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Join two children's literary agents for this online how-to class in which you'll receive how-to advice on how to produce a covering letter, guidance on producing an attention-grabbing pitch, tips on writing a synopsis, and general insight into the role literary agents play for their authors. Lydia Silver from Darley Anderson and Gill McLay of the Bath Literary Agency will share their advice and expertise for all writers of children's books: picture books, non-fiction, chapter books and middle grade, and YA fiction.
Thirty minutes will be made available for a Q&A and all attendees are invited to submit their questions ahead of the event.
Exclusive Content
All attendees reserving a place at this event also receive free access to An Introduction to Children's Publishing in 2021, a video interview with Alysoun Owen, Editor of the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook and the Children's Writers' & Artists' Yearbook. A link to the interview will be circulated by email ahead of the festival, and remain available to view for one week
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 is building an engaging and diverse list of authors and illustrators. With experience on both sides of the commissioning desk, Lydia loves working editorially with her clients and developing ideas from an initial spark into a full manuscript.
Lydia represents clients including Soofiya, Dominic Beesley, Mark Bradley, Rachel Morrisroe and Rashmi Sirdeshpande. If you could sum up her tastes in three words, they would be curious, characterful and heartfelt, and in three books, they would be One of Us is Lying, Nevermoor and You Are Awesome.
Agent, Gill McLay graduated with a Publishing & Marketing BA Hons degree from Oxford Brookes University in 1996 and has worked in the world of children’s publishing ever since. Offering over two decades of industry experience from a sales, marketing and commercial side she is able to offer a truly supportive service that compliments the roles of author and illustrators.
Gill has worked with small independent publisher, Barefoot Books, to large global publisher, Egmont. She understands the industry. From product development to co-ordinating marketing campaigns with UK retailers, Gill’s experience offers an understanding of all the different roles and sectors within the world of children’s books that together take author’s stories from idea to reader.
The agency represents writers of poetry, picture books, young fiction, middle grade fiction, YA fiction and non-fiction. It also looks after author/illustrators who write their own work as well as illustrating the work of other authors.
Gill was the co-founder of the Bath Festival of Children’s Literature and now runs Events of Wonder with her husband, John McLay. eventsofwonder.com
All workshops and panels are available to purchase separately but come as part of our Children's & YA Fiction Festival 2021.
The panel fee of £10 (inc. VAT) is payable in full online.
This is a live online event which will be presented using video conferencing software. Joining instructions and full guidance will be provided by the W&A Team a week before the event start-date.
After presenting for one hour, Lydia and Gill will take questions for thirty minutes. You're invited to send any questions ahead of the event to writersandartists@bloomsbury.com. Questions must be submitted by midnight 3rd March, and please use the subject line 'Submitting to Children's Agents question.'
