daré, Kiley Reid, Daisy Buchanan, Amy Engel, Mhairi McFarlane, Greer Hendricks / Sarah Pekkanen, Raven Leilani and Celeste Ng.

Emily is not looking for screenplays, short story / novellas, non-fiction, children's books / YA or Sci-Fi.

Esty Loveing-Downes (full)

Esty holds a BFA in creative writing from Ringling College of Art + Design and an MFA in fiction from Queens University of Charlotte. Aside from serving as a daily editor for the Southern Review of Books, she was first mentored by the teams at Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, Inc. and Tobias Literary Agency before joining the ArtHouse Literary Agency team as an intern and becoming an Associate Literary Agent. Esty represents book club or upmarket fiction, romance, genre-blending SFF, children’s picture books, MG, and YA, literary fiction, and select nonfiction. She’s seeking manuscripts which center the adoptee experience, LGBTQIA+ narratives, anti-colonialist and anti-Church topics, and stories by and/or about BIPOC authors. She favors stories which either celebrate with noisy joy, or burn everything down and salt the earth. Before working in publishing, Esty worked as an inpatient pediatric LPN. At home, she has five children, three dogs, one husband, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Hannah Schofield (Full)

Hannah Schofield is a literary agent at LBA, who is actively building her list of commercial and reading-group fiction and non-fiction. She is fairly ‘genre agnostic’, but would be particularly keen to see projects in women’s fiction, thriller, historical fiction, romcom and contemporary YA. She is drawn to pacy writing, characters that you want to become your best friends (or that you maybe fear a little bit), and novels that illuminate different experiences – and is happy to read things that are light-hearted and voice-driven, or dark and compelling. Hannah would love to work with authors who’ve got a brilliant idea but want to work on their craft more, as well as authors who have a full manuscript ready for editing or querying.

Hayley Steed
(Full)

Hayley is a Literary Agent and Book to Screen Agent at Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film Agency, actively building a list of fiction, and focusing on film and TV adaptation and scripts written by existing clients. She represents books such as The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley and The Shelf by Helly Acton, as well as The Animals at Lockwood Manor by Jane Healey and In Black and White by Alexandra Wilson. She was named a Rising Star in The Bookseller in 2019.

Twitter: @hayleyemmasteed

Hellie Ogden (Full)

Hellie represents fiction, children’s books and non-fiction and enjoys novels with bold storytelling, moving prose and vivid, thought-provoking characters. As an editorially focused agent, she has a keen interest in helping to develop and nurture debut writers. Follow her on Twitter @hellieogden. 

Hellie featured in the Bookseller Rising Stars List and was shortlisted for the Kim Scott Walwyn Prize. She represents a number of Sunday Times bestsellers and award winning writers across genres. She often speaks at writing conferences and mentors debut writers.

“I read broadly, literary through to commercial, and in a bookshop I will hunt for moral complexities, unusual twists and prose that will floor me emotionally and challenge me too. I always want to be transported out of my comfort zone and to feel genuine emotional depth in the pages I read. I never tire of the mother/daughter dynamic, and now raising two young girls myself, that feels particularly acute. I’ll forever enjoy work that celebrates women.”

IMOGEN MORRELL
(Full)

Imogen is a literary agent at Greene & Heaton, and is actively building her list of reading group and literary fiction and non-fiction. She is always looking for brilliantly plotted social thrillers, joyful queer stories, quirky historical fiction, and novels with a compelling or unreliable voice. In non-fiction, she is keen to develop proposals with writers, even if the seed of an idea is all they have (e.g. on food, nature, politics, history, identity), usually with a strong storytelling or personal element. Imogen is available for monthly mentoring and can be found on Twitter @imogen_morrell

Jade Kavanagh

Jade is a junior literary agent at Darley Anderson specialising in commercial crime and thriller. Jade is actively building a list in the commercial crime and thriller space and works closely with Camilla Bolton’s clients. Jade began her career assisting at the Caroline Sheldon Literary agency working on a wonderful list of children’s authors and illustrators. Jade loves working editorially and being an author’s champion and advocate, she is specifically interested in fast paced thrillers you can’t put down and clever psychological suspense. Jade would love to work with authors at any stage – from working on the seed of an idea or getting a full manuscript ready for submission.

Jynastie Wilson

During a childhood that was spent devouring the pages of both fantasy and contemporary novels alike, Jynastie Wilson discovered that there was magic within these pages, one that was much more complex than the fact that they happened to offer a place of escape and distraction. Instead, she found that these novels had the magic to make people feel a little less alone — specifically those that came from various marginalized communities, such as she did. 

Suddenly focused on this magic, Jynastie decided that she wanted to be someone that helped create and bring this magic to life. Something that she now hopes to achieve by working towards becoming a literary agent and supporting those who are underrepresented.

Jynastie is looking for a variety of projects in both Adult and Children’s genres.

Adult: New Adult, Contemporary Romance, and stories written by LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and/or other marginalized authors.

Young Adult: Contemporary, Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical, Horror, and stories written by LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and/or other marginalized authors.

Middle Grade: Contemporary, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical, Horror, and stories written by LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and/or other marginalized authors.

Childrens: Picture Books, Chapter Books, and stories written by LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and/or other marginalized authors.

katie Blagden (full)

Katie works across Bright Agency’s Literary list, representing authors across all areas of Fiction, Non-Fiction, Children’s, YA, and Graphic Novels. Before joining the Literary team, she worked for Bright in marketing, with previous experience as a bookseller and as a video producer. She loves working with authors to find their books an audience, and particularly enjoys building lasting relationships with editors and authors alike. Katie is an advocate for centring traditionally underrepresented voices, and actively works to discover and develop authors and author-illustrators from diverse backgrounds. She is also dedicated to working with authors to realise their writing ambitions, including evolving them into new genres and age-ranges. When she’s not reading, Katie is a contributor on the Graham Norton Book Club on Audible and she also runs the Bright Dungeons & Dragons club!

