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LOOKING FOR: MG, YA AND ADULT SCI-FI / FANTASY, CHILDREN'S NON-FICTION After graduating from St Andrews University with a degree in English Literature and Art History, Maddy followed her love of literature to an internship at non-fiction literary agency Graham Maw Christie. At GMC, Maddy worked her way up to Agent and built a list of authors who wrote for both for adults and children, spanning history, tarot, and nature writing. An avid reader of anything magical, Maddy joined Madeleine Milburn in 2022 to build a list specialising in SFF. Maddy would like to see SFF across all genres for all ages, including: grim dark, thriller, historical, romance, cosy fantasy, sci-fi, epic, YA fantasy, dark academia, contemporary fantasy, fantasy middle-grade, mythology, fairy tale and queer fantasy. Inspiring children’s non-fiction. She loves worlds to get lost in, adventures that transform what it means to be a hero, and unique magic that offers as many problems as solutions. She likes books that make her cry and books that change her mind. Above all, when she finishes a story about another world, she wants it to have taught her a lesson which helps her live in this one. She loves all fantasy, but favours richly imagined, complex worlds with a history to discover and a future to protect. Worldbuilding is one of her favourite aspects of this genre and she is always looking for a new, dense world with series potential. Think Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere or the Marvel Cinematic Universe – the bigger the better! Maddy also likes character-driven fantasy with a diverse cast to root for (or root against) and she wants to see a range of different relationships depicted authentically. She particularly like epics that dip into big, universal themes such as grief, climate change, or war and which ask impossible questions in the vein of R.F. Kuang or N.K. Jemisin. She is also excited by authors that play with form and language in a fantasy setting. In YA, she is looking for much the same as in an adult fantasy, but with younger protagonists and a closer focus on relationships. She wants to see the tropes she knows and loves in new and exciting forms and her favourite YA books often centre around belonging and becoming. She likes a dash of romance in everything, because she is sentimental that way, but it’s particularly important in the YA space. Sci-fi is a big passion of hers, especially when it comes with a strong hook. She is a huge fan of Becky Chamber’s The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet and Michaiah Johnson’s The Space Between Worlds. She likes space as a metaphor, and would love something that explores different alien species. Please send her your space operas and sci-fi romances which combine space, magic and mayhem! In fantasy middle grade, she favours whimsy and animal companions; she would love to follow a group of kids through magic school. She tends to look for plenty of humour with a strong friendship at the centre, and she wants middle grade stories which engage with the concerns of children growing up as well as offering an all-important escape (preferably on a dragon/unicorn’s back). She is also looking for children’s non-fiction for all ages. In this space, she wants something as creative as it is informative, and thinks diverse voices are increasingly important. Maddy would like you to submit a covering letter, one page synopsis and the first three chapters (Max 5000 words) of your completed manuscript in a single word document. (In addition to the paid sessions, Maddy is kindly offering one free session for low income/under-represented writers. Please email agent121@iaminprint.co.uk to apply, outlining your case for this option which is offered at the discretion of I Am In Print).  By booking you understand you need to conduct an internet connection test with I Am In Print prior to the event. You also agree to email your material in one document to reach I Am In Print by the stated submission deadline and note that I Am In Print take no responsibility for the advice received during your agent meeting. The submission deadline is: Friday 11th July 2025

LOOKING FOR: CHILDREN'S: PICTURE BOOK TEXTS, NON-FICTION, POETRY Lucy Brownridge is Editorial Director at Wide Eyed Editions and Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, and formerly Thames & Hudson where she helped to establish the Children’s list. She specialises in highly illustrated picture books and non-fiction (including poetry) for children. She has commissioned and edited books which have gone on to win the Carnegie Awards, The British Book Awards, the Klaus Flugge Prize, the Blue Peter Prize and have been translated into over 30 languages. She has been editor to Alan Ahlberg, Quentin Blake, Mariajo Ilustrajo, Yuval Zommer and Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho among many others. She is the author of The