Claire Paterson Conrad

Janklow & Nesbit

Submission status
Open
Submission route
Website
Response time
Assume no reply = no after 8 weeks
Last checked
18 days ago

About

Claire is a Literary Agent and Director at Janklow & Nesbit UK.

She began her career at Chatto & Windus, before working at Granta and Canongate Books, and later became Publisher of the NYRB Classics series in New York. She joined Janklow & Nesbit to help establish the London office and continues to work closely with the US team, co-agenting authors such as Jeffrey Eugenides and Maaza Mengiste. She represents a broad but carefully curated list spanning fiction and non-fiction.

Looking for

  • upmarket commercial to literary fiction
  • distinctive fiction which is voice or character driven, a strong hook or unusual perspective is always a bonus
  • an all-consuming multi-generational novel or gripping love stories, particularly if it’s warm-hearted and wise
  • novels that make you laugh out loud
  • fiction that subverts the norm, even in subtle ways
  • beautifully written literary fiction that has a strong sense of place
  • feminist fiction with a revisionary twist
  • experimental novels that play with structure or form, especially when this is used to illuminate the complexities of human experience
  • novelists who have started writing later in life
  • writers who show us new ways of looking at things or help us understand the world better, or books that start conversations and change minds
  • voices from under-represented backgrounds
  • memoir and narrative non-fiction by writers, journalists or historians who can retell fascinating stories or little-known periods of history
  • good food writing and books about the food system
  • books that highlight our need to protect and care for our precious planet, especially nature writing
  • books that are a call to arms for other issues of our day, ones that challenge orthodoxies in ways that aren’t necessarily prescriptive
  • good popular science writing, written by great communicators
  • non-fiction that melds genres, from Olivia Laing to Maggie Nelson and Rebecca Solnit

Clients include

  • Monica Heisey
  • Jeffrey Eugenides
  • André Aciman
  • Maaza Mengiste
  • Michel Faber
  • Eva Rice
  • Oliver Burkeman
  • Gillian Anderson

Agency submission guidelines

Postal submissions are not accepted, and screenwriters or scripts are not considered. Submissions should be titled (document and email) with full name and title of work. Sample material should be in size 12, reasonable font, double-spaced. Fiction submissions should include a covering letter, synopsis, and either the first three chapters or the first fifty pages (whichever the writer feels is appropriate); the covering letter and synopsis should ideally be no longer than a page each. Non-fiction submissions should include a covering letter (ideally no longer than a page), a full outline setting out the aims of each chapter, and if possible a sample chapter. Poetry submissions should include a covering letter (ideally no longer than a page), a short pitch and a small sample of 3-5 poems. The covering letter should be included in the body of the email, with other components as attachments; Word attachments are preferred, though PDFs are also acceptable. External links in emails cannot be opened for security reasons, so work must be attached directly to the email. Submissions should be sent to submissions@janklow.co.uk, including name, title of work and the name of the agent the writer wishes to submit to in the subject line. Work should be submitted to only one agent at the agency. Writers should notify the agency if they receive full manuscript requests elsewhere, by replying to the initial submission email, ideally with submission materials attached.

Agency AI policy

They do not accept submissions that have been written or assisted by AI.

Other agents at Janklow & Nesbit

  • Emma Leong

    Janklow & Nesbit

    Emma is a literary agent at Janklow & Nesbit, representing literary to commercial fiction. She studied Psychology and Law before joining the agency in 2019, becoming a primary agent in 2024. Her clients include Chukwuebuka Ibeh, Dr. Ally Louks and Grace Murray. She enjoys championing new writers and nurturing long-term careers.

    Genres:Commercial Fiction · Contemporary Fiction · Crime · Horror · Literary Fiction +7 more

    Open
    Last checked 18 days ago
  • Hannah Todd

    Janklow & Nesbit

    Hannah is a literary agent representing writers of adult commercial fiction. She previously worked at the Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency before joining Janklow & Nesbit in January 2025. Before becoming an agent, she worked as an editor at independent and 'Big 5' publishers, including Avon, Head of Zeus and Bookouture.