MEGAN STAUNTON
(Full)

Megan is a Literary Agent at Bergstrom Studio, a 360 literary agency and consultancy dedicated to helping emerging writers find their voice. She began her career as an assistant to the Managing Director at Cornerstone, an imprint of Penguin Random House, before pivoting to agenting, joining Gleam Titles in 2018. Her clients there included the record-breaking bestseller Mrs Hinch, stylist, writer, and creator of the popular blog Hill House Vintage, Paula Sutton and Influencer of the Year star Grace Victory. Her focus is on disrupting the industry and getting writers on the shelves whose voices have for too long been omitted. Her expertise lies in marrying the digital landscape with traditional publishing and she is especially keen to hear from those who create online, whether through a newsletter, an Instagram account or a blog. Megan is available for reviewing non-fiction proposals and can be found online at @meganstaunton.

MILLIE LEAN
(available soon)

Millie is a Junior Agent at YMU, specialising in children’s and young adult books. She began her career at Bloomsbury, working on respected reference books Whitaker’s Almanac and Who’s Who. From there, she pivoted to Children’s publishing. As an Editor in the Puffin team at Penguin Random House UK, she worked across bestselling and award-winning authors such as Jacqueline Wilson, Greg James and Chris Smith, Carrie Hope Fletcher, Manjeet Mann, Fearne Cotton and Naomi Klein.

Millie then moved into agenting at YMU Books. She loves projects that are bold, unique and conversation leading, and make her laugh her head off or cry her eyes out (or both at the same time) – whether that’s presented through thrilling adventure, engaging ways of learning about the world, or something totally new. She’s particularly experienced in children’s and YA fiction and non-fiction but is open to other genres too.

Millie can be found on Twitter at @lean_millie and on Instagram at @millieleanbooks.

Editors and Directors

ABIGAIL FENTON (full)

Abigail Fenton is editorial director at HQ, HarperCollins. She runs the digital-first imprint HQ Digital, and works on a wide range of commercial fiction, including women’s fiction, romance, historical, crime/thriller and psychological suspense. Her authors include international digital bestsellers Faith Martin and Rebecca Raisin. Prior to joining HQ Abigail was a commissioning editor at Bookouture and senior editor at HarperAudio, and has over ten years of experience in the industry.

Abigail is passionate about working with authors to develop their writing and careers, and believes that publishing should reflect the diversity of its readership. She’s available for one-off reads, monthly mentoring, and general chats about publishing and writing.

Awo Abdi

Awo is an Assistant Editor at Puffin, PRH Children’s where she works on author brands, such as Greg James and Chris Smith, as well as all things Rick Riordan. She works across Puffin’s extensive 6+ fiction and non-fiction list, both as a supporting editor and lead editor. 

Awo is building her own list at Puffin and envisions herself acquiring books that reflect her wide reading. A fan of big, swooping adventures; expeditions into the chaotic minds of teens; creepy horrors that leave readers looking over their shoulder; swoon-worthy romances that have us kicking our feet; and conversation starting non-fiction work – Awo is looking for stories that grab a hold of her and refuse to let go. 

Cecily Gayford (Available SOon)

Cecily is Publishing Director at Profile Books, an independent publisher based in Clerkenwell, where she has worked for over ten years. She publishes a range of high-quality non-fiction from memoir to pop science, and the authors she works with include Ruby Tandoh, Shaun Bythell, Frieda Hughes, Hashi Mohamed and Ella Al-Shamahi. She was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2015, and has worked in the Rights and Managing Editorial parts of the business, which combined with Profile’s independent and entrepreneurial spirit gives her an excellent insight into what makes a successful pitch, as well as a publication. She (slightly unexpectedly!) edits collections of Golden Age crime fiction on the side.

EMILY GRIFFIN
(Full)

Emily Griffin is publishing director of Arrow, part of the Cornerstone division of Penguin Random House. Previous to that she was an editor at Headline, and has been editing and publishing commercial fiction for over ten years. Emily’s list comprises a range of storytelling from crime, thriller, commercial reading group, historical and female-led fiction. Emily is available for monthly mentoring and can be found on Twitter @EmGriffs.

Gillian Green (Full)

Gillian is a very experienced commercial fiction editor having run the fiction lists at Piatkus Books for nine years and then running fiction at Ebury Press and Del Rey at Penguin for twelve years. She has published authors across a wide range of commercial fiction including crime and thriller, rom coms, historical fiction and science fiction and fantasy. The only genre she doesn't really get is horror though she loves a Gothic Novel. Authors she commissioned at Penguin include Andy Weir, Rowan Coleman, Shappi Khorsandi and John Marrs. She is currently working at Pan Macmillan as a publishing director covering for the crime and thriller editor as well as commissioning more widely. She has recently acquired novels by Antonio Iturbe, Lola Jaye and Elizabeth Morton.

She can often be found wasting time on twitter: @gilliangreened

Jade Chandler
(available soon)

Jade Chandler runs John Murray's distinctive new literary crime and thriller list, Baskerville. Baskerville is based at Hachette UK’s Bristol office and is dedicated to publishing books that haunt the imagination. Their books aren’t defined by period or geography but by the very best writing and a desire to defy expectation. 

Jade has worked in trade editorial since 2006, in roles across both Hachette and Penguin Random House, most recently working on the Harvill Secker imprint at Vintage, where she published a range of bestselling and award-winning crime writers including Abir Mukherjee and Denise Mina. In 2018 Jade launched the Harvill Secker-Bloody Scotland Prize for crime writers of colour.