Fantastical Safari and The Cat Family series, and many other books for children. She is interested in the history of illustrated children’s books and is always looking for innovative ways to use the book format. ABOUT YOU Include a covering letter, in a Word document, telling Lucy about yourself and your sources of inspiration. If you have one, include a link to your website. She is keen to read stories she hasn't seen before or see artwork with a distinctive style rather than something that fits with trends. She has particular experience with picture books and illustrated narrative non-fiction. PICTURE BOOKS Please send one or two (max) full manuscripts, in a Word document, starting with a short summary/blurb. Make the summary punchy and engaging. Remember that the best picture book stories are simple and every word should count. Do you see this book as part of a series? NON-FICTION PROPOSALS Please send a paragraph explaining your idea, a contents list, if appropriate, and a sample piece of text. (In addition to the paid sessions, Lucy is kindly offering one free session for low income/under-represented writers. Please email agent121@iaminprint.co.uk to apply, outlining your case for this option which is offered at the discretion of I Am In Print).  By booking you understand you need to conduct an internet connection test with I Am In Print prior to the event. You also agree to email your material in one document to reach I Am In Print by the stated submission deadline and note that I Am In Print take no responsibility for the advice received during your agent meeting. The submission deadline is: Friday 11th July 2025

Historical Association webinar series: Direct history teaching Presenters: Mike Hill and Jacob Olivey In this opening session, Jacob and Mike will outline what they mean by direct history teaching. They will explain how this differs from some methods that have become common in history teaching – and why a more direct approach can be more effective, inclusive, and enjoyable for pupils.  To use your corporate recording offer on this webinar please fill in this form: https://forms.office.com/e/Qr1PfgRHSS We are able to offer the webinars in this series at a subsidised cost as the presenters' time has been partially funded by their school, Ark Soane Academy. We are open to developing partnerships across schools and trusts. If you are interested in discussing this further, please contact Mel Jones at melanie.jones@history.org.uk

Historical Association webinar series: Direct history teaching Presenters: Mike Hill and Jacob Olivey In this second session, Jacob and Mike will share how history teachers can teach substantive knowledge (what we know about the past) in more direct ways – whilst still challenging and engaging pupils. They will share ideas about using lean resources and high-quality images, worldbuilding through storytelling, and building lessons around extended texts. To use your corporate recording offer on this webinar please fill in this form: https://forms.office.com/e/Qr1PfgRHSS We are able to offer the webinars in this series at a subsidised cost as the presenters' time has been partially funded by their school, Ark Soane Academy. We are open to developing partnerships across schools and trusts. If you are interested in discussing this further, please contact Mel Jones at melanie.jones@history.org.uk

“Meaning-Fullness” critiques traditional psychiatric diagnosis, advocating for an existential/phenomenological approach to mental health. We aim to explore the lived experiences on irregular perceptions of reality with an open mind. Each Saturday includes: a live dialogue between Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and an International Existential Therapist; a moment to share your thoughts and feelings with the teachers; and a final integration facilitated by Bárbara Godoy. This series of ten dialogues set out to explore the multifaceted dimentions and complexities associated with Existential Therapies. It attempts to engage with various interpretations of insanity through the lens of patients often painful, confounding, and deeply unsettling life experiences. Meaning- between Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and Dr. Jan Resnick “Meaning-Fullness aims to develop an alternative approach to traditional psychiatric diagnosis of psychopathology through an understanding of the existential vacuum and a phenomenology of language and the body. There is a growing epidemic of mental un-wellness even though there has never been so many psychiatrists and psychologists available. This contradiction demonstrates how a bio-medical approach is far too limited at best and a radical mistake, at worst. Through the use of theory, philosophical discussion and case studies, Meaning-Fullness seeks to elaborate how mental disturbance and emotional suffering, traumatic and dissociative experience, emptiness and meaninglessness, can be understood differently