Neil Daws Neil Daws, who is represented by Nelle Andrew of Rachel Mills Literary after being commended in last year’s BPA First Novel Award, has signed a three-book deal with Amazon Publishing imprint Thomas & Mercer. In Spite of all Terror, the novel he submitted to the award, will be published in September 2021,…
Marina de Pass joined The Soho Agency after several years working in the editorial departments of Little, Brown and HarperCollins. She is currently building her list of Fiction clients. Marina also published her first YA novel The Year After You shortly after completing the Faber Academy. BPA’s own Emma and Sara taught a Faber Academy class…
I was delighted to attend Emma Darwin’s BPA workshop on ‘Editing your Novel’. Emma’s memoir This is not a book about Charles Darwin, an account of her struggle to write a historical novel based on her family, was described by the Daily Mail as ‘a masterclass’, which certainly made me curious to hear what she…
‘When you work in a convenience store, people often look down on you for working there. I find this fascinating, and I like to look them in the face when they do this to me. And as I do so I always think: that’s what a human is.’ Lockdown has revolutionised the way many…
Blue Pencil Agency offers editorial reports to writers who want their manuscript to be in the best shape possible before they approach a literary agent or self-publish. Our editors are bestselling authors and industry experts with shrewd eyes and a passion for supporting upcoming writers. We asked Sara Sarre, Oliver James, J. David Simons, Saskia…
Mid lockdown and following the postponement of our May retreat and workshops we were delighted to offer 14 clients and BPA subscribers the chance to “meet” our literary agent friends Eve White and Ludo Cinelli and readers Aisha Bushby and Sarah Revivis-Smith from Eve White Literary Agency. As a gesture of thanks, all participants donated…
EVERY LITTLE SECRET, the latest psychological thriller by Ruby Speechley, is out on Amazon Kindle now. Ruby worked on the story with BPA Editor Sara Sarre and published with Hera Books in April 2020. We asked her some questions about writing secrets and editing to perfection. Your new novel Every Little Secret is described…
SO, WHAT IS A SYNOPSIS? A synopsis is a functional document summarising the story of your novel. It usually fits on a single side of A4, but always check the agency/competition website for specific requirements. Third-person, present tense, reasonable font size… NAILING YOUR STRUCTURE We all love a good rhetorical question in a juicy…
Hannah Weatherill is a literary agent at Northbank Talent. She is currently building her list of Fiction and Children’s clients and is keen to work with a twisty thriller, an emotional reading group or women’s fiction novel, or something entirely different. Can you describe your personal taste in fiction and also what you’re currently…
MR BLINKING, the first children’s book written and illustrated by Charley King, is out on Amazon Kindle now. Charley worked on the story with BPA Editor Sara Sarre and self-published in March 2020. We asked her some questions about her editing journey and the decision to self-publish in E-book format. Your website charleykingcreative.com shares…