alterean.

Donna Greaves

Colwill & Peddle

Submission status
Closed
Submission route
Email
Response time
Assume no reply = no after 12 weeks
Last checked
4 days ago

About

Donna is an agent at Colwill & Peddle, building a list across adult commercial, book club and accessible literary fiction, and non-fiction.

She joined the agency in 2025, having previously spent seven years at Jo Unwin Literary Agency. Before working in publishing, she trained and worked as a speech and language therapist in the NHS.

Genres

Commercial FictionCrimeHorrorLiterary FictionMysteryNarrative Non-FictionTrue Crime

Looking for

  • adult commercial, book club and accessible literary fiction, and non-fiction
  • voice-led narratives, unconventional settings and people, and humour, as well as rich, immersive storytelling that interweaves cultural, political or historical context
  • stories that can translate across genres and mediums, to reach a wide audience
  • stories that are as captivating in audiobook as they are on the page, and that lend themselves to film and TV adaptation
  • more traditional crime series with great atmosphere and page-turning mystery, in the vein of Elly Griffiths and Val McDermid
  • books with off-beat characters, uncommon settings, and subversive and playful storytelling
  • books that are witchy, or capture the horror and adventure of being human
  • books with crossover potential
  • an atmospheric, magical book to get lost in
  • books that use a personal lens through which to explore a culture, identity, community, or period in history
  • narrative projects about intriguing and unusual lives, jobs and experiences
  • popular science and psychology that is accessible in tone or written from a personal perspective
  • true crime
  • books that connect us to our past and examine the world through popular culture, tradition and history, including books about ‘scenes’, music or otherwise
  • non-fiction that makes knowledge accessible, helps readers feel seen, and/or is good laugh

Not looking for

  • screenplays
  • scripts
  • poetry

Agency submission guidelines

The agency represents a broad range of writers but does not represent screenplays, scripts or poetry, and does not accept work written or enhanced by AI. Writers not based in the UK are not typically represented (US-based writers are advised to find an American agent first). Only one agent should be submitted to at a time, via email to submissions@colwillandpeddle.com with the subject line FAO [agent] [genre] [title] by [author name]. For fiction and children's submissions: send a cover letter about the writer and their writing background, a synopsis of no more than one page of A4, and the first chapter of the work. Only Charlotte represents children's fiction among the agents. For non-fiction submissions: most non-fiction is sold on proposal so the whole book need not be written, though full manuscripts are accepted, especially for memoir. In the body of the email, include a brief (around 300 word) pitch for the book, and attach a single Word document (.doc/.docx) containing a cover letter and a proposal covering: what the book/project is about and why it is important, original and would make a good book; a brief biography of the writer's professional and personal experience and why they are the person to write this book now, including relevant links to previous writing or academic research/publications; competing titles or similar projects; a chapter or sample of the book of at least 10,000 words; and an outline of the book's chapters. Revised proposals should not be submitted unless requested, and no detailed feedback or correspondence is given on rejected proposals.

Agency AI policy

Does not represent screenplays, scripts or poetry, and does not accept work written or enhanced by AI.

Links

Other agents at Colwill & Peddle