Category: agents

critique service · List of children's publishers in UK accepting unsolicited manuscripts · List of literary agents for children's books in UK · rejection letters · slush pile · Submissions · unsolicited manuscripts

2017 – the year YOU get published

loutreleaven9 Comments

Happy New Year readers – I hope you enjoyed your festivities and are raring to go with your new year’s writing resolutions.  And I am here to help!

I will shortly be working through and updating both my list of publishers accepting unsolicited manuscripts and my list of UK children’s agents, making sure that you get the correct information you need to submit.  I’ll be deleting any markets that no longer look at unagented work or, in the case of new markets, haven’t developed as promised – but don’t worry, there’ll be a few new opportunities going in too.

I will also be continuing to offer my new critique service, giving you the chance to get an extra pair of eyes on your manuscript before sending it off into the big wide world.  Alternatively if you have something that keeps being rejected and are wondering why, perhaps I can help?  I have adjusted the prices slightly as the feedback I am giving is a lot longer than originally planned, but I hope you’ll agree it’s still excellent value for money and I have had some lovely comments from my first customers.

Finally as usual I will be looking out for new writing opportunities and reporting back from any useful writing events I attend.  So let’s make 2017 the year you get published!

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agents · covering letter · Submissions · synopsis · unsolicited manuscripts · writing resources

How to submit a children’s book

loutreleaven18 Comments

If you’ve just finished writing a children’s book and are ready to get it out into the big wide world, this post is for you.  I’m a serial submitter, and these are my steps to getting your manuscript seen.

  1. Finish the book.
  2. Edit, re-edit, re-draft, polish and shine to a glittering finish.
  3. Prepare the submission package: covering email, synopsis and first three chapters.  All should be typed, page numbered and double spaced.
    Covering email: a short introduction to the book and yourself.  Half a page will be fine.
    Synopsis: a one page (max) summary of your plot, present tense, third person.
    Chapters: have you got a killer first page/first paragraph/first line?  Can those three chapters impress on their own?  If not, carry on polishing!
  4. Research your publishers.  Check out my list.  Make a shortlist of publishers producing books like yours and note down the requirements of each.  Most are now email only.  Some may want the submissions package as one document or embedded in the email.  It’s crucial to get it right.
  5. Email your submission, follow the instructions on your publisher’s submissions page to the letter.  If you are submitting to other publishers at the same time, let them know.
  6. Start work on your next book, if you haven’t already.  You may be waiting many months for a response.
  7. If you get a rejection, take note of any feedback but don’t expect any.  Look on the rejection as an opportunity – it’s another rung on the ladder of success!
  8. Stay positive and keep working on your next book.  Good luck.

As an alternative to approaching publishers directly, you can submit to a literary agent who, if they take you on, will manage the submissions side for you and are able to deal with publishers who won’t take on unagented authors.  The process of submitting to agents is similar to the above, and there is a list of UK agents here.

agents · Internet Resources · publishers · unsolicited manuscripts

A-Hunting We Will Go! On the prowl with Agent Hunter.

loutreleaven10 Comments

At last you’ve finished writing your masterpiece.  It’s time to take a journey.  Either to find a publisher, or to venture into that no less terrifying and treacherous terrain that is… (cue tribal drums and the distant cries of wild beasts) … literary agent territory.

If you are lucky you might find a small herd around a watering hole, discussing their latest acquisitions, while more boisterous agents lock horns with passing publishers over foreign rights.  Sometimes a young, defenceless author  may venture into the clearing, separated from its pack (or Writing Circle).  Scared, confused, it pads up to the water to take a much-needed drink in a last attempt to prolong its dangerously uncertain life.  It is then that the agents pounce.  The poor author submitted her manuscript to ten at once, addressing all her scruffily packaged, misspelled submissions with ‘Dear Sir/Madam’.  She has no chance.  The agents tear her apart in seconds.