and then worked with in psychotherapy. When an existential/phenomenological perspective informs the therapeutic relationship, terms like treatment, healing, cure, recovery, growth and development, can be seen in a different light from the standard narratives and take on a wholly different meaning.” Dr. Jan Resnick. Dr. Jan Resnick is a senior psychotherapist, supervisor, and author. He has a PhD in Psychology (Psychoanalysis). As founder and Director of Training, he ran a Nationally Recognized and Accredited Registered Training Organisation called The Churchill Clinic for 18 years which became the largest such organisation in Australia for conferring post-graduate qualifications for training Psychoanalytic Psychotherapists. He was the Founding President of the Psychotherapists & Counsellors Association of Western Australia where he later received an Outstanding Achievement Award after serving 10 years on the Management Committee. He was an Editorial Advisory Board Member of the national journal Psychotherapy in Australia for 20 years and currently, an Advisory Board member of Blue Knot Foundation (formerly ASCA – Adult Survivors of Child Abuse). He is accredited by the Royal Australian New Zealand College of Psychiatrists to supervise psychiatry registrars in psychotherapy and has taught in the Advanced Psychotherapy Training Program. He has presented at many conferences including last year in Valencia, Spain for the International Association for Relational Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, also for the Mental Health Practitioners Network of Australia, and 3 times for the RANZCP Psychotherapy Section bi-national conference. He runs a supervision group for Psychiatrists practicing psychotherapy for the past 15 years and supervises Developmental Paediatricians at the State Child Development Centre in West Perth. He has presided over 4 mental health charities and has over 100 publications including two books. His book based on his clinical work as a couples’ therapist is How Two Love, Making your Relationship Work and Last. His latest book published by Karnac Books (Oxford) is called Meaning-Fullness, Developmental Psychotherapy and the Pursuit of Mental Health, an existential/phenomenological and relational approach based on his clinical work over more than 47 years. Prof. Ernesto Spinelli was Chair of the Society for Existential Analysis between 1993 and 1999 and is a Life Member of the Society. His writings, lectures and seminars focus on the application of existential phenomenology to the arenas of therapy, supervision, psychology, and executive coaching. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS) as well as an APECS accredited executive coach and coaching supervisor. In 2000, he was the Recipient of BPS Division of Counselling Psychology Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Profession. And in 2019, Ernesto received the BPS Award for Distinguished Contribution to Practice. His most recent book, Practising Existential Therapy: The Relational World 2nd edition (Sage, 2015) has been widely praised as a major contribution to the advancement of existential theory and practice. Living up to the existential dictum that life is absurd, Ernesto is also the author of an on-going series of Private Eye novels. Date and Time: Saturday 19 July from 2 pm to 3 pm – (UK time) Individual Dialogue Fee: £70 Venue: Online Zoom FULL PROGRAMME 2025: 25 January “Knots” with Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and Bárbara Godoy 22 February “Healing” with Dr. Michael Guy Thompson and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 22 March “Difference” with Prof. Tod DuBose and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 12 April “Polarisation” with Prof. Kirk Schneider and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 3 May “Character” with Prof. Robert Romanyshyn and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 21 June “Opening” with Dr. Yaqui Martinez and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 19 July “Meaning” with Dr. Jan Resnick and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 25 October “Invention” with Dr. Betty Cannon and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 15 November “Hallucination” with Prof. Simon du Plock and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 13 December “Hysteria” with Bárbara Godoy and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli Read the full programme here > Course Organised by:

