This event is now SOLD OUT. Please email events@writersandartists.co.uk to be added to the waiting list. How to Hook an Agent dates for 2024 will be added to the site soon.
Are you writing a YA novel, children's book or picture book for publication but unsure of how to find an agent? Get the inside track on the submission process from leading UK literary agents at this intimate half-day event in the heart of literary London
Held in the historic surrounds of Bloomsbury Publishing, home to authors including Margaret Atwood, Kamila Shamsie, Benjamin Myers and Sarah J. Maas, 'How to Hook an Agent' is your chance to meet and work with UK literary agents who represent writing and illustration for young people. They will help develop your pitch and offer all of the guidance you and your book need to have the best possible chance of success.
The event is designed for writers and illustrators preparing to embark upon the process of seeking representation, or those looking for pointers after having already queried a number of agents. Please note, this event is specifically for writers and illustrators who are making work for children and young adults.
Attendees can expect to be placed in small workshop groups, with all agents invited on the day spending time with each group to discuss the role that the agent plays for the writer, trends within the current publishing marketplace, and also offer plenty of practical guidance on how to grab the attention of a prospective agent via the submission package (covering letter, synopsis and opening three chapters).
All writers in attendance will enjoy a ten-minute 'speed-dating' session with an agent, while there will also be opportunities throughout to network with their writing peers.
Schedule
09.00-09.30: Registration and welcome breakfast
09.30-10.15: Seminar 1 - The role of a literary agent
10.20-11.05: Seminar 2 - The covering letter and how to pitch your book
11.15-12.00: Seminar 3 - Is my book ready? The synopsis and opening chapters
12.20-13.30: Agent one-to-one sessions
I joined A.M.Heath in 2013 to run the children’s department, after four years building up the UK side of the Greenhouse Literary Agency, and six years at the Darley Anderson Agency where I started the children’s book side of the list.
I’m lucky to represent some fabulous writers, but I’m always on the lookout for new writing talent. I’m looking for debut and established authors with storytelling magic, from picture book texts right up to YA fiction.
I joined Curtis Brown in 2023 and represent children’s/YA writers and illustrators across the genres, and a growing list of commercial adult fiction.
A complete 90s child with a love of film and TV, I’ve been shaped by the storytelling of the time - big, bold and pacy but with characters you can't help but love. I’m looking for stories that smack you between the eyes, capture your heart, make you laugh (no matter the story or genre) and genuinely reflect the world in which we live. Above all, I want to give writers and illustrators the space to tell the stories that they want to tell.
Prior to CB, I founded and ran boutique agency Andlyn and was formerly a film/TV agent. I also co-founded, in conjunction with Faber Children's, the FAB Prize which aims to discover unpublished children's writers and illustrators from Black and Ethnic Minority backgrounds (www.fabprize.org)
CURRENT MANUSCRIPT WISHLIST:
Top of my list: A heist, set across any genre; it just needs to be ambitious, high concept, high stakes and (of course) brilliant hook. I'm also still looking for my Empire (TV series) meets Melanie Blake's Ruthless Women. A Chronicles of St Mary's type series.
Romance Writers: they need to firmly sit at the inclusive and feel-good end of the spectrum - authors in the camp of Talia Hibbert and Emily Henry. Though I'm also partial to stories by Mike Gayle. And to be particular, I'd love to find a rom-com for the couple already in a relationship but are having to rekindle the flame. Just to say, I'm not a fan of saccharine.
Techno Thrillers - Michael Crichton meets Blake Crouch - with far more/better representation across the board.
Very specific, I know, but I'm also keen to see a thriller with a parent/guardian and child. Not overtly dark, more Man on Fire vibes.
As a final cue: for me, My Sister the Serial Killer has become a classic and I'm a huge fan of Daniel Cole.
After a childhood buried in library books and Beanos, 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 was chosen as a Bookseller Rising Star in 2022. 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. She represents clients across all age groups, including picture book, chapter book, middle grade and YA, and has a particular focus on non-fiction.