Jade has specialised in crime fiction since 2012 and is keen to encourage budding writers to explore this varied and enduringly popular genre, which stretches from detective novels to gothic melodrama, historical-set mysteries and contemporary reading group novels with a dark mystery at their heart.

She is available for monthly mentoring sessions and can be found on Twitter: @Jade__Chandler. You can find @BaskervilleJMP across both Twitter and Instagram.

Jennifer Hunt

Jennifer Hunt is a Commissioning Editor 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 writers whose books involve crimes, unreliable narrators or dark secrets, and authors who want help submitting their books and polishing their pitches.

KATIE PACKER
(available soon)

Katie Packer is a Senior Commissioning Editor at Headline Publishing where she has worked for the last four years. She published the Sunday Times bestsellers, Love in Colour by Bolu Babalola and Keep the Receipts by The Receipts Podcast, and in the coming year she will be publishing the memoir from the founder of the me too movement, Tarana Burke, Bolu Babalola’s debut fiction novel Honey & Spice and Lil’ Kim’s autobiography. Her focus is on publishing excellent books that resonate in pop culture and empowering underrepresented writers. In her spare time she is one of the hosts of the Main Characters Podcast, filled with pop culture, books and chaos. She can be found on Twitter tweeting too much: @katierpacker

louisa cusworth

Louisa Cusworth is an Assistant Editor for Macmillan Children’s Books working on children’s fiction (6+ to YA) and graphic novels. After working with children and young people for nearly ten years, Louisa moved to publishing in 2020 and has loved working with authors like Frances Hardinge, Tomi Oyemakinde, Lenny Henry and John Patrick Green. She enjoys authentic representation, wacky adventures and thinks all books should have an epilogue.

Mattie Whitehead
(available soon)

Mattie Whitehead is the Senior Editor of the fiction list at Little Tiger Press, working on books for readers aged five through to YA, via MG and teen, and across all genres. She's worked in publishing for over seven years and is lucky enough to have worked with some amazing authors including Sita Brahmachari, Cynthia So, Annabelle Sami, Sophie Cameron and Nicola Penfold, to name but a few. She's currently working on a new illustrated MG series by debut author Davina Tijani about mythical creatures across the African continent. 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. 

Twitter: @Mattie2507

MERCEDEZ CLEWIS
(available soon)

Mercedez Clewis is a Queer, Black, Non-Binary Woman (she/they) working as a Japanese to English Translator, a freelance transcriptionist, and an Editor for Anime Feminist, a website dedicated to viewing Japanese pop culture media through an inclusive, feminist lens. Additionally, she has previous experience as a freelance video game news reporter covering Japanese gaming, both mainstream and niche. When she’s not working hard, you can find her weaving, embroidering, cross stitching, reading, or learning yet another new instrument. 

Mercedez’s specialises in fandom media, fantasy, science-fiction, and LGBTQAI+/Queer content, but she is also open to wider genres.

Twitter: @pixelatedlenses 
Instagram: @gaijinnomonogatar

Sam Eades (Full)

Sam Eades is the Publishing Director for Fiction at Trapeze Books, an imprint with a mission to publish books that start conversations. She was previously a publicist at Transworld Publishers, Headline and Macmillan. She publishes and edits a range of fiction from crime and thrillers, to reading group and poetry. She is available for monthly mentoring, working with an author on a finished or close-to-finished draft as well as offer guidance on the submissions process.

Authors

Bea Setton
(Full)

Bea Setton is a French-British writer. Her first novel - a coming of age story and psychological thriller called "Berlin" was published by Doubleday in 2022.

Bea loves reading and providing editorial feedback on people's work. It has made such a difference to her own work and motivation and she would like to support writers at any stage of the process- from brainstorming ideas to the fine tuning required towards the submission. Bea reads widely but is most interested in literary fiction, coming of age stories, thrillers and psychological thrillers. She is looking to work over a period of four or so months with the same writer.

BUKI PAPILLON
(Full)

I was born in Nigeria, lived in the UK where I studied law at University of Hull, and currently live in the US, where I received my MFA in Creative Writing at Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass. My pronouns are she/her.

My debut novel, An Ordinary Wonder, is forthcoming from Dialogue Books (Little, Brown) in March 2021. My work has been published in Post Road Magazine and The Del Sol Review. I have received fellowships to The Key West Literary Seminars and Vermont Studio Center, been awarded an Archie D. And Bertha. H. Walker Foundation Scholarship by the Fine Arts Work Center, and I am an alumna of the VONA Workshops.

I got my amazing agent by submitting to the slushpile in the usual way, and not because I knew anyone in publishing. After many rejections, I actually ended up choosing from several offers! This was because I kept at it and got better and didn’t quit. You can do it, too!

I have been there in the ‘trenches’ and will lend a listening ear as well as my experience with writing, craft, submitting, rejection (including how to pull yourself back up, re-engage with renewed vigour and then put your very best foot forward) and publishing. Together we will tackle those aspects of your writing journey that need attention, from honing your drafts to sending your query letter (even the dreaded synopsis!)

I read very widely, (literary novels, fantasy, children’s literature, YA, graphic novels, Sci-Fi, romance, historical novels, classics, the occasional thriller, and so on) but my special interest is literary fiction, particularly genre-bending literary fiction, including YA and coming-of-age. Genre-bending or hybrid literary novels mix features, themes and elements of other genres, e.g. SFF, romance, etc, with the fundamental undergirding of literary techniques and styles. If you are unsure where your novel lies along that continuum, I’ll be happy to chat!

