Publication success stories

We love seeing lives change, and our success rate is vastly higher than the slushpile average. Most of the writers mentioned here came to us for editorial feedback. Some came to our annual Festival of Writing, or enrolled on one of our tutored courses. However you arrive at our doors, we’ll do what we can to help you succeed.

Claire McGlasson and how the Festival helped
Another Friday Night Live short-listed author, Claire McGlasson, found her literary agent Laura Williams at the Festival of Writing 2017. Her debut novel The Rapture will be published by Faber in 2019, but has already been optioned by Hillbilly Television.

Anna Mazzola and the dark story of Sarah Gale
Anna came to us with an (already very good) novel, based around the true life murder trial of a Victorian seamstress, Sarah Gale. The book had attracted interest from agents, but wasn’t quite there yet. There was something not quite right. We helped identify the issue, and Anna went out and fixed it. The result of her endeavours? Worldwide success and a glorious Edgar Award (the Oscars of international crime fiction).

Felicia Yap and the ‘Festival effect’
‘Friday Night Live’ shortlisted author, Felicia Yap, was snapped-up by Jonny Geller at Curtis Brown soon after our 2015 Festival of Writing. Her brilliant high-concept thriller, The Day After Yesterday, was bought by Headline’s Alex Clarke for a six-figure sum. The book has since been optioned for film. Felicia attended our Festival of Writing 2015 and in her words, ‘it made a huge difference’!

Rachel Abbott and her ‘shock’ feedback
Rachel Abbott came to us for her first ever editorial feedback, and found it a ‘shock’ – a good one. Scroll on a few years, and she’s one of the UK’s biggest-selling authors, with millions of books sold. She’s self-published as well as published via Thomas & Mercer, but either way, she’s become one of the essential crime writers of her generation.

Eve Harris and the Man Booker Prize longlist
Eve’s first book, The Marrying of Chani Kaufmann was longlisted for the 2013 Man Booker prize. Eve found her writing mentor, Daren King, through our Complete Novel Course. We anticipate great things from this wonderful writer.

Joanna Cannon, six-figures and a TV deal
The Trouble with Goats and Sheep was published by The Borough Press (HarperCollins) in Spring 2016. Joanna won Friday Night Live at our 2014 Festival of Writing. She walked away with seven offers from literary agents. That novel was published to huge acclaim and got a TV deal, and her follow-up sold for a massive £300,000.

John Fenton
Please Don’t Make Me Go is a tough, funny and honest memoir. We helped John hone his opening – then placed his work with a leading agent. That agent sold his work in a contested auction and the book spent weeks on the bestseller lists.

A.L. Berridge
Honour and the Sword was too long when it came to us. After a detailed editorial interchange, we placed that MS with an agent – with the same result: a contested auction and a place on the bestseller lists.

Barbara Tate
West End Girls, offered us a different sort of challenge. The author was elderly, so we took a hands-on editorial role, and then sold the book ourselves. Orion won the auction and the book became the hit of the summer.

Dania el-Kadi
Summer Blast (think Sex in the City meets John Le Carre) was a number one bestseller in Dania’s native Lebanon. The book isn’t just entertaining, it’s an important and influential read too.

Tim O’Rourke
Tim has self-published his Keira Hudson YA vampire series to the Amazon Kindle store, where it has been the #1 ranked bestseller in its category. He’s shifted over 500,000 books to date and is going strong for the million. Tim has also been agented by Peter Buckman at Ampersand, a connection we were delighted to help forge.

Mari Griffith
Her debut novel, Root of the Tudor Rose was an Amazon #1 in its category for many weeks. Her second novel The Witch of Eye was chosen by the Welsh Books Council as its ‘Book of the Month’.

Ian Thornton
The Great and Calamitous Tale of Johan Thoms has been bought by Simon & Schuster in Toronto, and is now being marketed worldwide. The book has also been optioned for film.

Catherine Cooper
Catherine won the inaugural £10,000 BWA Award for Golden Acorn, has gone on to publish three further books, and hook herself a film deal.

Louise Soraya Black
Louise won the Virginia Prize and a book deal with her beautiful novel, Pomegranate Sky.

Susan Imgrund
Susan won the EarlyWorks Prize for The Bother in Burmeon, and a book deal with quality indie press Circaidy Greogry.

Pip Jones
Pip won the inaugural Greenhouse Funny Prize for the funny and delightful Squishy McFluff, is now well on her way to being a well-established children’s author.

Margaret Skea
Margaret won the Beryl Bainbridge Award for Best First Time Author at the People’s Book Prize, for her historical novel, Turn of the Tide. At time of writing, the book has an average 4.9 star rating on Amazon.

We’ve also seen some wonderful clients secure brilliant book deals, and create a powerful foundation for a career in writing.

Sally Harris – who sent her novel to us for assessment, had several reports by our editor Susan Davies, and is going to have her novel published by Salt in May 2019. Haverscroft is a gripping modern ghost story set in East Anglia.

Alex Callister – is another author who found success via the Festival Of Writing: “Summer 2017 I finished my debut novel Winter Dark and knowing nothing whatsoever about getting published I trotted off to the FOW. Winter Dark was shortlisted to the Best Opening Chapter and Best Pitch competition, I met my lovely agent Ben Clark, he submitted to publishers in December and in February I signed a two book deal with Audible. A year later, March 2019, it is coming out as Audible Thriller of 2019.

