1-2-1 Sessions
Get personal feedback on your submissions pack or ask bespoke questions to a writing expert and literary agent in our exclusive 1-2-1 sessions.
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We have five literary agents to choose from and two writing professional to help you along your writing journey.
SOLD OUT. All of our literary agent 1-2-1s are now sold out. You can still book a 1-2-1 with a writing or editing professional here.
Literary Agents
Literary Agent
Oscar Janson-Smith
All of Oscar's slots are now sold out.
​Oscar was previously an agent at Gleam Futures and Krugner Crowe before setting up his own agency. Over his two years at Gleam he sold 35 books, translated into 15 languages, with two titles becoming Sunday Times bestsellers. He also promoted new areas for Gleam such as fantasy, finance, craft, cookery and children’s. Some of his high-profile clients include Jay McGuiness, Ekin-Su Culculoglu, Tommy Fury and Lulu.
He reads broadly and is ultimately interested in unique, memorable protagonists, and good writing, meaning he tries not to be too genre-focused. This said, at the moment, he'd love to see accessible fiction focused on relatable contemporary issues and frustrations. He is also keen to see horror and ghost stories for middle-grade through to adult. He is also interested in anything with crime in it - ideally in a non-urban setting. He loves a protagonist who operates outside, or on the fringes of society. No poetry or high fantasy, please!
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Oscar will be joining us on Saturday 26th April 2025.
If you book a 1-2-1 session with Oscar, he may not have time now to review. But he will try, so please send a synopsis and the first three chapters along with a chapter breakdown if possible which you email to info@BournemouthWritingFestival.co.uk.​
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Follow Oscar on Instagram.​​​​
Literary Agent
Laura Williams
All Laura's slots are now SOLD OUT. Join her for her talk Working with a literary agent.
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Returning for the second year, Laura Williams started at Greene & Heaton as an agent in 2018, having worked at PFD from 2011 after studying Classics at Oxford.
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She has a broad list across different genres of fiction, and she is looking for all types of stories - from romantic to sinister, from heartwarming to heartbreaking - across both literary and commercial fiction. She also has a smaller non-fiction list and works with a select number of children's authors.
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Laura loves working on literary fiction and upmarket commercial fiction, of all different kinds, and is always on the lookout for meditative or moving novels about modern life. She is also looking for historical and period fiction which sheds light on untold stories and high concept love stories. She is keen on darkness and a claustrophobic feel in novels, from gothic to horror to murder mysteries to ghost stories to psychological thrillers to speculative/magical realist fiction to novels that feel like true crime, or intense and emotional narratives about dark thing. Read more what Laura is looking for here.
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Laura will be joining us on Saturday 26th April 2025.
If you book a 1-2-1 session with Laura, she requires a covering letter, synopsis and first 5,000 words, which you email to info@BournemouthWritingFestival.co.uk by 30th March.
Laura's 1-2-1 slots are now SOLD OUT but you can still book for her talk on Sunday morning - Working with a literary agent.​​
Literary Agent
Megan Carroll
Returning for the second year, Megan graduated from Goldsmiths with a BA in English and American Literature in 2013 and has been at Watson, Little since 2014 – first as an assistant and now as a Literary Agent.
She 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 across all genres (both fiction and non-fiction). Megan’s list is predominantly commercial, and she is keen to find good quality books that lots of readers will enjoy.
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Megan is open to seeing: book club, upmarket women’s fiction, romance, romantasy, YA, MG, memoir and narrative non-fiction. She is not looking for crime and thriller, sci-fi and picture books.
Megan will be joining us on Saturday 26th April 2025.
If you book a 1-2-1 session with Megan, she requires a cover letter, synopsis and the first 3 chapters in one document which you email to info@BournemouthWritingFestival.co.uk by 30th March.
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Megan's 1-2-1 slots are now SOLD OUT but you can still book for her talk on Sunday morning - Working with a literary agent.​​
Literary Agent
Tanera Simons
Tanera's slots are now all SOLD OUT.
Tanera has worked in the publishing industry for 10 years and, after seven years as a literary agent, co-founded Greenstone Literary with Laura Heathfield.
Tanera’s authors are based both in the US and UK and include Beth O’Leary, Sally Page, Mandy Baggot, Sophie White, Ally Zetterberg, and Emma Steele. Collectively, her clients’ work has been adapted for television and film; received Nielsen Bestsellers Awards; and featured on the Sunday Times Top Ten list in both hardback and paperback.