I’m open to any hybrids except straight up horror, but only because I don’t read it. I am also very keen on stories influenced by the culture, practices and traditions of the writer's heritage. My main ask is that it is your first novel and that you have a finished draft. It can be anywhere between a first or final draft, as long as it is complete with a beginning, middle and end!

So if you have questions about advancing your novel, or you are at a stage where your first novel has been met with rejections and you can’t seem to figure out where to go from there and have questions about rewrites and queries, I look forward to meeting with you! We will meet once a month online for four months.  

A bit about me: I love taking long rambles in nature, making jewellery, photography, cooking up a storm and, of course, epic levels of reading.

Twitter  @bukipapillon.
Website  http://bukipapillon.com.

Cesca Major (full)

Cesca writes commercial fiction under different names. She writes thrillers as C.D.Major and uplifting, feel-good reads as Rosie Blake. Her books have been reviewed by The Times, The Sun, Woman and Home, Heat Magazine and more. She teaches creative writing at the Henley School of Art and her website (www.cdmajor.com) contains plenty of vlogs on the writing process. She is an avid reader and is always keen to chat book recommendations and writing. She is excited to work with an up-and-coming writer who wants help with their work in progress and all their questions about publishing answered. She looks forward to hearing from you!

Eva Verde
(Full)

Eva Verde is a writer from East London. Identity, class and female rage are recurring themes throughout her work and her debut novel Lives Like Mine, is published by Simon and Schuster.

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 dog. 
In Bloom will be published in August 2023.
Twitter @Evakinder
Instagram @evakinderwrites

Jessie Burton

I’m the author of three novels, the Sunday Times #1 and New York Times bestsellers The Miniaturist (2014), The Muse (2016), published in 38 languages, and The Confession, which published in September 2019 and became an immediate Sunday Times bestseller. The Miniaturist went on to sell over a million copies in its year of publication, it was the UK’s Christmas no.1, National Book Awards Book of the Year, Debut of the Year, and Waterstones Book of the Year. As a non-fiction writer, I’ve written essays and reviews for The New York Times, Harpers Bazaar UK, The Wall Street Journal, The Independent, Vogue, Elle, Red, Grazia, Lonely Planet Traveller and The Spectator. Harpers Bazaar US and Stylist have published my short stories. I also love to write for children, and my first children’s book, The Restless Girls, was published in September 2018, with Medusa to follow in 2021.

The personal bit: I was born in south London in 1982, and I still live there. Throughout my twenties, in between trying to make it as an actor, I worked as a PA, writing my first novel on my lunchbreaks and the commuter train home. I didn’t know anyone in the publishing industry, and my agent found my manuscript on her slush pile after I spent a year being rejected by other agents. I am keen to meet a writer working on their first novel, preferably an historical or literary novel, as that’s where I feel my own strengths lie. I’m happy to meet you online once a month for four months, and to be there to answer your questions on everything from your particular writing craft issues, motivation techniques, general confidence-boosting chats, how to hone and submit your novel to agents, to how the publishing industry in general works.

kate gray (full)

Kate Gray is a psychological thriller author.

UK/Commonwealth rights to her debut novel, The Honeymoon, were snapped up in a four-way auction by Welbeck. It was published in hardback, ebook and audiobook in July 2023. Rights have also sold to Knigolove in Ukraine.

Kate has also written commercial women’s fiction as Katy Colins - her previous six novels have been translated into several languages and been published internationally.

Kate Gray has a degree in Journalism and has previously worked in public relations. Kate lives in North Yorkshire, England and juggles her love of writing around her two young children.

More details about Kate and her writing can be found at www.kategrayauthor.com.

Kirsty Greenwood

I'm the author of three romantic comedy books both indie and traditionally published in multiple languages. Previously the founding editor of Novelicious.com and a commercial fiction commissioning editor at Bookouture, I was named as a Bookseller Rising Star in 2016 and have sold over 200,000 books.

I specialise in romantic comedy and would be excited to work with a writer in that genre, answering questions about writing and the publishing industry, how to query agents and editors, the pros and cons of indie and traditional publishing or even just giving pep talks and general help with motivation. I would prefer to work with someone who has a completed first draft, however messy it is! I look forward to hearing from you.

SAARA EL-ARIFI
(Full)

Saara El-Arifi's debut The Final Strife, the first novel in an African-inspired epic fantasy trilogy, was sold in a six-figure auction in the UK and in a six-figure pre-empt in the US. The Final Strife is due for publication in Summer 2022 from Del Ray (US) and Harper Voyager (UK).

Saara's heritage has always been intrinsically linked to the themes of her stories. She was raised by a Ghanaian/British mother and a Sudanese/Arab father. When she was reaching her formative years her family moved from the Middle East to a village outside of Sheffield, Yorkshire. This change of climate had a significant impact on her growth—not physically, she’s nearly 6ft—and she learned what it was to be Black in a white world.

Saara specialises in SFF, but can give guidance within other genres. See what her previous mentee had to say about the experience with Black Girl Writers here.
Website: www.saaraelarifi.com
Twitter: @saaraelarifi
Instagram: @saaraelarifi

SUSSIE ANIE
(available soon)

Sussie Anie is a British-Ghanaian writer, based in south London. Her first novel, To Fill a Yellow House, will be published by Orion in July 2022.

Sussie holds an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia, where she was a recipient of the 2018-19 Kowitz Scholarship. Her writing has been published in Lolwe, and shortlisted for the White Review Short Story Prize 2020.

