I’m very excited to let you all know that I’m open to text submissions.
Send your first three chapters in a word document, along with a synopsis, and little bit about yourself to
[email protected]
My wish list?
I’d like to be able to say I’ll have one of those and two of those, but it doesn’t work like that. I won’t know until a story and voice leaps off the page that it’s the one I will walk over coals for. That it’s one that the market and reader has been waiting for, or that it’s the one that publishers didn’t know they wanted, until they read it. That’s the alchemy of reading; it’s unpredictable and always surprising.
So my submission list is wide open, without any restrictions on age, subject or genre. Althogh I do lean more towards middle grade and young fiction. But I warn you; I’m very, very picky.
I’d love to find some clever, inventive middle grade. It’ll need to have original characters with quirk, a setting that’s as real and rich as our world, whether that’s with or without magic. It can be present, past or future as long as it’s believable.
As a child I devoured animal themed books like Where the Red Fern Grows and The Incredible Journey and would love to find a manuscript with an unbreakable child and animal friendship.
I'd love to find some funny middle grade that has humour and heart and series potential.
Marvel me with your YA fantasy world-building. Take me to worlds I never knew existed but once discovered won’t be able to live without.
Make me become Team Darcy/Edward/Neville with your characters. Make my heart quicken with an aspirational romance.
Shock and surprise me with a terrifying ghost story that keeps me up at night and scared to turn off the light.
Remind me what it feels like to be six and clever as clever.
Make me hear your voice in my head, even when the story is finished.
Make me chuckle and snort on public transport.
In short, make me miss my stop.
Yours in anticipation…
Helen
A little about me and Pickled ink
I’ve worked in children’s publishing for nearly twnety years. I’ve worked as an editor, publisher, reviewer, consultant, publicist and foreign literary scout. So you could say I’ve seen our wonderful industry from most sides of the fence. Perhaps though, all roads have been leading to agenting, and now I’m delighted and excited to find myself at Pickled ink.
Pickled ink is a relative new kid on the agency block. But in a short period they have grown a stunning list of illustrators including Julia Sardà, Melissa Castrillon and Laura Ellen Anderson. And now it’s time to look to the literary side, and that’s what I've been building. From Laura Ellen Anderson's AMELIA FANG series to Dominique Valente's STARFELL, we're off to a good start with many more exciting things to come.
My aim is to curate a small stable of authors; a list that reflects the values and quality inherent in the illustration side of the agency. We are agents who edit, agents who advise, agents who manage and negotiate, but also agents who can act as creative sparks to ignite a new idea, or beacons to light a way ahead if the road gets dark.
I have an inkling there are some undiscovered Pickled inksters out there, so get in touch.
Send your first three chapters in a word document, along with a synopsis, and little bit about yourself to
[email protected]
My wish list?
I’d like to be able to say I’ll have one of those and two of those, but it doesn’t work like that. I won’t know until a story and voice leaps off the page that it’s the one I will walk over coals for. That it’s one that the market and reader has been waiting for, or that it’s the one that publishers didn’t know they wanted, until they read it. That’s the alchemy of reading; it’s unpredictable and always surprising.
So my submission list is wide open, without any restrictions on age, subject or genre. Althogh I do lean more towards middle grade and young fiction. But I warn you; I’m very, very picky.
I’d love to find some clever, inventive middle grade. It’ll need to have original characters with quirk, a setting that’s as real and rich as our world, whether that’s with or without magic. It can be present, past or future as long as it’s believable.
As a child I devoured animal themed books like Where the Red Fern Grows and The Incredible Journey and would love to find a manuscript with an unbreakable child and animal friendship.
I'd love to find some funny middle grade that has humour and heart and series potential.
Marvel me with your YA fantasy world-building. Take me to worlds I never knew existed but once discovered won’t be able to live without.
Make me become Team Darcy/Edward/Neville with your characters. Make my heart quicken with an aspirational romance.
Shock and surprise me with a terrifying ghost story that keeps me up at night and scared to turn off the light.
Remind me what it feels like to be six and clever as clever.
Make me hear your voice in my head, even when the story is finished.
Make me chuckle and snort on public transport.
In short, make me miss my stop.
Yours in anticipation…
Helen
A little about me and Pickled ink
I’ve worked in children’s publishing for nearly twnety years. I’ve worked as an editor, publisher, reviewer, consultant, publicist and foreign literary scout. So you could say I’ve seen our wonderful industry from most sides of the fence. Perhaps though, all roads have been leading to agenting, and now I’m delighted and excited to find myself at Pickled ink.
Pickled ink is a relative new kid on the agency block. But in a short period they have grown a stunning list of illustrators including Julia Sardà, Melissa Castrillon and Laura Ellen Anderson. And now it’s time to look to the literary side, and that’s what I've been building. From Laura Ellen Anderson's AMELIA FANG series to Dominique Valente's STARFELL, we're off to a good start with many more exciting things to come.
My aim is to curate a small stable of authors; a list that reflects the values and quality inherent in the illustration side of the agency. We are agents who edit, agents who advise, agents who manage and negotiate, but also agents who can act as creative sparks to ignite a new idea, or beacons to light a way ahead if the road gets dark.
I have an inkling there are some undiscovered Pickled inksters out there, so get in touch.