3 UK Agents Seeking Kidlit, Literary Fiction, Memoir, Nonfiction and more

Erica Verrillo
Curiosity Never Killed the Writer
4 min readAug 20, 2019

--

Here are three UK agents building their client lists. Tessa David is looking for adult fiction, children’s fiction and nonfiction. Rory Scarfe represents a range of clients across commercial fiction and non-fiction as well as screenwriters. Donald Winchester is building his list and is interested in literary fiction and well-written commercial fiction, particularly debut authors, as well as memoir. In non-fiction, he is keen to see writing on history, popular science, nature, music, sport, film and technology.

Always check the agency website and agent bio before submitting. Agents can switch agencies or close their lists.

You can find a full list of agents actively seeking new clients here: Agents Seeking Clients

___________________

Ms. Tessa David of Peters Fraser & Dunlop

Tessa David is an Agent in the Books Division. She joined PFD in 2014 as a graduate in English Literature from Edinburgh University.

What she is seeking: Adult fiction: Literary, historical, high concept psychological thrillers and literary/ commercial crossover fiction. “I have a particular weak spot for books set in wild and remote locations — think tiny islands or windswept moors; add in a murder or love story (or both) and I’m hooked.”

Children’s fiction: Fast paced and adventurous middle grade with series potential.

Non-fiction: History, philosophy, nature writing, popular science, cookery, and any and all types of narrative non-fiction. “Three of my favourite books are When Breath Becomes Air, The Outrun and The Shepherd’s Life.”

How to submit: Please send us the first three chapters of your novel or non-fiction project, as well as a full synopsis. In the body of the email, please write a covering letter, including brief details about your writing career. tdavid@pfd.co.uk

___________________

Mr. Rory Scarfe of The Blair Partnership

Rory Scarfe is Agency Director. Rory began his career as a publisher, first at Simon & Schuster before heading up the Sport list at HarperCollins. Transferring to the agency side of the business, he spent four years at Furniss Lawton/ James Grant before joining The Blair Partnership.

What he is seeking: He represents a range of clients across commercial fiction and non-fiction as well as screenwriters and brands. Rory is on the look-out for storytellers of all stripes, who have the passion and ambition to see their work reach the greatest audience.

How to submit: Please attach the first three chapters of your manuscript with a one page synopsis, or, in the case of non-fiction, your proposal document alongside a writing sample, to: submissions@theblairpartnership.com

___________________

Mr. Donald Winchester of Watson, Little Ltd

After splitting his childhood between Edinburgh, Ohio and Watford, Donald gained a BA in English and History at Queen Mary, University of London and a MA in English Literature from University College London. He is the son of a professional footballer and has a beginner’s knowledge of Russian. He began his publishing career at Penguin Press — working on a variety of non-fiction titles — before moving to A P Watt, then the world’s oldest literary agency. There he worked for five years with a number of acclaimed and prize-winning authors and began building a list of fiction and non-fiction for adults. He joined Watson, Little as an agent in 2013. He was the Secretary of the Association of Authors’ Agents (AAA) from 2017–19.

What he is seeking: Donald is building his list and is interested in literary fiction and well-written commercial fiction, particularly debut authors, as well as memoir. In non-fiction, he is keen to see writing on history, popular science, nature, music, sport, film and technology.

How to submit: Send all queries to submissions@watsonlittle.com. For fiction, send approximately 10,000 words or the nearest equivalent. Please send this as a single document, taken from the beginning of the book. For non-fiction send a proposal.

Like this article? For more articles about the publishing world, useful tips on how to get an agent, agents who are looking for clients, how to market and promote your work, building your online platform, how to get reviews, self-publishing, as well as publishers accepting manuscripts directly from writers (no agent required) visit Publishing and Other Forms of Insanity.

--

--