BFLA Open Week: Top Tips On Signing With An Agent - What to Ask About, Look For And Expect

Written by Kate Burke

• When querying agents, please let them know if you have had an offer of representation or are taking meetings with other agents. Once you have signed with an agent, do let any other agents in the mix know. It’s a courtesy that all agents appreciate!

• Before signing with an agent, do feel free to ask questions about the agent and their client list, and about the wider agency/ team (ie, who handles translation and film & tv rights) or, if the agency doesn't have these departments, ask who handles their translation and media rights. These are valuable rights, often key to an author’s income, so fine to probe about who will be handling them and what the submission plan is for your book in that area.

• Take your time before signing with an agent. An agent should never impose a deadline an author or put you under pressure to sign. If they want to work with a client, they'll wait for them to make an informed decision. There is no hurry!

• Look through the proposed agency/client agreement first before signing. Feel free to ask questions before signing anything. Don’t move forward with an agent without an agreement – this should be a mutual commitment and there should be something in writing to confirm it!

• Never pay an agent. We work on commission only! An agent should never ask you for any money up front.

• Have a call, Zoom or meeting with an agent before signing with them to discuss the editorial process and next steps (working together on shaping your project and getting it ready for submission etc). Be wary of agents who don't edit! Even if your project/work/manuscript is really polished, an agent should work closely with you on getting it ready for submission to publishers. This is how the professional relationship between the two of you develops and it also shows that they’re invested in selling it.

THE DARK FLOOD by Deon Meyer nominated for a Barry Award

We are delighted that THE DARK FLOOD by Deon Meyer has been nominated for the Barry Awards in the Best Mystery or Crime Novel category.

The nominees are chosen by the editorial board of Deadly Pleasures magazine, with winners voted by the readers of Deadly Pleasures.

The winners are to be announced at the Opening Ceremonies of Bouchercon-San Diego on 31 August 2023.

The other titles nominated in the category are THE ACCOMPLICE by Steve Cavanagh, DESERT STAR by Michael Connelly, SHIFTY’S BOYS by Chris Offutt, SECRET IDENTITY by Alex Segura and CITY ON FIRE by Don Winslow.

THE DARK FLOOD was published by Grove Atlantic in North America and by Hodder & Stoughton in the UK in 2022, translated by K. L. Seegers. This followed publication in Afrikaans by Human & Rousseau in 2020, where it was an instant No. 1 bestseller. It was shortlisted for the South African Adult Fiction Book Award 2021 and the ATKV Thriller Prize 2021 and won Best in Translation at the Crime Fiction Lover Awards 2022. Translation rights in THE DARK FLOOD have been sold in five further territories, though overall Deon’s books are sold in many more languages.

THE DARK FLOOD by Deon Meyer

One last chance. Almost fired for insubordination, detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido find themselves demoted, exiled from the elite Hawks unit and dispatched to the leafy streets of Stellenbosch. Working a missing persons report on student Callie de Bruin is not the level of work they are used to, but it's all they get. And soon, it takes a dangerous, deeply disturbing turn.

One last chance. Stellenbosch is beautiful, but its economy has been ruined by one man. Jasper Boonstra and his gigantic corporate fraud have crashed the local property market, just when estate agent Sandra Steenberg desperately needs a big sale. Bringing up twins and supporting her academic husband, she is facing disaster. Then she gets a call. From Jasper Boonstra, fraudster, sexual predator and owner of a superb property worth millions, even now.

For Sandra, the stakes are high and about to get way higher.

For Benny Griessel, clinging to sobriety and the relationship that saved his life, the truth about Callie can only lead to more trouble.

