Bournemouth Writing Sanctuary - write without the distractions of home - surrounded by others writers. 16-18 January
Details here
1-2-1 Sessions
Querying? Get personal feedback on your submissions pack or ask bespoke questions to a literary agent in our exclusive face-to-face, 1-2-1 sessions.​
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£70 with a literary agent and £35 for a writing surgery.
Literary Agents
All 121s with literary agents cost £70 for a 15-minute session. Please send in your covering letter, synopsis and first three chapters before 31st March 2026 to Paul. When sending, please use the name you used when booking (careful with pen names)!
Location will be in Bournemouth Town Centre. Latecomers may not be admitted. Please research the agents fully to make sure they are suited to you and your genre and make sure you send your submissions in plenty of time!
Literary agent, Bell Lomax Moreton
John Baker
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 Author’s Agents, and the co-chair of the AAA’s Bridge Committee. He also serves on the Kingston University MA Publishing Advisory Board.
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John is looking for: YA/NA/Adult fantasty, SFF, horror and action/adventure fiction.
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John is not looking for: military sci-fi, or anything with biblical “character wakes up in purgatory/heaven/hell” narratives. The right comedic fantasy has yet to hit his inbox, but please don’t comp Douglas Adams or Sir Terry.
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Find out more about John Baker here.
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John will be at the festival on Sunday 26th April 2026.
Literary agent, Greenstone Literary
Liza DeBlock
Liza started in publishing as an assistant at Eccles Fisher Associates in 2018. Working for literary scouts provided a foundation in understanding the international book market. She moved into the world of literary agenting and learned from the brilliant Robert Caskie and Silé Edwards amongst others while working at a boutique agency. Whilst there, she honed her skills selling international rights for major Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling authors such as Richard Osman, Claire Douglas, Abigail Dean, Saara El-Arifi and Hannah Kaner.
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Liza is looking for fiction and non-fiction with great, exciting writing, that has brought her on adventures, and taught her something new.
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Liza is not looking for novellas or unfinished manuscripts, sci-fi, erotica, graphic novels, children’s books, middle grade, or poetry.
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Find out more about Liza DeBlock here.
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Liza will be at the festival on Sunday 26th April 2026.
Literary agent, Paper Literary
Kiya Evans
Kiya started her career at Mushens Entertainment in 2020 as an Associate Agent, working closely with a list of both debuts and brand authors, Sunday Times and New York Times bestsellers, including Richard Osman, Abigail Dean, Jessie Burton, Claire Douglas, and Saara El-Arifi.
She has judged numerous writing prizes, including the Brick Lane Books Short Story Prize 2023, as well as the First Novel Prize and the inaugural Goldfinch Novel Award in 2024. She was a judge for this year’s Cheshire Novel Prize.
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Kiya is looking to represent books across the spectrum of the literary to the commercial, but she is drawn to sharply observed interpersonal dynamics, a strong hook and authentic representation of untold perspectives.
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While she is largely genre-agnostic, she is especially excited to see fantastical and horror, big-hearted love stories and sharp, hooky, thematically ‘meaty’ fiction.
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Find out more about Kiya Evans here.
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​Kiya will be at the festival on Sunday 26th April 2026.​​
Literary agent, The Blair Partnership
Hattie Grunewald
Hattie is a fiction agent at The Blair Partnership, an agency which looks after some of the publishing world's biggest names - including JK Rowling.
Before joining The Blair Partnership, Hattie spent six years at Blake Friedmann Agency. In 2020, she was a Bookseller Rising Star and the Romantic Novelists’ Association Agent of the Year.
Hattie represent's commercial and upmarket fiction, including women’s fiction, crime and thriller, historical and book club fiction. She also represents some non-fiction in the areas of lifestyle and personal development.
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She is currently open to commercial and upmarket fiction submissions with a strong pitch, believable characters and an engaging voice. She is particularly keen to see novels for the book club market with a conversation-starting topics. These may include captivating and multi-layered family dramas, high concept love stories and classic storytelling. If it’s sweeping, romantic and timeless, she’d love to see it.
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Find out more about Hattie Grunewald here.
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Hattie will be at the festival on Saturday 25th April 2026.
Literary agent, Curtis Brown
Helena Maybery
Helena assisted the MD of a boutique literary agency for two years before joining Curtis Brown to assist Sheila Crowley in April 2024.
