I so enjoyed chatting to
@DavidHHeadley
about Pride, LGBTQ+ publishing, the challenges of book culling and a lifetime of fangirling Jeanette Winterson. But somehow forgot to mention Tove Jansson’s vital influence! Happy Pride book lovers 🌈 🏳️⚧️
Join us as we launch our Pride Month series with an insightful interview featuring the brilliant
@AbiRFellows
. Recently shortlisted for Agent of the Year at the Bookseller Awards, Abi is dedicated to championing minority voices in the publishing world
🎧👉
I reckon that's just about enough work for one year.
These are the books written by, and contributed to, by my clients at TGLA that were published this year. Over and out!
Five years ago I made the decision that I wanted to return to agenting.
Four years ago I was working on my first submissions with
@thegoodagencyuk
Tonight I’m attending the
#Nibbies
#BritishBookAwards
as a shortlistee!
Feeling so honoured and very excited to party ✨ 🌈 📚 🪩
The day after I filed this piece my timeline was full of pics of parts of the progress pride flag being destroyed. So it bears repeating: in a year of growing anti-LGBTQIA sentiment and legislation, we need to keep these books in schools and libraries 💪🏻
Five years ago I was PETRIFIED about public speaking, even within a small group. I saw a coach and spent most of the session crying! Chairing a panel for New Writing South yesterday was such a strong reminder of how much I have changed in the last few years.
Women get told we can’t have it all. I was told that I cldn’t be a great agent and have kids. Many times I’ve been hard on myself about how good I am at one or the other - often both! - but today, celebrating Mother’s Day and my
#Nibbies
shortlisting, I just feel so lucky.
My DMs are open to any trans and non-binary writers and publishing professionals wanting to navigate what I know can feel like a hostile and unsafe environment. Happy to hold a safe space if that is helpful. Let's all try to be kinder, eh.
Standing in solidarity with my trans and non-binary followers and the wider community today and all days. As a cis bi woman my feminism will forever be trans-inclusive. And I don't know a single queer person who feels differently, despite the utterly vile comments on here today❤️
I'm not sharing the link because I have a policy of not platforming hate. I'd rather spend my energy amplifying the work or people changing this industry for the better. But if you have to hide behind anonymity, that says it all.
Annual pilgrimage to the
@aesopskincare
Queer Library which runs til Sunday in Soho. Such an amazing selection of free books this year - details on their website. Also came away with some lovely product samples 💅🏻 Love this brand 😍 🏳️🌈 🏳️⚧️
Gatekeeping and privilege works the hardest in the memoir genre and it's something we all need to talk about more. I'm fighting uphill all the way to platform queer voices, people of colours lives, working class stories, disabled perspectives.
Why am I still having to fight for my clients access needs in 2024? If a disabled person says they need certain adjustments in order to participate, I beg you just believe them and help them to make it work. I’ll keep fighting, but it would be great not to have to.
I wish publishers put as much effort and energy - and indeed money - into adapting their processes to make them work for marginalised writers as they do to saying how much they want to bring in marginalised writers.
Agenting - and indeed authoring - takes tenacity. There was no way I was giving up on this amazing book. All it takes is that one editor who loves and champions a book and then rallies a whole team around it! So proud of
@elenikwriter
’s journey to publication.
When my 2nd book was on sub, it had tons of rejections. For many months nobody wanted it. Demoralised, I almost gave up. Then one publisher said YES! Tonight it’s on
#BetweenTheCovers
. Thank you
@HoZ_Books
and
@AbiRFellows
. Publishing’s weird, things change, never give up kids x
It's the final episode of
#BetweenTheCovers
tonight but there's some cracking conversation to come about
@elenikwriter
's The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou. For
@GeriHalliwell
, it's all about the layers. Find all the books from the series here:
Happy
#BiAwarenessWeek
A few thoughts. First up: there is no right or wrong timing or right or wrong amount of visibility. Do what feels right for you. Even if no one knows but you, bisexual is a beautiful thing to be.
I haven’t seen my parents for over a year and just found out that they are getting their vaccinations at the start of Feb. Going to have a little cry now.
🇫🇷 🥐 💕
I’m forever grateful to the team at
@thegoodagencyuk
. My list wouldn’t be possible without their inclusive ethos and genuine commitment to nurturing marginalised writers, and I’m carrying those values forward with me.
We're as proud to see the success of our agents as we are our authors.
@AbiRFellows
is a superstar and we'll miss her but can't wait to see her continue to shine at DHH! ✨
I had to work through a lot of shame and guilt for not “coming out” earlier in life. And then a very wise and lovely person pointed out that the blame for that is not on me, it’s on society. And that I need to forgive my younger self.