But what if the poor author had researched her agents properly?  What if she had targeted an individual, found out what they liked, and sent off a professional submission?  It might just have saved her life!

Recently literary consultancy The Writers’ Workshop kindly offered me a free subscription to their searchable agent database, Agent Hunter.  It costs £12 to join for a year and instead of trawling through the web for information you are able to search their databases.

To start a search, you simply click Start Your Search (obvious when you think about it, isn’t it!).  On the left hand side are filters.  I called up the list of literary agents, then filtered them by children’s agents, then agents who are actively looking to build their list, then agents who use Twitter, have blogs and accept email submissions.  This quite specialised search brought up five agents.  When you select an agent’s name you can view much more detailed information such as their client list, how to submit and sometimes a personal manifesto or advice.  Of course this can all be found on the internet as well if you look hard enough.  It’s the filters that really help.  Being able to draw up a list of agents that are actively interested in your subject is really useful.  You can even be more specific and search on Picture Books or Young Adult.

They also have a database of publishers on there which I was keen to see.  I set the filters to children’s publishers accepting unsolicited manuscripts.  Unfortunately it’s a bit out-of-date already as Egmont are listed accepting unsolicited manuscripts and, as we know, they’ve stopped.  Ragged Bears are also listed and they are no more!

Agent Hunter is a great idea and I certainly think it will be a good resource.  However, it needs to make sure it is absolutely up-to-date before people subscribe or they will not feel they are getting their money’s worth.  I also think it would be useful to have links to other sites open in a new window rather than replacing the Agent Hunter window.

You can try out Agent Hunter for free, although some information will be greyed out.  It’s a useful way to see how the database works and what information is supplied.  You can also try and cancel within 7 days.

Ready?  Let’s go bag us some agent!

agents · Submissions

UK Children’s Literary Agents – 2013 update

loutreleaven15 Comments

It’s a bit late in the year, I know, but I’ve finally completed updating my list of UK children’s literary agents.  And the good news is that it’s not doom and gloom: more agencies are accepting email submissions, more are accepting picture books and some even have a few more authors on their lists than they did last year.  Were some of them us?  If not, maybe they will be this time next year!

Other changes of note:

  • Darley Anderson now has a dedicated children’s agency with 9 authors.
  • Curtis Brown has gone all Star Trek with a fancy electronic submissions ‘portal’ (see my interview with children’s agent Stephanie Thwaites).
  • The Greenhouse has lost Julia Churchill to AM Heath but gained new agent John Cusick.
  • AM Heath has gone paperless and has a special submissions form, if your eyes can cope with the tiny grey text.
  • Andrew Mann has a new website but  I suspect it is still being worked on as several links were broken.

Remember the golden rules of following any submission instructions to the letter, being ultra-professional and only submitting your very best work.  Good luck.

agents · interviews

An interview with Stephanie Thwaites, children’s agent at Curtis Brown

loutreleaven15 Comments

Thank you to everyone who suggested a question to put to Curtis Brown‘s Children’s Literary Agent, Stephanie Thwaites.  Here are her responses.  I’ve tried to keep the questions general so they’ll be useful to everyone, and where questions were similar I put them together into one query.  I think you’ll agree there’s some great tips here from Stephanie.

1. What puts you off the most when reading a query letter?

There are a few things! Letters not addressed to anyone in particular or Dear Sir/ Mr. Curtis Brown. This tells me the person submitting hasn’t taken any time to research who would be the best person to represent them and this suggests that they are not serious about writing or treating writing in a professional way. It’s important when approaching an agent to identify who the most appropriate person is within an agency, it’s easy to google and find out, and this will also give new writers the best chance of finding the right match. I find long letters off-putting. The letter should give a taster and make the reader want to move on to the important part –the material itself. For this reason I also prefer a short synopsis rather than a detailed chapter breakdown and a little biographical information but not a full CV or a description of how much the writer’s children love the manuscript. I do like a well structured, carefully considered letter. If a writer can’t express him or herself well in the covering letter then it doesn’t bode well for the book itself.

