‘Get a Job in Publishing’ Sponsors Showcase

In April TLC will host a two-day ‘Get a Job in Publishing’ course.  The course, designed by The Book Skills Collective, will offer up-to-date and authoritative insider information from three senior publishing leaders and a range of inspiring industry speakers looking at topics including How a Book Gets Published, What a Financially Successful Book Looks Like, and sessions looking at each of publishing’s key departments in detail (Editorial, Publicity, Marketing, Sales, Rights, and Production and Design).

Tickets are still available to book here. On the event page you can also find full details of sponsored tickets currently open for applications.

This event will be BSL-interpreted and the venue, Free Word Centre, is fully wheelchair-accessible.

TLC would like to thank the following sponsors who are helping us to open up the remit of this course and invite in a range of brilliant aspiring publishers who otherwise would not have been able to attend the course. Here’s a little about our sponsors.

AM HEATH 

In 2019, the A M Heath literary agency will celebrate its 100th Anniversary. 100 years of agenting some of the world’s leading and bestselling literary figures, finding talent and fostering careers across all media, from print to digital and dramatic, book, film, TV and stage. Our agency list ranges from the most iconic authors of the 20th Century – George Orwell, Winston Graham, Noel Streatfield, Anita Brookner, Flann O’Brien, John McGahern, Shirley Jackson – to the top ranks of literary and commercial success today – Katie Fforde, Conn Iggulden, Maggie O’Farrell and Hilary Mantel to name a few. Our agency’s nonfiction list contains world-class historians, cutting-edge journalists, prize-winning biographers, leading scientists, and experts and entertainers in countless fields. Our agency’s children’s list covers beloved classics and the very best contemporary writing for all ages of younger readers – from picture books to Young Adult. Founded by two pioneering women in 1919, we remain a bold and dynamic company. Our literary agents work closely together to ensure that we cover all areas of the publishing business. Each of our authors benefits from the shared expertise of our tight-knit and supportive team. At the A M Heath literary agency, we pride ourselves on spotting talent and growing our authors’ careers to their full potential.

ANNA AND NED VAUGHT 

Born in Somerset of a large Welsh family, Anna Vaught is, on one hand, a novelist, editor, poet, flash fiction writer, reviewer; on the other, a secondary English  teacher, one to one tutor and mentor, mental health advocate and campaigner and mum to a large brood. Her books are Killing Hapless Ally (2016) and The Life of Almost (out August 2018 – both Patrician Press), Saving Lucia (Bluemoose, 2020) and she’s both writing her fourth novel, The Hollows,working on some collaborative non-fiction, and writing features, reviews, poems and short fiction for Losslit, Visual Verse, The Shadow Booth, Writers and Artists, Review31 and Contemporary Small Press. She’s  a great champion of the small presses, a polyglot and reads about three books a week. She was educated at the universities of Cambridge and Bristol and holds a BA and MA in English.

Ned Vaught is from Atlanta Georgia and met Anna on a flooded street in Kolkata when he asked her for directions. Both have worked and travelled all over the world. Ned now runs his own company, Imp Communications, a PR and Communications firm with a diverse portfolio ranging from Sir Bobby Charlton’s Find a Better Way landmine charity to innovative tech firms. Ned is also a bookworm, an Oblate attached to an Anglican Benedictine monastery and in a previous incarnation played a small but memorable role in a cult Chinese-language comedy.

The Anna and Ned Vaught Ticket went to Eloise Nic an Airchinnigh 

ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND 

We champion, develop and invest in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. We support activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections.

Between 2015 and 2018, we will invest £1.1 billion of public money from government and an estimated £700 million from the National Lottery to help create art and culture experiences for everyone, everywhere.

The Arts Council Ticket went to Daisy May 

BLUEMOOSE BOOKS 

Bluemoose Books is an independent publisher based in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire. Kevin and Hetha Duffy started Bluemoose in 2006 and as a ‘family’ of readers and writers we’re passionate about the written word and stories. Stories are transformative and as publishers we delight in finding great new talent. BEASTINGS by Benjamin Myers won the £10,000 PORTICO LITERATURE Prize 2015 and was also short listed for The Jerwood Fiction Prize 2015. BEASTINGS also won The Northern Writers Award for 2014. Ben won The Tom Gallon Prize 2014 awarded by the Society of Authors.PIG IRON by Benjamin Myers won the inaugural GORDON BURN PRIZE 2013. KING CROW by Michael Stewart won the Guardian’s NOT THE BOOKER in 2011 and was a recommended read for WORLD BOOK DAY 2012. NOD by Adrian Barnes was long listed for The Commonwealth Writers Prize 2013 and was short listed for Europe’s biggest S/F prize The CLARKE AWARD 2013. We have sold the foreign rights to three of our books to Russian, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Turkish and American publishers. NOD by Adrian Barnes will be published in North America on September 1st 2015. IF YOU LOOK FOR ME, I AM NOT HERE by Sarayu Srivatsa, when published in India was longlisted for The Asia Man Booker. THE SECRET TO NOT DROWNING by Colette Snowden was one of six titles to be chosen for BRAVE NEW READS 2016.There are some great reviews of all our books on this site, so I do hope you get a chance to read them. Each and every book is scrubbed and polished until it shines and is then sent out with love and pride… and from the feedback we’re getting, it seems our readers like our books too.