    Genres:Commercial Fiction · Crime · Fantasy · Historical Fiction · Horror +6 more

    Open
    Last checked 18 days ago
  • Hayley Steed

    Janklow & Nesbit

    Hayley is a Director and Literary Agent at Janklow & Nesbit, representing writers of commercial and bookclub fiction across all genres. She spent seven years at Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency before joining Janklow & Nesbit in September 2023. Before that she worked in book PR, having completed a degree in English. She has been named both a Trailblazer and a Rising Star by the UK book trade.

    Genres:Commercial Fiction · Contemporary Fiction · Crime · Fantasy · Historical Fiction +9 more

    Open
    Last checked 18 days ago
  • Will Francis

    Janklow & Nesbit

    Will is a literary agent at Janklow & Nesbit who represents writers of popular science, investigative journalism and history, as well as novelists. He joined the agency in 2008 and became Managing Director of the UK office in 2013. Before starting his publishing career at Random House in 2000, he studied at King's College London and has lived in the US, India and Australia.

    Genres:Current Affairs · Historical Non-Fiction · Literary Fiction · Narrative Non-Fiction · Other Non-Fiction

    Open
    Last checked 18 days ago

Also open to food & drink right now

See all
  • Maria Whelan

    Mushens Entertainment

    Maria represents both fiction and nonfiction writers at Mushens Entertainment. Before joining the agency in September 2025, she worked at InkWell Management in New York for over eight years as an assistant and agent. She began her career in publishing as a Foreign Rights Assistant at Janklow & Nesbit in New York. Maria graduated from University College Dublin with a BA in English and Drama, then obtained her Master's in Literature and Modernity from the University of Edinburgh.

    Genres:Contemporary Fiction · Food & Drink · Historical Non-Fiction · Horror · Literary Fiction +2 more

    Open
    Last checked today
  • Daisy Chandley

    Peters Fraser + Dunlop

    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

    Open
    Last checked yesterday
  • Kate Evans

    Peters Fraser + Dunlop

    Kate is an agent representing books and journalism. She studied English literature and journalism in Australia and New York, and worked in music, magazines and literary festivals before beginning her publishing career at Hachette Australia in 2012. She has been at PFD since 2014.

    Genres:Commercial Fiction · Crime · Current Affairs · Food & Drink · Historical Non-Fiction +7 more

    Open
    Last checked yesterday
  • Laurie Robertson

    Peters Fraser + Dunlop

    Laurie is a Literary Agent at Peters Fraser + Dunlop, representing books and journalism and actively building a list of adult fiction and non-fiction. She completed a BA in English Literature and Creative Writing, worked in the sales team at Dorling Kindersley, and joined the agency in 2017, beginning her own list in 2020. On the fiction side she represents a range of genres alongside a smaller non-fiction list, and represents several Sunday Times bestselling authors whose work has been shortlisted for and won prizes including the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, the Jhalak Prize, the Somerset Maugham Award, the Dublin Literary Award, the Edge Hill Prize, the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award, and cookery awards from Fortnum & Mason and the Guild of Food Writers. She also looks after serialisation rights and journalism across the agency.

    Genres:Commercial Fiction · Food & Drink · Historical Fiction · Literary Fiction · Narrative Non-Fiction +3 more

    Open
    Last checked yesterday
  • Tim Bates

    Peters Fraser + Dunlop

    Tim is managing director of PFD. He joined the agency after nearly ten years as an agent with Pollinger Limited, and before that held various roles in publishing, including commissioning editor for Penguin Classics at Penguin Books.

    Genres:Commercial Fiction · Contemporary Fiction · Food & Drink · Narrative Non-Fiction · Other Non-Fiction +1 more

    Open
    Last checked yesterday
  • Rachel Mills

    Rachel Mills Literary

    Rachel is the founder and director of RML, which she established in 2019. She previously worked as a literary agent at Furniss Lawton and as Agent and International Business Director at Peters Fraser and Dunlop, where she sat on the Executive Board. Before that she worked in publishing at Penguin and Random House. Over twenty years in the industry, she has secured major publishing and screen deals for a wide range of authors.

    Genres:Biography · Food & Drink · Health & Wellness · Narrative Non-Fiction · Other Non-Fiction

    Open
    Last checked 2 days ago