Hannah Sheppard
- Submission status
- Closed (conditions apply)
- When to submit
- The submissions window runs from the 1st to the 7th monthly
- Submission route
- Website
- Response time
- Aims to reply within 8 weeks
- Last checked
- 5 days ago
About
Hannah runs Hannah Sheppard Literary Agency, representing adult and children's fiction as well as a small amount of non-fiction.
She spent a decade working in-house in editorial at Pan Macmillan and Headline Publishing Group. She joined DHH Literary Agency in 2013 before launching her own agency in 2023.
Genres
Looking for
- adult and children's fiction (as well as a small amount of non-fiction)
- bold, distinctive voices, intriguing stories with a strong hook and flawed characters with something to learn
- characters who are truly diverse
- big, mind-bending ideas and combinations of genres that feel fresh and create something new
- thrutopias
- an author/illustrator working in graphic novels or highly integrated illustrated middle grade or young adult fiction
- funny fiction with a unique hook (ideally not school based, but still real world)
- a contemporary romance with a gorgeous, unique meet-cute and an eye on popular tropes
- a young adult story (love or otherwise) featuring rarely explored relationship dynamics, maybe polyamory, maybe the TQIA+ areas of LGB, where those aspects are not the issue the character needs to overcome
- a heart-string pulling animal/child friendship
- spooky stories across all age groups, including Point Horror-esque and anything scary, spine-tingling or full of bumps in the night
- a story for any age range about female rage
- a fantasy with a unique magic system, middle grade, young adult or Crossover/Adult
- picture books, usually where the author is also writing for another age group
- high concept, pacy, twisty, hooky thrillers with an ingenious misdirection
- epic love stories with a speculative twist
- a crime thriller that focuses on cold cases
- big family/friendship group stories that will make her cry
- a book with a big, possibly speculative, idea at its heart
- A RomCom/love story featuring Polyamory where everyone ends up happy
- An LGBTQ RomCom featuring older characters
- familiar genres but with unexpected characters
- horror, particularly body horror exploring peri-menopause
- narrative non-fiction or books that align with her feminism, seek to make the world a better place
Not looking for
- Short Story Collections
- novellas
- poetry
- screenplays
Agency submission guidelines
The submissions window runs from the 1st to the 7th monthly. For fiction, send a cover letter, the first three chapters (or first 10,000 words, whichever is shorter) of the manuscript, and a synopsis. For non-fiction, send a cover letter, a proposal, sample chapters and an overview of the book. Submissions are made via the online form when the window is open. Writers should check the agents' profile pages to decide which agent to submit to. If there is crossover, submit to one agent initially, and if that submission results in a pass, resubmission to the other agent is welcomed. The agency does not represent short story collections, novellas, poetry or screenplays. Submissions by post will not be read.
Agency AI policy
Please do not submit work that has been written using AI.
Links
- Websitehs-la.com/hannah-sheppard
- Submissionshs-la.com/submissions
Clients include
- Sidra Ansari
- Jim Beckett
- Dee Benson
- Sarah Bonner
- Patti Buff
- Georgie Capron
- Grace Carroll
- Zoë Cookson
- Nergiz De Baere
- Abi Elphinstone
- Keris Fox (Stainton)
- Rosie Hopes
- Jennifer Kennedy
- Gabrielle Kent
- Jon Lander
