Laura Bennett

Laura developed a love of writing early, attending her first Creative Writing course at college. She then decided to study Writing at Liverpool John Moores University, obtaining a BA before pursuing a career in teaching. She began work at a college for young adults with special needs, and then moved to a vocational college while studying for a post-compulsory PGCE. Laura taught English for a few years, and also ran several Creative Writing courses before returning to LJMU to obtain an MA in Writing. She then worked as a teaching assistant at a local secondary school, before leaving that job to pursue a career at the Liverpool Literary Agency. She has also worked as a private tutor, written for tabletop roleplaying games, and is the narrative writer for an Indie video game.

Laura is looking for adult and YA science fiction and fantasy of all stripes, including steampunk, post-apocalyptic, urban fantasy, supernatural, and dystopian. She loves diverse casts and complicated relationships. Stories that focus on realistic characters with strong voices are a definite hit, no matter how fantastical their worlds.

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to submissions@liverpool-literary.agency

We receive a high volume of manuscripts and therefore only consider those that follow our submission guidelines. If you send work outside the submission window then it won’t be read.

• We are only accepting submissions from writers born, or now living in, the UK & Ireland for SFF.
  

• As the agency side of our business, this is a commission only service, meaning that there are no upfront charges and payment takes place as part of your publishing deal.

• What we accept: adult fiction of all genres, children’s fiction, specifically chapter books (for ages 5-7 and 7-9 years) and middle grade fiction (roughly ages 8-12 years).

• What we currently DON’T accept: children’s picture books, scripts, non-fiction, poetry, short stories or young adult fiction.

• Please do not just submit to us for feedback on ideas or an early draft. You should have a full manuscript ready if we request this and we do offer a mentoring service if you need help working on your book.

• Don’t send a first draft. We advise sharing your manuscript with beta readers and critique partners (these could be readers and writers from writing groups, book clubs or any courses you go on) to explore the strengths and weaknesses of your story.

• You are welcome to submit to other agents simultaneously, but let us know if you are signed up by someone else during the submission process.

• We will be in touch if we see potential in your manuscript. If you do not hear from us within 12 weeks, then please assume that your manuscript is not quite right for us, and we wish you all the best with your endeavours.

• What to send us:

• Please send us a cover email including: about you, the book genre, blurb, inspirations, comparable authors and why yours will stand out.

• Attach your synopsis (you’ll find a useful guide to writing one at Writers & Artists) and first three chapters (or first 5,000 words) in the following format:

  • A Word document with numbered pages.

  • Please do not post your manuscript to us.

  • Send to submissions@liverpool-literary.agency

Guidelines & Details