August | 2019 | Bookseeker Literary Agency

Paul writes:
After an event at the Edinburgh Book Festival – a session on literary prizes – where I joined in the final Q&A session, the Administrator of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction made a point of coming over to shake my hand. She thanked me for such a “visionary” question. I must admit that I’m still basking in the rosy glow.

However, you writers do not really need a “visionary” for an agent, you need a grafter. The Book Festival is over, and there is plenty of work to do, so I have planted my feet firmly on the ground. But if you would like a flavour of the Festival before I finally close the door on it until next year, my little photo-album is here.

Paul writes:

After several years writing event reviews for an Edinburgh-based organisation, I am now working as a freelance. I’ll be publishing my reviews on my occasional blog for light academic and other articles. But I’m also available if anyone else would like to engage me to write for their publication.

Also I’ll be moving my annual photo album of the Edinburgh International Book Festival from this site to the same place, so please feel free to follow the blog.

This agency works hard for its clients, often going further than many established agencies go on their behalf. It is therefore very irksome when an established publishing house does not bother with the courtesy to reply to a letter, even though a stamped envelope was included for their convenience. How much time does it take to pop a compliment slip into an envelope?

Then there is the major publishing house that does reply, but has on three occasions sent us an identical letter in reply to ours. The letter is the standard one they send to authors, advising them to get an agent, ignoring the fact that it was an agent that wrote to them in the first place! What is more, they have ignored letters pointing that out. It is discourteous, and actually plain damned negligent. Thankfully there is only one publisher in the whole UK that does this. We’re saying no more for now, but next time we’re considering simply naming them!

There have not been many updates here lately. This does not mean there’s nothing happening. We’re working towards at least one book launch before the end of the year, for example. Keep watching this space.