712 Publishing courses

LOOKING FOR: MG, ADULT FICTION Jo Williamson has been in publishing for over 25 years. Having worked in Children’s books PR for Dorling Kindersley, HarperCollins and Orion, she started as an agent with Antony Harwood in 2008. She feels very privileged being with authors at the very start of their publishing journey and enjoys close working relationships with all her clients. From editorial help, general advice on the publishing world, guiding careers long-term and general cheerleading, she feels she has the perfect job. Although nothing is off limits and she loves being surprised by submissions. In middle grade children's fiction, Jo is particularly looking for books with heart, epic adventures with voice-led characters, and younger funny fiction with series potential.  In adult fiction, page-turning Commercial Women’s and Book Club fiction are right up Jo's street, including psychological suspense, thriller, cosy crime and books that don’t quite fit the mould. Above all, she wants stories that linger long after the final page has been read. Jo is not the right fit for police procedurals. Jo would like you to submit a covering letter, 1 page synopsis and the first 5,000 words of your manuscript in a single word document. (In addition to the paid sessions, Jo is kindly offering one free session for low income/underrepresented 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: Monday 19th May 2025

With over 140 clients, from FTSE 100 companies to small SMEs, from publishing to transport services, from central Government to Parish Council, we are well placed to provide GDPR consultancy services to all businesses, local authorities and charities.

Masterclass: Introduction to Scientific Writing and Publishing

LOOKING FOR: ADULT FICTION Clare set up the Liverpool Literary Agency in 2020 to help address inequality and underrepresentation in the publishing industry. With more than 15 years’ experience of writing and editing professionally, including the publication of two novels, Definitions (2015) and We Are of Dust (2018 - which has received development funding from the Liverpool Film Office for a TV adaptation), she has developed an in-depth knowledge of what commissioning editors and publishers expect to see from a submitted manuscript. With a background in PR and marketing, alongside teaching on creative writing programmes, Clare also has extensive experience in pitching and promoting writers and has been nominated for the Romantic Novelist Association Agent of the Year Award! Clare would love to see historical fiction, crime fiction, psychological thrillers and women’s fiction, but she is open to all great writing with a strong hook in any area (excluding non-fiction, children’s and YA). She actively encourages submissions from writers who have been traditionally under-represented. Clare would like you to submit a covering letter, 1 page synopsis and the first 5,000 words of your manuscript in a single word document. (In addition to the paid sessions, Clare 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 April 2025

LOOKING FOR: MG, YA, ADULT FICTION, NON-FICTION Thérèse is a Literary and Rights Agent at Susanna Lea Associates and Director of the London branch, @SLALondon. Born and raised in Belgium, on a diet of frites and Tintin she moved to England in her late teens with her family, then stayed in London to do a History degree and Masters at University College London. Having been brought up bilingual, translation rights seemed like her logical next step. She started off in the rights department at Bloomsbury Publishing, before hopping across the square to Ed Victor’s agency, and found experiencing both the publishing and agency side of publishing incredibly valuable. She has been building her own list of authors alongside selling translation rights since early 2016, which she has hugely enjoyed; working with authors right from the book’s conception, while also experiencing the thrill of selling her own authors’ works in the UK and US as well as in translation to publishers across the globe. In terms of adult fiction, Thérèse has a huge soft spot for historical fiction, having read Early Modern History at university, but is also very much on the hunt for crime/thrillers, bookclub, high-concept love stories and literary fiction. She loves strong female characters, in particular when they go through an evolution or journey as the story progresses and gradually find that inner strength. On the children’s fiction front, Thérèse is all about finding a fresh, new voice. She loves all things funny, fantasy and adventure – across lands, time and space, and involving strong friendships and strong lead characters - and wants to be transported straight away when reading a manuscript. She likes very vivid, well-crafted and imaginative worlds, such as stories set in a toy factory or in an underwater world. Thérèse would love some more adventures set in space, mysteries, quirky characters, explorers and imaginary friends. And last, but not least, in non-fiction, history features heavily in her interests, but Thérèse would also love to see books about big ideas, culture, sociology, science, anthropology and memoir. Anything that helps expand the mind and questions or informs the way in which we view ourselves, the world and how we fit into it, all written in an engaging and accessible manner. Thérèse 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, Thérèse 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: Thursday 8th May 2025

LOOKING FOR: PICTURE BOOKS, CHAPTER BOOKS, MG, YA Lil is a Senior Editor at Hachette Children's. She has well over 15 years experience in the publishing industry, working for major publishers and literary agents too.  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 23rd April 2025

LOOKING FOR: MG, YA, ADULT FICTION, NON-FICTION Una is a Rights Agent at Susanna Lea Associates and am starting to build a client list. She grew up in London and graduated from the University of Cambridge with a BA in English in 2021. At university, Una was particularly interested in contemporary West African and South Asian literature. She started as an agent's assistant at SLA London in 2022 and now handles some translation rights and provides support with editorial work and submissions. Una's favourite reads always set her at ease right away and draws her in with impressive and accessible storytelling, memorable characters or an original hook. Una enjoys writing which expands her worldview, makes her laugh out loud or keeps her on her toes with its twists and turns. She welcomes submissions from debut authors and would be keen to read across a wide range of genres and styles. She is looking for literary, upmarket and book club fiction, and is always drawn to stories that explores the challenges and complexities of love and relationships in all its forms —within families, between friends or in romantic relationships. Una loves the way in which familial relationships are dissected in The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright and the impact of the local community in Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson. She is always drawn to novels with a strong sense of community, whether they are unified by geography, culture, or in other unexpected ways. Una has always loved reading international and translated fiction and welcomes submissions from authors writing contemporary fiction that engages with cultures and traditions from around the world, such as in voices of the deities in Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi or the subversive tales of Sayaka Murata. She is not looking for children’s or YA titles, science fiction or high-concept fantasy, but is open to submissions from authors writing in the speculative fiction space, and books with fantastical or otherworldly elements, be that magical realism or supernatural horror, such as Mona Awad's campus novel with a twist, Bunny. Una would also love to read more writing that engages with the natural world and reminds us of the limitations of human understanding. In non-fiction, Una enjoys books that furthers her understanding of wider societal issues — nature and the environment, culture, and little-known history. Her recent non-fiction favourites are Eve by Cat Bohannon, Doppelgänger by Naomi Klein and Unearthed by Claire Ratinon. Una 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, Una 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: Monday 7th April 2025

Business Writing 1 Day Workshop in Northampton

Business Writing 1 Day Workshop in Stoke-on-Trent

Business Writing 1 Day Workshop in St Andrews