SUBMISSIONS

We are currently closed to submissions while we catch up with our reading.

In fiction Aoife (pronounced Eefa) Lennon-Ritchie is looking for commercial fiction, smart speculative fiction, contemporary middle grade and YA fiction, crime and thrillers. The writing must be polished at the sentence level; a strong point of view and a compelling, pacy story are essential. In non-fiction Aoife is looking for writing from subject-matter experts on nature, the environment, pop science, pop culture, lifestyle, and business & finance. We do consider an author’s platform.

Underrepresented voices are very welcome.  We can accept books written in English only, but from anywhere in the world. We are particularly looking for new voices from Ireland, North America, Australia and New Zealand.

Regretfully, no poetry, no short stories, no memoir or autofiction, no photographic or coffee-table books, no rhyming children’s books, and no scripts.

Please note that we do not accept any material that has been wholly or partially originated, written, or edited by AI.

If you would like to contact us about your work, please first read our submission guidelines below.

Please don’t phone or email us to ask if you can submit to us, just follow the guidelines below and send us an email. We can only assess written submissions, we cannot assess verbal pitches over the phone, and we cannot field approaches made via social media. We do not promote or market already- or self-published books.

For legal reasons we cannot accept unsolicited attachments. All such attachments are automatically deleted unread, the email may not reach the submissions queue, and may therefore receive no response.

Submission Guidelines

Submitting Fiction

We are interested in compelling fiction with a fresh voice and original point of view – upmarket story-driven fiction, commercial fiction, thrillers, crime, speculative fiction, romantasy, and children’s/YA. We are not looking for fiction with no plot, high fantasy, poetry, rhyming children’s books, or short stories.

We only accept email submissions in English but welcome books from all over the world.

If you feel we might be a good fit for you and your book, please email your submission to submissions(at)lennonliterary(dot)com.

In the subject line please include the word Query, the title of your manuscript, the genre of manuscript, and your name. E.g. ‘Query for The Cape Raider, WWII Naval Thriller, Justin Fox’.

Include a paragraph about your book and one about you. Not in the third person – you are a real person writing to a real person.

Please paste the first ten or so pages of your book into the body of the email. Please do not attach anything unless invited to – your email will be automatically deleted. Please paste a full synopsis (with spoilers) under your pages.

About your book: we need to know the title, the genre and the word count. Who is the protagonist, what happens to him/her, why, why do we care? (A note on wordcounts – we welcome novels between 50,000 words and 100,000 words. Anything bigger or smaller is tricky.) If you’re writing a book about or from the point of view of people of a different race/gender/orientation to you, why do you feel this is your story to tell?

About you: please detail any previous publications, awards, and other relevant details. Don’t worry if you don’t have any of these, the book is the thing. What was the last book you read, what did you think of it? Don’t forget to tell us your name.

If we’re keen to see more we will ask to see a few chapters or the full manuscript, and a 1-3 page synopsis. The synopsis must outline the entire book including the ending. We endeavour to get back to you within three months. If three months have passed and you have not heard from us, you are most welcome to gently prod us with an email reminder. Please don’t phone us to check on your submission. We will get back to you. We do not have a ‘no response means no’ policy. Please let us (and everyone else you’ve submitted to) know if you receive an offer from another agent or publisher.

Due to time constraints, we are unable to offer feedback to writers.

Don’t worry about personalising your email. We know this is a time-consuming business, and that you’re querying widely. However, do remember to state your name in the email.

Do query widely. We do not request or expect exclusive submissions.

Please know that we very rarely take on new writers so do not be disheartened if you receive a pass from us. We look forward to reading your work.

Submitting Non-Fiction

We only accept email submissions in English but welcome books from all over the world.

If you feel we might be a good fit for you and your book, please email your submission to submissions(at)lennonliterary(dot)com.

In the subject line include the word Query, the title of your manuscript, the genre of manuscript, and your name. E.g. ‘Place, Narrative non-fiction, Justin Fox’.

Include a paragraph about your book and one about you (not in the third person!).

Please paste a sample of your work, 10 pages or so, at the bottom of your email.

Please paste a chapter by chapter synopsis under your pages.

About your book: What is the book about? What’s so important and special about this book? Why should a publisher want to publish it? Who’s the core audience for the book, and why will they care about it?

About you: please let us know what qualifies you to write this book. Why are you the best person to write it? Are you an expert in the field? Have you conducted extensive research? If you’re writing a book about people of a different race/gender/orientation to you, why do you feel this is your story to tell?

Please do not send an attachment without an invitation, the email will be automatically deleted.

If we’re keen to see more, we will contact you for your proposal and sample chapters. We endeavour to get back to you within 3 months. If 3 months have passed and you have not heard from us, you are most welcome to gently prod us with an email reminder. We will get back to you. We do not have a ‘no response means no’ policy. Please let us (and everyone else you’ve submitted to) know if you receive an offer from another agent or publisher.

Due to time constraints, we are unable to offer feedback to writers.

Don’t worry about personalising your email. We know this is a time-consuming business, and that you’re querying widely. However, do remember to state your name in the email.

Do query widely. We do not request or expect exclusive submissions.

Do not be disappointed if it’s a ‘no’ from us. We turn down almost everybody. It’s not you, it’s us.

We look forward to reading your work.

Some Resources

We are not in a position to explain to writers what agents do or how to secure one – would you phone a plumber or a dentist, and ask him or her to stop what they’re doing and explain to you just what it is exactly that they do? How do you think they would react?

There is a world of information freely available online. Here are some resources to get you started:

We recommend you only start approaching agents when your book is polished and ready.

We are a small team and we are regretfully unable to offer feedback to writers. We know this feels harsh, but you will understand this once you secure an agent. You will want them to be spending the majority of their time working with you and your books – editing, strategising, pitching, negotiating – not carefully crafting and communicating personalised feedback, which may or may not be welcome, to people who are not clients.

Wishing you the very best for your writing and your search for an agent.

Good luck!!

The Lennon-Ritchie Agency no longer represents screenwriters and directors; our sister agency Torchwood is a literary agency for film and television representing screenwriters and directors, worldwide.