Bluepencilagency announces the First Novel Award Longlist. Our 2018 judges are Literary Agent of the Year, Madeleine Milburn and author of The Maid’s Room, Fiona Mitchell. Prizes for the winner and runner up include an introduction to Madeleine as well as £1,250 in cash and an editorial report. The Award is given to unpublished writers…
Thank you to everyone who attended our workshop on structure last week at the Winchester Writers’ Festival on the importance of structure. We were joined by 24 talented and enthusiastic writers and over the course of the workshop they produced a 100-word flash fiction piece inspired by a postcard, incorporating Sara and Emma’s tips and…
We are thrilled to confirm our two guest tutors for the October retreat at Asthall Manor, Oxfordshire. Best selling authors Tessa Hadley and Claire Fuller will give afternoon talks and evening readings to writers attending our five night retreat from October 7 – 12 2018 at the childhood home of the literary Mitford sisters. Professor of…
After a wonderful five days at our Wiltshire retreat we ended with everyone giving stunning elevator pitches for their novels. Thanks for coming.
Kirsty gave writers at our Wiltshire retreat the inside track on publishing trends and tips for getting noticed by agents and publishers. She talked about the importance of the pitch ” Have a clear vision of your story, who your reader is and why they should buy your book.” She also laid out what all…
On June 6 writers at our Wiltshire retreat were inspired and enthused by the very talented Claire Fuller who kindly came to talk about her journey to getting published, the inspiration behind her best selling novels Our Endless Numbered Days and Swimming Lessons and the tricks of good story telling. She also gave loads of…
Client Ruby Speechley posts about her journey to landing an agent “It’s been a long journey to find the right agent, but once we connected, it was a fairly swift process. I’m delighted to have signed with Jo Bell and the team at Bell Lomax Moreton Literary Agency. There are so many people to thank…
Congratulations to our competition judge Madeleine Milburn for winning 2018 Agent of the Year at the prestigious British Book Awards on May 14. Madeleine is on somewhat of a roll having discovered this year’s leading new literary talent Elizabeth Macneal while reading for the Caledonia Award earlier this year. She recently oversaw a hotly contested…
Congratulations to last year’s winner of the Award, Carolyn Kirby whose historical thriller Half of You was recently acquired by No Exit Press in the UK and Commonwealth with North American rights snapped up by Dzanc Books. Caroline describes winning the Award as “a real breakthrough in my writing life.” She is represented by the…
We’re delighted to welcome Kirsty Dunseath, publisher of fiction at Weidenfeld & Nicolson, an imprint of the Orion Group, to our Wiltshire retreat on June 6. She’ll be talking to writers about the world of fiction publishing, what genres are selling and the importance of the hook and the pitch. She will look at an…