2328 Love courses

LOOKING FOR: ADULT FICTION Louise Buckley has worked in publishing for well over a decade. She was inspired to enter the publishing industry after completing an MA in Creative Writing and then spent a hugely enjoyable year working as a bookseller for Waterstones, wishing that she could have a hand in publishing books. After a year working at Dorling Kindersley, she then spent almost five years working in the commercial fiction division at Pan Macmillan, where she published a mix of commercial bestsellers and award-winning authors. Most recently, she was an Associate Literary Agent at Zeno Agency Ltd. As an agent she represented a roster of commercial and literary fiction, including Anne Griffin’s When All is Said, which spent five weeks at number one in Ireland and sold into 17 territories. She is delighted to be working with Hannah at Hannah Sheppard Literary Agency. Louise is looking for:- Literary and upmarket fiction that focusses on the underdog, the repressed, the suppressed. Louise is especially interested in novels that represent working-class people or children going through difficult circumstances (think Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart, My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal or Boys Don’t Cry by FÍona Scarlett). Irish literary and book club fiction. Think Claire Keegan, Louise Kennedy or Anne Griffin. In commercial fiction she loves novels set during the Second World War, such as The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christi Lefteri or The Midwife of Auschwitz by Anna Stuart. Louise recently read and loved The Last List of Mabel Beaumont by Laura Pearson and would love to see anything in the same ‘older person going on a journey’ category, a more recent The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Louise had a lot of fun publishing a ‘pet fiction’ novel as an editor (Molly and the Cat Café) and would love to find an author who can write an Alfie the Doorstep Cat/Dog. She has a soft spot for novels featuring time-travel or parallel universes, a ‘what if’ that plays around with conventions. At the literary end this would be books like Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes or This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. At the more commercial end Louise loved Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister, Dark Matter by Blake Crouch and Oona Out of Order by Martina Montimore. She also enjoys novels set in the real world but featuring a hefty dose of magic or the supernatural. They can be commercial or literary, present-day or historical. Think Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch, Threadneedle by Cari Thomas, A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness or The Gifts by Liz Hyder. And also cosy fantasy in the vein of Legends and Lattes or The House in the Cerulean Sea. Cosy or humorous crime. Recently, Louise absolutely loved Over My Dead Body by Maz Evans. When she was an editor Louise published the hit Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll and would love to represent incisive, intelligent suspense written by authors such as Jessica Knoll and Gillian Flynn, or something a little more subversive and blackly comic like My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. More generally, Louise would also love to see novels with a disabled protagonist or someone (like myself) who is living with an invisible disability. As an ex-primary school teacher, she also warmly welcomes submissions from teachers, especially if the submission falls into one of the other categories she has listed. Following-on from this, she enjoys reading stories that follow a ‘beating the system’ narrative. Louise is NOT looking for: -romance -romantasy -epic, traditional fantasy -space opera -straightforward women’s fiction -children’s fiction of any kind -non-fiction Louise would like you to submit a covering letter, 1 page synopsis and the first three chapters or 5,000 words of your manuscript in a single word document. (In addition to the paid sessions, Louise 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 6 December 2024

Love Lino: Festive cards and Gift Tags

LOOKING FOR: PICTURE BOOKS, CHAPTER BOOKS, MG, YA Lil is an editor with over 15 years experience in the publishing industry. She’s currently freelancing and is in direct contact with many of the big publishing houses: Hachette, Bonnier Books, and book packager, Working Partners Ltd, among others. She also works with the Caroline Wakeman Literary Agency, assessing their authors’ work for commercial viability, as well as scouting for new talent. For twelve years, Lil was a Senior Commissioning Editor at Working Partners Ltd – the creatives behind massive commercial hits such as Beast Quest, Warriors and the Daisy Meadows series. There she created globally successful concepts for every age group and developed storylines so the books were unputdownable. Lil is also an author in her own right: she has written 6 books under her own name, and ghost written many others under various pseudonyms.  In every age level, Lil would like to see originality - particularly in voice. A strong character with depth, venturing on a quest that's never been undertaken before will get her excited. The 'quest' doesn't have to be epic in scale, it could be as small as petting the next-door neighbour's dog, or getting the good looking new kid to notice you, it just has to be something a reader will want to invest in. She also loves humour and is happy to see anything quirky (perhaps even downright silly!).  For picture books, Lil would like you to submit a covering letter, and 1 complete manuscript, double-spaced, with spreads marked out, in a single word or PDF doc. For chapter books, MG and YA, please send a covering letter, the first three chapters and a synopsis, double spaced, in a single Word or PDF doc. Please send EITHER picture books OR another genre, not both in one submission. By booking this session you agree to email your material to reach I Am In Print by the stated submission deadline to agent121@iaminprint.co.uk. Please note that I Am In Print take no responsibility for the advice given in your Agent121. The submission deadline is: Wednesday 27 November 2024

