Submission status
Open
Submission route
Email
Response time
Assume no reply = no after 8 weeks
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About

Hana began in translation rights at Andrew Nurnberg Associates in 2014 and came to Hardman & Swainson from Blake Friedmann, where she was senior rights manager, via maternity covers at Curtis Brown and A.M. Heath.

She has a degree in French and Italian from Cambridge and studied Japanese at Doshisha University in Kyoto, and is building a small list of her own alongside her rights work.

Looking for

  • cookery and food writing from writers and cooks who have started building a platform
  • East Asian cuisines and third culture cooking
  • new perspectives on how and what we eat and drink
  • non-fiction with strong translation rights potential
  • practical self-help
  • popular psychology
  • dating and communication

Agency submission guidelines

The agency represents a range of fiction and non-fiction, but does not represent TV/film scripts or poetry. Submit to one agent only. Fiction: send a short covering email, a one-page synopsis, and the full manuscript. Name the chosen agent in the cover email. Non-fiction: send a covering email outlining the book, why it has a place on the bookshelf, and why the writer is qualified to write it, along with a proposal and a sample chapter or the whole work if completed. All sample material should be included as an attachment along with the query in one submission. Where to send: submissions@hardmanswainson.com, not individual agents' email addresses. Nina Leon: uses QueryTracker only, submissions should go via https://QueryTracker.net/query/NinaLeon

Other agents at Hardman & Swainson

  • Caroline Hardman

    Hardman & Swainson

    Caroline co-founded Hardman & Swainson and represents fiction and non-fiction. Previously an agent at the Christopher Little Literary Agency and The Marsh Agency, also specialising in translation rights, Caroline has worked with most of the authors on the list from the beginning of their careers. Caroline grew up in south Manchester and has a first-class BA and an MA with distinction in English Literature from the University of Leeds.

    Represents commercial fiction, crime, current affairs, health and wellness, historical fiction and 6 more.

    Open
  • Hannah Ferguson

    Hardman & Swainson

    Hannah is a literary agent at Hardman & Swainson who represents fiction and non-fiction. After growing up above the family bookshop in the Midlands and studying Creative Writing at Goldsmiths, Hannah started as an intern at The Marsh Agency and stayed for seven years, becoming an agent after taking on and selling a first author, Ali McNamara. Hannah joined Hardman & Swainson in 2014.

    Represents commercial fiction, crime, literary fiction, narrative non-fiction, thriller and 1 more.

    Open
  • Joanna Swainson

    Hardman & Swainson

    Joanna is a co-founder of Hardman & Swainson, representing fiction and non-fiction. After a degree in French, she ran a business providing copywriting and editing services for several years. She then freelanced for a number of literary agents and worked as a reader and in-house editor for Christopher Little, where she met Caroline. She enjoys the editorial side of agenting.

    Represents commercial fiction, contemporary fiction, crime, fantasy, historical fiction and 7 more.

    Open
  • Nina Leon

    Hardman & Swainson

    Nina is an agent at Hardman & Swainson, representing authors across a broad range of genres. She has a particular focus on romantasy, young adult, upmarket and contemporary romance. Nina joined the agency in June 2026 as part of its expansion into romantasy.

    Represents contemporary fiction, romance, romantic fantasy and young adult.

    Open

Also open to self-help right now

See all
  • Laetitia Rutherford

    Watson, Little Ltd

    Laetitia is a literary agent at Watson, Little. She has worked in the industry for fifteen years, representing award-winning writers such as Chris Cleave, Rana Dasgupta, Xiaolu Guo and Evie Wyld. Over her decade at Watson, Little, she built a successful crime fiction list including Jenny Blackhurst, Alex Marwood and Ajay Chowdhury. Her forward focus is on curating a small list of literary writers.

    Represents health and wellness, historical fiction, literary fiction and self-help.

    Open
  • Donald Winchester

    Watson, Little Ltd

    Donald is a literary agent at Watson, Little. He studied English Literature and History at Queen Mary, University of London and University College London. He began his career at Penguin Press before moving to A P Watt, where he worked for five years building a list of non-fiction and fiction for adults. He joined Watson, Little as an agent in 2013.

    Represents business, commercial fiction, contemporary fiction, crime, current affairs and 8 more.

    Open
  • Hattie Grünewald

    The Blair Partnership

    Hattie represents commercial and upmarket fiction, including book club fiction, crime and thriller, historical and contemporary fiction, and some non-fiction in the areas of lifestyle and personal development. She is currently open to commercial and upmarket fiction submissions with a strong pitch, believable characters and an engaging voice. Hattie is particularly keen to see novels for the book club market with conversation-starting topics and a “you need to read this” quality, including multi-layered family dramas, high-concept love stories and classic storytelling. She seeks sexy and funny rom-coms, unusual escapist historical fiction often featuring mysteries or love stories, ambitious detective fiction, puzzle-y mysteries, humorous cosy crime with series potential and regional crime.

    Represents commercial fiction, contemporary fiction, cosy mystery, crime, historical fiction and 5 more.

    Open
  • Sonia Land

    Sheil Land Associates Ltd

    Sonia is a literary agent at Sheil Land Associates, listed first among its literary agents. Her clients include Peter Ackroyd.

    Represents biography, children's books, commercial fiction, contemporary fiction, crime and 17 more.

    Open
  • Abi Fellows

    DHH Literary Agency

    Abi is a literary agent at DHH Literary Agency, representing adult and children's fiction and non-fiction. She started in bookselling at Blackwell's in 2001, then worked in sales at Faber and Faber before beginning her agenting career with Georgina Capel Associates in 2004. She spent seven years in literary scouting at RR Ltd, then returned to agenting at The Good Literary Agency in 2019, building a list focused on writers from traditionally marginalised backgrounds. Abi joined DHH in 2023 and sits on the board of New Writing South.

    Represents children's books, commercial fiction, current affairs, historical fiction, historical non-fiction and 9 more.

    Open
  • Matilda Forbes Watson

    WME Literary Agency

    Matilda is a Partner and Co-Head of the UK Book division at WME, representing adult fiction and non-fiction. She joined WME in 2013. She enjoys working with debut authors in the early stages of developing a project and also has experience of taking on established writers. She works with authors at every stage from submission to publication, and also looks after the UK careers of a number of American authors.

    Represents contemporary fiction, current affairs, health and wellness, literary fiction, memoir and 2 more.

    Open