Lauren Gardner
- Submission status
- Open
- Submission route
- Response time
- Assume no reply = no after 12 weeks
- Last checked
- 11 days ago
About
Lauren is a literary agent at Bell Lomax Moreton, representing children's and young adult fiction, adult fiction and adult non-fiction.
She joined the agency in 2014 and has built a list of authors whose books have won or been shortlisted for prizes including the Waterstones Children's Prize, the Carnegie Medal and the Branford Boase. In 2020 she was named one of The Bookseller's Rising Stars. She lives just outside London with her family.
Genres
Looking for
- any genre in Young Fiction and Middle Grade
- voice driven debuts with heart, humour and maybe a supernatural, magical or high concept twist (or two)
- an epic middle grade fantasy series set in a new world
- contemporary stories with shorter word counts
- in Teen and young adult, the three F's - friendships, firsts and feels
- kick your feet romance, awkward and unexpected heroines, friendship soul mates, and the unapologetic joy of coming of age
- escapist, aspirational settings, and rich kids behaving badly
- a speculative or high concept young adult romance or thriller with elements of myth, fairytale, historical, or a touch of dystopia
- in NA/Crossover and Commercial Women's Fiction, real world romance elevated by unusual circumstances, with favourite tropes of forced proximity, lovers to enemies, second chance romance, and fake dating
- a college or university set romantic comedy
- a darkly comic novel that follows a group of female friends or a couple through the maelstrom of new parenthood
- speculative and historical romance in the style of Rebecca Serle, Sophie Irwin, Taylor Jenkins Reid and Stacey Halls
- in Romantasy and Fantasy, strong, voice-driven narratives with female protagonists
- romance forward stories that offer a gentle gateway into the genre, feature grounded magic or worldbuilding, and morally grey (but never morally black) characters
- in Non-Fiction, narrative adult and children's non-fiction
- ordinary people undertaking extraordinary challenges and having amazing adventures
- experts in STEM, History, Pop Culture and Mental Health fields
- fiction and non-fiction submissions from diverse and marginalised authors across all age ranges and genres
Not looking for
- hard science fiction
- crime fiction
- picture books
Agency submission guidelines
The agency does not represent poetry, short stories or novellas, educational textbooks, or film scripts or stage plays. For works of fiction, children's and young adult fiction or narrative non-fiction, send in word document or PDF format: a short synopsis including details of the entire plot, the first three chapters (no more than 50 pages) double spaced, and a covering letter including details of any previously published work. For illustrated non-fiction, send a detailed outline, sample material (if available), and information regarding previously published work. For children's picture books, send the full text of up to 3 manuscripts in one email, sample illustrations (if available) in pdf, png or jpg format, and a covering letter including details of any previously published work. WeTransfer or Google Drive links are not accepted. Submissions can be emailed to submission@bell-lomax.co.uk. Submissions should not be addressed for the attention of more than one agent within the agency. Hard copy submissions should include an email address for correspondence, or an appropriately stamped and addressed envelope for returns, and should be sent to Suite C, Victory House, 131 Queensway, Petts Wood, Kent BR5 1DG. No reading fee is charged.
Links
Clients include
- Steffi Knowles-Dellner
- Amit Patel
- Kika
- Emily Kenny
- Richard Pickard
- DOM&INK
- Georgia Bowers
- Alexandra Sheppard
- S. J. Poyton
- Erin Hung
- Helen Babbs
- Helen Harvey
- Milly Evans
- Pooja Puri
- Jenni Spangler
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