Our speaker in February 2023 was agent Kate Horden, who spoke to us via Zoom about the process of obtaining an agent and the relationship between writer and agent. She also gave her professional view of the current state of the publishing industry.
Kate worked for the then independent general trade publisher Victor Gollancz in London for fourteen years, selling foreign rights. After relocating to Bristol, she founded the Kate Horden Literary Agency (KHLA) in 1999.
Kate says: ‘I’m looking for fiction across the range, from literary through to psychological suspense, crime, speculative, historical, commercial and upmarket women’s fiction, with a unique hook, whether that is a very special voice or a high-concept plot or compelling characters or a combination of these. In non-fiction I’m looking for history, where the author has the appropriate platform, and memoir. I’m looking for middle-grade kids fiction with a strong hook or voice, but no YA.’
For more information, see the KHLA website: https://khla.co.uk
After Kate’s talk, Circle member Mike Everley talked about the techniques he used in his book, Eighteen Haikus, With AI Art. (To view the notes on Mike’s talk, click here)
Photo: Penny Leaver Green copy