One to one mentoring and feedback have been invaluable for Sussie on her journey so far. As well as being keen to support with general motivation, Sussie is excited to work with writers who are exploring and developing their ideas, preparing manuscripts for submission, and navigating the publishing process. Sussie reads widely but is particularly interested in literary fiction and magical realism. She is also interested in working with writers of short fiction.

UJU ASIKA (full)

Uju Asika is a multi-award nominated blogger, screenwriter and creative consultant. She is the author of Bringing Up Race: How to Raise a Kind Child in a Prejudiced World, published by Yellow Kite (Hachette UK) and Sourcebooks (North America). Featured widely, Bringing Up Race earned a Publisher’s Weekly Starred Review and was hailed as ‘timely and important’ by the Evening Standard (Best Books September 2020). Uju’s latest release is the children’s picture book A World for Me and You (Where Everyone is Welcome), illustrated by Jennie Poh and published by Hachette Children’s Group in May 2022.

A former journalist, Uju runs the popular parenting blog Babes About Town and her poetry/memoir appear in the landmark collection IC3: The Penguin Anthology of New Black Writing in Britain. Uju delivers regular talks on anti-racism, parenting and the creative process. She is an alumna mentor for Girls Write Now in NYC and most recently, a Camp NaNoWriMo counsellor. She now sits on the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) advisory board.

Born in Nigeria, Uju grew up in the UK and has worked in London, New York and Lagos. She lives in north London with her husband Abiye and two teenage sons. In her spare time, Uju is a books and Netflix binger, kitchen raver, and Arsenal suffer head. 

Uju says: “As a writer and mentor, my sweet spot is narrative nonfiction with a practical element. However, I read eclectically and enjoy literary and commercial fiction, poetry, personal essays, etc. I’m a sucker for a coming of age story or an intense family drama and I’m happy to look at YA or children’s books in progress too. We can talk about craft, mindset, writing for diverse audiences, pitching a book proposal, building your author platform etc. Just don’t ask me about time management (ADHD issues)!”

Follow Uju via her blog babesabouttown.com and @babesabouttown across social media.

Literary Agents

Ariella Feiner
(available soon)

Ariella Feiner is a literary agent at United Agents. She was selected as a Bookseller Rising Star in 2017. She represents non-fiction and commercial fiction across the spectrum of reading group, women’s fiction and crime and thrillers. Her clients include Jane Casey, Laura Dockrill, Robert Bryndza, Mike Gayle, Louisa Young and Kate Williams. You can find her on Twitter: @AriellaFeiner.

Catherine Ross

Catherine Ross is an Associate Agent with Corvisiero Literary Agency, where she seeks all kinds of stories including fantasy, horror, and magical realism in the MG, YA and Adult spaces! A graduate of Howard University School of Law, Cat has always loved reading and, during one summer studying for the bar, Cat found she'd much rather read fantasy over law books any day. Cat strives to be a strong champion of BIPOC and #ownvoices narratives, and is excited to be apart of this mentorship program.

CIARA MCELLIN

Ciara McEllin is an agent assistant at Watson, Little. She is available for manuscript assessments and standalone 1:1s. You can find her on twitter: @ciaramcellin.

elise middleton (FULL)

Elise Middleton joined YMU in 2020, having previously completed work experience at Dorling Kindersley, HarperCollins and Bloomsbury and worked as a Waterstones bookseller. She co-founded The Indie Insider, a newsletter dedicated to highlighting the work of independent publishers and bookstores. She is actively building a list of upmarket and literary fiction, and creative and narrative non-fiction. 

What I’m looking for:

In fiction, I’m looking for inventive, character-led novels with a vivid sense of place, beautifully crafted with confidence and purpose, and I’d love to see books that are contemporary in their concerns. I’m invigorated by books with a voice that feels fresh or surprising, and relationships you feel invested in. I also enjoy a narrative with a speculative edge, short story collections, and translated fiction. In non-fiction, I’m interested in writers who excavate the personal to engage with the structures and conceits by which we live our lives. I’d be keen to see books that straddle the line of accessibility and academia (I think of The Transgender Issue by Shon Faye and The Right to Sex by Amia Srinivasan as sitting in this space), food writing, and select memoirs and essay collections. Across genres, I’m particularly keen to hear from writers who have been historically de-centred by the publishing industry.

A non-exhaustive list of books I’ve loved: Close to Home by Michael Magee; Arrangements in Blue by Amy Key; Monsters by Claire Dederer; Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer; Bellies by Nicola Dinan; The Pachinko Parlour by Elisa Shua Dusapin; Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly; The Guest by Emma Cline; This Ragged Grace by Octavia Bright; Mrs. S by K Patrick; Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang; and Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner.

gYAMFIA oSEI

Gyamfia Osei joined Andrew Nurnberg Associates (ANA) in 2023 as a Literary Agent in the UK department. She was previously an agent at The Good Literary Agency, where she began building her list of authors. Recent successes include the shortlisting of Ebinehita Iyere’s Girlhood, Unfiltered (Knights Of, 2022) at the 2023 British Book Awards, and a 5-way auction for Quiet Storm by Kimberly Whittam (Usborne, 2023).

At ANA, Gyamfia will focus on developing the agency’s list of children’s authors, including the representation of ANA’s international children’s authors into the English language, while also representing a bespoke list of commercial fiction and narrative non-fiction. In the Children’s space, Gyamfia would love to find contemporary stories that are full of heart and joy-driven books that celebrate kids from underrepresented backgrounds (think Clare Weze, Kimberly Whittam and Elle McNicoll). Funny, spooky middle-grade and YA horror are currently at the top of her list and she is also keen to read more teen projects (think Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging and Glow Up Lara Bloom) this year.

