SOLD OUT! 15th December Kat Lenahan #Agent121. Looking for: PICTURE BOOKS, MG, YA

Description

LOOKING FOR: PICTURE BOOKS, MG, YA,

Kat joined the Darley Anderson Children’s Book Agency in May 2024 assisting Clare Wallace and is now building a list with a focus on MG up to New Adult / Crossover. Kat is passionate about the editorial side of agenting and is keen to work with authors that she can help grow and develop.

From MG through to YA, Crossover and New Adult, and across genres, I’m very character-led – send Kat all the crazy plot points in the world, but ensure they are happening to a well-drawn character for her to connect to your story!

In middle grade, Kat loves any epic adventure where friendships are made along the way. Give her the ragtag band of comrades on a secret mission of Rooftoppers, the determined girl and her furry friend exploring Greenwild or, a personal favourite, kid detectives! Heists, murder, intrigue . . . she grew up addicted to Anthony Horowitz’s Diamond Brothers and would love to see some middle-grade books with that perfect balance of humour and genuine mystery, in the vein of The Swifts and Montgomery Bonbon. Kat would also be interested in contemporary adventures closer to home, like The Boy in the Suit or any of Nathanael Lessore’s books – fiction that treats life’s challenges with empathy and humour.

In YA, Kat is particularly drawn to perfectly imperfect heroes who feel flawed and real, who you can’t help but root for even as they make mistakes. Some characters who embody this would be Rune in The Crimson Moth, Pip in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and Dolores in A Grave Inheritance. Atmosphere and setting is also huge for Kat, whether that’s getting lost in the winding corridors of a gothic boarding school, the nail-biting atmosphere of a life-or-death trial, or a hyper competitive spy academy.

Kat is also drawn to darker YA - a horror with a speculative edge, exploring the dark side of girlhood, in the vein of Louise O’Neill or Holly Bourne would be perfect. She loved how Treacle Town and Glasgow Boys played with dialect, and would be keen to find a book in that space by an Irish author.

On the opposite end of that spectrum, she would love a romance that gives her all the feels in the Lynn Painter space – think Emily Henry for a YA audience.

As alluded to in the headline note for this page, Kat is taking on a select number of picture book authors and is always looking for the funny and the bold – but no toilet humour please!

Kat would like you to send a covering letter, a one page synopsis and the first three chapters (max 5,000 words) of your manuscript in a single word document.
For picture books, please submit a cover letter and up to three completed texts.

Please send EITHER picture books OR another genre, not both in one submission.

(In addition to the paid sessions, Kat 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 8th December 2025