2. What should you include when pitching a series?

It might depend on the kind of series but the focus should be on the first book initially. While it’s fine to mention ideas for future books it’s important to have a manageable number of titles and to have realistic expectations about how many books a publisher will acquire at once anyway. Multi-book deals for new authors are quite unusual and unless a publisher is commissioning for a series they have initiated, they just wouldn’t buy twelve, or even six, titles all in one go. Often a series will build when the first couple of titles take off – which can be tricky for the author if the plan was just for two books but on the other hand it can be a nice problem to have! I would avoid the word ‘trilogy’ even if you’re writing a trilogy and stick to pitching the first book first – if the idea or character is obvious series material then that will be picked up upon by an agent and editor so you don’t need to pitch it too hard.

3. If a writer has interest from both an editor and an agent, should she give it to the agent first or is it acceptable to send to both at the same time?

It’s usually best to send to the agent first as they may want to submit to several publishers at once and it can confuse matters if one has a head start. An agent might also want to work with an author on a manuscript before submitting to editors. If you have sent your work to an editor and agent simultaneously it doesn’t matter too much but where possible I would suggest agents go first!

4. Several readers have asked if they can send you children’s manuscripts – rather than individually mentioning them I presume anyone is welcome to submit through the new submissions page? Is there anything particularly you’re NOT looking for?

Absolutely and yes please do submit via our site, http://curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/. We’re not taking on new illustrators but otherwise we are open to everything. Do bear in mind that we receive 100 new manuscripts every week so unfortunately we can’t send a personal response to everyone.

5. Is it ok to send more than one story at a time?

I can’t answer for all agents but we prefer to look at one idea at a time and for full length fiction we start with the first three chapters with a synopsis. So it’s best to select your strongest work for submission and if we like the writing but not that particular idea we will sometimes express an interest in seeing other material from that writer.

6. If a writer is already published, would they be better off having an agent or continue to deal with the publisher themselves?

I would argue that an agent can always add value. We can negotiate the best possible terms with an awareness and knowledge of industry standards and norms. We have agreed terms with publishers across such a broad range of authors and have precedents in place which allow us to have more leverage than an individual author will have when negotiating. We have the resources to sell rights internationally, for film and TV, and audio, and with the support of contracts and accounts departments we make sure we protect the rights of authors and chase payments and royalties, check statements and deal with all the paperwork. We really fight on our clients’ behalf and work with them over the course of their career – not through just one book and with one publisher but for the long term. We can step in to advise or help when an author and editor don’t see eye to eye or if other sticky situations emerge. Editors move on, particularly in children’s publishing, but an agent is more of a constant presence in an author’s life, representing their best interests and sticking with them through thick and thin.

7. Is a picture book with a sing-along CD still ‘done’ these days, or have e-books and apps taken over the scene as far as interactive musical activities for children go?

Publishers sometimes produce an audio recording of a picture book text on a CD which is sold together with the book but I’m not aware of any new sing along CDs. It could be the case that they are being produced for bigger brands or, as with many novelty projects, developed in-house by publishers. I think it’s safe to say that it is unlikely that literary agents would be able to place a project if it relied heavily on a musical sing along element.

7. Is it still true that boys will not read YA SF & fantasy written by women, or have recent successes such as the Harry Potter Series, The Hunger Games Trilogy and others changed things?

I think it’s more about the gender of the protagonist than of the author now and while there are exceptions it is harder to encourage boys to read books with a female protagonist while girls are more open to reading about books with a male protagonist. I hope the female perspectives presented in adult fantasy like George R. R. Martin’s GAME OF THRONES, Charlaine Harris’ and Rachel Caine’s titles might mean there has been a shift and we’ll see more feisty heroines in YA fantasy too as in Sarah J Maas’ THRONE OF GLASS. I’m certainly keen to find something in that vein and I would prefer a female protagonist.