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LOOKING FOR: YA/NA FANTASY, SFF, HORROR, ADULT FICTION John Baker (he/him) joined the Bell Lomax Moreton agency in 2019, cultivating a list shaped around his passion for science fiction, fantasy, and horror, though has lately also branched out into action/adventure fiction. John focuses on authors writing in the Adult, New Adult, and YA spaces. John leads the wider agency's film & TV desk, is the Secretary of the Association of Author’s Agents, and the co-chair of the AAA’s Bridge Committee. He also serves on the Kingston University MA Publishing Advisory Board. Under the umbrella of speculative fiction, John is looking for fantasy, science fiction, horror, romantasy, or literary speculative fiction. He has built a reputation as a champion of underrepresented voices and stories, be it from creators hailing from the global majority and their diasporas or neurodiverse authors, and naturally gravitates towards this kind of storytelling. In short, if he’s never read a story like yours before, he wants to see it. Adult fantasy: John loves beefy epic fantasy, especially non-Anglo Christian-inspired. Give him an immersive world, a fresh magical or mythic system, and an exciting cast of characters and he’ll be happy. He is a broad church in the genre so loves a political fantasy, swords and sorcery, courtly intrigue, monster hunting and dastardly villains. John is keen to find an urban fantasy that feels fresh and fun and he’s a sucker for a heroic quest narrative. He’s also very open to fantasy that isn’t easily categorised, but it is playing in that world. John is keenly hunting for more historical fantasy, especially inspired by modern history. He’s had fun with mythological retellings in the past, but as ever, let’s make sure it’s shining the spotlight on new stories. He would also love fantasy that centres on types of relationships less celebrated in fantasy, such as established and secure married couples, or siblings. NA/YA fantasy: In this genre, most importantly, John wants to have a good time, whether it’s swoon-worthy kisses in lush ball gowns, or gruesome gore and monsters, so send him pacy, plot-filled adventures. He’d love more books that teenage boys would love: Skullduggery Pleasant forever! Romantasy: The thriving new romantasy genre comes with its own set of challenges, so John wants to know what makes your romantasy different; what will set it out from the (very crowded!) market. Give it completely barmy stakes, cool and unique new settings, or a love story that will make your jaw drop. To be clear, he’s happily sorted for a human person meets a fae creature in the spooky woods. Also, cosmic romance is the genre of the future. Give him romantasy in space. Easy. Horror: John and horror are old friends. He loves horror inspired by myth and folklore, subversive weird horror that leaves your eyebrows in your hairline, historical horror that pulls from ghastly true stories, and anything that you’ll be reading with the light on. He also loves a gothic element and is particularly looking for horror with a strong romantic throughline, fun YA horror, and female & NB horror authors. Science fiction: SF is coming back! And John has been shouting about that. He loves to see an adventurous found-family romp through space or an epic, crunchy space opera. Speculative near-future is fun too, in the vein of Black Mirror’s more uplifting episodes, (e.g. San Junipero). He loves YA science fiction as well; the more creative the better. Literary: John is open to finding more rich magical realism or something character-led yet supernatural and would love a high-concept mystery, in the vein of Stuart Turton. He also loves spec fic that uses the speculative lightly as a way of confronting a deeper truth in society today. Weird stuff: John wants books that will blow people’s minds and defy categorisation. This is hard to describe, but think Gideon The Ninth, The Library At Mount Char, This Is How You Lose The Time War. John loves a pitch that leaves the editors baffled but intrigued. Action/Adventure, Historical Adventure, Espionage: John is branching out into non-speculative adventures, such as John Le Carré, Lee Child, Ian Flemming, and Mick Herron. More as his taste develops, but the hunt is on! Not looking for: military sci-fi or hard SF, or anything with biblical “character wakes up in purgatory/heaven/hell” narratives. The right comedic fantasy has yet to hit his inbox, but please don’t comp Douglas Adams or Sir Terry. John would like you to submit a covering letter, 1-2 page synopsis and the first two chapters of your manuscript in a single word document. (In addition to the paid sessions, John is kindly offering one free session for low income/under-represented writers. Please email agent121@iaminprint.co.uk to apply, outlining your case for this option which is offered at the discretion of I Am In Print).  By booking you understand you need to conduct an internet connection test with I Am In Print prior to the event. You also agree to email your material in one document to reach I Am In Print by the stated submission deadline and note that I Am In Print take no responsibility for the advice received during your agent meeting. The submission deadline is: Tuesday 15th July 2025

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Introduction to American Smocking textiles technique, lead by NICKY SIMPSON.