#263 One-to-one advice from Literary Agent Juliet Pickering (Blake Friedmann) via a 30-minute Zoom or call, on either your submission package OR a book in development.

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Winning bid
£775

About this item

An amazing chance to talk to one of the UK's top literary agents, Juliet Pickering. Juliet represents Fiction and Non-Fiction and is part of the Blake Friedmann Literary Agency.

About Juliet:

I am proud to represent a list of intriguing, conversation-starting, diverse writers, across both fiction and non-fiction. Many of my authors write contemporary stories, often led by themes of identity, coming-of-age, class, gender and sexuality, to name a few; for me, vital qualities to a good story include emotional depth, authenticity, an engaging voice and irrepressible energy. I want to be surprised, and to have everyday experiences and relationships told with nuance and colour.

I love to bring an under-represented experience to both editors and readers, and some of my most enjoyable moments have been campaigning for authors who have looked for a book to reflect their experience and, not having found it, have written their own to provide that space for others. I’m a proud feminist and love books that empower us, or that make us feel recognised and heard.

Favourite authors include Kate Atkinson, Curtis Sittenfeld, Elizabeth Strout, Shirley Jackson, Zora Neale Hurston, Nora Ephron and Elizabeth Jane Howard. I’m drawn to rich and multi-layered stories of women, families, friendships and relationships, and love small communities with a strong setting and lots going on beneath the surface; I prefer the small and intimate to the epic and world-affecting.

Alongside literary, book club and commercial fiction, I represent non-fiction writers across the board, including memoir, pop culture, social history, writing on issues of race, gender and class, and cookery and food.

In case it’s helpful to know what I don’t represent, I don’t work with the following genres: Young Adult or children’s, fantasy, supernatural, dystopian, sci-fi, thriller, horror or crime fiction. I tend to enjoy historical fiction only if it’s set after 1900!

I worked for Waterstones as a bookseller and fiction buyer, before joining the agency A P Watt in 2003. I moved to Blake Friedmann in 2013, becoming Vice Head of the Book Department in 2017 and a Director in 2020, and my authors have been shortlisted for Booker, Costa, and Guardian First Book Awards, won the Whitbread and Green Carnation Prizes, and the Prix Femina Etranger. I regularly visit literary festivals, courses and events, and enjoy giving talks and holding workshops for writers. I have been a judge for the Bristol Short Story Prize and for the Manchester Fiction Prize, and I’m on the board of the Working Class Writers’ Festival

Clients: Diane Abbott MP, Kasim Ali, Estate of Ted Allbeury, Dima Alzayat, Graeme ArmstrongMiMi Aye, Trezza Azzopardi, Bolu Babalola, Jendella Benson, Meliz BergIan BirchNora Anne Brown, Ailsa CaineJulia Cole, Sue Cook, Sara Crowe, Tuyen Do, Michael Donkor, Jo Facer & Erin BuntingEmma Forsyth Haslett, Alix Fox, Sarah Franklin, Roxy Freeman, Janice Galloway, Gabriella Griffith, Sarah Hartley, Kate Hodges, Kerry Hudson, Leah Hyslop, Dr Alexandra Jellicoe, Benjamin JohncockGeorge Kelly, Konditor, Kat Lister, Richard Littler, Clayton Littlewood, Jesse LoncraineAnneliese Mackintosh, Ailbhe MaloneLucy Mangan, Amy MasonNina-Sophia MirallesEmma MitchellSue Moorcroft, Grace Mortimer, Emer O'Toole, Rosalind PowellAnnie Robertson, Lora StimsonJack Urwin, Pippa Vosper, Helen Walmsley-Johnson, Women's InstituteAndrew Wong.

Update at 12:29pm, 14 May 2021

*Please note, as stated on the main page this auction is UK shipping only for the physical prizes - Zoom calls and mentoring plus online critiques are open internationally*

Update at 9:32pm, 21 May 2021

The bid increment was changed from £20 to £30.

Update at 11:58pm, 21 May 2021

The bid increment was changed from £30 to £60.

Bidding ended: 11:59pm, 21 May 202111:59pm, Friday 21 May 2021Europe/London

Bidding

Bidder Time Bid
Polly_4 11:58pm 21 May 2021 £775
Voula Tsoflias 11:55pm 21 May 2021 £445
Polly_4 11:49pm 21 May 2021 £385
Sara Doré 11:09pm 21 May 2021 £355
alicebright 9:28pm 21 May 2021 £325
Sara Doré 9:16pm 21 May 2021 £305
alicebright 1:10pm 21 May 2021 £285
Voula Tsoflias 11:48am 21 May 2021 £265
alicebright 11:06am 21 May 2021 £245
Polly_4 10:32am 21 May 2021 £225
C Tolan 5:27pm 20 May 2021 £205
Voula Tsoflias 2:47pm 20 May 2021 £200
C Tolan 6:07am 20 May 2021 £170
Polly_4 6:40pm 19 May 2021 £165
C Tolan 1:15pm 19 May 2021 £160
Michelle M McGrath 8:02am 19 May 2021 £150
sukh.brar 5:22pm 17 May 2021 £145
Lisa Timoney 4:29pm 14 May 2021 £135
Michelle M McGrath 11:43am 14 May 2021 £125
sukh.brar 7:54am 14 May 2021 £120
natalie_1 6:59am 13 May 2021 £110
sukh.brar 9:27pm 12 May 2021 £100
HS 6:56pm 12 May 2021 £75
hannahcolby 5:27pm 12 May 2021 £50