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.
Submissions are accepted via an online form, with a submission window from the 1st to the 7th of each month. Writers should check the agency's about pages to decide which agent to submit to, and should send to one agent initially; if that results in a pass, resubmission to the other agent is welcome. What to send: a cover letter, the first three chapters (or first 10,000 words, whichever is shorter) and a synopsis. For non-fiction, send a cover letter, a proposal, sample chapters and an overview of the book. Cover letter: should include the book's title, genre or age range, word count, a pitch line and blurb, information on the target audience and comparable titles, and information about the author. Synopsis: one page of A4 covering the emotional journey of the protagonist, including spoilers. For non-fiction, an overview of the book is given instead. Submission limits: only one book may be submitted at a time. Only the first submission to arrive will be considered. Format: text should be copied and pasted directly into the form rather than attaching files. Illustrations should not be included; for verse novels, the cover letter should instead be sent via the contact form for an alternative submission method. Not represented: short story collections, novellas, poetry, screenplays. Postal submissions are not accepted and will not be read. AI-generated work is not accepted, including AI-generated cover letters or synopses. Any AI use for accessibility reasons should be discussed with the agency in advance. If the submission form is unsuitable, the contact form can be used instead to send a cover letter with an explanation.
They do not accept any work that has been written using AI.
Louise is an Associate Literary Agent at Hannah Sheppard Literary Agency. She has worked in publishing for over fifteen years, including time at Pan Macmillan and Zeno Agency Ltd. She also works as an Editorial Consultant and writes a Substack about editing and getting published.
Genres:Contemporary Fiction · Crime · Fantasy · Health & Wellness · Horror +7 more
John Ash is a literary agent at CAA Publishing, representing literary fiction, upmarket general fiction and serious nonfiction. He began his career at PEW Literary, where he spent six and a half years before joining CAA in 2023. His fiction interests range from literary fiction and epic fantasy to upmarket general fiction, while his nonfiction interests include history, memoir and reportage.
Genres:Commercial Fiction · Contemporary Fiction · Fantasy · Historical Non-Fiction · Literary Fiction +3 more
Rachel is a literary agent at Mushens Entertainment, representing both literary and commercial fiction with a preference for darker stories. She began her publishing career at HarperCollins before working as an editor at Hachette for six years, most recently as a Commissioning Editor at Orion. She joined Mushens Entertainment in 2022 and became a Literary Agent in 2023 after covering Juliet Mushens' maternity leave.
Genres:Commercial Fiction · Contemporary Fiction · Crime · Fantasy · Horror +7 more
Laura is an associate literary agent at the Liverpool Literary Agency. She studied Writing at Liverpool John Moores University, gaining a BA and later an MA, after an early career in teaching that included working with young adults with special needs and in further education. She moved into editing after her teaching career and also works as a freelance writer, having written for a video game and several roleplaying games.
Genres:Commercial Fiction · Contemporary Fiction · Cosy Mystery · Crime · Fantasy +12 more
Sarah is a literary agent at CAA who builds a list of commercial to reading-group fiction and commercial non-fiction for the UK market. Sarah joined CAA in 2022, having previously worked at HarperCollins, Hachette, Pan Macmillan, The Curtis Brown Agency, and David Higham Associates. Their background is in translation rights, and they also represent US and translated authors in the UK.
Genres:Commercial Fiction · Contemporary Fiction · Fantasy · Historical Fiction · Historical Non-Fiction +11 more
Alice is a Literary Agent at Peters Fraser + Dunlop, working primarily on the children's list. After an MA in Publishing from UAL she spent five years as a scout at London Literary Scouting, specialising in children's, young adult and science fiction and fantasy across all ages and working with publishers and media companies around the world. She joined the agency in 2026 from Felicity Bryan Associates, where she was a literary agent. Alongside building her own list she sells foreign rights in the agency's children's and young adult titles across many territories.
Genres:Children's Books · Fantasy · Horror · Middle Grade · Mystery +5 more
Daisy is an agent in the books department at PFD, and works with Tim Bates as the United Kingdom sub-agent for New Directions Publishing in the United States. She joined the company in 2019 after graduating from the University of Oxford with a degree in politics, philosophy and economics.
Genres:Contemporary Fiction · Fantasy · Food & Drink · Horror · Literary Fiction +8 more
