Are you writing a 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 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 preparing to embark upon the process of seeking representation, or those looking for pointers after having already queried a number of agents.
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
Further speakers to be announced soon!
Louise Buckley has worked in publishing for well over a decade. She was inspired to enter the publishing industry after completing an MA in Creative Writing and then spent a hugely enjoyable year working as a bookseller for Waterstones, wishing that she could have a hand in publishing books.
After a year working at Dorling Kindersley, she then spent almost five years working in the commercial fiction division at Pan Macmillan, where she published a mix of commercial bestsellers and award-winning authors.
Most recently, she was an Associate Literary Agent at Zeno Agency Ltd. As an agent she represented a roster of commercial and literary fiction, including Anne Griffin’s When All is Said, which spent five weeks at number one in Ireland and sold into 17 territories.
She is delighted to be working with Hannah at Hannah Sheppard Literary Agency.
What Louise is looking for:
Adult fiction
I would very much welcome submissions from Irish, Welsh and Scottish authors writing upmarket fiction featuring characters that I can’t help but root for. Think Claire Keegan, Louise Kennedy or Jenni Fagan. I am also looking for literary and book-club novels that focus on the underdog, the repressed, the suppressed, especially novels that represent working-class people or children going through difficult circumstances (think Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart, My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal or Boys Don’t Cry by FÍona Scarlett).
In commercial women’s fiction: I’d love to see some sagas (for example Lizzie Lane, Rosie Clarke or Rita Bradshaw), rom-coms (favourite authors include Emily Henry, Kirsty Greenwood and the inimitable Mhairi McFarlane), cosy romance in the vein of The Pumpkin Spice Café or with a stunning location like The Riviera House Swap by Gillian Harvey or The Start of Something Wonderful by Jessica Redland, and cosy rom-coms with a Christmas slant along the lines of One Christmas Eve by Shari Low or Christmas at the Village Sewing Shop by Helen Rolfe.
I recently read and loved The Last List of Mabel Beaumont by Laura Pearson and would love to see anything in the same ‘older person going on a journey’ category, a more recent The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. In a somewhat more niche request, I had a lot of fun publishing a ‘pet fiction’ novel when I was an editor (Molly and the Cat Café) and would love to find an author who can write an Alfie the Doorstep Cat/Dog.
I would LOVE to see some cosy fantasy. Think witches, magical bookshops, talking cats. I really enjoyed Legends and Lattes and The House in the Cerulean Sea. I also enjoy novels set in the real world but featuring a hefty dose of magic or the supernatural. They can be commercial or literary, present-day or historical. Think Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch, Threadneedle by Cari Thomas, A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness or The Gifts by Liz Hyder.
In crime fiction, I am especially enjoying reading cosy or humorous crime. Recently, I absolutely loved Over My Dead Body by Maz Evans, which had me laughing out loud, utterly gripped and yet with a tear in my eye at the end. If your cosy crime novel features Christmas, then extra bonus points.
When I was an editor I published the hit Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll and I’d love to represent incisive, intelligent suspense written by authors such as Jessica Knoll and Gillian Flynn, or something a little more subversive and blackly comic like My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. I am not currently looking for police procedurals.
I would love to see some dark academia. Think If We Were Villains or In My Dreams I Hold a Knife. I am also a huge fan of gothic horror, so would love to see something that’s a modern-day Shirley Jackson or Rebecca.
More generally, I would also love to see novels with a disabled protagonist or someone (like myself) who is living with an invisible disability.
Adult non-fiction
In non-fiction, I would love to see any submissions that focus on motherhood, especially through the lens of a scientific or neurological perspective. I am also interested in books in the following areas: health and well-being, cookery and food writing, human and social behaviour and psychology, climate change, gardening and permaculture and nature writing.
I joined Greene & Heaton in 2018. Before joining the agency, I studied for a BA in English Literature at KCL and a MSt in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Oxford. As well as handling the agency’s contracts, I’m actively building a list of fiction and non-fiction authors.
In non-fiction, I’m looking for proposals about history, culture, food, art, nature, the environment, politics, identity, usually with a strong narrative or personal element.
In fiction, I’m looking for literary/upmarket fiction, historical fiction and fresh takes on genre writing (be it a thriller, horror, crime, or speculative novel). I love books that centre an edgy or surprising voice, are totally immersive or richly plotted, and socially or politically engaged. I’m always drawn to queer stories, set now and in the past, so please do send them my way.
Imogen's Manuscript Wishlist
I'm currently on the look-out for novels that play with genre writing or span different genres, perhaps using the twist of a suspense, the slow dread of a horror, the thrill of a mystery. I always want to read historical fiction centring stories that aren't represented in book publishing enough. I love a literary novel or short story brought to life by an off-beat voice, whatever the time period or place (from BRIEFLY, A DELICIOUS LIFE by Nell Stevens to THE DANGERS OF SMOKING IN BED by Mariana Enriquez). Queer joy and romance are always welcome!
On the non-fiction side of things, I represent academics, journalists and essayists who are writing books about a huge range of subjects e.g. heat, love, the future, bothies, AI... I’m interested in books that bring people, culture, places and time periods to life in surprising ways. I don’t shy away from memoir or narrative-led writing in this department, or an investigative angle.
I’m currently particularly looking for histories of all stripes (cultural histories, object histories, revisionist histories) that explode the way we think about a space or time. I also love non-fiction that uses real-life, seemingly smaller stories to welcome us into big topics, and books that have a beating political heart.
I am proud to represent a list of intriguing, clever, conversation-starting writers, across both fiction and non-fiction. Most of my authors write contemporary stories, often led by themes of love, identity, and coming-of-age; for me, vital qualities to a great story include emotional depth, authenticity, a warm, engaging voice and irrepressible energy. I want to be surprised, and to read everyday experiences and relationships told with nuance and colour. Our lives are rich and varied, and I like my books to reflect that too.
Favourite authors include Kate Atkinson, Claire Keegan, Curtis Sittenfeld, Elizabeth Strout, Shirley Jackson, Zora Neale Hurston, and Nora Ephron. I’m drawn to rich and multi-layered stories of women, families, friendships and relationships, and love small communities with lots going on beneath the surface; I prefer the small and intimate to the epic and world-affecting.
I want to bring under-published experiences to both editors and readers, and to broaden the books we’re publishing to include everyone. I’m a feminist and celebrate books that empower us, or that make us feel recognised and heard.
Alongside literary, book club and commercial fiction, I represent non-fiction writers including narrative writing on relationships, pop culture, social history and food, and a small number of cookery and other illustrated books. Please note that I am not currently considering memoir; I love memoir writing but unfortunately it’s a very difficult time to find space for new voices, and I’m working with enough memoir for now.
In case it’s helpful to know what I don’t represent, I do not work with the following genres: poetry, Young Adult or children’s, fantasy, supernatural, dystopian, sci-fi, thriller, horror or crime fiction, business, diet or health books.
I worked for Waterstones before joining the agency A P Watt in 2003. I moved to Blake Friedmann in 2013, becoming Vice Head of the Book Department and a Bookseller ‘Rising Star’ in 2017, and a Director in 2020. In 2021, I was delighted to win the Romantic Novelists’ Association Agent of the Year Award. I regularly visit literary festivals, courses and events, and enjoy giving talks and holding workshops for writers. I have been a judge for the Bristol Short Story Prize and Manchester Fiction Prize, and I’m on the board of the Working Class Writers’ Festival.
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.
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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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