Lesley Thorne
- Submission status
- Open
- Submission route
- Website
- Response time
- Assume no reply = no after 12 weeks
- Last checked
- 13 days ago
About
Lesley is Managing Director of Aitken Alexander Associates and runs the Film and TV Department, which she founded in 2004.
She began her career in publishing, working for Fourth Estate, Viking and Hamish Hamilton, before joining Aitken Alexander in 1999. She represents novelists, non-fiction writers and screenwriters, with a particular focus on guiding authors to write for screen.
Genres
Looking for
- high-end/intelligent drama
- smart genre
- entertaining/comedy drama
Agency submission guidelines
Submissions accepted only via the general submissions email (submissions@aitkenalexander.co.uk), marked in the subject line for the attention of one literary agent; agent profiles should be checked before choosing whom to approach. Submit to only one agent; if unable to decide, the submission will be reviewed by readers and passed to whomever they feel most appropriate. Do not submit unsolicited work directly to agents' assistants. Postal submissions are no longer accepted. For fiction (novels and short stories): send the first three chapters or fifty pages together with a short synopsis (ideally as Microsoft Word compatible attachments); only submit once a full manuscript is ready. For narrative non-fiction: send a short overview and up to 10,000 words of sample writing (ideally as Microsoft Word compatible attachments). For 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). All fiction and non-fiction submissions should include a short cover letter with a short description of the book, details of previous writing credits or qualifications if applicable, and a brief biographical note. Writers submitting simultaneously to other agencies or with interest from other agents should mention this, and should keep the agency informed of any interest received while on submission. For screenwriting submissions: Lesley Thorne is interested in screenwriters of comparable calibre to the agency's novelists and non-fiction writers; send a cover letter and best sample script introducing the writer, their work, and any credits, screenwriting prizes, or relevant experience.
Clients include
- Kevin Barry
- Oyinkan Braithwaite
- Megan Hunter
- Rachel Clarke
- Max Porter
- Rebecca Frayn
- Alison Bell
- Dom Joly
- Clara Salaman
- Matt Thorne
- Willy Vlautin
- Babette Cole
- John Fowles
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