Alice Sutherland-Hawes

ASH Literary is a Children’s & YA focused agency set up in 2020 by Alice Sutherland-Hawes. Alice has been agenting for six years, most recently at Madeleine Milburn Agency and before that with Hilary Delamere at The Agency (London) Ltd. She has so far launched the careers of Namina Forna, Kereen Getten and Poonam Mistry, to name a few.

Submission Guidelines

We are actively seeking creators working across picture books through to Young Adult, including graphic novels.

For picture books we look for something fresh, a little quirky and definitely fun. We like to see texts tackling subjects in a new way and teaching the reader without being didactic. Some recent favourites include Look Up by Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeola, Hair Love by Matthew Cherry and Vashti Harrison, and Oi Puppies! by Kes Gray and Jim Field.

In Middle Grade we are looking for magical realism and adventures both contemporary and fantastical, with a standout voice and unforgettable characters. Some recent favourites include The Strangeworlds Travel Agency by L.D. Lapinski, Bloom by Nicola Skinner, and Pet by Akwaeke Emezi.

In Young Adult we are looking for delightful rom-coms, road trips and high school drama, along with the first year of college and subverted tropes. Some recent YA favourites include Legendborn by Tracy Deonn, Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen, and You Should See Me In A Crown by Leah Johnson.

In graphic novels across all ages, we are looking for the fun, the surreal and the serious. We love fantasy, contemporary and magical realism, and are happy looking at script samples or full pitches with art. Some recent favourites include Spinning by Tillie Walden, Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, and Stargazing by Jen Wang, along with the work of Joe Todd-Stanton.

Across all age ranges and genres we are actively seeking voices that have historically been underrepresented, particularly with tropes that are often said to be “over done”. For example, we are not interested in stories about white able bodied WW2 evacuees but would welcome that story from a disabled, LGBTQ+ or BIPOC perspective.

If your book is about an identity that is not yours, we will not be a good fit.

We are not a great fit for chapter books or sci-fi, and are very selective with the fantasy we take on though we are happy to consider work in these genres by BIPOC creators. We are also not a great fit for horror or talking animals. In picture books we are more actively seeking author/illustrators at this time.

Please note I have a phobia of flying so if your book is set mainly on a plane or features any form of emergency on a plane, I will not read it.

Guidelines & Details