Do you have the next New York Times bestseller sitting in your drawer? Or perhaps an Oscar-winning screenplay just waiting to be produced? If you’re a writer looking for a literary agent and top tips for getting your book into print or your script to the screen, Date With an Agent is your chance to get a foot in the door!

Returning for its tenth edition, International Literature Festival Dublin and Writing.ie are thrilled to bring back this exciting event for aspiring writers – whether you’re writing for children or adults, for the page or for the screen, this is your chance to connect with an agent who might just be your publishing match made in heaven.

Our six hand-selected top literary and screen agents will meet with ten writers each whose work they will receive in advance for a one-to-one session to discuss your submission and offer you advice on your next steps.

All submissions will be read by industry professionals specially selected by Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin, founder of Europe’s biggest writing resources website – Writing.ie, the Writers Ink online writing group, and Murder One, Ireland’s International Crime Writing Festival.

This year’s readers are: Olivia Hope reading for Children & YA; Noel O’Regan reading for Literary Fiction / Book Club; Ally Bunbury reading for Women’s Fiction; Niamh O’Connor reading for Screen (Film & TV); Amanda Cassidy reading for Crime / Thriller; and Sarah Davis Goff reading for Speculative / Science Fiction.

How to Apply for a Date with an Agent

If you would like to be considered for a date with an agent, you’ll need to make an online submission. Click the button below to view submission criteria, terms & conditions, and submit your work. If selected for a Date With an Agent, you will be required to book a ticket for An Insider’s Guide to Publishing; the agent dates will take place as part of this day-long seminar at International Literature Festival Dublin in Merrion Square Park on Saturday 18th May.

All applicants will receive a one-time-use discount code to book their ticket to An Insider’s Guide to Publishing at the discounted rate of €40.

Successful applicants will be required to book a ticket for the seminar (at the discounted rate of €40) and they will be informed directly by the festival of their time slot with their allocated agent.

Unsuccessful applicants are also encouraged to attend the seminar at the discounted ticket price.

In addition, all applicants to Date With an Agent can now enjoy one year’s free membership to Writing.ie! Details on how to avail of this special offer will be sent to applicants upon submission.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE & SUBMIT

The deadline for submission to be received is Friday 5th of April 2024.

Meet the Agents

Polly Nolan, Children & YA – PaperCuts Ltd

After almost twenty years’ commissioning and editing children’s books at some of the UK’s top publishing houses, Polly moved to agenting 10 years ago and quickly built a talented and successful list of clients. In 2020, she started her own agency and consultancy, PaperCuts Ltd, which represents authors writing for adults and children (5 to Young Adult), as well as offering advice to anyone needing help with their work. Always on the lookout for a good story, arrestingly told, Polly has a particular love of Middle Grade – especially MG that makes people laugh – and, in adult fiction, stories with unforgettable characters and powerful emotion.

Simon Trewin, Literary Fiction / Book Club – Simon Trewin Creative

Simon Trewin has been an agent for three decades and has launched the careers of many novelists who have gone on to be published in up to 60 languages and see their work also adapted for stage and screen. Irish writing is a particular passion and he is proud to be the agent for Number 1 bestselling crime writer Sam Blake, international bestselling novelist John Boyne, and the current recipient of The Booker Prize for Fiction Paul Lynch.

Nicky Lovick, Women’s Fiction – WGM Atlantic

Nicky Lovick has worked in book publishing for two decades. In that time she’s worked for the Big Five, freelanced and is now an agent at WGM Atlantic. She is looking for women’s commercial fiction, romance, domestic noir, romantasy, procedural crime and psychological thrillers.

Madeleine Cotter, Screen (Film & TV) – WGM Atlantic

Madeleine Cotter is a multilingual literary and talent agent working with screenwriters and IP adaptations. She has been in the industry for 10 years and previously worked as a newspaper journalist before writing her own book. She is looking for quality screenplays with unique voices and strong storylines. The industry is full of uncredited and credited screenwriters. It takes a standout script with a bold idea to cut through the pile. Polished, edited and one that talks so visually the words bounce off the page. Romcoms, psychological thrillers, comedy (dark or light), drama with an unexpected twist. Science fiction. Not period or historical.

Sara O’Keeffe, Crime / Thriller – Aevitas Creative Management

Sara O’ Keeffe is an Irish literary agent based in London. With over twenty years’ experience in the world of publishing, Sara represents a host of major names in fiction ranging from bestselling and award-winning thriller writer, Catherine Ryan Howard to women’s fiction author, Eithne Shortall and literary writers including Rachel Donohue and Leo Vardiashvili. Sara works at Aevitas Creative Management, a US – UK based agency with global reach.

Max Edwards, Speculative Fiction / Science Fiction – Aevitas Creative Management

Max Edwards is a literary agent at Aevitas Creative Management UK. He started his career as a bookseller at Blackwell’s in Oxford and at Sports Interactive, developers of the computer game Football Manager, before moving into publishing. After 7 years working at the likes of David Higham, United Agents and Rogers, Coleridge and White, he set-up Apple Tree Literary in January 2019, before merging his company into the newly formed Aevitas Creative Management UK in November of that year. In 2021 Max was named a Bookseller Rising Star. He represents fiction and non-fiction, with a particular love of SFF of all stripes – and is also lucky enough to count the likes of Brenda Fricker and Prof. Luke O’Neill among his non-fiction clients.