I am horrified by the vile rhetoric being directed at trans people. It’s utterly transparent what the Tories are trying to do here. Sending love and solidarity to those who are once again having their rights and humanity attacked by this toxic government 🏳️⚧️
I’m powering through for a couple more weeks, but taking a moment to be grateful for everything that 2023 brought. Including all these wonderful books that I agented 💪🏻 Best job in the world.
Getting all set for the Ask an Agent
#WriteNow
session later today. Wish I could meet everyone in person, but nonetheless very excited to take part and help make the publishing industry a bit more transparent.
I felt incapacitated with fury about the A Level results yesterday and this sick, rigged education system. Tbh I’m still figuring out what can be done. But in the meantime, my DMs are open to young people looking for advice about getting into bookselling, publishing or writing.
Hoping for some good news this week and my youngest told me that he has invented a special monster and sent it off to demolish and eat all other possible futures for me. So that’s that sorted 😎
That feeling as an agent, being one of the first readers of a book that you know will get everyone talking. And all you can do is text the author with lots of !!!!!!!!!! and 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 and then wait very patiently for publication and more people to talk to about it! Best job ever.
Interesting. I think this is true re: sexual objectification but bi women are also often subjected to the idea that bisexuality is a phase before landing on gay/straight. Much biphobia within the community comes from the suspicion that bi women will eventually end up with men.
Women are more than twice as likely to identify as bisexual as men.
But this is probably because of the specific stigma attached to male bisexuality - which is often portrayed as "bi now, gay later" - while female bisexuals are more likely to suffer sexual objectification.
Has anyone ever made a convincing argument for the benefits of homework for primary school kids? Because as a parent and former governor I don’t see it. What I see is that it’s making my son utterly miserable and hate school.
I spent time with one of my brilliant authors in real life, my son got his official ADHD diagnosis after a looooong process and tomorrow I'm going to see the sea. Things are feeling better. Happy weekends.
As if I was going to let
#LesbianVisibilityWeek
go by without something special for the lesbians (and the trans, bis, pans etc too, of course). SO SO SO excited for this!
I love this piece by
@ThatKerryHudson
and so relate to it. Being bi and with a man is a strange space to navigate, particularly in a society that assumes heterosexuality.
LGBTQ+ hist month teaching at my eldest's school.... He was explaining what each letter means and when he got to B I said "Like me!".
Him: "Whaattttt you've had a wife???"
Me: "No, but girlfriends...."
Him: "Oh cool, I didn't know that. Can you make me some egg fried rice?"
😍🌈
Huge congrats to Jon Ransom, winner of the Polari First Book
@PolariPrize
for his stunning debut novel The Whale Tattoo. Very proud agent here and so grateful to
@MuswellPress
for publishing with such passion.
This superb guide to making events more inclusive and accessible for disabled people launched a month ago and I highly recommend agents and editors and the wider industry check it out if you haven’t already.
The Inklusion Guide IS LAUNCHED! 🎉
We're so excited to share our guide with you on our website!
The PDF, print version and accessible versions will be coming from September - watch this space!
#InklusionGuide
#Access
#PublishingEvents
#Disability
Thanks for all the lovely congratulations. For those asking - I’ll be closed to submissions for the next few weeks whilst I settle myself and my authors into the new agency. Do keep an eye on the website for when my subs reopen ✍️
Woken by my youngest son telling me that his happy place is his brain because of all his ideas and dreams and his imagination. How good is that?! Meanwhile I’ve been trying to find ways to escape my own overthinking brain this week!
For the first time EVER my nearly ten year old has not wanted to read at bedtime this week. His school have imposed nightly reading logs, presumably at the DoE’s behest. Talk about sucking the joy out of something. I will not have reading become a chore in my household.
⏰ Wake-up call! ⏰ 2023 shows the lowest levels of reading enjoyment since our records began. We need urgent action to ensure children have the skills they need. Read the research:
Sadly this doesn’t surprise me. Along with many other agents I work hard to demystify the publication process, manage expectations and advocate for transparency. But nonetheless it’s a tough ride at times, especially for marginalised writers who may encounter systemic biases.
A survey conducted by The Bookseller has found that 54% of authors found the process of publishing their début book negatively affected their mental health, with many saying they struggled with a lack of support.
Read more:
I’m about to go on a week’s holiday alone for the first time since my 20’s. Do I have enough books?! (Obviously I will impulse buy something at Gatwick too).
Well it’s a sunglasses on the school run kinda day, that is for sure 😎
But what fun, especially catching up with friends once the nervous bit was over.
The reason I studied Post Modernism at UCL, which was why I moved to London, which is how I got into publishing. I’ll never forget my nerves meeting Paul Auster at the Faber offices when I was 22. RIP ❤️
There is a lot in publishing to feel sad and frustrated about... angry about, in fact. But every day my clients just blow me away with their talent and resilience. I never quite know what any working day will bring and I love that.
It’s LGBTQ+ history month and a year since I came out as Bi to my kids off the back of some lessons they had at school. Their responses were essentially to say “oh cool” and then ask what was for dinner. They have a TOTALLY different perception of gender and sexuality than I did.