Lydia reads and considers widely, and among other things she is looking for snort-inducing stories for younger readers,immediate and gripping teenage and YA fiction, and non-fiction projects that take big ideas and make them easily navigable, accessible and fun. She would particularly love to see a high-concept YA romance, an ambitious and cinematic middle grade, clever and funny younger readers and anything in the graphic novel space.
No matter the story, Lydia is drawn to voice above anything else and will always be sucked in by a strong hook. Lydia is actively looking for submissions from all under-represented writers, and if you’re comfortable doing so, you can use the hashtag #diversevoice when you submit to indicate that you identify as under-represented. Lydia is not currently taking on new picture book clients.
Lydia represents clients including Soofiya, Maria Motunrayo Adebisi, Gina Blaxill, Mark Bradley, Ryan Hammond, Alice Harman, Joyce Efia Harmer, Catherine Jacob, Mina Ikeomoto Ghosh, Hannah Moffatt, Rachel Morrisroe, Laura Noakes, Ellie Robinson, Nick Sheridan, Rashmi Sirdeshpande and Eva Wong Nava. 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.
@LydiaRSilver
I joined the Bent Agency’s London office in 2019 with a globetrotting background – a degree in Russian and Spanish, a year living in Moscow and five years working with publishers all over the world as a literary scout. I now represent authors who have been New York Times and Nielsen BookScan UK bestsellers, won the Books Are My Bag Readers Awards, and been finalists for the American Library Association’s William C. Morris YA Debut Award. Working closely with authors to bring out the best in their books and their careers is my favourite part of being an agent.
I am looking for middle-grade and young adult fiction across all genres, as well as adult science fiction, fantasy, horror and speculative fiction. Across the board, my tastes lean towards commercial, entertaining, accessible books that also have something to say about the world. I am particularly interested in seeing submissions from writers from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds.
In middle-grade, my favourite books combine a quirky voice or setting and a sense of fun with a strong emotional core. I’m not afraid of a little darkness, but for this age group I prefer books that have a spark of joy to temper it.
In YA fantasy, I’m on the hunt for books that do something different in a very crowded market; interesting settings, intricate worldbuilding and unusual magic systems are all things that excite me. I am also looking for eye-opening science fiction and speculative fiction for teens, horror, and deviously twisty thrillers.
On the adult side, I am drawn to science fiction and fantasy with strong commercial appeal, and particularly books that break away from the very traditional classics of these genres. I would love to find the next RF Kuang or Becky Chambers. I am not the reader for biblical retellings in a fantasy setting or very literary or experimental fiction. I love horror that has a social conscience – send me terrifying fiction for the Get Out audience. I have a weakness for murder mysteries and would love to find high concept or genre-bending books in that area, as well as general fiction with a speculative or gothic edge.
This event is priced at £175 (incl. VAT). This fee is payable in full online, though please note that payment instalment plans are available for all W&A events, writing courses and editing services. Contact W&A Admin on events@writersandartists.co.uk so that we can find a payment schedule that works for you.
If this event is Sold Out, please look out for more How to Hook an Agent dates by visiting our Events homepage. If you would like to be added to the waiting list for this particular event, please email events@writersandartists.co.uk and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
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Accessible to All
It’s of real importance to Writers & Artists that our events and courses remain accessible to all.
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This event will take place at the offices of Bloomsbury Publishing, which is fully accessible. If you’d like to attend but have any questions or concerns regarding accessibility, then please email AccessWA@bloomsbury.com
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Joining instructions and full guidance will be circulated by W&A Admin in the days leading up to the date of the event.
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Supplementary materials will be made available to all participants on the day of the event. This will include written text and visuals. Please contact us in advance so that we can make arrangements to be sure all documents appear in a format that works for you.
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There will be no recording of this event, so please be sure to bring a notebook or laptop to make the notes you need.
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Food will be provided at this event. Please be sure to respond to the joining instruction emails from W&A Admin if you have any dietary requirements