I've now submitted Where Is the War? to a number of carefully chosen agents who I admire & genuinely believe might connect with the story. There are one or two more I'd love to query in the New Year, once they reopen. Now, it's time to wait (which I hate!). #mglit #amquerying #kidlituk #amwriting

Anyone else out there twiddling thumbs and waiting for the Bath results? #mglit #kidlit #mglituk ##AmWriting

💫 Happy Bath Children's Novel Award 2025 Longlist Eve! 🗳️The votes are IN and we'll be posting a bumper selection of 50 YES comments from 19:00 GMT, including 💛7 Golden Votes, which have all been cast for different books. 🐈‍⬛Good luck everyone!

There's still time to enter our #CBCWinterStory25 writing competition on Instagram ☃️ Write a flash fiction story inspired by our prompts to be in with a chance of winning a free course! Find out more and enter by Mon 15 Dec:

Posting this for my own use: inhale / exhale.

Yay! I finally get to say I’ve finished my first MG historical novel, Where Is the War? 💥 Coincidentally, I discovered that the French training camp I sent my MC to was the place I used to take Year 7s & 8s on French trips, to help them understand WW1. Full circle moment. #amquerying #MGlit #HistFic

The Marlowe & Christie Novel Prize is open for entries until 5th January 2026. Submit the opening 3,000 words of your novel. £24 entry fee (early-bird fee of £19 available until 5th November). £1,200 top prize. Winners receive feedback from agents, editors and authors. www.marloweandchristie.com

This email definitely piles the pressure on: Thank you for entering the Bath Children's Novel Award 2025, we can't wait to read your work... A reminder to make sure your full manuscript is submission-ready by mid December, when the Junior Judges will start reading for the shortlist. #amquerying

Hark! What is that I hear? The delicate sound of agents clearing their inboxes for Christmas? Three rejections in one day is a little excessive, people! Anyone else getting that? #amquerying #mglit #disabledwriters

Still time to enter this! I just remembered in the nick of time. OK, not really remembered - it came up on my feed and I panicked, until I sent my application in today. #amwriting #disabledwriters #MGlit #NDwriters

Some stories just flow. My new MG historical feels like it’s writing itself and the words won't stop pouring onto the page. It is such pure joy and I am loving the experience!#wip #amquerying ##disabledwriters #AmWriting

If finding an agent is like dating, I feel like a total player today. I've got my ms (Lumi and the Manor Tree Mysteries) in with not one but THREE dream agents now. If any of them read this, you're definitely the one for me! 😘 #disabledwriters #MGlit #amquerying #diversevoices

That was fun! I've just sent off the first 3000 words of my first ever Historical novel (MG) to the HNS First Chapters competition 2026. I love the energy of trying new stuff! #MGlit #HistoricalFiction #amwriting #diversevoice #disabledwriters

Big News! @thebookerprizes.com has announced the launch of The Children’s Booker Prize 2027 — a new award celebrating exceptional fiction for readers aged 8–12. We’re thrilled to support this initiative to encourage young readers to discover stories that stay with them for life.

Cosy, early-MG mystery with two ND MCs, a cockatoo, and a talking (or is it?) umbrella. Together, they must solve the mystery of the disappearing pets, before the entire village turns against them. #MockPit #FiFiRevPit #amquerying #ownvoice

My ND brain went AWOL during #QuestPit. I read the posts then promptly forgot. AND I'm in the wrong time zone, so it was always going to be interesting. Here it is, fashionably late! #MG #OwnVoice #Dis #AmQuerying #disabledwriters #Q #MY

#WriteCBC task from @jessicabull.bsky.social: Write an exchange in which a character says one thing but communicates something else entirely. Allow your narrator to draw their own conclusions as to what is really being said. Extra points if you make it festive!

