New writers are the lifeblood of every literary agency, and here at Johnson & Alcock we are always on the lookout for exciting new talent.
In the seven decades since the agency was founded, many of our writers have come through the slush pile. Young or old, from any race, background, or based in any country around the world – if you have a story to tell, we would love to hear from you.
In recent years the submission process has migrated online, so we ask you to send your submission by email; we do not accept or respond to physical submissions sent through the post, unless you are invited by an agent to send material in this way.
Please take a look at the profiles of the individual agents (under the ‘team’ tab) and decide who would be the best fit for you. We accept most genres of fiction and non-fiction, but do not accept plays or film scripts. You can then email your submission direct to that agent on [agent's first name]@johnsonandalcock.co.uk. The first part is just the agent's first name, as displayed on their profile page. You do not need to include the surname in the email address.
We ask that you only submit to one agent here at a time, and please do not blind-copy submissions. There is no need to call in advance of emailing a submission, nor should you follow up to confirm receipt. If you receive a bounceback to your email, please check the email address you’ve used is correct, with no rogue symbols or spaces. Our server accepts attachments up to 5MB.
In all cases we aim to respond within three months of email submission, although it can take longer at busy times of year.
If you haven't heard back after this time, please feel free to send a friendly chase to the agent in question. Due to the high volume of submissions we receive, we cannot guarantee a response to every submission. We do always try to respond to as many as we can.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Please send us:
A short covering letter, including a blurb for the book, and some info about you
For fiction, a synopsis of the novel (no more than two pages) and the opening 50 pages of the manuscript – usually the first three chapters
For non-fiction, a book proposal that includes an introduction, chapter breakdown, and some sample material, totalling approximately 50 pages
All submissions should be clear and legible, in Word Doc (.doc or .docx format), and formatted in a standard way: we recommend at least 1.5 line spaced, page-numbered and on A4 paper. Please remember to include contact details so we can get in touch with you.
Due to the volume of material we receive, we cannot accept responsibility for any material sent in to us. This includes physical submissions, which will be recycled unread.