Nightingale’s Choice, which United Agents’ Millie Hoskins sold to Dialogue); romance (Christen Randall’s The No-Girlfiend Rule, acquired by Pushkin from Darley Anderson’s Becca Langton); literary (Chukwuebuka Ibeh’s Nigeria-set Blessings, snapped up by Viking from Janklow’s Emma Leong); a raſt of coming-of-age stories (Sean Farrelly’s Bi Bi Bi, repped by The Blair Partnership’s Rachel Pety); and a range of non-fiction, including The Rainbow Ceiling, Layla McCay’s guide for LBGTQ+ people to navigating the workplace, acquired by Bloomsbury from The Good Agency’s Abi Fellows. HarperNorth publishing director Genevieve


Pegg celebrated the depth and breadth of these submissions, saying: “It’s great to see submissions that don’t pigeonhole LGTBQ+ purely as a category but are instead simply submited as a great read.” Pegg added: “We’re seeing romantasy start to blur into the mainstream, and more historical novels that re-tell big moments and stories from lesser- used perspectives, along with origin stories and ‘what happened next?’ narratives that invert received opinions.” Muswell Press publisher Kate Beal also welcomed the rise in LBGTQ+ submissions, saying: “What we are looking for is interesting new queer fiction and non-fiction to publish onto our acclaimed queer list, along with out- of-print queer classics.”


Rich lists Among literary titles, Doubleday publisher Kirst Dunseath has seen a lot of historical fiction, “a bit of literary speculative, short lyrical novels and unsetled and unsetling books… not surprising, given political and social currents”. Dunseath added: “What I would really love to see is a real richness in the storytelling, imagination that goes beyond


the here and now, or that takes the here and now and gives it a bit of a shake. As a reader, I want to be surprised and to have that sense of discovering something refreshingly new. That’s probably what all editors look for, but we are seeing it play out in the blending of genres, of books that try to do something outside the boxes we tend to put them into.” Several editors reported that various national and geopolitical crises were the engine of current submissions. Zaffre and Manilla Press publishing director Sophie Orme said: “I think there is a real appetite in the market for more traditional character-led storytelling, set against a compelling back- drop: books that transport you to another time and place will always be popular in uncertain and difficult times.”


It’s great to see submissions that don’t pigeonhole LGBTQ+ purely as a category but are instead simply submitted as a great read


Genevieve Pegg, HarperNorth


Tim Whiting, m.d. at Orme’s sister Bonnier division Black & White, agreed. He said: “We are still living in a world of uncertaint, which is reflected in the kind of books that are on submission at the moment. In non-fiction, we are seeing plent that atempt to explain the world around us, and that offer help and support. This is partially true of fiction as well, where readers are keen to escape from the world as it is, or imagine a world different to the one we live in.” Sphere Fiction publishing director Tilda


Trendwatch Loving a hot climate A ELSA PANCIROLI TheBookseller.com


clear non-fiction trend in the LBF Agents’ Hotlist is a number of works examin-


ing various facets of evolution, mass extinctions and how species have adapted to extreme conditions— undoubtedly a reaction to Homo Sapiens’ self-inflicted existential crisis brought on by climate change. Felicity Bryan Associates’ Carrie


Plitt is agenting two of the hottest titles in this space: Alex Riley’s Life at the Limit and Elsa Panciroli’s The


Unfittest: A Natural History. Science writer Riley’s book is about how nature has learned to adapt, even thrive, in hostile environments; UK rights were snapped up by Atlantic. Oxford University palaeontologist Panciroli’s title investigates how species without offspring can, counterintuitively, play a key role in evolution. The Unfittest is one of the biggest pre-LBF science hits, with John Murray grabbing UK rights, with deals in the US, Germany, Italy


Key is eager to see crime stories that centre underrepresented perspectives and communi- ties, adding that the submissions she has seen in the run-up to this LBF have been more diverse, in terms of author and protagonist ethnicities, than in previous years. “Diversit and inclusivit are of course not a ‘trend’, but seeing more diverse submissions come through is hugely encouraging,” she said. Trapeze editor Serena Arthur is also on the look-out for “more diverse fiction of all kinds—books that contain protagonists and characters of different ages, races, sexualities, backgrounds, nationalities and socioeco- nomic backgrounds. But ones that are genu- ine, nuanced and, at least sometimes, not purely about trauma, difficult or struggle.” Across non-fiction, “big books” tackling global issues are the key trends. Emma Smith, editorial director at Robinson, sees “frontiers, fears and fun” as prevailing themes. “We have AI and further space exploration in our sights, sparking imagination and debate. Money remains a concern so I expect to keep seeing submissions around that subject, from the practical to the philosophical.” Oneworld editorial director Cecilia Stein


reported that many more editors are pursuing qualit non-fiction than they were five years ago, “which has raised the bar when it comes to commissioning”. She added: “I would love more women in academia to make their way into the ‘big ideas’ space.” Drummond Moir, deput publisher at


Ebury, believes “fresh twists on ambitious, mind-expanding history, David-vs-Goliath corporate scandals, and relationship and life advice that cuts through the noise all feel fertile at the moment”, saying that “the over- due and welcome emphasis on more inclusive voices and perspectives continues as well”. Additional reporting Tom Tivnan


and the Netherlands, plus a Spanish offer on the table. Meanwhile, Doug Young at PEW


Literary has Earth, Wind & Fire on submission—not a biography of the 1970s disco/funk group, but biochemist Harriet Rix’s look at how trees have adapted over millennia to “conquer the world”. Rebecca Carter, in her first LBF with her new epony- mous agency, is repping Oxford biologist Tim Coulson’s A Universal History of Me, a “fun and engaging” explanation of the key events, from the Big Bang to the present day, that enabled humans to exist; Penguin Michael Joseph acquired UK and Commonwealth rights.


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