Tanera is looking for book club fiction as well as concept-driven rom-com and love stories, historical fiction, book club, romantic fantasy, and female-driven narratives with a darker edge. Across all genres, she is always looking for very clear hooks; a pitch that can be easily summarised and leave readers wanting more. She wants to see stand-out, memorable characters whose journeys readers can’t help but invest in.
Tanera will be joining us on Sunday 27th April 2025.
If you book a 1-2-1 session with Tanera, she requires a first chapter, cover letter and synopsis which you email to info@BournemouthWritingFestival.co.uk by 30th March.
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You can watch our interview with Tanera here.
Literary Agent
Saskia Leach
Saskia's slots are now SOLD OUT. Join her talk with Anna Britton on Querying here.
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Saskia is a Junior Literary Agent at Kate Nash Literary Agency and has worked there since early 2021. She represents commercial and upmarket fiction for adults and young adults, in genres including crime, thriller, romance and historical/saga.
Her authors include Leonie Mack, A. J. Clack and Anna Britton. She is an alumnus of Royal Holloway, University of London (BA English & History) and served as Secretary of the AAA Bridge Committee, a sub-committee of the Association of Authors’ Agents who support early career agents, from 2022-2024.
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Saskia is particularly looking for LGBTQIA+ romance, twisty psychological thriller and stories from underrepresented backgrounds and voices, but she would love to see submissions in any of the genres she represents. She enjoys reading a wide range of genres and is fascinated by stories written from multiple perspectives. She also loves books which feature complex and dynamic characters.
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Saskia does not represent sci-fi, fantasy, action/adventure thriller, literary fiction, non-fiction or children's books younger than middle grade.
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Outside of agenting, Saskia loves musical theatre, both as a performer and viewer, and is a lifelong supporter of Brighton and Hove Albion FC.​
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Saskia will be joining us on Sunday 27th April 2025.
If you book a 1-2-1 session with Saskia, she requires a covering letter, the first 2 chapters and a synopsis which you email to info@BournemouthWritingFestival.co.uk by 30th March.
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Saskia's 1-2-1 slots are now SOLD OUT but you can still book for her talk on Sunday afternoon - The Querying Process
Writing Professionals
Writer and Mentor
Emma Scattergood
After many years working as a writer/author and editor for some of the UK’s biggest publishing companies in London, she moved to the coast, became a freelance, and took a part-time role as Senior Lecturer in Writing, Editing and Publishing at Bournemouth University.
At Bournemouth University, she designed and launched the MA Creative Writing & Publishing, Fresher Publishing press and The Bournemouth Writing Prize, supervised Masters students as they developed their novels or short story collections, and ran Design, Editing and Publishing.
She now runs The Creative Path, which offers creative workshops, mentoring and retreats to inspire, inform and nurture.
Emma will be joining us on Saturday 26th April 2025. Last year, all Emma's sessions sold out.
If you book a 1-2-1 session with Emma, she may not have time now to review. But she will try! Please provide details of your most significant query in advance - for example a short draft that demonstrates something you are struggling with. It would be helpful also to provide a synopsis if it’s about an overall proposal, or anything else that feels relevant to give Emma context and an idea of your writing style. Email this to info@BournemouthWritingFestival.co.uk
Editor and writer
Morgen Bailey
Morgen Bailey has edited over 300 manuscripts, mostly in crime and women’s fiction, working with authors directly as well as publishers including Matador, Troubador, Michael Terence Publishing and Bloodhound Books.
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Morgen’s fiction books include crime and mystery fiction, women’s novels (published as Rachel Cavanagh), and short story collections. Her non-fiction works are aimed at all levels of writers whether beginners or those who want to refresh their skills – Morgen also tutors in person and has several online writing courses available. She runs her own mentor group on Facebook, very much a collaboration, and she invites all authors to join. Her Writer’s Block Workbooks are a go-to for every author.
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Morgen will be joining us on Sunday 27th April 2025.
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If you book a 1-2-1 session with Morgen, she may not have time now to review. But she will try! Please submit an example of your writing in advance. It can be a short story or first chapter of a novel up to 2,000 words. If a first chapter, you should send a synopsis (including the ending) of no more than 250 words so she can see whether it starts in the right place and hangs together - and a tagline (10 words max) and/or elevator pitch/blurb (50 words max). Email this to info@BournemouthWritingFestival.co.uk.