my US book media events were cancelled and it severely hurt my American book sales.


You have written a number of books since then, put out via your company Street Angels Books. Why the move into (self-) publishing?


My original agent, Mary Clemmy, advised me to self-publish my current novel Carolina Red. I finished it during the pandemic and nothing but books about Donald Trump were being published in the US. So I took Mary’s advice and I’m having a great time! I love the free- dom of creating my own publishing schedule, not having to wait for anyone’s green light.


It is 30 years since the publication of Iced. What plans do you have for its birthday? There are several mainstream publishing companies, including Canongate, interested in publishing the 30th-anniversary edition. I am chuffed because my litle imprint was going to publish this anniversary edition but I wanted some heavyweight marketing and publicit power, and lightning seems to have struck again in that several mainstream publishers are interested in it. It may even go into auction, like the original edition did. I am thrilled and excited to be geting this second bite of the cherry. My agents, Crystal Mahey-Morgan and


Jason “Cuba” Morgan at OWN IT!, are experienced, astute and very on the case, and I am looking to them to help me choose the right imprint to take Iced where it’s never gone before. I am currently writing Iced 2: Lateral Flow, which places the 70-year-old Cornelius Washington Jr in Kemptown, Brighton, batling a new addiction of sugar diabetes, learning about and from a daughter he never knew he had, holding his grandchild’s hand as they walk the complicated and stressful road to trans-land, seeking redemption from his tragic and chaotic past sins. This is all set against against a background of a politically confused United Kingdom, feverishly atempt- ing to tame media dragons. I’m having mucho fun geting back in the mind of a dried-out former crack addict.


You were Rusty the Steam Engine in the original musical “Starlight Express” and have had a 50-year career in acting; might the two strands come together one day with an adaptation of Iced?


Street Angels Media is developing a new stage production of Iced called “Black Thoughts in an Early Moon”, which I am extremely excited about. Once a publishing home for Iced is identified, we can move onto geting Iced onto a streaming screen or a silver one.


TheBookseller.com


Six questions for...


03 What opportunities did you see when setting up your agency?


When I started, the varying children’s content industries were bizarrely disconnected. The multiple ways in which children can explore one story world is mind-blowing, and yet publishing can still be frustratingly binary. My dream was, and is, a list of storytellers whose body of work bridges across varying media. I have to say that there also seemed only to


be a space on the shelves for writers of colour who wrote issue-led fiction. I wanted to offer a space for those writers to flourish in genre fiction, to create escapes as well as mirrors.


04 What’s it like working as a Black agent in the industry?


I’m immensely proud of being a Black agent and what that can, for some people, represent. But eeesh… it’s exposing. It’s hard not to feel that sometimes your existence in the industry comes with heavy expectations. Each agent has their own way of


Davinia Andrew-Lynch Founder, Andlyn


Davinia Andrew-Lynch set up literary agency Andlyn in 2015, after years of working as a film and TV agent. Natasha Onwuemezi spoke to her about her career so far and launching the Faber Andlyn (FAB) Prize with Faber Children’s, an award for writers and illustra- tors from underrepresented backgrounds.


01 You moved into publishing after working in the film/TV industry.


Why did you decide to set up your own agency? Well, I never lost the wish to work with books, and so I moonlighted as a freelance reader/ editor across the publishing industry. But the more I read, the more I wanted my own roster of writers to champion, to see through from early development to publication.


02 What were the challenges in setting up your own agency?


Building a list from scratch and moving to working independently is daunting. Self-doubt can be your worst enemy when agenting and you need to grow a thick skin. But the major risk was financial. My partner and I do not come from particularly wealthy backgrounds and he too is self-employed. We have a young family and we live in London. Andlyn was an agonisingly considered leap of faith into the unknown. It was absolutely the right decision.


championing their authors, and I often feel that one’s list is an extension of their sensibili- ties and tastes. It has to be about loving the author’s work, not their identity. As a Black agent, I know I am afforded a perspective that enables me to find great stories that are often overlooked. But I worry that questions like these will make my being an agent about my identity, when, at the end of the day, all I want to try and be is a great agent.


05 Why did you decide to launch the FAB Prize and how has it gone?


It’s been a joy! Leah [Thaxton, Faber children’s publisher] and the Faber Children’s team have been the perfect partners in creating something that showcases previously often ignored talent. The success of the FAB alumni so far has been undeniable. Many have gone on to find agents, be published and begin what I hope will be successful and sustainable careers in this industry and beyond.


06 How has the industry changed in terms of diversity since you have


been an agent? To say there hasn’t been progression would be untrue. There are people in this industry who have been activating meaningful change for a long time. But cynicism can be hard to dismiss. I am concerned that part of this discussion has provoked a knee-jerk, lip-service reaction from some sections across the industry who don’t particularly acknowledge diversity. This can be a boom or bust industry, and it would be a true shame if the casualties of a “bust” are those who have lacked visibility historically, because some newfound support was not genuine. Every year this conversation is had, this ques- tion is asked, it clearly shows that we still have work to do. And so it goes on…


The FAB Prize is currently open for entries. 15


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