Submissions are accepted by email only, to submissions@aitkenalexander.co.uk. The agency no longer accepts postal submissions. Eligibility: only writers based in the UK should submit. Screenwriters are considered only if they have credits or work in development with UK production companies, unless they are already a published author or journalist. Fiction (novels and short stories): send the first three chapters or fifty pages together with a short synopsis, ideally as Microsoft Word compatible attachments. Submit only once a full manuscript is ready. Narrative non-fiction: send a short overview and up to 10,000 words of sample writing, ideally as Microsoft Word compatible attachments. Subject-led non-fiction: send a proposal of approximately 5,000 words outlining the book and the writer's suitability to write it, along with no less than 5,000 words of sample writing, ideally as Microsoft Word compatible attachments. Cover letter: include a short cover letter with a description of the book, details of previous writing credits or qualifications if applicable, and a brief biographical note. Screenwriting: send a cover letter and best sample script introducing the writer, their work, any credits, screenwriting prizes, or relevant experience. Other rules: inform the agency if submitting simultaneously to other agencies or if there is already interest from other agents, and keep the agency informed of any interest received while the book is on submission. Ensure contact details are provided so the agency can reach the writer if it wants to read more.
Chris is Joint Managing Director at Aitken Alexander Associates. He represents writers of fiction and nonfiction from across the literary spectrum, as well as a handful of poets.
Genres:Business · Contemporary Fiction · Historical Fiction · Historical Non-Fiction · Literary Fiction +4 more
Clare is Chair of Aitken Alexander Associates. Before becoming a literary agent, she spent more than 20 years in publishing, editing books that won the Booker Prize, the Orange Prize (now the Women's Prize) and the Whitbread Award. She represents novelists including Pat Barker, Sebastian Faulks and Mark Haddon. She is a Founding Patron of the Women's Prize and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Genres:Biography · Contemporary Fiction · Historical Non-Fiction · Literary Fiction · Memoir
Emma is a Director at Aitken Alexander Associates. She joined the agency in 2018 after eight years at other literary agencies. She is a member of the Booker Prize Foundation Advisory Committee and an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She represents writers of fiction, non-fiction and poetry, including a number of bestselling and prize-winning authors.
Genres:Biography · Contemporary Fiction · Crime · Fantasy · Historical Fiction +9 more
Harriet is an agent at Aitken Alexander Associates, representing literary fiction, non-fiction and poetry. She joined Aitken Alexander Associates in 2024 after a decade at David Higham Associates. She is drawn to literary novelists who play with genre and form, and admires writers who approach subjects and archives in rigorous, intimate ways.
Genres:Biography · Literary Fiction · Memoir · Narrative Non-Fiction · Poetry
Lesley is Joint Managing Director at Aitken Alexander and runs the Film and TV Department, representing novelists, non-fiction writers and screenwriters. She began her career in literary publishing, working at Fourth Estate and Hamish Hamilton before joining Aitken Alexander in 1999 to assist Gillon Aitken. In 2004 she began to focus on dramatic rights in the agency's books and building her own client list.
Genres:Literary Fiction · Memoir · Narrative Non-Fiction
Lisa runs the Foreign Rights department at Aitken Alexander Associates and represents a select list of literary fiction and non-fiction. She joined the agency in 2016 and became a Director in 2017. Before that, she was Rights Director at Faber & Faber.
Genres:Literary Fiction · Memoir · Narrative Non-Fiction
Monica is an Associate Agent at Aitken Alexander, where she has worked in the books department since 2020. Her authors include Peter Apps, Onyi Nwabineli and Nicola Dinan. She is actively building a list of new writers and also handles speaking engagements at the agency for several clients.
Genres:Biography · Commercial Fiction · Contemporary Fiction · Current Affairs · Food & Drink +8 more
