Finding an Agent – Zoom Workshop

As part of our series of online workshops and events exclusively for members, we were delighted to welcome back renowned agent and SWWJ Honorary Member, Penny Holroyde last week.

In Finding An Agent, Penny hosted a workshop which saw her talk about what writers need to do when contacting agents, what position their book needs to be in, for submitting their book to agents and the best advice to those of us writing for children.

Members enjoyed listening to Penny’s excellent knowledge and experience, which has spanned nearly 30 years.

Penny has worked for publishers Walker Books in the UK and Candlewick Press in the US and then as an agent with Caroline Sheldon. She has a particular love for the picture book but is also looking for authors and illustrators working across fiction and non-fiction for all ages.

Penny spoke passionately about being an agent and what she would be looking for in taking on children’s authors.

While her main work covers that particular market, her advice was useful for writers of any fiction and non-fiction, in terms of the basic key elements you need to consider when pushing your book into the world.

Penny said that it was important to know your market for your book, look and read other books similar to yours to make the best possible delve into that market. She also spoke about researching into the agent you are looking to contact, to see who and what they already represent.

Members got to ask questions of Penny and she happily answered and discussed. This included what makes a query letter stand out and is there a guide for the language to be used when writing for children.

It was an enjoyable session and we would like to thank Penny for her time and providing helpful advice.