I’m a mentor again for WriteHive! I had so much fun with last year’s mentee and I’m excited to find another amazing manuscript this year. Swipe for my #mswl and to view important dates. The link in my bio will take you to all mentors ✨🐝📚 #HiveMentor

My latest vision: The Agent Rehoming Trust™ “Matching under-loved agents with kind, patient authors who promise not to email twice in one day.” Because every agent deserves a loving author and every author deserves an agent who doesn’t vanish mid-submission. Let's make it happen! #amquerying #mglit

I've just entered a short story to this for the first time ever. Probably the best thing I've ever written. Fingers crossed they like it, even if it doesn't get anywhere. #disabledwriters #amquerying #amwriting

Received my e-mail this afternoon. Such helpful and detailed feedback from @kelleyeditorial.bsky.social , which will absolutely help in the future. I see a revision of The Parent Stealers coming on. Huge thanks to Hannah and to the Organisers of #RevPit and #10Queries.

This week, I've started sending Lumi (early MG) out to agents. It's a cosy detective mystery in a typical English village, starring 2 ND MCs, including one who lives in a treehouse with a cockatoo and a talking umbrella. Keep everything crossed! #mg #amquerying #kidlit # #disabledwriters

Waiting for my #revpit query to show. The bad news is it's 9pm in the UK, so I won't find out till tomorrow! Learning loads from all the pitch critiques though, so thanks to all the editors for their hard work. #10Queries

Every now and then, a line lands that reminds me why I write. This one’s from an unpublished children’s story I’ve been working on and I hope one day it finds its way to readers. ##amquerying #disabledwriters #MGlit #kidlit

Absolutely buzzing! Had a great Zoom course today with CBC on Pitching Your Novel. Feeling a lot more confident about querying agents about Lumi after input from Lauren Pearson & Catriona Paget. Thanks to everyone at CBC for a positive, inspiring course!

Scholarship reminder! Our Breakthrough Novel-Writing Scholarship for Writers with Low Income closes soon. This scholarship will award one talented writer with limited financial means a place on our three-month online Writing Your Novel course with Andrew Michael Hurley ✍️ 🗓️ Apply by 26 Oct:

We created a newsletter to share #DVpit news! We will mainly use it to share important information and updates! If you'd like to be updated about future DVpit events, then sign up here: dvpit.substack.com/subscribe?pa... #writersky #artistsky #booksky #newsletter

Sorry I’m late; hope it’s ok to post! Harriet the Spy meets Isadora Moon in this cosy mystery about Lumi, a secretive girl in a treehouse and Bugsy, a bug-mad boy. Together, they form the Sleuthhounds & solve a string of pet thefts. EarlyMG,7–10,18k. #DVpit #MG #Neurodivergent #amquerying #OwnVoices

I am so lucky to have a family of eagle-eyed readers who enjoy finding little issues with my manuscripts, so I can query it. Shout out to my family! 🥰 #MGlit #disabledwriters #amquerying #kidlit

Nail your one-line pitch and learn how to write a great query letter on our day-long Zoom course, Pitching Your Novel! Join former Curtis Brown agent and author Lauren Pearson on 21 Oct to learn how to master the art of pitching 📑 Enrol now: www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/course/pitch...

🦔 Meet Humphrey! This little hedgehog has now been rescued five times by my very determined dog. Tonight, he joined me on the sofa for a snack as he's underweight for the safe hibernation weight. He’s now safely roaming free again, until next time! #hedgehog #writinglife #disabledwriters #MGlit

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends!