8. How important is it for agents and authors to have face to face meetings and how often are these?

I prefer to meet all new clients face to face where possible and I think this is important when you’re first getting to know one another. The number of face to face meetings varies from client to client and a lot can be done over the phone and email but I do think there’s no substitute for face to face contact even if it’s only once or twice a year.

9. Is representation for life?

I’ve touched on this a bit above and the answer is yes in an ideal world, although it doesn’t always work out that way. When I offer representation I am always taking on an author rather than a book and the aim is that it should absolutely be for life. Since I also represent a number of Estates it’s actually life and beyond!

10. For those who write across genres, is it accepted practice to take on representation by several different agents?

I think the nature of the agent/ author relationship means that it just doesn’t work to have more than one or two maximum. Sometimes writers will have different agents for children’s and adult books or for books and TV/ radio/plays but if you’re writing across genre which are not wildly different you should be able to find an agent who can handle both.

11. And finally – can a writer resubmit a manuscript if it has been substantially rewritten?

We usually indicate to authors in our response if we are interested in reading a new draft but unless we specifically mention it we prefer not to see the same material twice, albeit a revised version. This is due to the volume of material we receive and the limited number of hours in the day. If you want to read more about what a literary agent does, and why we can’t read material twice, there’s a great article by writer, Michael Bourne which I blogged about a little while ago that brilliantly sums up the challenges facing agents – and why we’re not terrible, heartless people! The blog post is here: http://childrensliteraryagent.co.uk/2012/08/16/literary-agents-the-devil-in-disguise/

Thank you very much to Stephanie Thwaites for her time and all her helpful advice!

agents · interviews · slushpile · Submissions · unsolicited manuscripts

Put your question to Curtis Brown’s children’s literary agent

loutreleaven18 Comments

UK literary agency Curtis Brown has a shiny new submissions portal and is embracing the e-slush pile with open arms!  I will be putting some questions to their children’s agent Stephanie Thwaites in the next week or two, so if you have a question you have always wanted to ask a literary agent, pass it on to me via the comments box below.  I’ll use as many as I can, but if there are too many I’ll select the ones I think will be of most interest to others.

So what would you like to ask Stephanie?

agents · rejection letters · Submissions

Tips from an agent – talk by Lorella Belli

loutreleaven5 Comments

As promised, here’s the first of my reports from the Winchester Writers’ Conference.  The first talk I attended was by agent Lorella Belli of the Lorella Belli Agency who publish general adult fiction and non-fiction.  Lorella explained what it means when you get a rejection letter from an agent as well as general advice on submitting and netting an agent.  Here are some of the points that I thought were useful:

  • Your covering letter is your business card so be professional.  No ‘dear sir or madam’ – use  a name!
  • Don’t write about all the different books you’ve written and ask them to choose – pick one and get known for that book first.
  • The vast majority of manuscripts they receive are competently written but they are looking for something with the wow factor, something they can rave about to publishers.
  • Big deals are not necessarily good – there is more pressure on the author to sell.
  • Agents don’t help to grow an author’s career anymore – you have to be successful the first time round or you’ve ruined things at an early stage.  A bad track record is worse than no record.
  • Agents do close their lists sometimes to catch up with submissions and concentrate on existing authors.
  • BUSY TIMES TO AVOID – New Year (the New Year’s Resolution effect!), and the Book Fair periods (London, Bologna, Frankfurt).
  • First novels and drafts are never wasted – they feed into your work and may be dug up later if you are successful!
  • If you have similar feedback from different agents, take note and improve.
  • Do as much revision as possible before submitting to the next agent.
  • An agent will only be paid if they can sell your book so don’t want to spend time on rejections – and also they don’t have the time to spare.  Don’t take it personally – they are assessing your manuscript, not you.
  • The more you write, the more you will realise the areas you are really good at, for example a certain genre or style.
  • If you are talented, have saleability, are professional and are planning more than one book then keep going – sooner or later you will succeed!

