Canongate - submissions

We work with lots of brilliant literary agents who do invaluable work, and we like hearing about new writers from them. So if you are interested in being published by us, we’d recommend finding yourself an agent first.

Here are some tips on how you can do this:

A photo of a wall and some shelves in the Canongate office

The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook is a good place to start. This directory is updated annually and also offers good advice for where to begin on finding an agent.
Research agencies and familiarise yourself with their submission guidelines and clients. Often, agencies prefer you to submit to only one of their agents so do spend some time working out which agents represent books like yours and might best respond to your manuscript.
Take the time to work on your submission and think about your synopsis, sample material and cover letter carefully. A synopsis should be about a page long and doesn’t need to contain a breakdown of the plot developments of every chapter.
In a cover letter, it might be useful to include some information about yourself, whether you’ve written anything before, why you’ve chosen to submit your work to this particular agent and a very short pitch for the book. Do tailor your letter to personally address the agent you are submitting to and don’t forget to include your contact details.
If it’s fiction you’re writing, make sure the manuscript is complete and the best it can possibly be. For non-fiction, your proposal should contain an overview and sample material, and should make clear why you’re best placed to write the book. First impressions do count, so edit, edit, edit.