Terms of Use
Last updated 2 August 2026
Who we are
Alterean is a trading name of Ollinton Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company no. 17060543). Its registered office is 128 City Road, London EC1V 2NX, United Kingdom. You can contact us at hello@alterean.com.
By using Alterean you agree to these terms. They’re short and written to be read.
What Alterean is
Alterean is a free directory of UK literary agents, with related resources for writers. It gathers what agents and their agencies publicly state about their work, their interests and their submission guidelines, and presents it in one searchable place. Each listing shows the date we last checked it.
Alterean provides information, not advice. The directory doesn’t represent you, isn’t itself a route of submission, and can’t get you published. Listing an agent is not an endorsement, and no agent or agency pays to be listed or gets talked up over another.
Accuracy, and its limits
We work hard to keep the directory current, and we show our working. Every listing carries the date it was last checked. But agencies change their pages and close their lists, and agents move agencies, all without telling us, and no directory can promise to be complete or perfectly current.
So the rule for using Alterean is the one we’d give a friend. Treat it as your starting point, and check the agency’s own website before you submit. The agency’s own guidelines are always the authority on what that agency wants. If you spot something we’ve got wrong, tell us at hello@alterean.com and we’ll check it.
Using the site
Alterean is for personal use by writers and people who work with them. You’re welcome to browse, search, link to any page, and share listings.
You may not scrape, bulk-download or systematically extract the directory’s contents, republish the database or substantial parts of it, or use the site in a way that interferes with its operation or with other people’s use of it. UK law gives database rights to whoever does the work of compiling, checking and maintaining a collection like this one. For Alterean, that’s Ollinton Ltd.
Whose content is what
The site’s own text, design and branding belong to Ollinton Ltd. Where a listing quotes an agency’s published wording, such as submission guidelines or a wish list, those words remain the agency’s, quoted so writers see what the source actually says. Agency and agent names belong to their owners; they appear here to identify, not to imply affiliation.
If you’re listed here
Agents and agencies can ask us to correct or remove their listing at any time by emailing privacy@alterean.com. Our Privacy Notice explains what information we hold about listed professionals, where it comes from, and your rights over it.
Links to other sites
The directory and our resource pages link out to agencies, events, competitions and other organisations. Those sites are theirs, not ours. We’re not responsible for their content, their terms, or what happens there. A link is a signpost, not a guarantee.
What we’re responsible for
We provide Alterean free of charge, with care, and as it is. To the extent the law allows, we’re not liable for losses arising from your use of the site or reliance on its contents, including decisions about where and how to submit your work. Nothing in these terms limits any right or protection the law says can’t be limited.
Changes to these terms
If we change these terms we’ll update the date at the top, and flag significant changes on the site. Carrying on using Alterean after a change means the new terms apply.
The legal frame
These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction, though if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland you’re entitled to bring proceedings at home. If any part of these terms turns out to be unenforceable, the rest still stands.