The Bluemoose Tickets went to Lok Yee Liu and Becky Boxx 

CASKIE MUSHENS 

Caskie Mushens is a literary agency founded by Robert Caskie and Juliet Mushens and based in London’s Soho. Their diverse list of clients spans New York Times bestsellers, Sunday Times bestsellers, columnists, actors and brands. They are actively seeking new writers. Caskie Mushens is a member of the Association of Authors’ Agents.

The Caskie Mushens Ticket went to Rachel Walker

CLAYS

For over 200 years Clays has been producing some of the most well known and best selling books in the UK, providing an invaluable service to a range of publishing clients. Clays specialise in producing monochrome paperbacks and hardbacks in any quantity and to a wide range of sizes. We have the capability to wire-stitch, perfect bind and sew book blocks, finishing the product off with an extensive range of cover and jacket print and finishes.

CURTIS BROWN

Curtis Brown, the UK’s oldest and largest literary and talent agency, represents authors, playwrights, film and television writers and directors, theatre directors and designers, television and radio presenters and actors.

The Curtis Brown Ticket is under consideration 

DANIEL HAHN 

Daniel Hahn is a writer, editor, translator, and long-time fan of The Literary Consultancy. Daniel works with writers, publishers and book festivals, and with a range of organisations that support literature, reading and free expression. Quite a lot of what Daniel does across his many literary involvements has a particular focus either on international writing, translation, or children’s literature. He translates fiction from Portuguese, Spanish and French. He is the founder of the TA First Translation Prize.

The Daniel Hahn Ticket went to Christina Baum 

DAVID HIGHAM ASSOCIATES

Established in 1935, David Higham Associates represents an outstanding range of writers across all genres, in all media and languages, and are the leading agency for children’s authors and illustrators. We operate today in a world unrecognisable from that of 1935. But many of our core values were laid down at the beginning, and remain the cornerstone of how we do business. Honesty and integrity. Efficiency and expertise. Creativity and vision. We have some of the most successful literary careers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries in our care, and believe it is our ability to foresee the future while safekeeping the past that makes us one of the most successful agencies in the world.

DAVID LUXTON ASSOCIATES

David Luxton Associates is London-based literary agency that specialises in non-fiction. A market leader in sports writing, our list also includes investigative journalism, nature-writing, memoir, history, popular reference and politics. Founded by David Luxton in 2011, DLA has grown rapidly over the past seven years and we have been shortlisted for the prestigious Bookseller’s British Book Awards Literary Agent of the Year 2018. We work closely with writers, sports personalities, journalists and new and established authors to provide them with outstanding literary representation both in the UK and internationally. DLA draws on a wealth of expertise to provide literary, film, tv and stage rights representation to our clients.  We have introduced new writers from abroad to a British audience, advised and assisted global brands to devise literary strategies for their clients and helped create a number of notable bestselling and prize- winning books.

DEAD INK TICKET

Dead Ink is a small, ambitious and experimental literary publisher based in Liverpool. Supported by Arts Council England, we’re focussed on developing the careers of new and emerging authors. We believe that there are brilliant authors out there who may not yet be known or commercially viable. We see it as Dead Ink’s job to bring the most challenging and experimental new writing out from the underground and present it to our audience in the most beautiful way possible. Our readers form an integral part of our team. You don’t simply buy a Dead Ink book, you invest in the authors and the books you love. Our books have three times made the shortlist for The Saboteur Awards, the longlists for both The Guardian’s First Book Award and Not the Booker Prize, and the longlist for the Edge Hill Short Story Award.

The Dead Ink Ticket went to Ellen Turner 

EMMA WARD 

Emma Ward has a BA in Creative Writing and will soon graduate from Oxford Brookes with a postgraduate diploma in Publishing Media. She currently works as an Editorial Assistant for Osprey Publishing, which involves an In-House Editor role for Ilios Publishing.

