Hannah Todd

Hannah is a literary agent representing writers of adult commercial fiction. She previously worked at the Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency, before joining Janklow & Nesbit in January 2025. Before she was an agent, Hannah worked as an editor in both independent and 'Big 5' publishers, including Avon, Head of Zeus and Bookouture.

I am looking for commercial fiction across the board, but with a particular focus on romance, SFF and commercial thrillers. Across all genres, I am drawn to books with exemplary characterisation and voice. I need to feel a real connection to your characters; whether I love them or loathe them, it's the strength of feeling that I am looking for. But don't let your characterisation overshadow the need for impeccable plot as I would love a page-turner that makes me feel as though I cannot put it down. We all want that 'just one more chapter!' feeling, and if you can make me laugh or cry then you're on to a winner! 

I don't represent children's, middle-grade or YA fiction, so please only send in works of fiction for an adult audience. 

At the moment I am really keen to find a brilliant sci-fi writer. I am especially looking for something set in space! Whether it's a big love story or historical narrative set around the space race (e.g. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Hidden Figures), a ragtag group of space cowboys (Cowboy Bebop, Firefly, Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, Guardians of the Galaxy), super smart people dealing with space travel and it's dangers with an accessible delivery (Andy Weir) or robots falling in love (wall-e!!).

Within fantasy, I also love an unlikely band of heroes, like the Six of Crows series by Leigh Bardugo, Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastard series, Becky Chambers' and T. Kingfisher's Nettle and Bone, so if you have something like this then please send it my way. I also love fantasy with factions in the vein of The Raven Scholar, The Hunger Games, Mistborn, Fourth Wing and The Will of the Many. If you have a fun new take on this approach, I'd really love to see it.

I love an SFF book with cosy themes/settings such as Heather Fawcett and TJ Klune, but also love some darkness and edge like that in T. Kingfisher's work (the tooth-flutist is seared into my mind forever), so I am happy to read across the full light-dark spectrum... I've also found myself getting more and more into the horror space! Ideally horror that is using the genre to interrogate social issues like Eating Veronica by Maddison Dawn, The Substance, Parasite or The Haunting of Gracie Chen by Chantel Pearson. I also love spooky stuff generally such as Goosebumps, Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids, The Spook's Apprentice by Joseph Delaney, Firewatch and The Haunted Hotel Netflix series. But I am always looking for these things for an adult audience rather than for children.  If your work brings in elements of these comps but for an adult audience, please send it to me!

I also love Baldur's Gate 3, Dimension 20 and D&D, so am very happy to see SFF that is inspired by RPGs in some way. I'd also really like to find a LitRPG book that speaks to its very large female readership. I love Matt Diniman, but want a book that will appeal to a less 'blokey' readership too! I am also open to what a more cosy litRPG might look like, so do send my way.

Across all genres, but especially in such a busy market like SFF at the moment, make sure you have a clear USP and hook: If you are sending your reader to a magical academy, or if we're riding dragons or waving wands, that's great! But what makes your book feel different and fresh? An excellent voice is key, but what else makes your take on these tropes stand out? An example of a phenomenal book that has turned the magical academy trope on it's head, with layers of excellent world building, a unique magic system and plot twists galore is The Will of the Many by James Islington. If you have something crafted this beautifully then I would LOVE to see it.

I am also open to romantasy of varying spice levels, but would like this to be accessible to both romance and fantasy readers. For example, if you are in a real-world setting with fantastical characters or a fish-out-of-water trope on a secondary world. Have fun with the genre conventions, and show your love for the genre you're writing in!

For contemporary romance novels, I would love to read anything from romcoms to sweeping love stories that feel like they redefine the genre. For the romcoms, voice is so important. I need to feel as though I have just spent time with friends, and the chemistry has to be sizzling! I would particularly like romcoms with great disability rep and LGBTQIA+ stories that focus on the joy of falling in love. I enjoy everything from closed door romance to lots of chilli peppers, but the relationship at its core has to take precedence for me to buy-in! I particularly love Emily Henry, Laura Wood and Abby Jimenez.

In terms of a sweeping love story, I am always looking for a book that will make me laugh and cry; I want to experience the full gamut of feelings when wrapping myself in someone's love story. I am the person for the more commercial end of this spectrum, so think more Nicholas Sparks than Sally Rooney, and Bonnie Garmus rather than Gabrielle Zevin. In this space, I am a big fan of Emma Donoghue, Bonnie Garmus and Jojo Moyes.

Within crime and thrillers, I’m looking for high concept thrillers with an unsettling ‘it-could-happen-to-me’ feeling. The thing I would most like to find in this space is a book like Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton in both its themes (real-world emotional suspense) and its execution. I am really drawn to books that play with form when telling us about a big event, either via multiple POVs like Big Little Lies or Before the Fall, or playing with timelines so the reader must piece together the series of events In all areas of the crime/thriller space, I love to be genuinely shocked by a twist, but only if it feels as though I had a chance to see it coming… nothing is more unsatisfying than an off-page character turning up at the eleventh hour and being responsible for the crime!

I'm not someone for historical fiction, except for British historical saga novels in the vein of Nancy Revell, Katie Flynn, Rosie Goodwin and Kitty Neale. I'd really like to find a brand in this space!

With regards to all genres, I am particularly interested in voices from underrepresented backgrounds: such as writers of colour, indigenous communities, the LGBTQIA+ community, and those with disabilities.

Things that aren't for me personally:

Re-imaginings of the classics

Books that feature characters putting on Shakespeare plays (the only one I've ever loved is Station Eleven!)

Books where art is a key part of the narrative it's a very personal thing and I just struggle to get invested!

Children's, middle-grade and YA