I love the last point!  It was great to hear Lorella speak; I enjoyed her obvious enthusiasm for her job and she showed that agents are not the fearsome tyrants we sometimes imagine them to be.  On the other hand they are running a business so will be business-like and direct in their transactions with us – as we should be with them.

agents · List of literary agents for children's books in UK · slushpile · Submissions · writing resources

UK literary agents for children’s books

loutreleaven210 Comments

* UPDATED JUNE 2021 *


Following on from my list of children’s publishers who accept unsolicited manuscripts, I thought I’d post a list for people who are submitting children’s books to agents, as I’m considering that route for one of my novels and I thought others might find it helpful. Publisher or agent?  There are mixed opinions about which to try first.   As we know, there aren’t many children’s publishers (or indeed adult ones) who accept unagented manuscripts these days, but on the other hand some small publishers may be more likely to take a chance on an unknown than an agent.  Some people argue that if you approach publishers first then the agent won’t be able to submit to them, but to my mind there are such a small number of publishers you can approach yourself that I don’t think this would be a problem. If you have decided to take the agent route, this list of agents is not exhaustive but will give you a starting point.  You can find full listings of UK agents in the Writers and Artists Yearbook or the Writers Handbook. You will find that agents are more likely to respond promptly than publishers as they are always searching for the next breakthrough book.  The turnaround can sometimes even be brutally quick!  You are also more likely to get a standard rejection form, so you need to develop a tough skin and not take the lack of feedback personally – it’s simply a lack of time. If you haven’t approached agents before, take these points into account before submitting:

* Be professional.  Make your submission business-like and to the point.

* Study the agency website thoroughly.  Get a feel for the type of work they like and the authors they represent.

* Links to submissions requirement pages are included on this list.  Make sure you following the guidelines for submitting to the letter or risk the wrath of the reader!  Missing something simple like what should be attached and what should be pasted into the email could cost you a response.  Note that quite a few agents don’t take postal submissions any more.

* Make a note of whether the agency prefers to be exclusively submitted to.  Some recommend you approach multiple agencies while others discourage it.

* Some agencies don’t accept picture books; others prefer literature for older children or teenagers only.

* Make a list of your favourite agencies and work your way through them.  If your manuscript returns home or to your inbox with a rejection, send it straight back out the next day to the next name on your list.  Don’t waste time feeling despondent when your bestseller could be back out there finding a home!  Good luck and if this list helps you in any way, I’d love to hear from you.

Alice Williams  Alice Williams set up her own agency after ten years at David Higham and represents a growing number of children’s authors and illustrators.  Follow the helpful guidelines on the submission page to ensure you include the correct information and respond during an open submission window.  She aims to respond within 6 weeks.

AM Heath This is one of the UK’s leading literary agencies with 7 agents and with a huge list of clients.  The children’s agent is Julia Churchill who is looking for picture books right up to YA.  They only accept electronic submissions; you should use their submissions form and follow the instructions to type or paste in a covering letter and synopsis, and attach your sample chapters.  They suggest you follow up after six weeks if you haven’t heard back from them.

Andlyn A boutique literary agency, Andlyn focuses on nurturing a few select authors across various media.  Agent Davinia Andrew-Lynch is looking for chapter books, middle grade and young adult, including graphic novels but not picture books at present.  Find something that will ‘smack us between the eyes and capture our hearts’ and send it to the email on the submissions page (covering letter, one page synopsis and the first three chapters or 3000 words).

Andrew Nurnberg This London agency also has a number of overseas offices.  They have a large number of authors on their books including Cornelia Funke.  Send a covering letter, synopsis and the first three chapters or 50 pages by email to the specific agent required.  If you do not hear back within 3 months you can assume you have been unsuccessful.  No picture books please.