When she’s not writing fan fiction or playing Dungeons & Dragons, Emma can be found tweeting about all things LGBT+ on her Twitter account (@EmmaWard55). She’d like to write about Sapphic knights saving princesses one day, but first she has to stop being distracted by every dog she meets.

The Emma Ward Ticket went to Megan Elliott  

HACHETTE

Hachette UK is the second largest publishing group in the UK. The group consists of over 50 distinct imprints with a rich and diverse history, operating within the publishing divisions Hodder & Stoughton, Headline Publishing Group, John Murray Press, Quercus, Little, Brown Book Group, Orion Publishing Group, Bookouture, Octopus Publishing Group, Hachette Children’s Group and Hodder Education Group. Across these divisions Hachette UK publishes books in all formats for all ages and tastes. Hachette UK aims to be the publisher and employer of choice for all people regardless of background, and is pleased to be #ChangingtheStory by sponsoring two tickets to ‘Get a Job in Publishing.’

HACHETTE CHILDREN’S GROUP

Hachette Children’s Group is one of the largest children’s publishers in the UK with an excellent track record in creating bestselling and award-winning books for children of all ages and interests. The group comprises the imprints Hodder Children’s Group, Orchard Books, Orion Children’s Books, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Quercus Children’s Books, Pat-a-Cake, Wren & Rook, Franklin Watts and Wayland Books. The Group is also the publisher of Enid Blyton and the owner of Enid Blyton Entertainment. Across its imprints, Hachette Children’s Group publishes a diverse range of books to cater for every child, including picture books, fiction, non-fiction and series and licensed publishing. Their authors, illustrators, series and licensees include: David Almond, Lauren Child, Cressida Cowell, Kes Gray, Jim Field, Nadiya Hussain, Patrice Lawrence, Michael Rosen, Francesca Simon, Alex T. Smith, Piers Torday, Rainbow Magic, My Little Pony and Pokemon.

HARDMAN & SWAINSON

Founded in 2012, Hardman & Swainson is a dynamic London-based literary agency with a diverse range of clients. We pride ourselves on providing an excellent service to our authors, working closely with them at all stages of their careers. We have an international focus and make it a priority to sell our clients’ work in as many territories as possible. The agency represents quality writing of all kinds and we welcome submissions and queries from new and established writers. We are a member of the Association of Authors’ Agents.

GREENE & HEATON 

Founded in 1963, Greene & Heaton Ltd is a literary and media agency with a diverse range of clients.

We work closely with our clients, where necessary or desired, to polish their proposals, edit their texts, and to give advice about positioning in the fast-changing publishing landscape. We also handle all manner of activities from straightforward book representation and contract negotiation to film and TV adaptations.

JACARANDA BOOKS ART MUSIC 

Jacaranda Books Art Music Ltd is an independent publishing house based in London. We publish adult fiction and non-fiction, including illustrated books, which cross linguistic, racial, gender and cultural boundaries – books in many ways as cosmopolitan as our city. Through our authors and books, we aim to represent the cultural and ethnic diversity and heritage that can be found in London, with a particular interest in works related to Africa, the Caribbean, and the experiences of those peoples in the Diaspora. We also seek provocative, inspirational writing that shines a light on issues affecting ethnic minorities, women, and young people, and tackles contemporary social issues. At the heart of our publishing strategy is one core element – a love of outstanding, thought-provoking work. We believe that a wealth of unheard, under-represented voices exist globally and are ready to be discovered. It is our mission to create the space for those voices to be seen and heard by new readers.

The Jacaranda Ticket went to Tia Albert 

JOE SEDGWICK 

Joe Sedgwick is the Editorial Services Officer at The Literary Consultancy. After completing his BA in English Literature from University of Manchester, he worked as a Marketing Assistant for a house building company before leaving to pursue a career in publishing. He is a graduate of the Publishing MA at Kingston University. Joe has also undertaken internships at Palgrave MacMillan and Bloomsbury.

The Joe Sedgwick Ticket went to Amy Barrett 

JONATHAN CONWAY LITERARY AGENCY

Jonathan Conway Literary Agency Ltd. is a London-based specialist literary agency representing the best of non-fiction to publishers in the UK and internationally. Many of the agency’s authors are bestsellers, and the list is eclectic – from journalists, academics and television presenters through to musicians, sports people, chefs and popular culture brands.

