Hi everyone, and today on the blog I’m delighted to welcome actress Gillian Kearney to the blog. Gillian is from Liverpool and started her career on Brookside, a Liverpool soap. Read on for her road into the industry, how she found drama school and what happens after saying yes to a part. Over to you, Gillian… 1) How did you find starting out on Brookside as Debbie McGrath? Do you have any fond memories from the role? I was only 14 when I first started Brookside but then I went back to do the spin off with Simon O’Brien, who played Damon, in 1987. It was a very happy family on set with Sue Jo ..read more

Hi everyone, on the blog today I’m delighted to welcome Matthew Smith. Matthew is the founder of Exprimez Literary Agency which is an agency as well as consultancy for authors. He kindly agreed to chat to me on agenting, his advice for authors and what he looks for in submissions. Over to you, Matthew… 1) What was the move like from publishing with Urbane Publications to setting up Exprimez Literary Agency? I know this sounds terribly unprofessional, but it just came together. Going through the closure of Urbane was challenging on so many levels, emotionally and mentally, and at one point I s ..read more

Hi everyone, and this morning on the blog, I’m delighted to welcome Sophie Lambert. Sophie is a literary agent at Conville & Walsh (C&W), and today, Sophie talks about her background into agenting and what she looks for in submissions. Details on what Sophie is looking for are below the Q&A. Over to you, Sophie… 1) Did you always want to be a literary agent when you left school? Did you have any other career plans? I left school and studied English and German literature at Kings College London. To be honest, I had very little sense of what I wanted to do. Reading had been a huge p ..read more

Hi everyone, and today on the blog I’m delighted to welcome Rachel Neely. Rachel is a literary agent at Mushens Entertainment and she kindly agreed to come on the blog for a chat about what she looks for in submissions, and her advice to unpublished authors. Over to you, Rachel… 1) How did you first become involved in the publishing industry? Was it something that you always wanted to do? Did you have any other career plans? I very much stumbled into publishing, actually. Initially I wanted to be an academic, but my Masters quickly dissuaded me from that. However, shortly after finishing my p ..read more

Hi everyone, and today on the blog I’m delighted to welcome the Publishing Director and the Deputy Publishing Director of Simon Schuster. Claire Hey and Katherine Armstrong bring a wealth of experience to the publishing world and it was a delight to interview them both – at the same time! It was a pleasure to do this with both of you, so without further ado I’ll hand over to both Claire and Katherine… 1) How did you first become involved in the publishing industry? Did you have any other plans when you left school? Was it something you always wanted to do? I did an English degree because I lo ..read more

Hi everyone, and today on the blog I’m delighted to interview literary agent Ludo Cinelli. I asked Ludo some questions about what it’s like to be a literary agent, what he enjoys most about his job and how many submissions the agency receives. Over to you, Ludo… 1) What is a routine/typical morning for you, when you get to the office? When I get in, I’ll usually clear my inbox first, either doing tasks as I go along or putting them in my to-do list for later. Then I’ll get started ticking jobs off that list depending on their urgency. The jobs will be varied; I might check a royalty statement ..read more

Hi everyone, and today on the blog I’m delighted to welcome Eli Keren. Eli is an associate literary agent at United Agents, and I was delighted when he agreed to accommodate some time for an interview. Read on for how he got into the industry, the advice he offers to unpublished authors and what he is on the lookout for in those all important submissions (which are below the Q&A). Over to you, Eli… 1) How did you first become involved in the publishing industry? Did you always want to be a literary agent when you left school? Did you have any other career plans? My journey was a weird one ..read more

© Andrew Hayes-Watkins. Hi everyone, and today on the blog I’m delighted to welcome Marina De Pass. Marina is a literary agent at the Soho Agency in London and very kindly answered my questions on her journey to becoming a literary agent, what she looks for in submissions and the all important advice for authors wanting to submit. Over to you, Marina… 1) How did you first become involved in the publishing industry? Did you always want to be a literary agent when you left school? Did you have any other career plans? I actually wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do when I left university, but f ..read more

Hi everyone, and today on the blog I’m delighted to welcome crime writer Imran Mahmood. Imran’s first novel You Don’t Know Me was released in 2017 and was adapted for BBC by Tom Edge. I was delighted when Imran agreed to discuss his road to publication for the book and the TV adaptation. He also offers some advice for unpublished authors. Over to you, Imran… 1) How did you get into writing? What was your road into the industry? My day job is as a barrister. Closing/opening speeches are a way of telling a story. These have a way of staying in consciousness in the mind of the jury. 2) What com ..read more

Hi everyone, and this evening on the blog I’m delighted to welcome my writer friend Jen Faulkner. Jen’s debut novel Keep Her Safe launches this Friday. I highly recommend you go and buy. Jen and I met on Twitter, and I was thrilled when she agreed to come on the blog for an interview about her writing. Her advice for unpublished authors, like me and you, is an absolute must read. Over to you, Jen… 1) Did you always want to be a writer? When I was really little I wanted to be a librarian. I loved books and my favourite lesson at primary school was always a trip to the local library. I wrote st ..read more