Find out what children’s literary agents are looking for and how to submit your work for consideration. SCBWI British Isles will host a one-hour agents’ panel for fiction writers. The discussion will be pre-recorded and released on 25th October. It will be available for ticket-holders to view for one month.
Our featured agents are:
Julia Churchill, A M Heath
https://amheath.com/agents/julia-churchill/
Charlotte Colwill, Colwill & Peddle
https://www.colwillandpeddle.com/about
Kesia Lupo, The Bindery
https://www.thebinderyagency.com/about
Ticket-holders can also enter a raffle for the chance to win a one-to-one session with one of the agents.
The event is designed primarily for those writing chapter books and middle grade / YA novels. The agents won’t address the representation needs of illustrators, and picture books will not be discussed in depth.
Cost: £15 for members
A limited number of fully funded places are available for:
• SCBWI BI members who have financial need
• SCBWI BI members who identify as BAME, LGBTQIA+, disabled, neurodiverse or working class
• Non-members who identify as BAME, LGBTQIA+, disabled, neurodiverse or working class
Request a fully funded place via this link:
https://forms.gle/ALe25TVAQFqVnjnH7
Agent bios
Julia Churchill joined A.M. Heath in 2013 to run the children’s department, after four years building up the UK side of the Greenhouse Literary Agency, and six years at the Darley Anderson Agency where she started the children’s book side of the list. She is lucky to represent some fabulous writers, but is always on the lookout for new writing talent. Julia is looking for debut and established authors with storytelling magic, from picture book texts right up to YA fiction.
Charlotte Colwill began her career as a bookseller in independent bookshops in London and Melbourne, most recently running the children’s department at Foyles, Charing Cross Road, before becoming an agent in 2018. She has worked at Tibor Jones and Jo Unwin Literary Agency, as well as building her own list of brilliant authors. In children’s books she is open to fiction and non-fiction for all ages, from picture books to Young Adult. At the moment she is really looking for a funny and engaging author/illustrator with a fresh new series for young readers (5+), middle grade fiction with a new hook, brilliant world-building and characters we haven’t seen before, and in YA she is looking for homegrown fantasy fiction, high concept contemporary stories and books about unusual relationships. In children’s non-fiction she would love to see books that tackle curriculum subjects in a brand new and super engaging way, and real life stories for middle grade and YA readers.
Kesia Lupo grew up in the UK and Germany, studied History at Oxford University and Creative Writing at Bath Spa, then launched her publishing career at Pan Macmillan, London, as an editorial assistant in 2013. She transitioned from adult books to children’s when she joined boutique publisher Chicken House — then from a senior editorial role to agenting when she joined The Bindery in 2023. While her expertise lies in middle-grade and YA fiction, Kesia reads widely across genres, including adult SFF and horror, historical fiction, romance, and non-fiction. Kesia currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband. As well as working in publishing, she's the author of three YA novels – We Are Blood and Thunder, We Are Bound by Stars (a fantasy duology), and Let’s Play Murder, a horror/thriller, all published by Bloomsbury in the UK.