If anyone didn’t know, this is on Zoom tonight 6-7.30pm BST: the Blue Pencil Agency’s Ask an Agent: Competition Submissions session with Liza DeBlock: she’s the judge for this year’s BPA Pitch Prize. Perfect if you want an insider’s take on what makes a story stand out. #disabledwriters #amquerying

I just finished the first draft of my chapter book Lumi and the Manor Tree Mysteries! It’s for 7–11-year-olds & full of mystery, mischief and a girl who lives in a treehouse with a talking umbrella and a cheeky cockatoo. Editing starts tomorrow…then off to agents. #amquerying #disabledwriters #MGlit

Over the moon that my pitch was selected for the October #RevPit #10Queries event! Can’t wait to see the feed on 24 Oct and find out which one’s mine. Huge thanks to the Revise & Resub editors for the chance! 💙

#DVpit inspired me to reopen to queries sooner than I'd planned... Starting Nov 2025, I'll be open to unsolicited queries the first week of every month! Still just YA + MG fiction... Really hungry for 🤩 debut voices... You'll be able to submit here: querytracker.net/querybeth #mswl

I just entered #RevPit #10Queries. Enter now for a chance to win free feedback on your query and 1st 5 pages!

I’ve just received my very first issue of Mslexia magazine and can’t wait to curl later with a cup of tea & a biscuit. I feel like a proper writer! If you subscribe too, what's your favourite bit? Have you been published in it? #Mslexia #WritersLife #AmWriting #disabledwriters #MGlit #WomenWhoWrite

Just took part in my first ever #DVpit and wow! What an incredible whirlwind! I’m still reeling (in the best way) from the support, the community, and… yes, a like from an agent I admire, who I hope will 'get' The Parent Stealers! 🥰

#DVPit #MG #Dis On Ben’s 12th birthday, his parents vanish, thanks to his brother’s joke letter to the Parent Removal Organisation. With a surreal logic and dark charm echoing Lemony Snicket & Coraline, The Parent Stealers follows Ben, Charlie & Milo in a race to rescue them before they're archived.

#DVPit #MG #Disability On Ben’s 12th birthday, his parents vanish, thanks to his brother’s “joke” letter to the Parent Removal Organisation. Now it’s down to two brothers, one oddball agent, and their dog Milo to outwit a surreal bureaucracy before they’re all archived for good.

#DVpit #Dis When Ben’s parents vanish one night, he discovers a surreal agency that removes ‘unsuitable’ parents. To get them back, he, his little brother and their dog must outwit corrupt agents with an army of enforcers, a sentient organisation, and a system that doesn’t make mistakes. Or does it?

#DVpit #MG #Disability Ben’s parents vanish on his 12th birthday, after his brother’s “joke” letter to a mysterious Parent Removal Organisation. Racing against time, the brothers, an odd agent, and their dog, Milo, must outwit a sentient bureaucracy to rescue their family before they are 'archived'.

#dvpit #disability #mg One joke letter, two brothers, two missing parents. On his 12th birthday, Ben experiences just that, leaving him, his little brother and their dog to fight the might of the Parent Removal Organisation and, hopefully, save their parents before they are all 'archived' for good.

I was thinking today how much I've always loved reading children's books; they're fun, there are no limits to where they can take you and there are so many great writers to choose from. These were/are my favourites. #mglit #disabledwriters #amquerying #kidlit

2pm (BST) tomorrow! Who's excited? #WomensPrize #WomensPrizeforFiction #WomensPrizeforNonFiction

Anyone else joining the Reedsy Novel Sprint? If you've ever wanted to write a book, this challenge aims for you to write 50,000 words in November. I've signed up today. ##amquerying #disabledwriters #mglit

Early Christmas present from my husband: a beautiful HP Omnibook so I can finally do it properly. No more battling tiny keyboards and lost files… time to write in style. #AmWriting #amquerying #DisabledWriters #mglit

Querying feels like building a Franken-agent: one loves the voice, one loves the concept, one loves the read. Now, if only I could stitch them together and shout IT’S ALIVE! #amquerying #disabledwriters #kidlit

Thrilled to share that my flash Into the Storm made it into the Top 10% at the Oxford Flash Fiction Prize 2025 🌪️ Not longlisted this time, but I'll take top 10% of a big, national competition any day! #OxfordFlashFiction #FlashFiction #AmWriting #DisabledWriters