Life is hectic. Finding time out feels almost impossible. We want to pray, we want to reflect, but when we do find a snatched moment to ourselves, we remain distracted. I've designed this space to help you reconnect with your breath, to gently stretch your body, and to listen... to the voice of your inner wisdom, and to the voice of your Beloved.  We will meditate with scripture, we will journal, we will use creative means to listen to the Spirit. We will sit with Love. I hope you will come away feeling centred, refreshed and assured of your belovedness.  Two hours, on Zoom. "Come away with me to a quiet place" The sessions will be shaped around the following themes this year: October: Teresa of Avila November: Letting Go December: Advent / Expectant Hope January: The Gifts of Winter Darkness February: Love March: Lent April: No Session May: Resurrection / Spring June: TBC July: The Gifts of Summer August: No Session You are invited to participate from the comfort of your own home. Ideally you'll be able to find a little space where you won't be interrupted. You might wish to ask those you share space with to help you protect this time by respecting your privacy. All who sign up will be sent a link to the recording of the retreat which will remain live until the following session. If you would like to participate via recording, simply register for the event. It would be great if you could let me know that you won't be with us in real time. Past Participants are Saying: "A really well led session allowing time for reflection and prayer." - Ellie Virtual Mini-Retreats are hosted by Lissy Clarke, Spiritual Director, Yoga Teacher and the voice behind the meditations at Contemplative at Home.  NB: Virtual Mini-Retreats are FREE for members who support the show at £15/ month and above (thank you!! ✨) - but you must still register to secure a place on a particular date, as places are limited. Memberships can be started or stopped at any time. More information here.

Discover the secrets to successful dog grooming with our course, Dog Cleaning: Teach Your Dog to Love Getting a Bath. Learn essential techniques and gain valuable insights to make bath time enjoyable for both you and your furry companion. Enroll now and embark on a rewarding journey in pet care.

A beginners course teaching you to make your own pure solid silver jewellery from silver clay. Full tuition is provided from a qualified instructor who has a relaxed fun approach to learning.

One day silver clay workshop in Market Bosworth you will make 3 to 5 solid silver jewellery pieces taught by a fully qualified metal clay artist. Come and have fun learning the magic of Silver Metal Clay. Silver clay is a recycled product which when fired becomes solid silver and is Hallmark quality. The best thing is it requires few tools so makes a great new hobby. A workshop for beginners or experienced jewellers, you will learn how to: Roll and pattern clay Cut shapes and create moulds Sand , drill and prepare your piece for firing Fire and polish add patinas and add findings so your solid silver jewellery is ready to wear.

Learn to love your overlocker - AKA serger. Spend 3 hours playing with your overlocker to develop your knowledge and gain an understanding of how these work.

Learn about the unique qualities of silver clay and make your own solid silver jewellery. You'll be guided by a friendly and experienced teacher to help you make three jewellery pieces for you to treasure and take away! Firstly, you will make a leaf pendant or earrings. Then you'll mould a small object of your choosing to turn into a charm. Lastly, you will form a pendant or charm and learn how to add texture and a gemstone. Once all your projects are ready, you will be shown how to fire and polish your pieces to be solid silver with a beautiful shine.

LOOKING FOR: MG, YA, ADULT FICTION, ADULT NON-FICTION, NON-FICTION FOR 7+ Megan Carroll is looking for writers in a variety of areas, and from a wide range of backgrounds – she is particularly keen to hear from Black, Asian, and LGBTQIA+ writers. Her main areas of focus this year are adult fiction and non-fiction, as well as non-fiction for 7+, and MG and YA fiction. In Fiction, Megan is keen to see high-concept love stories (think The Flat Share or The Lock In) for both commercial and reading group readers. She’d love to see those familiar romance tropes – enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, love triangles, forbidden love etc. – with underrepresented characters at the centre. She is also looking for historical fiction and gothic horror (think Laura Purcell, Stacey Halls and Silvia Moreno-Garcia) – anything that has a creepy, uneasy undertone is likely for Megan’s list. Megan is also actively looking for upmarket fiction and would love to see layered family drama, contemporary stories about life today and darkly comic novels that explore a specific time, place or experience. In Non-Fiction, Megan is keen to hear from experts in their field talking about topics relating to film, music, true crime, popular culture, history and issues from largely unrepresented perspectives. She is keen to see memoir, narrative non-fiction and essay collections. In Children’s and YA, she is keen to see contemporary YA with humour, and romance at the heart – fun and emotional stories that appeal to the interests and issues of the teenage readers. She’d also love to see thrillers and horror stories for this age group too. It’s unlikely that high fantasy novels for YA readers will be right for her, but she is keen to see stories with fantasy elements in a real world setting. On the younger end, Megan is looking for funny, contemporary middle grade – think Louise Rennison and Karen McCombie – and anything creepy and spooky for 8-12 year old readers too. She’d love to find something like Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events and is keen to find original adventure stories in both fantasy and realistic settings. Megan would like you to submit a covering letter, 1 page synopsis and the first three chapters or 5,000 words of your manuscript in a single word document. (In addition to the paid sessions, Megan 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 16th January 2025