She is very interested in finding a graphic novel or illustrated project for either MG or YA readers. In the adult fiction space, Gyamfia enjoys well-plotted, fast-paced narratives with authentic characters who lodge themselves in her mind long after she’s finished reading (think Big Little Lies, Verity and Girl A). She’s open to a broad range of genres, but would be particularly keen to see cosy crime, contemporary romance and tightly plotted domestic noir. Please note that Gyamfia doesn’t consider literary fiction and, in the commercial space, she is not hugely interested in high fantasy, trauma-focused stories or particularly gruesome horror.

Hannah Sheppard

Hannah is the founder of the Hannah Sheppard Literary Agency. She’s worked in publishing for 20 years - in editorial at Macmillan Children’s Books and Headline Publishing Group before moving to agenting is 2013 with the DHH Literary Agency. She launched her own agency in 2023. 

Hannah works across children’s (8+ through to YA) and adult commercial fiction and represents authors such as Dee Benson, Sarah Bonner, Abi Elphinstone and Chris McGeorge. 

Twitter & Instagram: @hannah_litagent

kATE bURKE

Kate Burke is a senior literary agent at the Blake Friedmann Literary agency. Before becoming an agent, Kate was an editor at Headline and HarperCollins, and an editorial director at Penguin Random House. After ten years of publishing fiction, she moved to the agency side to pursue her passion for discovering new writers and voices. She still loves to edit and works very closely with her clients on all aspects of their writing and publishing. She represents many crime and thriller writers – including Scarlett Brade, Allie Reynolds, Will Dean, Lia Middleton, Will Carver and Paul Finch – and writers of contemporary and historical women’s fiction such as Dani Atkins, Kate Thompson, Fiona Ford and Caroline Khoury.

Kate particularly looking for literary and commercial fiction of all genres (except science fiction and fantasy, and young adult. She likes dark, twisted stories as well as uplifting, romantic tales, but, most of all, wants to find more novels with characters from diverse backgrounds, more millennial voices and novels with foreign settings.

Kate is available for manuscript assessments and can be found on Twitter @KBBooks

kATIE fULFORD

Katie has worked in publishing for many years and most recently at HarperCollins in various roles including Group Rights Director, MD of Collins non-fiction and senior roles in HarperFiction, William Collins and 4th Estate. She also set up HarperCollins’ book to TV department.

Now at Bell Lomax Moreton, she is a new (ish) agent and keen to build her fiction list in bookclub and commercial fiction. She is looking for female led family and relationship drama, historical fiction, epic love stories and crime novels with great hooks. She probably isn’t the right person for sci fi or fantasy books.

Favourite books she has read recently have been written by Kiley Reid, Miranda Cowley Heller, Tayari Jones, Abi Daré and Liane Moriarty. She can be found on twitter @katiefulf

Kesia Lupo

Kesia grew up in the UK and Germany, studied History at Oxford University and Creative Writing at Bath Spa, then launched her publishing career at Pan Macmillan, London, as an editorial assistant in 2013. She transitioned from adult books to children’s when she joined boutique publisher Chicken House—then from a senior editorial role to agenting when she joined The Bindery in 2023. While her expertise lies in middle-grade and YA fiction, Kesia reads widely across genres, including adult SFF and horror, historical fiction, romance, and non-fiction.

Kesia is a new U.S. resident and currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband. As well as working in publishing, she's the author of three YA novels—We Are Blood and Thunder, We Are Bound by Stars (a fantasy duology), and Let’s Play Murder, a horror/thriller, all published by Bloomsbury in the UK. You will normally find her writing if she’s not reading!

LIZA DEBLOCK
(available soon)

Liza DeBlock is Foreign Rights Manager and agent at Mushens Entertainment, an agency that represents New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling authors. She has helped submit books that have gone on to sell to the big five publishers. She is available for pitch, cover letter, and synopsis assessment. You can find her on twitter as @lizadeblock.

Megan Carroll

Megan Carroll is a literary agent at Watson, Little Ltd, where she has been working since 2014 and growing a client list since 2018. She represents authors writing in a variety of genres from children’s to adult fiction and non-fiction, as well as illustrators. Megan is available for manuscript assessments and standalone 1:1s. You can find her on twitter: @MeganACarroll

rACHEL nEELY
(available soon)

Rachel began her publishing career in 2016 at HarperCollins, before moving to Hachette’s Quercus books, where she stayed for over three years, as an Editorial Assistant and, latterly, Assistant Editor, building a small list of crime and thriller books. In May 2020, Rachel was appointed Commissioning Editor at Trapeze, an imprint of Orion, with a remit of acquiring conversation-starting novels, focusing on reading group and literary/commercial crossover fiction. She joined Mushens Entertainment in February 2022. You can follow her on twitter at @Rachel_Neely_.

Editors and Directors

EMMA HERDMAN
(available soon)

Before becoming an editor, Emma worked on the shop floor at Waterstones, at Waterstones head office on the fiction buying team, as a reviewer for Psychologies and The Bookseller, and at Curtis Brown Literary Agency. She was then an editor at Hodder & Stoughton, and its literary imprint Sceptre, for four and a half years, where her authors included Anne Griffin, whose debut When All is Said was a Waterstones Book of the Month, Abi Daré, author of Bath Novel Award-winning and Desmond Elliott shortlisted The Girl with the Louding Voice, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, author of Fleabag: The Scriptures. She's now a publishing director at Bloomsbury and can be found on Twitter @emduddingstone.

fRANKIE gRaY (Available Soon)

Frankie is Publishing Director at Transworld Publishers, part of Penguin Random House. She publishes commercial fiction: crime, thrillers, women’s fiction and book-club fiction. An intriguing premise, a page-turning read and characters that stay with you long after the final page and she's sold. She was selected as a Bookseller Rising Star in 2016 and nominated for Editor of the Year at the Bookseller Industry Awards in 2018. You can find her on Twitter:

KATIE ELLIS-BROWN

Katie Ellis-Brown is Deputy Publishing Director for Crime, Thriller and Crossover Fiction at Harvill Secker, Vintage, where she works with authors including Abir Mukherjee, Denise Mina, Jo Nesbo and debut novelist Ela Lee. She has published a stellar list of fiction titles which have achieved commercial and critical success, including British Book of the Year 2020, Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams. Her authors have been Sunday Times, New York Times and Amazon bestsellers, and nominated for awards including the Women's Prize for Fiction and the Costa First Novel Award. Katie is passionate about helping writers develop and hone their craft, and has worked with aspiring authors via Curtis Brown Creative, The Future Bookshelf and Spread the Word.

pHOEBE mORGAN
(available soon)

Phoebe Morgan is an editorial director at HarperCollins. She works with a range of Sunday Times and Kindle bestselling authors, including Abigail Dean (Girl A), Catherine Cooper (The Chalet and The Chateau), and Stacey Abrams (While Justice Sleeps). She is also a thriller author herself and has had four published novels, with a fifth on the way. Phoebe blogs about publishing and writing at www.phoebemorganauthor.com and you can find her on Twitter @Phoebe_A_Morgan. In 2021 she won The Bookseller Shooting Star Award and in 2018 she was awarded a Trailblazer Award for services to the publishing industry. She is available for monthly mentoring, working with an author on a finished or close-to-finished draft as well as offer guidance on the submissions process and discussing ways to hone your commercial fiction pitch.

sALLY o-j

I’m a literary editor and writer’s mentor.  My full surname is Orson-Jones, but I have used O-J since my friends at school decided it was less of a mouthful! Since 1998, I have worked as a Book Doctor with authors whose experience ranges from absolute beginners to published authors like Sarah Waters, Viv Albertine and Jacqueline Crooks.

I especially love the process of developing works in progress, brain-storming with authors and cracking problems. I previously worked as a journalist and editor in the music business and have written and edited scripts for broadcast, album sleeve notes and features. I currently on the judging panel for The Cheshire Prize and am very much looking forward to seeing what new, fresh, exciting voices come forward. I’m comfortable working in most genres: literary fiction, biography, historical fiction, fantasy, romance, crime, thrillers and mystery, as well as non-fiction and converted fan-fiction. I can’t do Children’s or Sci-Fi.

Twitter @SOJseaside

Website: https://www.sallyoj.com

sARA-jADE vIRTUE

Sara-Jade Virtue was a voracious reader as a child, but failed miserably at school and left at 15 with just two qualifications (in really fast typing and Drama), missing out on the college course in journalism she’d set her heart on. After a string of unfulfilling jobs from cocktail waitress to estate agent and everything in between, she arrived at Waterstones Head Office 18 years ago to start work as Office Services Manager in charge of ordering the toilet paper and sorting out the post. This year marks her 18th in an industry that, if she’s honest, she didn’t even know existed before that first day at Waterstones, and she still pinches herself that, with no qualifications, she’s been able to make a career out of her love and passion for reading. She’s worked at Simon & Schuster, one of the UK’s largest publishing houses, for 13 years - twelve as Special Sales Director, and more recently as Brand Development Director in the Fiction Editorial team. She can mostly found talking about books, her cat, gin and cake, on twitter @BookMinxSJV. Her core responsibility at S&S is to help shape the commercial fiction list and develop strategies for growth for approximately 50 authors writing in the women’s fiction genre. She also runs the commercial women’s fiction community www.booksandthecity.co.uk which will celebrate it’s 10th anniversary in 2021, the #DigitalOriginals eBook publishing programme and the S&S Fiction LibraryLink project. She is a member of the S&S Diversity and Inclusion Council, volunteers at Hanwell Community Library and curates the Popular Fiction titles for subscription box service My Book Moment.

Sara-Jade is available immediately for standalone 1:1 sessions, for 2 authors looking to learn more about the wider publishing industry, writing in the commercial women’s fiction genre. She is not open for manuscript assessments.

@graybookworm.

Temitayo Olofinlua

Temitayo Olofinlua is an award-winning creative writer, editor, and scholar who calls herself a general content busybody. She has completed assignments for organisations including Facebook, BudgIT, Narrative Landscape, and Cowrywise.

Her fiction has been published in Omenana , Lagos 2060 , and Jalada Africa . Her short story ‘Metal Feet’ was published in Italian as part of Futuri Uniti d’Africa, the first African anthology of Science Fiction from the continent in the language. Her essays have won several awards including the Peter Drucker Challenge ( 2012 and 2014 ) and the 2019 Paula Chinwe Okafor Prize for Creative Non-fiction .

Constantly interested in improving the quality of a story, she has edited several award-winning books including Jumoke Verissimo’s A Small Silence, shortlisted for the 2020 RSL Ondaatje Prize and Ndidi Chiazor-Enenmor’s A Hero’s Welcome, shortlisted for the 2019 NLNG Prize for Nigerian Literature.

Based in Birmingham, United Kingdom, she is the creative director of StoriesClick Ltd , a UK based content production company committed to using words and pictures to tell stories that resonate. She loves helping writers birth their writing dreams.

