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We’ve become aware of an increase in people and, often, AI bots impersonating both literary agents and editors. Remain vigilant and triple check email addresses; a legitimate literary agent or editor will always use a company domain e.g [at]janklow.co.uk. A legitimate literary agent will never charge you to read your work or introduce you to an ‘editorial consultant’ for advice on how to write a query letter. If in doubt, forward the email to the queries[at]janklow.co.uk for verification.

It is with great excitement that J&N UK is launching our first ever Translation Prize, which will be awarded to a superb translation of fiction into English. We are eager to hear from every corner of the world; from the shores of Lake Baikal to the Peruvian mountains, from the Adriatic Sea to the Sossuvlei Dunes, and far beyond. As an agency that has expanded across the Atlantic, we are fuelled by curiosity to explore other cultures, other thoughts, other histories. Our lists are in a constant state of growth; from nurturing young talents, to building already established writer’s careers and reviving literary Estates. We have always been keen to give a platform to works written in languages other than English. With this prize we hope to give more voice to stories from around the world, foster a global exchange of ideas and introduce English language readers to cultures and places whose literature may be entirely unknown to them. We are dedicating this prize to David Bellos, who died at the end of last year. It is hard to talk about fiction in translation without mentioning David Bellos, who was the Meredith Howland Pyne Professor of French and Comparative Literature at Princeton University. His translations of Georges Perec and Ismail Kadare, to name just two, won many awards including the Man Booker International Prize and his contribution, in introducing the English-speaking world to the meaning of translation and the scale of its power, was immeasurable. The David Bellos Translation Prize will be awarded to the translator of an excerpt from a novel originally written and published in any language other than English. The winning translator will receive £2,000 in prize money. With the support of the author, the translated project will be submitted to publishers in the UK and US by a Janklow & Nesbit UK agent. Please note the application window will open on March 10th 2026 and close on May 10th 2026. An official shortlist will be announced on July 1st 2026. The winner will be announced on August 31st 2026. All submissions must be made via our application portal here. No submissions will be accepted by post. All applications must follow the Terms and Conditions mentioned below to be eligible. Please do reach out to prize@janklow.co.uk if you have any questions regarding your application. 

We’re over the moon that not one but two J&N authors have been longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2026 🎊 PARADISO 17 by Hannah Lillith Assadi (Fourth Estate) and DOMINION by Addie Citchens (Europa) have both made the cut, on an impressive longlist of 16 which ‘showcase[s] the profound force, resonance and scale of fiction writing: from tackling turbulent global issues, like climate change and displacement, to examining the intensely intimate.’ You can see the full longlist here; the shortlist will be announced on April 22nd. Congratulations to both authors!

We're delighted to announce that Hayley Steed has been made a director of Janklow & Nesbit UK, in addition to her work as literary agent. In Hayley's time at the company she has overseen the growth of the commercial arm of the agency, working on bestselling books including The Dead of Winter by Sarah Clegg (Granta Books) and The List by Yomi Adegoke (Fourth Estate), as well as upcoming romantic fantasy debut Blood Bound and book club novel Wet Ink.Corissa Hollenbeck and Olivia Everitt are also promoted to Associate Agent and are actively building their lists in non-fiction and literary fiction respectively; visit our Submissions page to send your work to them directly.

We’re delighted that not one but two J&N UK authors have been longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction 2026 🎊 THE FINEST HOTEL IN KABUL: A People’s History of Afghanistan by Lyse Doucet (Hutchinson Heinemann) and ART CURE: The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health by Daisy Fancourt (Cornerstone) have both made the cut, on an impressive longlist of 16 which “reflects the belief that every woman’s voice has the power to elicit and inspire change […] in an extraordinary, international celebration of women’s writing.” You can see the full longlist here; the shortlist will be announced on March 25th. Congratulations to both authors! 

Congratulations to Lyse Doucet whose 'utterly compelling' debut THE FINEST HOTEL IN KABUL (Hutchinson Heinemann) has been shortlisted for the Nero Book Awards 2025!  The awards recognise the best books across fiction, non-fiction, debut fiction and children’s fiction. The shortlists will be narrowed down to four category winners on Tuesday 13th January, before one goes on to claim the Nero Gold Prize on Tuesday 4th March. "When I set up these Awards it was to celebrate great writing and great books to read and to showcase books which you would recommend to friends, family and people you know," said Gerry Ford, founder and chief executive officer of Caffè Nero. "This list more than does that. This is the strongest list of books the Nero Book Awards has seen yet and is indicative of the Awards going from strength to strength." You can find all the category shortlists for the awards here.