Praise for THE DARK FLOOD

‘In Meyer’s stellar seventh thriller featuring South African police detective Benny Griessel… Meyer adds a Madoff-like financial fraudster and a homicide as he toggles between story lines and keeps things moving toward the wholly satisfying conclusion. This is the best work yet from this gifted author.’ – Publishers Weekly

‘A well-crafted blend of suspense, culture, and humor.’ – Kirkus Reviews

‘Deon Meyer’s Benny Griessel novels, featuring a detective in an elite crime squad in Cape Town, are a joy to read… Meyer has become an outstanding chronicler of South Africa’s corruption.’ – Joan Smith, The Sunday Times

‘Meyer handles the complicated plot with panache, bringing in both men’s private problems and relationships to create plenty of warmth.’ – Patrick Graney, Literary Review

‘A fine mix of suspense, action, political intrigue and personal revelation’ – Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal

About Deon Meyer

Deon Meyer is an internationally bestselling and prizewinning author, who was awarded France’s highest arts honour, Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters) in 2021. He writes in Afrikaans and his South African publisher Human & Rousseau has sold more than 600,000 Afrikaans copies of his novels. Rights in his titles are sold in 30 territories and 28 languages and many of his books have been optioned for film and TV, with a couple currently in production. Acclaimed 6-part series TRACKERS was broadcast in South Africa in 2019, with a stellar South African cast and went on to appear on channels and streamers around the world.

Deon’s books have been awarded many prizes around the world: the Deutsche Krimi Prize in Germany, the ATKV Prize in South Africa, and Le Grand Prix de Littérature Policière and Le Prix Mystère de la Critique in France. COBRA was shortlisted for the 2015 CWA International Dagger, THIRTEEN HOURS was shortlisted for the 2010 CWA International Dagger, and HEART OF THE HUNTER, was longlisted for the 2005 IMPAC Prize and selected as one of Chicago Tribune’s ‘10 best mysteries and thrillers of 2004’. THE DARK FLOOD was a Number One bestseller in South Africa in both English and Afrikaans. It was shortlisted for the South African Adult Fiction Book Award 2021 and the ATKV Thriller Prize 2021 and won Best in Translation at the Crime Fiction Lover Awards 2022.

Follow Deon on Twitter

Visit Deon’s website  

TIEPOLO BLUE by James Cahill on Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award longlist

We are delighted that TIEPOLO BLUE by James Cahill has been longlisted for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award.

The Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award was established in 1954, making it the longest-running UK prize for debut fiction and, except for the James Tait Black and the Hawthornden, the oldest literary prize in Britain. Past winners include Gail Honeyman, Jackie Kay and the late Gilbert Adair, also a Blake Friedmann client.

The other titles on this year’s longlist are: TO FILL A YELLOW HOUSE by Sussie Anie, THE DICTATOR’S WIFE by Freya Berry, MY NAME IS YIP by Paddy Crewe, EDGWARE ROAD by Yasmin Cordery-Khan, LITTLE BOXES by Cecilia Knapp, WHEN WE WERE BIRDS by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo, BLACK BUTTERFLIES by Priscilla Morris, I’M A FAN by Sheena Patel, MOONLIGHT AND THE PEARLER’S DAUGHTER by Lizzie Pook, THE WHALEBONE THEATRE by Joanna Quinn and NO COUNTRY FOR GIRLS by Emma Styles.

Lucy Popescu, the chair of the judging panel, said: ‘We are delighted to announce our longlist of 12 debut novelists tackling a fascinating diversity of subjects. These compelling novels explore art and privilege, war, loss, blackmail and theft as well as love, desire, obsession and the pursuit of power. We visit several UK locations and are transported to the American frontier, Australia, Trinidad, Eastern Europe and the siege of Sarajevo.’

The shortlist for this year’s prize will be announced on 20 March, with the winner being revealed at the National Liberal Club on 24 May.

TIEPOLO BLUE follows the unravelling of revered art historian Donald Lamb. Freed from the constraints of academia, it looks like the anarchic contemporary art scene of 1990s London might be his salvation, but he soon suffers an earth-shattering fall from grace that leaves him questioning everyone and everything.

TIEPOLO BLUE was published in hardback by Sceptre in June 2022 to great acclaim. It attracted widespread praise, including from Patrick Gale and Stephen Fry (the latter describing it as ‘The best novel I have read for ages’), and was also included in the BBC’s and Times Literary Supplement’s ‘Best of 2022’ lists. It will be published in paperback on 27 April 2023.

James is currently writing his second novel, THE VIOLET HOUR, which will be published in hardback by Sceptre in Summer 2024. Set in New York, London and Switzerland, the novel reveals the secret history of a reclusive artist, a monomaniacal collector, and the art dealer caught between them.

