Sells rights internationally on behalf of UK/US agencies and publishers. Agent for UK and international authors, including children's writers. Fiction, non-fiction and children's fiction. Does not represent children's picture books, poetry or scripts for film, T.V, radio or theatre.
The late Elaine Greene founded the agency in 1963, and a number of Elaine's first clients - including P.D. James, Michael Frayn and William Shawcross - are still represented by the company.
All types of fiction and non-fiction. No poetry or original scripts for theatre, film or TV. Read more
Commercial literary agency based in central London representing commercial fiction and personality-led, media or current affairs based non-fiction in the UK, US and foreign language markets.
Handles rights in the majority of territories directly rather than via sub-agents, ensuring career development with publishers worldwide including film and TV rights.
Send an informative covering letter with full outline (non-fiction), synopsis and first three sample chapters (fiction) to the main Janklow and Nesbit (UK) Ltd address for the attention of the Submissions Department. Read more
The agency was founded in 2006 by the former Orion editor Maggie McKernan and is based in Edinburgh and London. Works in association with the Capel & Land
‘How many times was I asked while still writing it: "What makes Harry Potter so popular?" I never had a good answer. It has occurred to me since that much of what young people found in the Potter books are the very same things they seek online... But the great thing about a book as opposed to a social media platform is that it puts no pressure on its reader to perform or conform.
In the early 1990s, J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth almost became a setting for Dungeons & Dragons. At that time, TSR, the company that created D&D, saw a window of opportunity. Tolkien and his works already had a worldwide following. Creating a game in one of his worlds might bring countless droves of Middle-earth fanatics into the ranks of Dungeons & Dragons. Read more
According to Scottish crime fiction author Denise Mina, Glasgow- her hometown where she lives and works and gets around as a pedestrian and a bicyclist-is a city of brutal frankness where a thick skin is a necessity of life and it's very hard to feel special. "Glasgow," Denise says, "is a place where people come up and talk to you, ... Read more
When I started writing my novel Dark Earth five years ago, friends asked what this new book of mine was going to be about. When I told them it was going to be set in the ruined city of Londinium in the sixth century, they raised their eyebrows.
"Sixth century?" one said. "Sixth? Really? Isn't that a bridge too far?"
Ah, series. Most readers love them, and most writers love to write them. We get to know the imaginary world we've created, and it is fun and rewarding to slip back into that headspace and get caught up on what our protagonist has going on.
This venerable nugget of writing advice is often attributed to William Faulkner, though in fact the British writer Arthur Quiller-Couch said it first. In a 1913-1914 series of published lectures at Cambridge University titled On the Art of Writing, Quiller-Couch said: Read more
What would it be like to travel back in time? That depends on whether you're ready for it. If you're hopping into a time machine, you'd likely have a chance to prepare yourself, and that's certainly the comfortable way to go. Read more
The long, frustrating process of querying seems so one-sided. Most queries receive form rejections with cryptic phrases like "I didn't connect" or "just not for me," or fall into the deep valley of No response means no.
On 5 July Picador, which is part of the Pan MacmillanOne of largest fiction and non-fiction book publishers in UK; includes imprints of Pan, Picador and Macmillan Children’s Books conglomerate, announced that its publishing director, Philip Gwyn Jones, was stepping down "by mutual agreement" after two years in the role. Gwyn Jones, a respected publisher with long experience, had been criticised for his handling of a row over Kate Clanchy's memoir, Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me. Read more
In the 2021 Netflix film "Don't Look Up", two astronomers played by Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio embark on a media tour to warn the public about an impending comet collision that will doom the planet. The problem: no one really cares. Publishing takes a different approach to such matters. As an industry we assume the sky is falling down, even when it isn't.
'I shall christen this style the Mandarin, since it is beloved by literary pundits. It is the style of all the writers whose tendency is to make their language convey more than they mean to and more than they feel. It is the style of most artists and all humbug.'