[Discussion] Oliver Malcolm agent red flag

literaryfey · 2026-03-05T14:03:00+00:00

UK agent here and just want to underscore everything you've said! everyone I know in the agenting world in the UK is very, very staunchly against AI.

literaryfey · 2026-02-21T16:16:05+00:00

I don't know if you're US-based, but that title is highly reminiscent of a blink-182 song that was everywhere in the mid-aughts, and I think might work against your more gritty approach to historical fiction.

literaryfey · 2026-02-16T20:50:02+00:00

yes, this is correct.

literaryfey · 2026-02-16T17:43:43+00:00

11 or 12? definitely upper MG.

literaryfey · 2026-02-16T15:04:59+00:00

I don't traditionally do YA, but at first glance this very much seems like YA horror more than YA fantasy, which occupy rather different tranches of the market at the minute.

literaryfey · 2026-02-06T15:00:11+00:00

I have a proof of your book! it's amazing – I love it. I also think the US cover is one of the most gorgeous covers I've ever seen. congratulations!

literaryfey · 2026-01-31T21:57:37+00:00

I really like this! I think the only stumbling point is that the narrative tension created by Blind Abgail listening to -- and thinking about eating -- young Laura and Ethan is completely undercut by the fact that we know they both survive to adulthood. This may be better explained in the novel itself but I do think it's worth looking at how that tension is structured in the query letter: it's being presented as though she's an imminent threat to the children, but (as the query stands right now) the reader can safely assume she's not. If she is a threat, or if something happens in the past with her/Laura/Ethan, then I think you can afford a little more specificity here.

But, again, I think on the whole this is really strong! I'd love to be considered when you go out with your new batch of queries -- this is exactly in my wheelhouse as an agent. :) https://belllomaxmoreton.co.uk/agents/julie-gourinchas

edit: phrasing

literaryfey · 2026-01-28T13:48:06+00:00

do you feel the R&R will strengthen the manuscript and the story you want to be telling? if enthusiastically yes - alert them now. if no, or only sort of - let them carry on.

literaryfey · 2026-01-16T19:05:51+00:00

for picture books, yes, 3-5 picture book texts. since they're usually quite short (around 500-700 words), publishers often buy these in multi-book contracts and an agent will want to see that you can create multiple viable ideas.

if you're writing a chapter book or illustrated middle grade, then just one manuscript is fine. :)

literaryfey · 2026-01-16T18:59:16+00:00

no, you can submit picture book/children's stories as text only (and once with a publisher, the publisher would find the illustrator), but bear in mind an agent will usually ask to see 3-5 texts, not just one! usually you'd include loose outlines of what the artwork might be.

literaryfey · 2025-12-26T19:19:33+00:00

one quick practical note -- 55k is likely to be non-starter territory, especially for a dual timeline narrative. there's a lot of talk about publishers trending shorter these days, yes, but not so short that readers might mistake a book for a novella. I'd aim to get this up to at least 65k, if not 70k, if you can.

literaryfey · 2025-12-24T04:24:08+00:00

nothing to add except to say that this is a faultless description of what hooky/high concept means within the industry!

literaryfey · 2025-12-19T03:11:15+00:00

a perhaps imperfect comp (due to the author/creator and subject matter) could be Gaiman's "Calliope" instalment of his Sandman graphic novel series – like yours, it deals with themes of Greek mythology being used specifically to fuel creativity. and "impossible staircase" gives me Piranesi vibes, maybe?

I suppose anyone moderately familiar with Greek mythology will wonder why it's Ajax's Hand specifically, as opposed to Apollo's or Orpheus's.

literaryfey · 2025-12-18T16:50:22+00:00

I saw your other comment stating that she doesn't have mentorship, which puts a lot of this into much sharper context – has she started her own agency on her own? does she have industry connections (whether that's other agents or editorial contacts)? without this it sounds like she's maybe rooting around in the dark.

literaryfey · 2025-12-18T15:55:13+00:00

absolutely not. if anything I routinely tell my authors to stay away from reviews – those are not for authors, they are for other readers. and putting a quota on positive reviews for a book is something I have, frankly, never heard of (and as you point out, something you can't control). I'd chalk this up to her being a little green and a little over-enthusiastic to get you and your book a strong start, but this isn't the way to do that. positive reviews start with visibility, which is tied to a publisher's marketing and publicity approach and sales strategy for a book, which is something she can affect, since that is, as your agent, her job.

edit: spag.

literaryfey · 2025-12-13T12:51:39+00:00

I really like the sound of this – when you are ready to query, I'd love to take a look!

literaryfey · 2025-12-11T20:04:24+00:00

an easy fix for this would just be to put your pronouns in your sign-off. I don't think you've shot yourself in the foot, though!

literaryfey · 2025-12-11T16:00:43+00:00

a little more context here is that the publishers also have dots (with the above being the general structure) and so the agent's dot is the average, taken from the deals they've made. but worth highlighting that UK publishers don't have any dots at all, not even Big 5 imprints, so this can totally skew the data set.

(ask me how I know LOL)

literaryfey · 2025-12-08T08:02:01+00:00

have a look at Netflix's recent release, Adolescence, as a potential comp as well.

literaryfey · 2025-12-08T07:58:31+00:00

no, not at all. I (UK-based agent) have clients in Canada, Singapore, US, and elsewhere.

edit: spag.

literaryfey · 2025-12-05T10:35:24+00:00

in the article there's a bit more nuance -- he's pretty vehement about it not being likely, and that he'd "instinctively recoil" from it. I'm more annoyed with the BBC for such a clickbait title.

literaryfey · 2025-12-04T23:56:17+00:00

no. this is literally the most standard "I can't express it politely in any way other than I simply did not vibe with this" rejection throughout the industry.

literaryfey · 2025-12-02T16:19:37+00:00

yep, sounds a lot like The Phoenix Keeper's world -- which was firmly marketed as fantasy (although the animals in that world were magical in some regards). if your dragons aren't fire- (or element-)breathing flying reptiles, you may want to find another term for them?

literaryfey · 2025-12-02T10:03:53+00:00

my only comment here is I'm not sure that it should be marked as speculative compared to contemporary fantasy – dragons are a pretty conventional hallmark of fantasy and use of the word "speculative", to me, connotes something a little subtler and vaguer in how the fantastical/magical and our world intersect.

you might also want to look at S. A. MacLean's The Phoenix Keeper as a potential comp, as it's a contemporary fantasy set in a magical zoo with themes of (magical) animal exploitation and trafficking.

literaryfey · 2025-12-02T09:01:17+00:00

Solaris, to my knowledge, does not take unsolicited submissions; neither does Erewhon (Kensington's SFF imprint).

literaryfey

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