Praise for TIEPOLO BLUE

‘The spirit of E.M. Forster is alive and well in James Cahill. The same palpating of damaged moral tissue, the same psychological canniness, the same gently invoked erudition, the same exactitude and eloquence – except Cahill is able to explore forbidden themes that Forster feared to touch on except posthumously’ – Edmund White

‘The best novel I have read for ages. My heart was constantly in my throat as I read… There is so much to enjoy, to contemplate, to wonder at, and to be lost in.’ – Stephen Fry

‘Imagine if Hollinghurst and Murdoch collaborated on a witty update of DEATH IN VENICE and you'll see the appeal of James Cahill's assured debut.’ – Patrick Gale

‘The last debut novel I read that had this much talent buzzing around inside it was Alan Hollinghurst’s THE SWIMMING-POOL LIBRARY.’ – Robert Douglas-Fairhurst

‘Beautifully captures disorientation, tenderness and heat without tipping into excess…an electric new novel written by an author skilled in the evocation of vertiginous, heightened emotion.’ – Michael Donkor, The Guardian, ‘Book of the Day’

‘The plot is propulsive, though the crafted ambience of unease simultaneously destabilizes the reader at every turn. The prose is fluid and precise but the tone equivocal, bathos merging into pathos, tragedy into farce and back again… Oscar Wilde’s paradoxes – about the relationship between art and life, illusion and reality, true and false selves – lie half submerged throughout this bravura debut, but so does the vulnerability of Thomas Mann’s Gustav von Aschenbach… It is the moments when rawness and confusion burst to the surface that prevent this witty yet unnerving book from being too clever.’ – Lucasta Miller, Times Literary Supplement

About James Cahill

Picture Credit: Darren Wheeler

James Cahill was born in London. Over the past decade, he has worked in the art world and academia, combining writing and research with a role at a leading contemporary art gallery.

His writing on art has appeared in publications including The Burlington Magazine, The Times Literary Supplement, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and The London Review of Books. He was the lead author and consulting editor of FLYING TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN (Phaidon, 2018), a survey of classical myth in art from antiquity to the present day. He was the co-curator of ‘The Classical Now’, an exhibition at King’s College London (March-April 2018), examining the relationships between ancient, modern and contemporary art.

He is currently a Research Fellow in Classics at King’s College London.

Follow James on Twitter and Instagram 

Blake Friedmann Literary Agency Launches Second Online Open Week For Writers

From Monday, 6th of March, we will, once again, be opening our virtual doors with a week dedicated to demystifying publishing and agenting, and supporting writers seeking representation. We will be running live #AskAgent sessions, sharing agent blogs on a variety of agenting and publishing topics, and running book giveaways across our social media accounts between the 6th and 10th of March.

Our aim is to offer helpful insights into what an agent does, how to navigate the submission process to find an agent, how an author and agent work together, understanding the publication process, earning income as an author through the sale of rights (translation, film & TV, audio and book), and how to get into the agenting or publishing industry. All of our book agents (Isobel Dixon, Juliet Pickering, Kate Burke and Sian Ellis-Martin) along with our Media and Translation Rights colleagues will be involved throughout the week, and the team hopes to answer as many questions as possible from writers (published or querying) or anyone wanting to get into the industry.

Alongside this, we will be offering three writers a 20-minute feedback meeting (online) on their submission packages in April. More information on how to submit for this opportunity will be revealed during the week on our social media accounts and on our website.

Kate Burke said: ‘Last year’s Open Week was fantastic in terms of hearing from writers, sharing information and chatting to people interested in getting into our industry. I hope we managed to help people on their publishing journey in some way and, as we mentioned last year, our plan is to run this Open Week annually as our industry is constantly changing and facing fresh challenges. At Blake Friedmann we are committed to supporting writers who feel that the publishing industry is inaccessible to them. It’s clear – from social media and what our agents hear when they give talks at schools, writers’ groups, conferences and festivals – that people have a lot of questions about what agents actually do and how it all works in terms of money, deals and rights, so, hopefully, this Open Week will help clarify much of that. Our goal is to be as transparent and accessible as possible, and we look forward to the first week of March!’