Huge congratulations to Janklow author Lyse Doucet whose debut non-fiction book THE FINEST HOTEL IN KABUL: A People's History of Afghanistan is longlisted for this year's Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction! The book, which tells the story of the country through the luxury Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul, is published by Hutchinson Heinemann on 18th September. Robbie Millen, literary editor of the Times and the Sunday Times and chair of the judges, said: "Variety. That’s the common theme of this longlist. All the judges were impressed, delighted and relieved by the mind-quickening variety of the books that we read in terms of style, character and subject matter. It’s been a terrific reading experience. We’ve been given an insight into the original, offbeat mind of great novelists, seen how poets responded to the faith-quaking challenge of science and through the experiences of one hotel seen a country in a new light. We’ve followed a writer into the abyss of personal tragedy and soared to the heights of creativity with pop’s greatest bromance. Now we also know how far a wolf will lope to find a mate – and, shudder, how eunuchs are made. All human life can be found in the pages of these 12 remarkable books." The prize recognises and rewards the best of non-fiction and is open to authors of any nationality. It covers all non-fiction in the areas of current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography, autobiography and the arts. The winning author will receive £50,000, with the other shortlisted authors receiving £5,000. The shortlist is to be announced on Thursday 2nd October, with the prize winner announced on Tuesday 4th November. Congratulations, Lyse! 🎉

We’re delighted to announce the winner of the inaugural Janklow & Nesbit UK Fiction Prize 2025 is Georgia May Dart with her entry Scabbawath. The project, which was chosen from a stellar shortlist of 4, is a literary debut which follows a young woman living at an isolated North Yorkshire farm, as she and those around her struggle for control of the land – and love for each other. The six judges – including Sceptre’s Executive Publisher, Fede Andornino thought “reading Scabbawath I was immediately transported to the wilderness of the North and then firmly immersed in the lives of Georgia May Dart’s brilliantly realised characters. A promising start for a talented writer.” Another judge, Kate Weinberg, author of There is Nothing Wrong with Her, praised the entry as: “Original, powerful writing, setting and strong, memorable characterisation. Lots of heart in this one.” Georgia says: “I am thrilled, grateful and surprised to have been chosen as the overall winner! When I began this novel I wanted to write a love story that felt raw, honest and informed by my own experiences. I'm moved and really happy that this chimed with the judges. What has meant most to me at each stage of the competition was the encouragement from the lovely Janklow team, and the knowledge that my novel was being read by others.” The Janklow & Nesbit Fiction Prize was established in 2025 in a bid to find the best new voices in contemporary fiction; the theme for this year’s prize was ‘exquisitely-told’ love stories. Georgia May Dart, our winner, will receive a prize fund of £2,000, a one-to-one session with the Executive Publisher at Sceptre Books, and be supported by Janklow & Nesbit in writing to the end of their novel with an offer of representation. Many congratulations, Georgia! We also are so grateful to everyone who shared their work and took part in this prize!

Gillian Anderson has announced a follow-up to her bestselling anthology of female sexual fantasies, WANT, with the hope that it will be “more international, and even more daring”. The original book “gave thousands of women the freedom to talk about sex without shame or judgment; to see themselves in the words of strangers, and reflect on their own desires – some for the very first time,” Anderson said. “But Want unlocked so much more for so many and felt like just the beginning of a deeper conversation." WANT was an instant No 1 Sunday Times bestseller in the UK, and reached No 8 in the New York Times bestseller list. The English edition is currently available in 74 countries, and translation rights have been sold for 27 different languages. Anderson pledged a sum of £500 for each letter published in the original WANT book, to be split equally between the charities Women for Women International and War Child. The book’s publisher Bloomsbury also gave £50,000 to Women for Women International. Bloomsbury and Anderson said they will commit to the same contributions for this second collection. Alexis Kirschbaum, editorial director at Bloomsbury, said working with Anderson “has been an immense and inspiring undertaking. We are doing it again to give even more women the opportunity to take part, and I can’t wait to see what the next book reveals.” Announcing the opening of the DearGillian.com portal on Instagram, Gillian wrote:  Want  gave thousands of women the freedom to talk about sex without shame; to see themselves in the words of strangers and reflect on their own desires. It unlocked so much for so many, and it was just the beginning of a deeper conversation.We want to throw the door wide open with another book, reaching more women, making it more international, and even more daring. Maybe you wrote in last time but didn’t finish. Maybe you thought your fantasy would be too much, or not enough. Maybe you hadn’t even heard of our project until now.However you’ve come to it, and whatever your experience, I want to hear from you and I want to hear it all. Share your fantasy at DearGillian.com. Submissions are open now, and will close on 23rd May.

We are elated to share that A THOUSAND THREADS by Neneh Cherry has made the non-fiction shortlist of the Women's Prize 2025! The revolutionary memoir — a Sunday Times Music Book of the Year — was chosen out of a longlist of 16 incredible books; you can find the full shortlist here. Chair of Judges, Kavita Puri said of the announcement: It’s an absolute pleasure to announce six books on our 2025 shortlist from across genres, that are united by an unforgettable voice, rigour, and unique insight. Included in our list are narratives that honour the natural world and its bond with humanity, meticulously researched stories of women challenging power, and books that illuminate complex subjects with authority, nuance and originality. These books will stay with you long after they have been read, for their outstanding prose, craftsmanship, and what they reveal about the human condition and our world. It was such a joy to embrace such an eclectic mix of narratives by such insightful women writers – we are thrilled and immensely proud of our final shortlist. Congratulations to Neneh and all six Women's Prize shortlisted authors! 🎉

