Literary Agents
Join a panel of literary agents, Anwen Hoosen, Cathryn Summerhayes and Caryl Lewis, to discuss their roles and how they fit in the complex mechanism of the publishing world. Anwen, Cathryn and Caryl will give advice on how to find the right agent, and they’ll discuss their experiences with some of the most popular authors writing today. There will be an opportunity to discuss the differences between the publishing sectors in Wales and beyond and an opportunity for the audience to ask questions.
Language of the session: Welsh and English, with simultaneous translation service
Anwen Hooson started her career in the press departments at Penguin and Waterstones, before co-founding Riot Communications, which fast became one of the most respected and influential PR agencies in the publishing industry. In 2018, Anwen launched Bird Literary Agency, with a mission to give flight to books that would inspire and provoke. Her authors include Caryl Lewis, Liz Hyder, Kirsty Capes, Huw Aaron, Jodie Lancet-Grant and Moira Buffini. Anwen was a judge at the British Book Awards 2018-2022, and was nominated for Literary Agent of the Year at the British Book Awards 2023.
Cathryn Summerhayes re-joined Curtis Brown in September 2016 having started her literary agency career there as an intern in 2004. Prior to her return she was at WME for 10 years where she established an eclectic list of clients. She has worked at several other British literary agencies and at Colman Getty PR – where she worked on many high-profile book events including The Booker Prize. She was named The British Book Awards’ Literary Agent of the Year in 2019. Her clients include Adam Kay, Lucy Foley, Chris Whitaker, Anita Rani, Shappi Khorsandi, Ashley ‘Dotty’ Charles, Nicky Campbell, Mark Watson, Naomi Wood, Kirsty Logan, Susan Fletcher, Johanna Basford, Grace Dent, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Deliciously Ella, Polpo’s Russell Norman and Konnie Huq.
Caryl Lewis is a multi-award-winning Welsh novelist, children’s writer, playwright and screenwriter. Her breakthrough novel Martha, Jac a Sianco (2004) is widely regarded as a modern classic of Welsh literature and sits on the Welsh curriculum. The film adaptation – with a screenplay by Caryl herself – went on to win six Welsh BAFTAs and the Spirit of the Festival Award at the 2010 Celtic Media Festival. Lewis’ other screenwriting work includes BBC/S4C thrillers Hinterland and Hidden. Caryl is a visiting lecturer in Creative Writing at Cardiff University, and lives with her family on a farm near Aberystwyth. Drift was Caryl Lewis’ debut novel in the English language and won the 2023 Wales Book of the Year Award. She is the only writer to have won the award in both languages.