They work closely together across many established bestselling authors, as well as debut authors within commercial and upmarket fiction, and some expert lead non-fiction.
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Helena is looking for book club and genre fiction that incorporates the perfect blend of strong characters, moreish plot, and quality writing. She loves reading contemporary fiction that starts a conversation, with a distinctive and unpretentious voice.
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In non-fiction, she loves to read memoirs that teach me about a moment in history.
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She is not looking to represent science fiction, fantasy, romantasy, young adult, or books for children.
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Find out more about Helena Maybery here.
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Helena will be at the festival on Saturday 25th April 2026.
Literary agent, Watson, Little
Ciara McEllin
Ciara joined Watson, Little in 2017. As an Associate Agent she is actively building her list whilst working alongside Laetitia Rutherford and Donald Winchester.
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Ciara reads widely across book club, upmarket and literary fiction. Within these areas, I am drawn to novels that examine family and relationship dynamics, sexuality, identity, and vulnerability. I am keen to hear from writers who take a fresh approach to these themes, whether that be a new perspective on a traditional narrative or a focus on characters and voices that remain underrepresented.
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Ciara is looking for literary and upmarket fiction and narrative non-fiction but not Children’s, YA or Fantasy.
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Find out more about Ciara McEllin here.
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​Ciara will be at the festival on Saturday 25th April 2026.​​​​​
Literary agent, Curtis Brown
Ella Shindler
Ella graduated with an MA in Publishing from UCL and a BA in English from University of Cambridge and works closely with Felicity Blunt, along with agents Flo Sandelson and Rosie Pierce. She previously worked for the CEO of Peters, Fraser + Dunlop agency, edited children's books and cookbooks as well as being a bookseller at Hatchards.
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Ella is keen to see books with a real sense of fun and sizzling romance as well as moving family dramas and campus novels. She also loves thrillers, suspense and unsettling crime, along with historical, women’s and literary fiction. She is also open to SFF, character driven dystopia and speculative fiction.
In Non-Fiction she is interested in youthful voices taking a new and narrative spin on old ideas, as well as fresh voices on pop culture.
​Find out more what Felicity Blunt's office is looking for here.
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​Ella will be at the festival on Saturday 25th April 2026.​​​​​​​​
Literary agent, Darley Anderson
Clare Wallace
Clare joined Darley Anderson in January 2011. Clare is building both the Darley Anderson Children’s Agency and the Darley Anderson Illustration Agency lists and also represents a boutique list of commercial adult fiction in both the UK and US.
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In adult fiction, broadly, Clare is looking for conversation-starting book club reads through to very commercial fiction, with a particular focus on romance, rom-com, historical and contemporary. She enjoys messy lives, topical dilemmas, new perspectives and will read the fresh and fast-paced but also the cosy and sweet or spicy.
In children’s fiction, Clare’s heartland is YA, across all genres. She is always keen to find love, be that contemporary rom-com, high-concept romance, or romantasy. She’s also always up for a twisty thriller or a terrifying horror, and is interested in mashups, especially if it’s horromance. For MG, Clare loves new worlds, big adventures and unique magic systems, as well as accessible contemporary narratives. She’s keen to find more younger illustrated fiction and graphic novels, and is always, always, looking for funny.
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Find out more about Clare Wallace here.
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Clare will be at the festival on Saturday 25th April 2026.
Novelist and Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing
Judith Heneghan - writing surgery
Judith is a novelist and lecturer. She began her career as a non-fiction commissioning editor for Hodder & Stoughton and currently leads the MA Creative Writing programme at the University of Winchester. She also provides mentoring services for Jericho Writers and leads writing workshops at colleges and libraries across the south of England. She has written extensively for children, but now writes exclusively for adults.
Her first adult novel, Snegurochka is set in Kyiv in the early 90s. Birdeye is her second. Both are published by Salt.
Judith's specialisms are general and literary fiction; writing for young readers; narrative nonfiction.
A 15-minute, 1-2-1 session with Judith costs £35. Please send in a sample of your writing of no more than 3k words so Judith can get a sense of your writing, plus one or two sentences of what you would like to discuss, by 31st March 2026 to Paul.
Judith will be at the festival on Sunday 26th April 2026.