alterean.

Claire Paterson Conrad

Janklow & Nesbit

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

About

Claire is a Literary Agent and Director at Janklow & Nesbit, working across fiction and non-fiction.

She began her career at Chatto & Windus, before working at Granta and Canongate Books. She then moved to New York, where she became Publisher of the NYRB Classics series. Claire joined Janklow & Nesbit to help establish their London office.

Genres

Commercial FictionContemporary FictionFood & DrinkHistorical (Non-Fiction)Literary FictionMemoirNarrative Non-FictionOther Non-FictionRomanceWomen's Fiction

Looking for

  • distinctive fiction which is voice or character driven
  • a strong hook or unusual perspective
  • 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
  • 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

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.

Links

Clients include

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

Other agents at Janklow & Nesbit