You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
Aspiring authors are being given the chance to pitch their novels to a panel of agents at a new day event from Curtis Brown and Foyles this September.
The literary agency is teaming up with the Charing Cross Road bookshop to offer writers the opportunity to have their first page read by an agent and receive free feedback.
Hopeful novelists can sign up for one-to-one sessions with a panel of agents at a "Discovery Day" on 22nd September, where there will also be a general writers’ surgery, followed by a discussion on book publishing between Curtis Brown’s joint c.e.o. Jonny Geller, Michael Joseph publisher Sam Humphreys and author Hari Kunzru.
Geller said: “We are all committed to de-mystifying publishing and to clarifying the journey from manuscript to agent to publisher to bookshop.”
Jasper Sutcliffe, head of buying at Foyles said: “At Foyles we are always keen to introduce readers to new and exciting writers. With Discovery Day, Curtis Brown are extending that ethos brilliantly—giving new writers a unique opportunity to have their voices heard by book trade experts who can help them take their first step toward getting their books in readers’ hands.”
The news comes as Curtis Brown Creative, the agency’s creative writing school, announced a first deal for one of their graduates. Agent Karolina Sutton sold debut novel, Barbarians by Tim Glencross to Mark Richards at Fourth Estate after a "hotly-contested" auction.
The 32-year-old lawyer’s book, which will be published in 2014, tells the story of a well-connected family negotiating the end of the New Labour years.