Hayley Steed

Janklow & Nesbit

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

About

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.

Looking for

  • community of all kinds
  • anything set in, or about, space (think general fiction rather than core sci-fi)
  • interesting jobs/careers, people doing the thing they love most
  • the love story behind the love story - sub plots of sisters, and mothers & daughters, friends - alongside romantic love
  • characters who are later on in life, and not contributing towards a stereotype
  • family secrets, whether in a moving drama, scaled up epic, or something more psychological
  • female friendship – the good and the bad
  • social commentary explored through a plotty story
  • original locked room mysteries (which aren’t cosy)
  • mystery and suspense novels where the story is driven as much by the protagonists and the atmospheric setting as the crime
  • enemies to lovers, in any capacity
  • books about movies, or music (and less so books about art)
  • books that take trends but explore them in a different way or area – romantasy in space, spice in bookclub fiction

Not looking for

  • high literary fiction

Clients include

  • Yomi Adegoke
  • Leah Hazard
  • Harry Baker
  • Sarah Clegg
  • Ellis Hunter
  • Clare Pooley
  • Heather Marshall
  • Freya Sampson
  • Abigail Avis

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.

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