We're extremely excited to announce that Claire Paterson Conrad, Director of J&N UK's London office, has been shortlisted for Agent of the Year at this year's British Book Awards, affectionately known as the Nibbies. The judges said of their decision:  Janklow & Nesbit’s UK agency turns 25 this year, and Claire Paterson Conrad has shaped its identity and success. She’s a fierce advocate for her authors, but her experience at publishers has given her a keen appreciation of editors’ needs too. Clients with big hits in 2024 included Gillian Anderson, Oliver Burkeman and Neneh Cherry. “She’s the perfect literary companion,” said one author. Claire is shortlisted alongside her author Gillian Anderson whose smash-hit WANT is up for gongs in not one but two categories at this year's Awards — Book of the Year: Non-Fiction: Narrative and Book of the Year: Audiobook: Non-Fiction. The winners in all categories will be announced in a ceremony on 12th May at Grosvenor House. You can see the full list of books that made the cut in all categories for Book of the Year here and the Trade categories here.  We wish Claire and Gillian the best of luck on the night! 🤞

It's fantastic to see Janklow client Helen Czerski shortlisted for the inaugural Unwin Award 2025! Helen, author of BLUE MACHINE, — published by Penguin in 2023 and winner of the 2024 Wainwright Prize for Conservation — has been nominated for the way she uses data to "highlight ocean science literacy and the vital role the seas play in sustaining life". The Unwin Award is a new, annual literary award administered by The Publishers Association, recognising non-fiction authors in the earlier stages of their careers as authors whose work is considered to have made a significant contribution to the world. The Unwin Award is intended to champion and showcase the value of the UK publishing industry to the world. The Unwin Award has been made possible following a donation from the Unwin Charitable Trust. Worth £10,000, The Unwin Award will be awarded to the author for their overall body of work, rather than being associated with a specific title. The award is judged by an independent panel of judges — chaired by professor Shahidha Bari, who is joined by Waterstones non-fiction buyer John Cotterill, as well as social entrepreneur and author Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE — with the winner announced at a ceremony in April. You can read about the remainder of the shortlist here.  Congratulations, Helen and good luck! 🏆

We are thrilled to be launching the Janklow & Nesbit UK Fiction Prize 2025 – in celebration of our UK office’s 25th year – and we are looking exclusively for literary love stories. We are seeking literary fiction with a romantic plot at its core. We’re very proud to represent a number of authors who do just this: André Aciman’s Call Me by Your Name (“This novel is hot. A love letter.”); Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey (“A modern day Heartburn”); Jaroslav Kalfar’s Spaceman of Bohemia (“An Intergalactic Odyssey of Love”); Jeffrey Eugenides’ The Marriage Plot (“moving, human, and challenging”); Less by Andrew Sean Greer (“read and weep"), to name a few.* The winning prize will be presented to a first-time writer whose submission demonstrates excellent literary talent in an exquisitely-told love story. The winner will receive a prize fund of £2,000, a one-to-one session with the Executive Publisher at Sceptre Books, and will be supported by Janklow & Nesbit UK in writing to the end of their novel with an offer of representation. Learn more (including full Ts & Cs) at the 'Prize' page here. We can't wait to read your work! 

We couldn’t be more thrilled to celebrate that Neneh Cherry's beautiful memoir A THOUSAND THREADS, published in October 2024 by Fern Press, has been longlisted for the 2025 Women's Prize for Non-Fiction! A THOUSAND THREADS, which was crowned The Sunday Times' Music Book of the Year, is longlisted alongside 16 authors, 11 of whom are British, in contention for this year’s £30,000 prize, which was launched last year to redress the gender imbalance in nonfiction prizes in the UK. The longlisted titles “boast so many different disciplines and genres”, said journalist Kavita Puri, who is this year’s judging chair. “What unites them all is the quality of the writing, the authority of the voice and the originality of their storytelling, and just the depth and incisiveness of the research.” While the selected books are “all quite different”, said Puri, themes that emerged were “power and control – how it’s used, how it’s abused”, injustice, human connections “with each other, but also the natural world” and climate change. The shortlist of six books will be announced on 26 March, with the winner revealed on 12 June, alongside the winner of the fiction prize, which turns 30 this year. The nonfiction prize was announced in 2023 following research which found that only 35.5% of books awarded a nonfiction prize over the prior decade were written by women, across seven UK nonfiction prizes. Given that “female writers in the nonfiction area don’t do as well” as their male counterparts in terms of book advances and newspaper coverage, Puri sees this prize as an opportunity to “elevate brilliant female writing in a whole array of genres”. Women’s perspectives on the “most pressing” issues of the day “need to be heard”, she added. “So there is a huge need for this prize today”. This year’s prize was open to books published in the UK between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025. Alongside Puri on the judging panel are the writers Leah Broad, Elizabeth Buchan, Elizabeth-Jane Burnett and Emma Gannon. The inaugural nonfiction prize was won by Naomi Klein for her book Doppelganger.