'Publishing 101' is a new series of W&A events in which we hone in on a key element of the submission and/or publication process.
Led by members of the Writers & Artists team, in these 30-minute lightning sessions we'll give you everything you need to know: dos and don'ts, working examples, practical exercises, and a chance to ask questions. And what better way to kick off our 101 series than a session dedicated to the art of pitching your book?
The job of a pitch is to encapsulate what's at the heart of your book in just a couple of sentences, leaving the agent and/or editor who's picked up your submission with no alternative but to set everything else aside and begin reading your manuscript. In this session, we'll look at ways to approach the challenge of summing up a whole book in so few words, discuss pitch research, and share examples of successful pitches that you can use as a model for your own. We'll also discuss how pitches can differ depending on the kind of book you are writing (fiction genres, memoir and non-fiction), as well as how the pitch functions in the context of your submission package. Plus we'll get you putting pen to paper as we ask you to think about applying our top tips to your own pitch-in-progress! The session will end with a brief Q&A, so come ready with your questions on the submission process.
The event will take place online via Teams and lasts 30 minutes. It will also be recorded so if you are unable to attend live, you'll be able to catch-up and access the recording for up to two weeks after the event has taken place.
Clare Povey joined the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook team in 2016 at Bloomsbury Publishing. She is the Content & Partnerships Manager at writersandartists.co.uk and established the Writers' & Artists' Working-Class Writers' Prize, providing writers with author mentoring and publishing opportunities and support. Clare is also the author of middle grade books The Unexpected Tale of Bastien Bonlivre, a Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month, The Bad Brothers, The Wanderdays: Journey to Fantome Island and The Midnight Sweet Factory.
Amelia/Finn Brown (they/ them) is the Events Manager at Writers & Artists and works in the comms team at Bloomsbury Publishing. Prior to this they have worked on publicity for indie publisher Indie Novella, lead on marketing and comms for the film and event association EVCOM and worked in theatre.
They are also a Founder & Editor of queer arts and literary collective t’ART Press, as well as a writer themselves. Their work has been published in journals and anthologies including Queer Life, Queer Love 2 (an anthology by Muswell Press), Booth Journal, Annie Journal, Meniscus Journal, The Bombay Review and Snowflake Magazine.
The workshop fee of £10 (incl. VAT) is payable in full online. Please note that payment instalment plans are available for all W&A events, writing courses and editing services. Contact W&A Admin on [email protected] so that we can find a payment schedule that works for you.
This is a live online event which will be presented using video conferencing software. Joining instructions and full guidance will be provided by the W&A Team a week before the event start-date. Please note, all event timings are in UK time.
To view our event refund and cancellation policy, please click here.
Accessible to All
- It’s of real importance to Writers & Artists that our events and courses remain accessible to all.
- Writers & Artists has made one bursary place available for this event as part of our accessibility scheme. Please visit our bursaries page to find out how to apply for a bursary to the event.
- Payment instalment plans are available for all W&A events, writing courses and editing services. Contact W&A Admin on [email protected] so that we can find a payment schedule that works for you.
- At the speaker's discretion, event materials will be made available to attendees after the masterclass.
- A link to a recording of the masterclass will be circulated after the event. This will be made available to event attendees only, for two weeks.
- If you'd like to receive a transcript of the session, please do let us know and we can circulate following the session.
- This event will include written text and visuals. Please contact us in advance so that we can make arrangements to be sure all documents appear in a format that works for you.
- If you’d like to attend but have any questions or concerns regarding accessibility, then please email [email protected]