Through serendipity more than design, I am so happy to be kicking off Lesbian Visibility Week by sending off a wonderful and very lesbian manuscript that I am SOOOOOOO excited about 🌈
Delighted to have this news out. Grace is writing an incredibly special and necessary book and I'm so glad to know her and to represent her. Also very proud of the work we have all been doing behind the scenes to make publishing processes more inclusive and accessible.
The first words I heard today, from my youngest son who thought he had overslept: "Am I too late to worship you, Mummy?". That's set the tone for the day nicely....
Very happy agent today seeing two of my debuts publish. Two very different books which attest to the range of my list. What they have in common is that they both take strong genres and make them totally new for readers who haven’t been represented in this way before.
I am f’ing livid about this. The normative family?! 🤢
There are many ways to parent and many manifestations of family. And what matter are love, trust and respect. Sometimes divorce is an act of love, trust and respect too, and the right thing.
This rhetoric is very dangerous.
The normative family, the mother and father sticking together for the sake of the children, is the only basis for a safe and functioning society.
Marriage is not only about you, it's a public act to live for the sake of someone else.
-MP
@danny__kruger
at
#NatConUK
Every email is taking three times as long today because the train journey up to Edinburgh is just so stunning. I’ve wanted to go to the Festival since I started in publishing in 2002. Very excited to be taking part.
Firstborn has just asked if he can take a box of his books and comics to school on Monday and start running a little library for his class mates. And just like that he has redeemed himself for eight years of 6am wake ups 📚
Today one of my oldest friends came to view a flat with me, asked wise questions, spotted things I missed and has just sent a sketch of how the space could work. I feel SO lucky for the amazing women who have my back. They turn the overwhelming into something exciting.
Spent last night talking to my sons again about consent and misogyny and mental health and everything else I could think of to say to counter the toxic masculinity in our society.
What an absolutely tonic
@PrimadonnaFest
was; this weekend has made me very happy and full of ideas and motivation (albeit in need of a big sleep in a proper bed now tho). Massive thanks to everyone who made it happen 🙌🏻👏👏👏
#Primadonnafest2019
I will not stop raving about this show, now
@sohotheatre
Much-needed bisexuality representation and stunning writing and performances. Not sure theatre has ever made me feel as seen as this did.
Literature Wales is pleased to announce the reopening of the Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre, with the launch of its 2022 programme of creative writing courses:
A fantastic evening chatting about poetry, publishing and class with
@JTaylorTrash
ahead of her ELECTRIFYING performance of C+nto.
Thanks for having us
@CoastIQlitfest
and thanks to the great audience!
"Mummy, why is there so much purple under your eyes?" from the child who gatecrashed my bed, with a sleep style that can only be described as an octopus on speed.... 😩
I hadn’t clocked that the
#lbfvigil
was happening until after the event, but props to - and solidarity with - those who were there today
@bookworkers4pal
It is devastating to see the loss of life, culture and heritage continue. We need a ceasefire.
Amid a flurry of editors switching to becoming agents, those who have made the move suggest the pandemic and publishing’s long hours have prompted the switch, as well as the two skill-sets becoming increasingly similar. Find out more here: (£)
2004, Booker Prize night, met
@RichlyEvocative
and gave him my number. Actually I gave him the wrong number cos I'd had too much wine but he knew which bookshop I worked in + tracked me down. Happy moveable feast of an anniversary to us!
Took the kids to their first grown up book event, to see their Dad read from his poetry collection. Our family unit has evolved and grown these last few years and it was gorgeous to all celebrate
@RichlyEvocative
’s talent amongst friends
@booksellercrow
@blackboughpoems
I’m flat hunting and had joked to my ex and my gf that a place looked too good to be true and was probably haunted. Of course a picture “fell” off the wall during my viewing 👻
It’s been an absolute joy presenting The Good Literary Agency ethos and authors to editors in New York. Thanks to everyone I met for the enthusiasm and support. Feeling energised (through the jet lag!) 💪🏻
Chuffed to bits to have sold Jon Ransom’s second novel to
@MuswellPress
Jon’s writing goes from astounding to even more astounding and I am very lucky to count him as a client and friend.
An absolute JOY to be at the
@DIVAmagazine
Awards celebrating powerhouse women and non-binary people 🤩🥂💃 I felt on the outskirts of this community for so long and it’s the biggest happiness to now be part of it.
A very happy start to the week here. I read
@taslinp
’s wonderful middle grade on Friday and offered rep this morning. Children’s eds, I’m excited to tell you more soon.
A very warm welcome to
@taslinp
, who joins
@AbiRFellows
’ list.
Taslin is an alumni of the 2023 All Stories Mentorship Programme and the 2022 HarperCollins Author and Design Academy, which support aspiring writers from underrepresented backgrounds.