New Year, New Novel: How to Get Published

Spend an illuminating evening with two publishing powerhouses and unlock the tools to make your writing shine, stand out, and catch the attention of an agent.

It’s time to make your writing resolutions for the new year. Set yourself up for success in 2023 and secure your place at this very special online masterclass with award-winning novelist, playwright and non-fiction writer Kate Mosse and leading literary agent Felicity Blunt.

Coming together live in conversation for one night only, the two women responsible for multiple bestsellers between them will look back on their years of experience in the book world and offer key pieces of advice for any writer looking to secure a publishing deal. The duo will encourage you to take a step back from your work and consider simple changes and practical tactics to ensure your writing connects and makes a striking first impression – from getting your manuscript in front of the right people to crafting a compelling (and selling) elevator pitch.

Brought to you by Fane in partnership with the Women’s Prize Trust, the charity behind the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the greatest celebration of women’s creativity in the world, don’t miss this unique opportunity to put your questions to two passionate publishing legends – and walk into 2023 with a gameplan to move your novel up to the top of the submissions pile and launch your writing career.

Date: Thursday 26th January 2023

Time: 19:00

Location: Online

Tickets: £20 Buy your tickets here

Five free places are available for women on a low income whose financial situation prohibits them from attending the event, resident in England or Wales, prioritising those from marginalised backgrounds (writers of colour, disabled writers, LGBTQ writers and other under-represented groups). If you are not sure what low-income means, the Citizens Advice Bureau has some useful guidelines here, and there are some helpful calculations here to show how these margins are measured by the Government across the country. If you are a full-time student or pensioner, or in receipt of any kind of Universal Credit, you are eligible to apply.

To apply, please email info@womensprizeforfiction.co.uk with the subject line: ‘New Year, New Novel subsidised place’, with a little bit about yourself, why you are interested, how you think you will benefit from the session, and attaching any relevant paperwork you have. We will reply to successful applicants by Monday 23rd January. 

About the speakers:

A former editor and publishing director (with Century, Hutchinson, Radius and Random House), Kate Mosse is the author of ten novels and short story collections. Her books have sold more than 8 million copies worldwide and her fiction – which has been translated into 38 languages and published in more than 40 countries – includes the No 1 international bestselling Languedoc Trilogy (Labyrinth, Sepulchre and Citadel), the No 1 bestselling The Joubert Family Chronicles (The Burning Chambers, The City of Tears and The Ghost Ship, coming July 2023), and best-selling Gothic fiction including The Taxidermist’s Daughter and The Winter Ghosts. She has also written four works of non-fiction including the critically acclaimed memoir An Extra Pair of Hands, four plays, contributed essays and introductions to classic novels and collections. Her latest feminist history Warrior Queens & Quiet Revolutionaries: How Women (Also) Built the World was published last Autumn, and she will be taking her first one-woman show inspired by the book on tour in the UK in spring 2023 (www.katemosse.co.uk/events).

A champion of women’s creativity, Kate is the Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction – founded in 1997 to honour, amplify and celebrate fiction written by women from all over the world – and chairs the Discoveries programme, a partnership between the Women’s Prize Trust, Curtis Brown literary agency, Curtis Brown Creative and Audible. Kate is teaching an online course for CBC launching in February 2023. Kate also sits on the Executive Committee of Women of the World, is the Founder of the global Woman in History campaign and is the Patron of several national and local arts organisations.

Awarded an OBE in 2013 for services to literature and women, she was named Woman of the Year for her service to the arts in the Everywoman Awards. She is a Visiting Professor in Creative Writing and Contemporary Fiction at the University of Chichester and was a Visiting Writing Fellow at the Dutch Literature Foundation in 2019.

Felicity Blunt first trained as a barrister before interning at both the Wylie Agency and Curtis Brown. She officially joined Curtis Brown in 2005 and has worked for the company both from London and New York. Felicity represents authors that span the literary to commercial spectrum, including Booker Prize shortlisted Claire Keegan, Women’s Prize shortlisted Meg Mason, Rosamund Lupton, Renée Knight and Gillian McAllister in addition to NYT bestselling debut authors Abi Dare and Bonnie Garmus.  Felicity is a Trustee of the Women’s Prize Trust.

Felicity feels privileged to work with the Estate of Daphne du Maurier and the legendary Jilly Cooper, both of whom represent all that she looks for in fiction: original stories, sharp observation of human behaviours and a singular voice.

She co-agents a number of authors with the US agency CAA, among whom number the Pulitzer-winning Jennifer Egan and Women’s Prize winner Ann Patchett. Her non-fiction list consists of bestselling cookery writers Anna Jones, Rukmini Iyer, Claire Ptak and CAA client Samin Nosrat, as well as Stanley Tucci’s food memoir Taste. In the non-fiction space , she is also drawn to books that examine issues of women’s bodies, sex and status.

Felicity likes to work with all of her clients in the 360, helping to form a strategy that straddles not only the domestic and international sales of their books, but also the exploitation of their media rights. She is currently serving as an EP on the Disney + adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s Rivals.