KATIE RODEN

Katie Roden is a a publishing, marketing and content strategist with 25 years’ industry experience. Katie works with major UK publishers and independents on marketing campaigns, publishing and creative strategies, digital strategy and design challenges. Non-publishing clients include the Premier League, UFC and, most recently, O2, for whom Katie recently acted as Interim Head of Content. Katie is a Google Masterclass trainer and consistently trying to effect change in the recruitment practices of the publishing industry to create wider opportunities for everyone.

The Katie Roden Ticket is under consideration 

KINGSFORD CAMPBELL

UK Literary Agents based in London, we represent a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction writers. Alongside our literary agents we also act as marketing and publishing consultants, helping publishers and authors on creative strategies to connect with readers or enhance their brands and helping creative businesses connect with the publishing industry.

KIT DE WAAL 

The Kit de Waal Ticket went to George Hewett 

LAW AGENCY

Lucas Alexander Whitley is active in all areas of representation (including speaking, licensing, brand, film and television deals) and operates with individuality and commitment. Small enough to be friendly, big enough to operate effectively in a global market, always imaginative, we not only look for the best deals for our clients but also plan their long term careers.

LONDON LITERARY SCOUTING

London Literary Scouting was born from ​a partnership between Koukla MacLehose, Rebecca Servadio and Yolanda Pupo Thompson. Koukla MacLehose founded her eponymous scouting agency in 1987, as the agency grew and flourished in 2012 Koukla founded Koukla MacLehose Associates which then became MacLehose, Servadio and Pupo-Thompson in 2014. We are now known as London Literary Scouting and the agency is led by Rebecca Servadio. As Literary Scouts we are interested in and engaged with storytelling in all its forms. We look for the best fiction and non fiction to be published, or published in English, as well as in other major languages, on behalf of our international Publishing Clients as well as for Film, TV and Theatre. Rather than thinking in ‘global’ terms, as London based scouts we can and do individuate those ‘worldwide voices’ which speak across languages. London is the most international of cities and we read widely and omnivorously. Yes, they might be set in other countries, worlds and cultures, but the challenge is to recognise those singular and particular voices that can cross latitudes and longitudes. Without being defined or pre-occupied by ‘the new’ we help find the authors that will build the bridges to readers today, tomorrow and in the future.

LUTYENS & RUBINSTEIN

The Lutyens & Rubinstein literary agency was set up in 1993 by former publishers Sarah Lutyens and Felicity Rubinstein who brought together their shared experience of publishing and bookselling on both sides of the Atlantic. Since then, Sarah and Felicity have been joined by Jane Finigan, Daisy Parente and Fran Davies to form a close-knit team in their Notting Hill offices. Their client list is broad, covering fiction, non-fiction, cookery, children’s, YA and illustrated. Between them, L&R authors have won or been nominated for all major literary prizes and promotions including Man Booker, Andre Simon, Costa, Women’s Prize, Encore, Carnegie, Desmond Elliott, Richard & Judy and Waterstones bookclubs and have been bestsellers in the UK and internationally. In 2009 Lutyens & Rubinstein became the first literary agency to own an independent bookshop when they opened their doors in Notting Hill.  The shop is a general bookshop stocking fiction and non-fiction and gives the agency a unique insight into what readers and book-buyers are looking for.

MICHAEL LANGAN  

Michael Langan has worked as an editor, writer, and teacher for over twenty years, currently facilitating writing workshops and courses at various locations in Lisbon, where he lives. He was Programme Leader of Creative Writing at the University of Greenwich from 2002 – 2012, where he specialised in short story writing and the novel. He has a PhD from Liverpool John Moores University in contemporary creative writing and a background in performance poetry and public speaking. His short stories and poetry have been anthologised and published in magazines, journals and online. As Arts Editor of the online LGBT culture journal Polari he wrote about visual arts, film and literature and, in 2016, was a Contributing Editor to the Paris-based Seymour magazine, writing a series of essays about creative process. Michael has a particular interest in contemporary literary fiction as well as historical fiction. His debut novel Shadow is a Colour is out this year with Gallic Books.

The Michael Langan Ticket went to Rhianna Pritchard 

NEW WRITING SOUTH

New Writing South (NWS) is one of seven writing development agencies in England which collectively aim to support all kinds of creative writing, providing talent development opportunities for writers and commissioning new work across the country. NWS  is particularly interested in nurturing diverse talent, offering support to writers from the South East region who would not ordinarily have access to professional development opportunities. NWS’s vision is that the south east of England is a place where creative writing thrives and literature is at the cultural heart of the region. It exists to be a centre of excellence in nurturing diverse writing talent in the south east of England. We do this by encouraging ambition and by supporting writers with training, mentoring and networking opportunities to provide creative and career development.