Anne Clark Literary Agency Anne Clark, previously from Piccadilly Press, has founded an agency specialising in children’s and YA authors and it is growing fast.  You should paste a synopsis and the first 3000 words into a covering email.  Picture books can be sent as a complete text.  Anne favours the personal touch with dealing with clients so prefers UK or UK-based authors.

Annette Green Authors Agency This is an independent agency who pride themselves in the personal service they provide between agent and author.  Annette Green and David Smith are the agents.  They accept fiction for older children and teenagers (preferably not science fiction or fantasy), by post or email, and you should send a covering letter or email, a brief synopsis and sample chapters up to 10,000 words (Word not PDF).

Antony Harwood This Oxford-based agency has a large list of high profile authors writing in many fields including children’s literature.  They accept manuscripts by post or email; you should send a covering letter, brief outline and the opening 50 pages.  Jo Williamson is the children’s agent and accepts picture books to YA.

Bell Lomax Moreton This is a large agency which handles adult fiction and non-fiction as well as children’s books for all ages, including picture books.  Agents handing childrens books include MD Paul Moreton, Lauren Gardner (not picture books) and Lorna Hemingway.  To submit, send the first 3 chapters up to 50 pages (full text with sample pictures, if any, for a picture book), a short synopsis, and a covering letter.  You can send up to 3 picture books.  You can email or post material, and response time is 8-12 weeks.

Caroline Sheldon This is a leading literary agency who are very selective about their work.  They have two agents and a large list of clients including the incomparable Julia Donaldson.  Submit by email (although post is acceptable as well) for the attention of Caroline or Felicity Trew (read about their preferences on the site) and attach a synopsis and the first three chapters or 10,000 words, whichever is shorter.  If the children’s book is under that length you may submit it in its entirety, or up to three picture books.  You should also read their twelve pet hates!  In fact, read them anyway whether or not you are submitting.  They aim to respond in 4-6 weeks.

Caroline Wakeman Literary Agency  This growing agency with international offices founded by author and industry expert Caroline Wakeman represents illustrators and authors of picture books and early chapter books, but has recently expanded into older chapter books and middle grade.  Submit a synopsis and first chapter to the email address provided.  They usually deal with published authors only but at present have an open window for new authors.

The Catchpole Agency – CURRENTLY CLOSED TO SUBMISSIONS – This is a small agency with two agents who take on only one or two new authors a year.  They have a very specific way of handling submission: a dedicated email address to which you should send a brief email and a small sample of your work pasted into the  email itself (no attachments).  If they are interested they will ask for more.

Conville & Walsh This large, established agency takes pride in championing first time authors.  They have 14 agents for both adults’ and children’s books.   Email your covering letter, synopsis and the first three chapters or 50 pages to the appropriate agent by visiting their page and using their contact email.  They aim to reply within 2 months.  They encourage authors to submit to other agencies at the same time, but you should mention if your manuscript has or is being read in full by anyone else.  They are not looking for picture books.


Curtis Brown – CHILDREN’S SUBMISSIONS CURRENTLY CLOSED – Curtis Brown are a large, long established agency with a huge number of clients working in literature, TV, film and theatre.  They have a brand new submissions system on their website and no longer accept postal submissions.  Prepare a covering letter, synopsis of no more than 1,500 words and the first 10,000 words of your manuscript and follow the prompts in the link above to submit directly – do not send by email.  The children’s agent is Stephanie Thwaites and you can read my interview with her here.  Curtis Brown aim to reply in 10-12 weeks.

Darley Anderson Children’s Book Agency A spin off from the main Darley Anderson agency dedicated purely to children’s authors, it has around 40 of them on its books.  Send a covering email, synopsis and the first three chapters or up to 3 picture book texts to Clare Wallace or Lydia Silver – or if you are not sure which agent to choose you can also send to the general submissions email.  They aim to respond to all submissions within 8-10 weeks.

