Louise Buckley
- 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
Louise is an Associate Literary Agent at Hannah Sheppard Literary Agency, representing adult fiction and non-fiction.
She has worked in publishing for over fifteen years, with roles including a bookseller at Waterstones, an editor at Pan Macmillan and an Associate Literary Agent at Zeno Agency Ltd. She also works as an Editorial Consultant and writes about editing and publishing on her Substack.
Genres
Looking for
- literary and book-club novels, especially novels that represent working-class people or children going through difficult circumstances (think Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart, My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal or Boys Don't Cry by Fíona Scarlett)
- relationship-driven novels that emphasise messy relationships, like Blue Sisters, or mix humour and heart with something a little darker, like The Wedding People by Alison Espach
- a literary crime novel, something very smart
- a 'high-concept' time-slip/time-travel or parallel universes story, especially if it's a romance
- destination romance
- romance aimed at older women (45+)
- romance with a focus on books/libraries/bookshops
- the horror resurgence, all types of horror
- dark academia, think If We Were Villains or In My Dreams I Hold a Knife
- cosy fantasy, think witches, magical bookshops, talking cats
- novels set in the real world but featuring a hefty dose of magic or the supernatural
- dystopian fiction that offers a fresh take on a classic trope
- novels with a disabled protagonist or someone living with an invisible disability
- nature writing (nature memoir, books on foraging, gardening, permaculture, self-sufficiency, herbalism)
- climate change
- psychology and human behaviour
- self-help
- psychiatry or neuroscience
- health, especially diet, exercise, longevity and metabolic health
- well-being
- MBS (mind-body connection e.g. meditation, trauma release, Eastern modalities and energy practices such as acupuncture and tapping, or anything at the intersection between science and spirituality)
- parenting
- neurodiversity
- science
- gardening and permaculture
- art history if very commercial
Not looking for
- romantasy
- epic, traditional fantasy
- space opera
- traditional, issues-led 'women's fiction'
- children's books
- science fantasy
- short stories or novellas
- police procedurals
- memoir
- books featuring war or war veterans, Covid, AI or robots
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/louise-buckley
- Submissionshs-la.com/submissions
Clients include
- Mary Jayne Baker
- Susanna Beard
- Chloe Bedford
- Penny Blackwell
- Richard Clarke
- Julie-Ann Corrigan
- Bronagh Curran
- Natalie Froud
- Betty Firth
- Dr Rosie Gilderthorpe
- Liam Higginson
- Simi Sidhu
- Terri Nixon
- Rachel Varley
- Deborah Vass