More details about the Open Week and new, daily content will be shared on our website and on our social media channels, using the hashtag #BFLAOpenWeek, throughout the week of 6th of March. This author-focused endeavour follows our ongoing Carole Blake Open Doors Project launched in 2017.

Canongate acquires next McCoy novel from Alan Parks

We are delighted that Canongate has acquired TO DIE IN JUNE, the sixth instalment in the Harry McCoy series by Alan Parks.

 The fifth book in the series, MAY GOD FORGIVE, won the 2022 McIlvanney Scottish Crime Book of the Year Prize, and the third, BOBBY MARCH WILL LIVE FOREVER, recently won the Prix Mystère de la critique in the foreign fiction category in France.

 TO DIE IN JUNE thrusts Harry McCoy into the case of a missing boy and will be published on 25th May 2023.

A woman enters a Glasgow police station to report her son missing, but no record can be found of the boy. When Detective Harry McCoy, seconded from the cop shop across town, discovers the family is part of the cultish Church of Christ’s Suffering, he suspects there is more to Michael’s disappearance than meets the eye.

Meanwhile reports arrive of a string of poisonings of down-and-outs across the city. The dead are men who few barely notice, let alone care about – but, as McCoy is painfully aware, among this desperate community is his own father.

Even as McCoy searches for the missing boy, he must conceal from his colleagues the real reason for his presence – to investigate corruption in the station. Some folk pray for justice. Detective Harry McCoy hasn’t got time to wait.

Alan Parks says: ‘Very much looking forward to working with Canongate again on this new Harry McCoy novel. TO DIE IN JUNE is Harry’s most difficult case yet, a case that takes its toll on him and the people around him. This time no one escapes unscathed.’

Francis Bickmore says: ‘After Alan Parks scooped both an Edgar Award and the McIlvanney Prize last year, he is on a roll with readers and critics alike. The worldwide crime pantheon needs to make space for Detective McCoy alongside Rebus, Reacher and Laidlaw. TO DIE IN JUNE is Parks’ most brilliant, brutal and breathless novel yet and we look forward to 2023 being Parks’ breakout year.’

Isobel Dixon says: ‘So many readers around the world love Harry McCoy and we’re delighted that Canongate will be publishing the sixth novel in the series this year. Alan Parks can take you from nail-biting to heart-breaking with the turn of a page, then back to the very the edge of your seat – and TO DIE IN JUNE does all of this and more.’

About Alan Parks

Alan Parks worked in the music industry for over twenty years before turning to crime writing. His debut, BLOODY JANUARY, was shortlisted for the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, FEBRUARY’S SON was nominated for an Edgar Award, BOBBY MARCH WILL LIVE FOREVER won the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original and was shortlisted for the Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel and THE APRIL DEAD was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year. The latest Harry McCoy book, MAY GOD FORGIVE, was published in April 2022 and won the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2022. Rights to the Harry McCoy series have been sold in more than ten countries around the world and have also been optioned for television.

Alan was born in Scotland and attended The University of Glasgow where he was awarded a MA in Moral Philosophy. He still lives and works in the city as well as spending time in London.

Praise for the Harry McCoy series

‘The meticulously described setting is so suggestive readers may even catch whiffs of stale cigarette smoke and patchouli. Fans of Scottish noir will be satisfied.’ – Publishers Weekly

‘Parks’ sprawling plot offers not tidy whodunit puzzles but a wide-angle view of a gritty city in the grip of crime, home to an entertaining cross section of characters. Broad-shouldered McCoy is suitably unflappable as he walks Glasgow’s mean streets.’ – Kirkus Reviews

‘Parks captures the feel of a city long vanished in a breathless and tense retro crime caper.’ – The Sun

‘A series that no crime fan should miss: dangerous, thrilling, but with a kind voice to cut through the darkness.’ – Scotsman

‘Pitch-black tartan noir, set in 70s Glasgow... Compelling... with an emotional heart that’s hard to ignore.’ – Daily Mail

Follow Alan on Twitter

Visit Alan’s website