David Higham This is a huge, long established agency with a large stable of authors.  The children’s agents are Veronique Baxter, Christabel McKinley and Caroline Walsh.  The email should take the form of a covering letter to which you should attach a word document consisting of a synopsis and the first three chapters plus a CV.  For picture books attach the whole manuscript and you may send up to 3 texts.  They aim to respond within 6 weeks.

DHH Literary Agency is a London agency with an editorial focus.  They have a large number of authors and Hannah Sheppard is their children’s agent and director.  Send her your covering letter, first three chapters or 10,000 words and synopsis in that order pasted into the body of the email (see her individual page for details).  You should hear within 8-16 weeks if they are interested.

Eddison Pearson This is a small London-based agency run by agent Clare Pearson that deals mainly with children’s books and has a select number of clients.  The website asks you to email them for their latest submissions details, which then provides you with a form to respond.  They should reply in eight weeks.

Eve White – CURRENTLY NOT ACCEPTING CHILDREN’S FICTION – This small agency has a good number of authors including the brilliant Andy Stanton, author of the Mr Gum books.  About half her authors are children’s writers.  You should submit by email only with one attachment consisting of a brief synopsis, word count and the first three chapters.  She is currently not accepting picture books.  You will receive an automated conformation of receipt and impressively she aims to reply within a week.  See also the FAQs.

Fraser Ross Fraser Ross Associates deal mainly with children’s writers and illustrators.  They have two agents and  many clients.  They accept submissions by post or email using the form provided which should consist of a synopsis, the first three chapters, and a writing CV – read their guidelines for more details about this.   They warn on their website that a response may take some time so assume it’s a no after 8 weeks.  In my experience they can take a long time to reply but have given valuable feedback to me in the past.

Greenhouse This UK/US-based agency has three agents and a large number of clients and has a focus on nuturing their author’s careers.  They prefer to be a paperless office and use a system called Query Manager with which you can check the status of your query.  Note that they only accept picture book submissions if you are an author-illustrator.

Kowal Stannus Agency (KSA)  This boutique agency with a global perspective is run by American rights and publishing expert Angharad Kowal Stannus.  She represents a select number of children’s authors and illustrators and is open to new submissions.  Send the complete manuscript to the email address provided together with a few lines about the work and yourself.

Lindsay This one woman agency is keen to develop new talent and currently represents over twenty authors  You can submit by email but check the website as they are currently catching up with their backlog.  Attach the first three chapters and the synopsis as two seperate Word documents.  A covering email should introduce yourself and your work.  They accept picture books in which case you should send the whole manuscript.  As a small agency they don’t commit to a time frame for a response so you need to be patient.

Luigi Bonomi Associates This growing agency has five agents and a large number of clients and is keen to develop new authors.   Louise Lamont is the children’s agent (but note she is not currently accepting picture books).  You should submit by email directly to your chosen agent and attach the synopsis and the first three chapters.  They will respond within 12 weeks if interested.

Madeleine Milburn A leading London agency actively looking for new authors.  They have six agents, and Chloe Seager is looking for middle grade and funny books across all ages.  She is also a horror fan!  Read the specific submissions requirements carefully before submitting by email only to the dedicated children’s email address.  You will hear back within 12 weeks if they are interested.

Marjacq Scripts This is a large book, film and TV rights company.  They have six agents and numerous authors as well as directors, screenwriters and software developers.  Catherine Pellegrino accepts middle grade and YA submissions.  Submit via email to which you should attach the synopsis and first fifty pages.  No picture books.

MBA MBA are a large agency who represent writers in all media.  They have five agents and a number of authors including children’s writers.  Agent Sophie Gorell Barnes handles children’s writers and is particularly looking for middle grade fiction.  Email submissions should be marked for the attention of the appropirate agent; send a covering email and attach the synopsis and first three chapters.  They will reply in eight weeks if interested.

