Do you have a draft of a potential New York Times bestseller in a box under the bed? Get your writing in front of top industry professionals at the exclusive Date With An Agent pitch event, taking place during International Literature Festival Dublin (ILFD) in Merrion Square Park this May as part of The Insider’s Guide to Publishing seminar. Submissions for Date With An Agent open today (30.01.25) through an online form on the ILFD website here, where you’ll also find further details and criteria.
At Date With An Agent, taking place on Saturday, 17th May, ten emerging writers will have the opportunity to meet one-to-one to get tailored advice from top literary and screen agents from across all genres of publishing, from thriller and fantasy to romantic, historical and science fiction, ensuring that successful applicants meet their match made in literary heaven.
Date With An Agent is part of The Insider’s Guide to Publishing, which is a full-day event, now in its eleventh year, that will delve behind the scenes of all aspects of publishing, presented by ILFD in partnership with industry expert Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin, aka bestselling crime writer Sam Blake, founder of the writing resources website Writing.ie.
New to the festival for 2025 is the Insider’s Guide to Publishing for Children, an all-day event focusing solely on books for children. Taking place on Friday, 23 rd May, attendees can discover the inside track on the ever-growing, international children’s publishing industry, whose global market value was worth 10.15 billion dollars last year.
This year’s agent line-up includes:
● Nicola Barr (literary fiction and book club, The Bent Agency)
● Molly Ker Hawn (speculative fiction, science fiction, romance and fantasy, The Bent Agency)
● Nicky Lovick (crime and thriller, WGM Atlantic)
● Faith O’Grady (memoir and historical fiction, the Lisa Richards Agency)
● Sallyanne Sweeney (women’s fiction, MMB Creative).
The children’s books publishing agent selection includes:
● Helen Boyle (picture books and early readers, Pickled ink)
● Lydia Silver (middle grade, Darley Anderson)
● Sam Copeland (teen/young adult, RCW Literary Agency)
All Date With An Agent submissions will be read by industry professionals specially selected by Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin, founder of Europe’s biggest writing resources website – Writing.ie, as well as the Writers Ink online writing group, and Murder One, Ireland’s international crime writing festival.
For further information click here.