The New Writing South Ticket went to Sascha Gill 

THE PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION

The Publishers Association represents the interests of UK publishers across consumer, education and academic publishing. Our members publish academic journals, textbooks for higher, secondary and primary education, fiction, non-fiction, children’s books and learning resources. As a whole, the industry contributes over £5.1 billion to the to the UK economy with digital revenues contributing 35% and export sales accounting for 57%. Our objective as an association is to provide our members with the influence, insight and services necessary to compete and prosper. Our mission is to strengthen the trading environment for UK publishers by providing a strong voice for the industry in government, in society and with other stakeholders in the UK, Europe and internationally. We provide a forum for the exchange of non‑competitive information between publishers and offer support and guidance to the industry through technological and other changes.

PUBLISHING TRAINING CENTRE 

The Publishing Training Centre is a network of over 50 publishing and training professionals focused solely on delivering training courses for the publishing industry and developing publishing skills. As an independent charitable foundation The Publishing Training Centre (PTC) was established to provide cost-effective and high-quality training for publishers in the UK and overseas. The PTC’s first measure of success is how many people pass through its doors to train on courses that have to meet exacting standards. The PTC is a signatory of the Publishing Equalities Charter and now invites all delegates on its course to complete a diversity data questionnaire to help EQUIP understand the employee profile of those working in the publishing industry and to promote equality across UK publishing, bookselling and agenting. PTC courses provide specific learning outcomes that are designed to make an immediate, positive difference back at the office. All PTC tutors are practitioners first and foremost, which means that they bring their real-world experience with them to the courses they teach, enriching the experience for students and making the courses more practical. PTC’s work is overseen by a dedicated Board of Trustees, who have a broad range of experience and expertise in the publishing industry. PTC began life as the training division of the Publishers Association and became independent in the 1970s under the auspices of The Unwin Trust. It originally traded as Book House Training Centre until it transformed into The Publishing Training Centre Foundation in the 1990s. In 2016 the PTC registered with The Living Wage Foundation to be recognised as a Living Wage employer.

The Publishing Training Centre Ticket is under consideration 

REDDOOR

RedDoor is committed to publishing a diverse list of brilliant fiction and thought-provoking non-fiction. Our list is strong and focused, comprising brilliant fiction, commercial non-fiction and thought-provoking business books. We’re extremely selective in what we take on, and – once a book is with us – we work very, very hard for its success.  Run by a small, award-winning team of women, collaboration is at the heart of everything we do. We love books, we love authors, and we love being odd-ones-out in an industry that has occasionally struggled to embrace change.Changing Publishing One Book at a Time.

The RedDoor Ticket is under consideration 

SHORT BOOKS 

Founded in 2001 by former journalists Rebecca Nicolson and Aurea Carpenter, Short Books has established itself as an independent publisher of first-class, popular non-fiction. We are a small, lively company and pride ourselves on being light on our feet – thereby making a success of potentially high-risk or less obvious titles that the larger houses would turn down without a second look. Our first publications were a series of compact, informative and entertaining biographies. We have since evolved to focus predominantly on ‘mind, body, spirit’ books following on from the success of The Fast Diet (2013) by Dr Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer. This book alerted the world to the intermittent fasting phenomenon. It has been a huge sensation on both sides of the Atlantic, simultaneously becoming a New York Times bestseller while occupying the No.1 slot on the UK Amazon bestseller list for 32 consecutive weeks. In earlier incarnations we have successfully published fiction, notable bestsellers being The J.M Barrie Ladies’ Swimming Society by Barbara J. Zitwer; Richard & Judy Book Club novel A Commonplace Killing by Sian Busby; as well as The White Lie by the acclaimed author Andrea Gillies. Other noteworthy successes from our non-fiction backlist are the bestsellers Amo, amas, amat… And all that by Harry Mount, The Social Animal by David Brooks, Everything You Need You Have by Gerad Kite, Andrea Gillies‘ Keeper, which won the Wellcome Book Prize and the Orwell Prize, as well as the ground-breaking eco-/social regeneration book, Change the World for a Fiver, which has now sold hundreds of thousands of copies around the world.

And a big thanks to our anonymous NORTHERN TICKET sponsor.

UNITED AGENTS

United Agents LLP is London’s leading talent agency encompassing the worlds of film, TV, books, theatre and comedy. Founded in 2007, it has become the largest agency of its kind in the UK, representing both established and emerging artists. Wholly owned by its founding partners, the agency offers dedicated specialist representation across all areas of writing, performance and broadcast media, bringing together leading agents from each field.

The United Agents Ticket is under consideration