Agents looking for literary fiction are often seeking voice, depth, originality, and emotional intelligence. Plot still matters, but prose and perspective matter more.
If you’re writing crime, thrillers, historical sagas, book club fiction, high-concept women’s fiction or plot-driven contemporary novels, you’re likely writing commercial fiction. And the good news is this: there are UK literary agents actively seeking it.
Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life and A God in Ruins belong to the second category, which feels faintly absurd when you consider what they actually do, and how good they are.
From contemporary issue-led novels to fantasy, dystopian, romance and thriller hybrids, YA continues to evolve alongside its readership. Agents looking for YA are often seeking authentic teen voice, emotional immediacy and strong narrative momentum.
Excitement flickers. Then dread. Then the quiet, possessive thought: please do not ruin this.
Science fiction continues to evolve. From climate fiction and dystopian futures to space opera and near-future speculative thrillers, UK agents are actively seeking bold new voices in the genre.
If you’re writing adult science fiction, these UK literary agents are currently open to submissions and looking for speculative manuscripts.
Romance fiction remains one of the most commercially powerful genres in publishing.
From contemporary romantic comedies to historical love stories and emotionally layered relationship dramas, romance readers are loyal, vocal and constantly searching for their next obsession.
It is not the algorithmic sort of thrill, not the flash-sale urgency of consumer culture, but that quieter jolt. The moment you see a cover and think, I don’t know what this is yet, but I want to live inside it. I admit I do sometimes (not always) judge a book by its cover. I do not feel guilty for doing so.
Blending fantasy world-building with central romantic arcs, romantasy thrives on tension, chemistry, high stakes and emotional payoff. Think epic settings, dangerous alliances, morally grey love interests and slow-burn desire.
If you’re writing high fantasy, contemporary fantasy, myth retellings, dark fantasy or speculative crossover fiction, the agents below are currently open to submissions and actively looking for fantasy manuscripts.
Navigating the UK literary agent scene can feel opaque, but it helps to know who’s out there.
This isn’t a definitive list, but these are twenty respected, active agents known for championing strong literary and commercial fiction.
Book club fiction sits in that rich middle ground between literary and commercial.
It is character-led but accessible. Emotional but plot-driven. The kind of novel readers press into a friend’s hands and say, “You have to read this.”
If you’re writing contemporary fiction with strong themes, layered relationships and discussion potential, you may be writing book club fiction.
It certainly did for me. It arrives with deceptive ease, settles in slowly, and leaves behind the feeling of having lived another life. Its greatness lies not only in its characters, vast landscape and epic scope, but also in its sense of finality. It says what it needs to say, fully and generously.
Which is precisely why it is best left alone.
Back then, The Winds of Winter seemed just over the horizon. George R. R. Martin had already begun writing it. Some readers expected it within a few years. Many still believed that the books would finish before the show caught up.
That never happened. HBO's Game of Thrones finished almost six years ago, and Martin has now been working on The Winds of Winter for well over a decade.
The truth is, the odds are tough. Fewer than 10% of all fiction writers ever secure representation. Yes. You read that correctly. That's how hard it is to find a literary agent.
It is such a wonderful book, and told in just 150 pages. It has the feel of a much longer novel because it packs so much in. Such a worthy Booker Prize winner.
It’s tempting to say yes immediately, and many do, but not every agent is the right fit. I've been there a couple of times, and for whatever reason, it did not pan out. Here’s how to assess whether they’re not only excited about your book but also aligned with your long-term creative goals.
For many writers, it’s thrilling and surreal. It can also be nerve-racking. You should enjoy the moment, and congratulate yourself on the hard work. You have achieved something very few writers do. I certainly did, as it is so hard to get a literary agent, and I think it is getting harder.
Query letters walk a tightrope. Too humble and you undersell the work. Too bold and you risk sounding like you’ve written the next Ulysses.
The trick is to find a voice that reflects your book’s tone while presenting yourself as a professional, not a hopeful.