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Chloe Davis

Darley Anderson Children’s Book Agency

Submission status
Closed
Submission route
Email
Response time
Aims to reply within 12 weeks
Last checked
14 days ago

About

Chloe is the agency's Associate Agent, having joined as an assistant in 2019.

Following a post-university stint as a bookseller at Waterstones and time in the rights team at Macmillan Children's Books, she decided she wanted a taste of life on the other side of publishing and is now actively building her own list, alongside supporting Clare Wallace and her list of clients. Being of mixed heritage herself, she is keen to hear from authors from under-represented backgrounds.

What they represent

Children's BooksFantasyMiddle GradeMysteryYoung Adult

Looking for

  • books that make her feel something, with great plot, memorable characters and a fresh angle or hook
  • middle grade mystery or adventure, in the vein of Murder Most Unladylike, Amari and the Night Brothers or Katherine Rundell
  • ambitious middle grade fantasy with lots of world-building and high stakes
  • heartfelt middle grade that speaks to the reality of young people's lives
  • a middle grade adventure featuring disabled or chronically ill characters
  • potential modern classics
  • middle grade with a historical slant
  • quirky murder mysteries in the style of The Swifts
  • stories drawing on cultures from across the world and writers' lived experience
  • Latin American voices for the UK market
  • fun, commercial young fiction for 5 to 8 year olds with a clear hook and distinctive voice
  • young adult with a unique angle and a fast-paced plot, fantasy or contemporary
  • young adult romance across genres, the more tropes the merrier
  • romantasy with well thought-through world-building
  • a thriller in the vein of Holly Jackson
  • stories reminiscent of Louise Rennison
  • non-Western cultures and fresh perspectives
  • picture books that place the child's experience at their core, heart-warming or funny

Not looking for

  • horror
  • science fiction
  • anything too gritty
  • young fiction that is too wacky

Links

Clients include

  • Kate Foster

Agency submission guidelines

Submissions are by email, to one agent only; the agency discusses promising submissions internally, so there is no need to approach more than one, and submitting to several separately just earns you several replies. Send your covering letter in the body of the email, with attachments as Word documents or PDFs. If unsure who suits your work, email the children's submission inbox addressed to the agency. Novels: the first three chapters or first twenty pages, with a one-page synopsis, spoilers included. Picture books: text-only picture book queries go to Lorna Hemingway, each text as a separate attachment, without pictures unless you are also submitting as an illustrator. Illustrators and author-illustrators should apply through the agency's illustration website. Non-fiction: a proposal, a full chapter list and up to three sample chapters, which need not be consecutive. Who to contact: Clare, Lorna, Lucy and Kat take submissions directly by email; Becca takes submissions only through her Query Manager page. Kat asks for a covering letter, a one-page synopsis and the first three chapters (up to 5,000 words) in a single Word document. Under-represented writers are encouraged to add the hashtag #diversevoices to the email subject line. Worth knowing: receipt is not acknowledged, replies aim for eight to twelve weeks, and individual feedback is not possible. The agency never asks for money at any stage; genuine messages come only from verified company addresses.

Other agents at Darley Anderson Children’s Book Agency

  • Becca Langton

    Darley Anderson Children’s Book Agency

    Becca is a Senior Literary Agent at the Darley Anderson Children's Book Agency, with a focus on North American rights. She joined in 2021 after ten years in IP development, editorial consultancy and scouting, and has spent four years building a children's, illustration, young adult and crossover to new adult list with a focus on the North American market. Recent deals include USA Today and New York Times bestsellers and YALSA Award winners, with sales across the Big Five publishers and independent houses. Becca is an editorial agent who likes to work closely with authors and illustrators from concept to finished manuscript, and is particularly interested in creators writing from marginalised perspectives.

    Genres:Children's Books · Fantasy · Graphic Novels · Horror · Middle Grade +2 more

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  • Clare Wallace

    Darley Anderson Children’s Book Agency

    Clare has been working with Darley Anderson since 2011 and is Managing Director and a literary agent at the Darley Anderson Children's Book Agency. Her clients have been Sunday Times and New York Times bestsellers and Irish Book Award winners, shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, picked as Waterstones Children's Book of the Month, shortlisted for the Branford Boase, and nominated, longlisted and shortlisted for the Carnegie, with many titles adapted for or in development for the screen. In 2024 she was shortlisted for Agent of the Year by the British Book Awards. Before joining Darley Anderson she proof-listened to audio books, took a Masters in Creative Writing, coached international students, worked as a research assistant, assisted at a specialist non-fiction agency, waitressed and bartended for years, cherry-picked for months in Gumeracha, and worked one night in a casino emptying ashtrays. Working closely with her clients she is in it for the long term, and she loves creative discussions and developing ideas as much as the satisfying polish of a last line edit. She represents everything from picture books through to young adult, alongside a boutique list of adult fiction, and is always led by standout voices and characters. She is passionate about inclusivity and keen to read submissions from under-represented writers.

    Genres:Children's Books · Contemporary Fiction · Fantasy · Graphic Novels · Historical Non-Fiction +7 more

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  • Kat Lenahan

    Darley Anderson Children’s Book Agency

    Kat is a Junior Agent and Agency Assistant at the Darley Anderson Children's Book Agency, building her own list, and she also handles audio rights for the agency. Before joining, she worked in production in visual effects on The Witcher and The Wheel of Time, then completed an MA in Creative and Critical Writing. She is drawn to the editorial side of agenting and keen to work with authors she can help grow and develop.

    Genres:Children's Books · Contemporary Fiction · Horror · Middle Grade · Mystery +2 more

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  • Lorna Hemingway

    Darley Anderson Children’s Book Agency

    Lorna is a Literary and Illustration Agent at the Darley Anderson Children's Book Agency. She started agenting in 2019 at Bell Lomax Moreton and moved to Darley Anderson in 2025, where she represents award-winning and Sunday Times bestselling authors and illustrators. Her list has won or been shortlisted for awards including the Klaus Flugge Prize, the Inclusive Books for Children Award, the Indie Book Awards, the BookTrust Storytime Prize and the World Illustration Awards, with work featured in The Observer, The Sunday Times, The Guardian and Waterstones best books of 2023 and 2025.

    Genres:Children's Books · Graphic Novels · Middle Grade · Other Non-Fiction · Young Adult

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  • Lucy Irvine

    Darley Anderson Children’s Book Agency

    Lucy joined the Darley Anderson Children's Book Agency as a literary agent in November 2025, after eight years at PFD. Her authors have been Sunday Times and instant bestsellers and Books of the Month at Waterstones and Easons, and have won, been shortlisted or nominated for awards including the Carnegie Medal for Writing and Illustration, the Week Junior Book Awards, the Branford Boase Awards, the ALCS Educational Writers' Award, the School Library Association's IBA Award, and the British Book Awards. Lucy is building her list with a focus on middle grade, young adult, new adult and fantasy fiction.

    Genres:Contemporary Fiction · Fantasy · Historical Fiction · Horror · Middle Grade +5 more

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