Elly James
HHB Agency
Submission Guidelines
- Submit via
- Submission contact
- submissions@hhbagency.com
- Looking for
- Quality commercial and popular literary fiction with emotional heft, original voices and broad appeal, including twisty thrillers, ghost stories, and epic romantic stories. For non-fiction, experts in their fields writing about history, nature, science, self-development, biography, memoir, original thinking, lifestyle and food — particularly books that educate and illuminate worlds readers don't know, strong women's voices, and food writers with fresh perspectives or a built community.
- How to submit
- Email submissions@hhbagency.com with the genre in the subject line. Put your covering letter in the body of the email including a brief pitch, relevant background, and comparison titles. Attach the first three chapters or around 50 pages as a Word document, plus a synopsis. Fiction writers must have completed the manuscript before submitting. Non-fiction writers may submit before completion.
- Response time
- Up to 8 weeks (no reply = pass)
What They Represent
- Genres
- Commercial Fiction, Women's Fiction, Intelligent Crime, Thrillers, Historical Fiction, History, Nature, Science, Self-Development, Biography, Memoir, Lifestyle, Food
- Age categories
- Adult
- Location
- UK
What we found
HHB Agency was founded in 2005 by Heather Holden-Brown, who retired in January 2024. Elly James, who joined in 2007 and previously worked in television and film development, is now sole director and agent. The agency does not handle scripts, screenplays, poetry, science fiction, fantasy, police procedurals, or YA and children's books, and only represents authors based in Europe. Notable clients include The Secret Barrister, Adam Kay, Laura Cummings, Hannah Barnes, Katy Hessel, and Sophie Elmhirst.
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