alterean.

Laetitia Rutherford

Watson, Little Ltd

Submission status
Closed
Submission route
Email
Response time
Aims to reply within 6 weeks
Last checked
4 days ago

About

Laetitia is a literary agent at Watson, Little.

She has fifteen years' experience and has worked with award-winning writers including Chris Cleave, Rana Dasgupta, Xiaolu Guo and Evie Wyld. She has also worked with authors who write in English as a second language, such as Xinran and Diane Wei Liang. Over a decade at the agency she built a successful crime fiction list, including Jenny Blackhurst, Alex Marwood and Ajay Chowdhury.

Genres

Health & WellnessHistorical FictionLiterary FictionSelf-Help

Looking for

  • literary and upmarket fiction and non-fiction (including lifestyle and wellbeing)
  • stand-out stories driven by a strong leading idea and emotional depth with fresh perspectives and transporting arcs
  • historical novels that let the novel speak for today
  • tones of charm and humour
  • how-to-live concepts from experts, activists, or new cultural voices
  • a deft and delightful eternity-in-a-grain-of-sand concept

Not looking for

  • crime fiction

Agency submission guidelines

Submissions are accepted by email only, to submissions@watsonlittle.com; anything sent by post will not be read. Direct the submission to one agent only; do not submit to more than one agent at the agency at once (submissions may be shared internally if felt to be a better fit for another agent). The agency does not represent poetry or screenplays for film, television, radio or theatre, though if it takes on a book it represents all rights including dramatic rights for that book. No material that has been wholly or partially originated, written or edited by AI is accepted. For fiction: send a cover letter in the body of the email (covering genre, word count, one-line pitch, plot, background/experience, and comparable recent titles), plus a synopsis and a writing sample attached as Word documents. The sample should be approximately 10,000 words (or to the end of the nearest chapter) from the beginning of the book, as a single document. The synopsis should be a separate document outlining the plot or structure from beginning to end, including spoilers, written as a factual summary rather than a marketing blurb. For children's fiction under 20,000 words in total, send the full manuscript. For non-fiction: send a cover letter in the body of the email plus a proposal attached as a single Word document, addressing the subject of the book and why it needs to be published now, the writer's background and credentials, comparable previously published books, a chapter of sample text, and a list of potential chapters with summaries. For graphic novels or self-illustrated children's books: send the material as a PDF. Include contact details, especially email address and phone number, and keep a copy of anything submitted, as the agency cannot be held responsible for loss of or damage to manuscripts, artwork or electronic media submitted. Simultaneous submission to multiple agencies is permitted, but the agency should be informed of any full manuscript requests or offers from other agents.

Links

Clients include

  • Rebecca Abrams
  • Wendy Allen
  • Jenny Blackhurst
  • Ajay Chowdhury
  • Laura Coleman
  • Vivianne Crowley
  • Rebecca Elliott
  • Timna Fibert
  • Matt Gaw
  • Sara Haydon
  • Samson Kambalu
  • Holan Liang
  • Isvari Maranwe
  • Alex Marwood
  • Diana McCaulay

Other agents at Watson, Little Ltd