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 Authorās Agents, and the co-chair of the AAAās 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 heās 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 heāll 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 heās a sucker for a heroic quest narrative. Heās also very open to fantasy that isnāt easily categorised, but it is playing in that world. John is keenly hunting for more historical fantasy, especially inspired by modern history. Heās had fun with mythological retellings in the past, but as ever, letās make sure itās 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 itās swoon-worthy kisses in lush ball gowns, or gruesome gore and monsters, so send him pacy, plot-filled adventures. Heād 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, heās 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 youāll 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 Mirrorās 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 peopleās 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 CarrƩ, 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 ācharacter wakes up in purgatory/heaven/hellā narratives. The right comedic fantasy has yet to hit his inbox, but please donāt comp Douglas Adams or Sir Terry.
John would like you to submit a covering letter, 1-2 page synopsis and the first three chapters (or 5,000 words whichever is longest) 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 ofĀ I Am In Print).Ā
By booking you understand you need to conduct an internet connection test withĀ 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: Monday 12th May 2025