I joined the Bent Agency in 2012 and lead our London office, where I work with authors from all over the world and sell directly to publishers in the US, the UK, Canada, and Australia. I’ve bounced back and forth from America to England since I was a teenager: I grew up in Northern California, lived for a year in the West Country, read English at Cambridge University, and spent many years in New York City.

I represent authors whose books have been New York Times, Sunday Times and international bestsellers and won and been shortlisted for the Michael L. Printz Award, the William C. Morris YA Debut Award, the Barnes & Noble Children’s Book Award, the Costa Book Award, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the Carnegie Medal, the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis, and more.

I’m honored to have served for three years on the governing committee of the Association of Authors’ Agents and to have been named one of the Bookseller’s most influential people in the UK publishing industry.

I have a thriving list, but from time to time, I do have room for an irresistible new project when I feel I can place it successfully with a publisher and bring real value to the author’s career. Specifically, I’m looking for exceptional middle-grade and young adult fiction with global commercial appeal, as well as graphic novels for children and young adults with illustrations in place and fantasy, science fiction and speculative fiction for adults. 

For children’s and YA, I’m open to any genre and almost any topic. Contemporary, historical, fantasy, science fiction, romance, horror…I’ve loved and sold books that fit all those descriptions. For adult fantasy, science fiction and speculative fiction, I’m looking for fast-paced stories that would appeal to a broad audience, set either in new worlds or one that could be our own, with vividly drawn characters.

No matter the genre or age category, the writing needs to be polished and assured; the story needs to be captivating. I like to be astonished! I’m especially drawn to stories with a strong sense of place, told by authors who fundamentally understand the world they’re writing about, whether it’s real or imaginary.

Some specific likes and dislikes:

• I like wit, not snark.

• I like books that play with form and narrative.

• Nothing hooks me like writing that shows a real mastery of language.

• I love love. Romantic love, family love, the love of friendship — authentic-feeling bonds between characters can carry me through almost any story.

• I like books that make me feel changed by the end of them, like my world is bigger, and I understand it a little better.

• I’m not interested in ‘misery lit.’ I don’t like to finish a book feeling hopeless about the characters.

• Fantasy was my first love: Ruth Chew, Lloyd Alexander, Susan Cooper, Anne McCaffrey, and Sylvia Engdahl made me the reader I am today. But those influences mean my standards are high — I need solid worldbuilding, intelligent dialogue and real emotion in fantasy.

• My taste in fantasy doesn’t run to angels/demons, vampires/werewolves, or similar ‘paranormal’ tropes.

• I can’t get enough of books that tell a great story and invite me to get to know a culture I’m unfamiliar with—and I’d like the author to be an authentic representative of that culture.

• I’m not a dog person. Animal protagonists in general don’t interest me, except maybe cats.

• I’m interested in reading about life in religious communities.

• I’m interested in books that deal with theatre and performance.

• I think the publishing industry underestimates young readers’ love of weirdness.

• I’m particularly interested in hearing from writers from historically excluded communities.

Please do not send me picture books. I only represent picture books for my established clients.

Please do not send me illustration samples. I don’t represent illustrators who don’t write their own texts.

I receive 300-400 submissions each week, and I can’t provide feedback on projects that I decline.