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The Best Literary Agents Seeking Commercial Fiction Submissions in the UK

Showing 33 agents that match your search.

Sarah Hornsley

πŸ’Ό Agency: Peters Fraser + Dunlop

🌍 Location: London, GB

πŸ§‘β€πŸ’» Website: https://petersfraserdunlop.com

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Thriller, Romance, Women's Fiction

Previous clients: Ciara Attwell, Olivia Beirne, Roxie Cooper, Drew Davies, Nick Hollin

Open to queries

Query Tracker | MSWL

Darley Anderson

πŸ’Ό Agency: Darley Anderson Literary Agency

🌍 Location: London, GB

πŸ§‘β€πŸ’» Website: https://www.darleyanderson.com/

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through online form

Genres: Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Thriller, Crime Fiction, Horror, Mystery

Previous clients: Lee Child, Martina Cole, Margaret Dickinson, John Connolly, Tana French

Open to queries

Query Tracker | Publishers Marketplace

Felicity Blunt

πŸ’Ό Agency: Curtis Brown UK

🌍 Location: London, GB

πŸ§‘β€πŸ’» Website: https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Thriller, Young Adult, Commercial Fiction, Feminism, Women's Fiction

Previous clients: Jeffrey Deaver, Jennifer Egan, Abi Dare, Daphne du Maurier, Jilly Cooper

Open to queries

Query Tracker

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Lizzy Kremer

πŸ’Ό Agency: David Higham Literary Agency

🌍 Location: London, GB

πŸ§‘β€πŸ’» Website: https://www.davidhigham.co.uk

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Crime Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Women's Fiction, Diverse Fiction, BIPOC, LGBTQ, Feminism, Narrative Nonfiction

Previous clients: Paula Hawkins, Lucy Dillon, Annie Bell, Laura Kemp, Sadie Matthews

Open to queries

Query Tracker

Madeleine Milburn

πŸ’Ό Agency: Madeleine Milburn Literary

🌍 Location: London, GB

πŸ§‘β€πŸ’» Website: http://madeleinemilburn.com/

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through online form

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, Thriller, Crime Fiction, Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Mystery, Young Adult

Previous clients: Gail Honeyman, C.L. Taylor, Ashley Audrain, Matthew Blake, Charmaine Wilkerson

Open to queries

Query Tracker | Publishers Marketplace

Veronique Baxter

πŸ’Ό Agency: David Higham Literary Agency

🌍 Location: London, GB

πŸ§‘β€πŸ’» Website: https://www.davidhigham.co.uk

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Thriller, Young Adult, Nonfiction, Memoir, Narrative Nonfiction, Politics, Children's Book, Middle Grade, Diverse Fiction, BIPOC, Feminism, LGBTQ, Commercial Fiction, Women's Fiction

Previous clients: Diana Wynne Jones, Richard Adams, Nick Butterworth, Jonathan Stroud, Alix Nathan

Open to queries

Query Tracker

Sallyanne Sweeney

πŸ’Ό Agency: Mulcahy Associates

🌍 Location: London, GB

πŸ§‘β€πŸ’» Website: https://mmbcreative.com/

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Literary Fiction, Nonfiction, Cookbook, Memoir, Narrative Nonfiction

Previous clients: Juno Dawson, Steve Lenton, Jon Walter, Lucy Van Smit

Open to queries

Query Tracker | MSWL

Stephanie Thwaites

πŸ’Ό Agency: Curtis Brown UK

🌍 Location: London, GB

πŸ§‘β€πŸ’» Website: https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Thriller, Chick Lit, Diverse Fiction, Romance

Previous clients: John Steinbeck, Isla Fisher, Cat Deeley, Celia Rees, A A Milne, Steven Butler

Open to queries

Query Tracker

Juliet Mushens

πŸ’Ό Agency: Mushens Entertainment

🌍 Location: London, GB

πŸ§‘β€πŸ’» Website: https://www.mushens-entertainment.com/

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Thriller, Fantasy

Previous clients: Jessie Burton, Taran Matharu, Richard Osman, Ali Land, Claire Douglas

Open to queries

Query Tracker | MSWL

Karolina Sutton

πŸ’Ό Agency: Creative Artists Agency

🌍 Location: London, GB

πŸ§‘β€πŸ’» Website: https://www.caa.com/

πŸ“£ Preferred contact method: Submit queries through email

Genres: Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction

Previous clients: Margaret Atwood, Bernardine Evaristo, Tara Westover, Malala Yousafzai, Anthony Doerr

Query Tracker

What do literary agents do?

A literary agent represents your book to acquiring editors who want to publish it. In other words, an agent gets your foot in the door of a publishing house β€” and onto the path of getting traditionally published. 

In addition to championing you and your writing and serving as your point of contact with others in publishing, literary agents understand editors’ tastes and the types of books that publishers are looking to add to their lists β€” a crucial component in getting any publishing house to invest in the works of new authors. Since most big publishers don’t accept unsolicited submissions, getting a literary agent who’s accepting submissions is the most realistic route to traditional publication, particularly for debut authors.

Aside from getting your foot in the door, what else do literary agents do?

  • They are expert negotiators, combining publishing acumen with a nose for the value of good, sellable writing;
  • They act as mediators between you and your publisher (when you don’t want to hurt your working relationship with an editor by talking brass tacks);
  • They manage the financial and marketing side of things while you concentrate on the writing; and
  • They often have strong editorial skills, helping refine your manuscript before you send it to a publisher.

As you might've guessed, literary agents are especially important for debut authors, who often don't have a starting point in the vast maze that is the publishing industry. That's what a literary agent will become for you: a guide to help you throughout the publishing process, and kickstart your publishing career. 

New authors might be intimidated by the wealth of information and cautionary signs in the industry. It's especially tricky to research literary agents when some are open to submissions from new authors, and some are not.

If you're one of those debut authors, don't fret! We've got you covered with the resources that you need to gain your bearings.

Resources for new authors landing a literary agent in 2024

You might think that a great book is all you need to catch a literary agent’s attention. But you’ll need to put in a good amount of work to land them β€” and that includes everything from the careful study of each agent's wishlist to personalizing your query letter for each candidate..

Whether you’re a new author learning how to research literary agents or an experienced writer refining your query letter, here are the resources that can give you a headstart.

Free online materials for debut authors

Recommended books

Reedsy | Looking for an agent? | 2024-09

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