Hannah Schofield

I am a British-Luxembourgish literary agent currently based in London at LBA agency. I represent a wide range of adult fiction, with select non-fiction and YA. I am a voracious and eclectic reader, and my client list reflects that – I can get as excited about a swoony commercial romance or a deeply-researched popular history project (in fact, those titles published on the same day!). While I do have areas in which I won’t usually venture – for example, if you want to win the Booker Prize, I’m not the agent for you! – I’m always open to being surprised, so if you think we might be a good match, please do consider sending your query my way!

Fiction:

In fiction, my taste runs more commercial than literary, though some of my favourite novels sit in the sweet spot between the two, like Transcendent Kingdom, Fundamentally or anything by Curtis Sittenfeld. I gravitate towards books that are shot through with humour – if you’re pitching a romcom, I want there to be laughs; and I enjoy books with a dark or offbeat sense of humour too, like Margo’s Got Money Troubles.

Top of my wishlist at the moment is something fresh and unexpected in the thriller/mystery/suspense space – especially if the protagonist and target audience is under 30 (though note I’m a hard sell on influencer-related plotlines!). I’d be excited about something soapy or serious, but I don’t tend to connect with projects that are either very cosy or extremely graphic/violent – though I’d be eager to read a novel that’s equally sexy and suspenseful like Jessica Knoll’s Helpless. Or please think of me if your book could be pitched as ‘Strangers but make it a revenge mission’! I’m also interested in where thriller meets horror or a speculative take on a domestic suspense, and I’m drawn to antiheroines (with a righteous cause?!) like in Best Offer Wins. Across subgenres, I’m looking for clear hooks, a strong sense of place, and a fast-paced read.

I’m looking for juicy page-turners and highbrow beach reads, where low-stakes interpersonal drama – perhaps in a family, friend group, workplace or local community – feels incredibly high-stakes, and the voice has a lot of bite. Think: I Hope This Finds You Well or Bad Summer People; I’d love a campus novel in this area. I’m also hankering after a sister story like Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty, or a high-concept love story with genuinely surprising twists, a la Rebecca Serle or Tia Williams, with elevated writing and a bittersweet ending that’s going to make me laugh, cry, and swoon.

As I am lucky enough to have lots of clients writing in this space I’d need to be utterly swept away by a new contemporary romance or romcom, but please send me queer romance of all types, and romance projects that cross into other genres, whether that’s women’s fiction, horror(-lite), or romantic suspense. I like a sharp, humorous voice, as in Annie Knows Everything or Last Tang Standing, and I want to see inventive storytelling beyond just a great hook or the main trope (though of course both are key!).

I am very picky about romantasy, but when I find something I love I am all in (A Forbidden Alchemy, looking at you)! Here I’m looking for fresh worlds/set-ups and perspectives, and an equal balance of worldbuilding, political intrigue, and romance/spice. I’d particularly be interested to read a romantic fantasy where the narrative engine is a murder mystery. I’m also keen to find some genuinely different-feeling historical fiction or historical fantasy, especially if the setting is neither Britain nor America in the vein of The Familiar and The Warm Hands of Ghosts with incredibly immersive settings and rich evocation of the past.

YA was my first love in publishing, and forms a small and passionate part of my list. I’d love to see new voices from from the UK and Ireland, writing for teenagers rather than the crossover adult audience, and I enjoy summer romances, pacy thrillers, and anything which has the leap-off-the-page voice of Nina Kenwood’s It Sounded Better In My Head.

Non-fiction:

I’m very selective in this area, but please think of me for popular history, particularly areas that have been under-taught in western education or women’s/domestic/family/social history – I would always be delighted to hear from experts in those fields.

I love deep dive explorations of niche areas of culture, in the vein of Alice Robb’s personal and sociological examination of ballet in Don’t Think, Dear. Got this for gymnastics, musical theatre, or another performing art? Please send my way!

In narrative non-fiction, I wanted to be hooked by a story so outlandish it could be fiction, and am a big fan of non-murder-y true crime, especially with a strong character or cast to anchor the plot, like in the shows Dopesick and The Dropout.

Missed connections:

Here are a few projects that I would have loved to bring to my list – if you have something similar please think of me!

• A tropey second-chance romance with a speculative twist, set in a hyper-specific subculture.
• A juicy drama centring on the leadership team (and their long-suffering children) at an elite private school.
• A gorgeous upmarket love story about a truly three-branched love triangle, with astonishing characterisation. (I cried three times!)
• A fantasy academic-rivals-to-lovers romance, which was witchy and fun without being cosy.

I’m not the right fit for:

Children’s books, sci-fi, very grisly horror, all-vibes-no-plot, or a book without speechmarks.

Submission Guidelines

Please submit to me via my submissions email, which can be found (along with FAQs about querying) on the LBA website.

Guidelines & Details