Miles Stott Children’s Literary Agency is a small but dynamic dedicated children’s agency.  They have three agents and represents both authors and illustrators.  They focus on all children’s writing from board book up to young adult and including non fiction, and are happy to hear from both debut and mid-career authors.  Submission is by email only and response time is 4-6 weeks if they are interested.  If submitting picture books, send up to three.

Pickled Ink  This wonderfully monikered agency began as an illustration agency but now represents authors and author-illustrators as well.  They have three agents, two for illustrators and one, Helen Boyle, for authors.  Pickled Ink are looking for chapter books, middle grade and young adult books in particular and are not currently looking for picture books unless you are an author-illustrator.  Email only and expect a response if they are interested in taking your submission further.

RCW (previous known as Rogers, Coleridge & White) are one of the world’s leading literary agents with a vast stable of big name clients including the brilliant Katherine Rundell.  Three of their 13 agents handle children’s writing: Claire Wilson, Sam Copeland and Georgia Garrett.  You should submit directly to them with a covering email, synopsis and the first 3 chapters or 50 pages (no US submissions).  They aim to respond in 6-8 weeks.

Skylark Literary Agency  A boutique children’s literary agency run by two industry experts.  Looking for anything from chapter book to young adult.  Send the full manuscript with one page synopsis and covering email.  Lots of useful information on the site, including guidance as to what to put in your covering letter.  They confirm receipt and respond in a month.

The Ben Illis Agency (BIA)  No, it’s not the secret service of the literary world (or is it…?) – it’s the young, dynamic literary agency of Ben Illis, previously of AM Heath.  Submit using the form on the submissions page to which you can attach your synopsis and sample pages, and you should hear back within 2 months.  No picture books  You can read an interview with Ben on the Golden Egg Academy website.


The Bent Agency (TBA) The Bent Agency is a large agency with a boutique ethos, and two offices on either side of the Atlantic.  They deal with both adult and chldren’s literature and non fiction plus memoir, lifestyle, history – you name it.  A number of their agents represent children’s writers so look through the bios to see who would suit your work and submit to them directly.  Read the submissions guidelines on how to structure your query, which involves pasting a sample of the work into your email.  Response time for requesting further material is one month.

The Blair Partnership  This large, modern agency packs a punch with a large range of authors including JK Rowling as their clients.  They also have 2 production companies and adapt some of their own work.  Josephine Hayes is the children’s literary agent.  Submit the first 30 pages and a synopsis in Word or PDF and take account of the email content requirements on the submissions page.  Reponse time is 6-10 weeks.

The Soho Agency Lucas Alexander Whitley or LAW has merged with Factual Management to form dynamic new agency The Soho Agency representing large list of bestselling authors internationally.  Philippa Milnes-Smith is the children’s agent and managing director.  You should submit a covering letter, short synopsis and the first three chapters or first thirty pages if shorter to the email address specified.  Read the tips before you submit – and you should hear back quickly or not at all.

Tyild’s Agency  This recently founded small agency specialises in children’s authors and illustrators who are, or have come from, the teaching profession, from where many amazing authors have sprung!  Send them your fiction or non-fiction for ages 2-12, preferably as a PDF.  They respond promptly within a month.

United Agents United Agents are a large literary and talent agency with interests in many fields and big name children’s authors including Anthony Horowitz, Ali Sparkes, Rick Riordan and Ian Whybrow.  Their two dedicated children’s agents are Jodie Hodges and Emily Talbot, to whom you should submit by email.  Picture book authors can send three picture books.  Expect a response in 12-15 weeks.

Watson, Little Watson, Little handle a wide range of writers among their 6 agents and their children’s agent is Megan Carroll.  See her page on the website to find out what she is looking for.  They ask for a covering email, synopsis of 1 page maximum and sample chapters.  Submit by email only.  You should expect to hear back in 6 weeks.