TOM BONNICK
(available soon)

Tom Bonnick is a Senior Commissioning Editor for fiction at children’s publisher Nosy Crow, where he’s worked since 2011. He commissions from young illustrated fiction to middle grade for the Nosy Crow list, and across every genre - and is particularly looking to discover new voices. In 2015 he was named Young Independent Publisher of the Year at the IPG Independent Publishing Awards and one of The Bookseller’s Rising Stars, was a Digital Book World Fellow in 2016, and was selected as an Arts Council England/ Bologna Children’s Book Fair Fellow in 2019. He is the Chair of the IPG Children’s Special Interest Group, sits on the steering group for the Pathways programme, and has previously mentored writers and young publishers for the IPG, SYP, and Creative Access.

Authors

abiola bello

Abiola Bello is a Nigerian-British, prize-winning children’s/YA author who was born and raised in London. She wrote her first novel at the age of eight and experienced her first taste of ‘being published’ after winning a school poetry competition at the age of 12.

Abiola is an advocate for diversity in books for young people. She’s the author of the award-winning fantasy series EMILY KNIGHT (EMILY KNIGHT I AM, EMILY KNIGHT I AM…AWAKENED and EMILY KNIGHT I AM BECOMING). EMILY KNIGHT I AM…AWAKENED 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 to THE VERY MERRY MURDER CLUB, a collection of new mystery fiction from thirteen exciting and diverse children’s writers which published in October 2021 (Farshore/HarperCollins). It was Waterstones November Children's Book of the Month, Amazon Number 1 bestseller, The Bookseller One To Watch, The Guardian's Children's & Teens Best New Novels.

Her debut YA, LOVE IN WINTER WONDERLAND, published Winter 2022 (Simon & Schuster UK). It was an Amazon Number 1 bestseller, The Bookseller One To Watch, Amazon Editor's Choice for Black History Month 2022, featured in The Guardian Children's & Teens Best New Novels and was on an Amazon Billboard for Black History Month in Leicester Square. LOVE IN WINTER WONDERLAND was sold to the US, Germany and Poland. The US edition is a Junior Library Guild Pick and the German edition was shortlisted for Best YA and Best Cover for the Lovely Books Community Award 2023.

Abiola's latest book ONLY FOR THE HOLIDAYS published Autumn 2023 (Simon & Schuster UK). It as  The Bookseller One To Watch, one of Waterstones Best Paperbacks of 2023 and featured in The Guardian Children's & Teens Best New Novels.

Abiola won The Black British Business Awards - Arts and Media 2023, The London Book Fair Trailblazer Awards 2018. She is the co-founder of Hashtag Press, Hashtag BLAK, The Diverse Book Awards and ink!

Marvellous Michael Anson

Marvellous Michael Anson has been writing for over a decade and has self-published a thriller, His Dark Reflection, to critical acclaim. She was shortlisted for the Futureworlds Prize in 2023, winning mentorship from a top UK editor. Her debut fantasy novel, FIRSTBORN OF THE SUN was shortlisted for the 2022 Jericho Writers Friday Night Live Competition and the 2022 Kit De Waal Bursary, was longlisted for the 2023 REVPIT competition, and won the 2023 Jericho Writers’ Self Edit Course Bursary. In addition, Marve is a filmmaker who wrote and produced an award-winning short film in 2016 and is a recipient of the 2017 AFRIFF Film School Scholarship Program. She works as a technology consultant during the day and a storyteller at night. She is a member of the Society of Authors, Alliance of Independent Authors and the British Fantasy Society. She is represented by Kesia Lupo, Bindery Agency. 
www.justmarve.org

Twitter/Instagram/TikTok: @justmarvewrites

Meera Shah

Meera Shah was born and raised in London to Indo-Persian parents from Kenya. She is a non-practising lawyer and currently works as an editor in the legal sphere.

Her debut psychological suspense novel, the first book she has ever written, came together in three caffeine-fuelled months during the first UK lockdown (alongside a full time job and looking after energetic three dogs). It is due to be published by Hodder & Stoughton in Spring 2023. She is currently editing her second novel, a locked room family drama set on a remote hilltop town in rural Italy.

Key themes in Meera’s writing include identity, race and class, as well grief. Her USP is authentic, character-driven novels, which break away from the stereotypes that sadly still exist in fiction today.

Meera’s favourite genres are thriller, crime, psychological suspense, literary, YA and women’s fiction.

Website: https://meerashahauthor.com/

Twitter: @ElbayMeera

Instagram: @meerashahauthor

RACHEL FATUROTI
(available soon)

Rachel Faturoti is a YA and children’s fiction writer, editor, and poet with a passion for broadening the scope of authentic Black representation in YA and children’s fiction. She believes it’s important for readers to see themselves represented well in stories.

Follow Rachel on Twitter: @RachelWithAn_E

JULIET MUSHENS, LITERARY AGENT

Juliet Mushens started her publishing career in 2008 at HarperCollins, and became an agent in 2011. She has been shortlisted for Literary Agent of the Year four times. She represents a bestselling and critically acclaimed list, including million-copy no. 1 bestseller Jessie Burton, multi-million copy NY Times bestseller Taran Matharu and Pointless presenter Richard Osman. Her guide to YA creative writing was published by Hodder in 2015. You can find her on twitter as @mushenska and email her at juliet@mushens-entertainment.com

Juliet will be hosting quarterly group sessions over zoom.

Amita Parikh, author

Query Letter Writing Workshops: I found my agent the way most people do - through the slushpile. I had a nearly 85% full manuscript request rate on my query and soon after signed with a dream agent. In this workshop, we'll cover different (mostly free) ways to find the right agents for your book, the ideal query letter structure, advice for writing your synopsis, things you should never do when querying, and tips for staying sane during the process. There will be time for a Q and A after.

bookouture team

Bookouture is a leading publishing house, home of bestselling authors Helen Phifer and Angela Marsons. Bookouture collaborates with Black Girl Writers to host pitching events and writing workshops over zoom.