SPOTLIGHT FEATURE: Maddy Belton from Graham Maw Christie Literary Agency

Good morning, everyone!

Today I am very excited to introduce you to Maddy Belton, an agent with Graham Maw Christie Agency.

Maddy Belton joined Graham Maw Christie in 2018, initially as an intern and then as the Agents’ Assistant. She became a full-time agent in 2021, focusing on her growing non-fiction list. She also consults for Spread the Word as part of their London Writers Awards.

The Graham Maw Christie Agency was established in 2005 to focus exclusively on non-fiction. The agency has a diverse base of award-winning clients, with many of their titles becoming national and international bestsellers, Sunday Times bestsellers, prize winners and published in multiple languages worldwide. 

Maddy is solely interested in non-fiction. She is drawn to memoirs and autobiographies, and books that explore psychology. She is interested in titles that highlight marginalised voices including, but not limited to, those in the LGBTQ+ community and writers who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour.

Check out some highlights from our interview with Maddy below.

“The great thing about agenting is that you live and die by your taste. In a way, it’s like sophisticated matchmaking.”

Hello Maddy, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us today! We would love to know more about how you became an agent, what your role entails, what you’re looking for in submissions, and advice for querying authors.

Q. What do you want to represent? What’s at the top of your wish list, and what sort of authors are you interested in representing?

I love almost all books, but I really enjoy memoir, particularly narrative memoir that explores underrepresented and underappreciated people, professions, and places.

I’m interested in queer stories, memoirs that experiment with form, in the vein of In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado. I also have a passion for books that deal with psychology, whether that be memoir written by a therapist, or books that deal with the history of psychology. I’m a big fan of The Great Pretender: The Undercover Mission That Changed Our Understanding of Madness by Susannah Cahalan.

I also represent cookbooks, and I love to cook myself, so I’m always on the look-out for passionate bakers or stories that can be told through food.

Q. Is there any sort of non-fiction you’re not interested in?

Not really, but sometimes there are practical considerations. I think the mistakes writers often make when querying agents is submitting something that’s incredibly similar to something which is already on their list. I’d say that these manuscripts are often tricky to represent because you end up with a conflict of interest. For example, I have a really great author who’s writing a book on British Black history. I probably wouldn’t take on a book that repeated the content I already represented for several years, even though I love the topic and am passionate about this genre.

Q. What do you want to see in a query letter?

I immediately want to know who you are, where you are with the project and the best way to contact you. You’d be surprised how many submissions don’t have that basic information.

I tend to ask people I’m thinking of representing three questions: Who are you, why are you writing this book, and why does this book need to be written now? There needs to be a sense of urgency and a sense of place. It’s good to think about the market so I want to know, from the offset, who is going to buy this book and why they need it.

Q. What do you want to see in a synopsis?

I normally ask for the first 50 pages or 3 chapters. It differs depending on the book, but a mini proposal would be useful. This includes the concept of the book, competing or comparable titles, and a comprehensive chapter breakdown or synopsis. The breakdown is really important because it shows that you as an author have thought about the narrative arc and the argument of your book. It also tells me how much work needs to be done on this book so that it is ready to submit to editors.

Q. What are you looking for in the opening pages of a manuscript?

If you are writing a memoir, you need to create a case for the reader to care within those opening pages. What I’m looking for is an appeal to my empathy, something that will make me invest in this person. Why am I going to read hundreds of pages about their life?

In terms of history books, social commentary, or essay collections, I’m looking for a question, a mystery or a problem. I want to be surprised by these first pages, there might be a sense of tension, or a controversial argument or a personal story but whatever it is it needs to reel me in and spike my interest.

Q. Could you tell us a bit about your experience in the world of literary agency?

I followed what I loved into book publishing. After university, I interned for Jane Graham Maw and Jennifer Christie at Graham Maw Christie and loved it. I became their assistant and then an agent.

The great thing about agenting is that you live and die by your taste. In a way, it’s like sophisticated matchmaking. I really like finding manuscripts that resonate with me and helping these voices get out into the world. I also learn so much from my clients, who are all from different walks of life and I enjoy building relationships with them and helping them add another string to their bow.

The full interview can be found on Maddy’s AgentMatch profile.

In the meantime, if you’re struggling with your query letter and synopsis, do check out our free resources on our website. We have lots of info to help you on your way. Or, better still, if you’re a member with us, a member of the Writer Support team will be happy to offer you a free query letter review!