Philippa East – completed Debi Alper and Emma Darwin’s Self-Editing Your Novel course in 2016, and shortly afterwards attended the York Festival Of Writing, where she met her now-agent Sarah Hornsley (nee Manning). Her debut novel Little White Lies sold at auction to HQ/HarperCollins and will be published in February 2020. Take a look here at her journey to publishing.

Amanda Berriman – has been a loyal attendant of the Festival Of Writing for several years and has taken our Self-Editing course with Debi Alper and Emma Darwin. We’re delighted that Home, the book she’s been working on all these years has now been published by Penguin Random House. We’re so proud of Mandy! Here you can read her tips on how to hook an agent.

Elisa Lodato – has received critical acclaim for her debut novel An Unremarkable Body, published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson, and on which she worked with our editor Dexter Petley. She was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel award. Here you can read what she says about her experience with us.

Mark Hill – has now published his second novel with Little, Brown Book Group (UK) after we helped him with his first crime thriller, His First Lie. He signed a two-book deal with Sphere in June 2015.

Jo Jakeman – attended the Festival of Writing in 2016, secured representation from Imogen Pelham at Majacq Scripts and her debut psychological thriller, Sticks and Stones is published 12^thJuly 2018. Harvill Secker acquired world rights including translation, and there are more international deals pending. She has a further 2 book deal with Harvill Secker.

Adrienne Chinn – She worked extensively with Daren King on The Lost Letter From Morocco, and ended up securing a world rights deal with Avon / HarperCollins. But she did all that without an agent and, we thought she should have one. So we went out and got her one. For free, of course. She now has a two book deal with Avon /Harper Collins negotiated by her agent Joanna Swainson. The Lost Letter From Morocco is being published in March 2019.

Mahita Vas – She worked with Daren King on her second novel It Happened On Scrabble Sunday, that was later published by Marshall Cavendish.

Luke Allnutt – We Own The Sky, an irresistible story about love, loss and finding hope, was published by Orion Publishing Group in April 2018.

Louise Walters  – whose historical novel Mrs Sinclair’s Suitcase got published by Putman in August 2015 after she took our Self-Editing course with Debi Alper and Emma Darwin.

Kate Armstrong – The Storyteller, was longlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize in 2016 after being published by Holland House.

Nadya A. R. – She worked with Daren King on Invisible Ties and got published by Rupa Publications.

Ingrid Alexandra – She’s had her psychological thriller The New Girl published by Harper Collins after working on it with our writing coach Daren King.

Anthony Wilson – Whose crime novel Murder By The Broads got published by Bloodhound Books.

Tor Udall – A Thousand Paper Birds was published by Bloomsbury in June 2017. It also sold to Garzanti (Italy), Xander (The Netherlands), Jacaranda (Portugal), Eksmo (Russia) and BTB/Random (Germany) who offered a substantial two-book deal.

Claire Evans – The Fourteenth Letter a page turning thriller filled with a labyrinth of secrets was published by Little Brown in April 2017. We were thrilled to help at various stages through writing this. She is about to deliver her second novel to her agent Jonny Geller.

James Law – a big, scary submariner whose big, scary submarine thriller, Tenacity, was published by Headline.

Guillermo Erades – whose superb and challenging literary novel, Back to Moscow, was eagerly seized by Simon & Schuster and published in May 2016.

Roz Watkins – was ‘found’ by Claire McGowan at the Festival of Writing. Claire recommended Roz to her agent, and the result was a three-book deal with lots of lovely foreign sales to boot.

Geraldine Hogan – My Husband’s Wives was published in 2016 by Head of Zeus. We didn’t actually help on that manuscript, but did a lot to help Geraldine at the start of her journey. We’re thrilled she made it all the way.

Gabrielle Kent – won Friday Night Live at our Festival of Writing. In June 2014, Gabrielle signed a 3 book world rights deal with Scholastic, and Gabrielle’s first title, Alfie Bloom And the Secrets of Hexbridge Castle, was published in June 2015.

Mitch Feierstein – with his explosive Planet Ponzi, sold internationally and launched a vibrant media career.

Shelley Harris – came to our inaugural Festival of Writing, where she found an agent for the beautiful Jubilee.

Kerry Fisher – whose The School Gate Survival Guide is out now with Avon (HarperCollins).

Deborah Install – followed-up a massive German deal with a UK deal with Doubleday for the deliciously good, A Robot in the Garden.

Victoria Whitworth – put her expert knowledge of Anglo-Saxon England to good use in The Bone-Thief.

Louisa Larkin – with her tough and scary thriller, The Genesis Flaw.

Caroline Corby – with her six-volume Before They Were Famous children’s series.

Hilton Pashley – whose first children’s fantasy novel, Gabriel’s Clock, is out with Random House from agent David Headley.

Valerie Mendes – whose book Larkswood has been bought in a two-book deal by Orion.

Dr Robin Brooke-Smith – whose Storm Warning (a first-hand account of the Afghan-Pakistan Borderlands) is being published in London and New York by I B Tauris, with endorsements by Michael Palin and others.

Steph Broadribb – success started with Deep Down Dead, and is going from strength to strength as her career blossoms.

C. T. Sullivan – His mystery thriller Reasonable Force was published by Vanguard Press, an Imprint of Pegasus Books.