91 Courses in Edinburgh

LOOKING FOR: ADULT FICTION, NON-FICTION Amanda Preston has been a literary agent for over 20 years and co-founded LBA in 2005. She won the RNA Literary Agent of the Year award in 2018.  She represents commercial and reading group fiction, as well as a range of narrative non-fiction and memoir. She loves working with authors, championing them every step of the way, and works with them and their publishing teams to build them into brand names and award winning and bestselling authors in the UK and internationally. Whether commercial or reading-group, she loves innovative and well-written stories that hook her in from the start and whose voice stays with her. She is looking for novels that demand to be talked about and shared, whatever their genre, and that she is still thinking about days after finishing.  She is on the hunt for a high-concept thriller which is character and plot driven, but also has a discussable issue at its heart i.e Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey and Girl A by Abigail Dean. She love thrillers where the location is as integral to the plot as the crime i.e The Dry by Jane Harper and The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse, and would love a good locked-room thriller but is only looking for fresh and unique ideas in this area.  She is also on the hunt for a glorious book club love story that is doing something a bit different and special i.e Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus or anything by Taylor Jenkins Reid or Liane Moriarty! Or smart, contemporary, observant romcoms with a very strong emphasis on diverse / own voices.  Finally, she would love a historical that vividly brings that period to life as well as having a stunning plot i.e, The Familiars by Stacey Halls and The Doll Factory by Elizabeth MacNeal. Amanda would like you to submit a covering letter, 1 page synopsis and the opening three chapters (max 5,000 words). (In addition to the paid sessions, Amanda is kindly offering one free session for low income/under-represented writers. Please email agent121@iaminprint.co.uk to apply, outlining your case for this option which is offered at the discretion of I Am In Print).  By booking you understand you need to conduct an internet connection test with I Am In Print prior to the event. You also agree to email your material in one document to reach I Am In Print by the stated submission deadline and note that I Am In Print take no responsibility for the advice received during your agent meeting. The submission deadline is: Wednesday 25 September 2024

LOOKING FOR: ADULT FICTION Louise Buckley has worked in publishing for well over a decade. She was inspired to enter the publishing industry after completing an MA in Creative Writing and then spent a hugely enjoyable year working as a bookseller for Waterstones, wishing that she could have a hand in publishing books. After a year working at Dorling Kindersley, she then spent almost five years working in the commercial fiction division at Pan Macmillan, where she published a mix of commercial bestsellers and award-winning authors. Most recently, she was an Associate Literary Agent at Zeno Agency Ltd. As an agent she represented a roster of commercial and literary fiction, including Anne Griffin’s When All is Said, which spent five weeks at number one in Ireland and sold into 17 territories. She is delighted to be working with Hannah at Hannah Sheppard Literary Agency. Louise is looking for:- Literary and upmarket fiction that focusses on the underdog, the repressed, the suppressed. Louise is especially interested in novels that represent working-class people or children going through difficult circumstances (think Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart, My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal or Boys Don’t Cry by FÍona Scarlett). Irish literary and book club fiction. Think Claire Keegan, Louise Kennedy or Anne Griffin. In commercial fiction she loves novels set during the Second World War, such as The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christi Lefteri or The Midwife of Auschwitz by Anna Stuart. Louise recently read and loved The Last List of Mabel Beaumont by Laura Pearson and would love to see anything in the same ‘older person going on a journey’ category, a more recent The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Louise had a lot of fun publishing a ‘pet fiction’ novel as an editor (Molly and the Cat Café) and would love to find an author who can write an Alfie the Doorstep Cat/Dog. She has a soft spot for novels featuring time-travel or parallel universes, a ‘what if’ that plays around with conventions. At the literary end this would be books like Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes or This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. At the more commercial end Louise loved Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister, Dark Matter by Blake Crouch and Oona Out of Order by Martina Montimore. She also enjoys novels set in the real world but featuring a hefty dose of magic or the supernatural. They can be commercial or literary, present-day or historical. Think Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch, Threadneedle by Cari Thomas, A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness or The Gifts by Liz Hyder. And also cosy fantasy in the vein of Legends and Lattes or The House in the Cerulean Sea. Cosy or humorous crime. Recently, Louise absolutely loved Over My Dead Body by Maz Evans. When she was an editor Louise published the hit Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll and would love to represent incisive, intelligent suspense written by authors such as Jessica Knoll and Gillian Flynn, or something a little more subversive and blackly comic like My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. More generally, Louise would also love to see novels with a disabled protagonist or someone (like myself) who is living with an invisible disability. As an ex-primary school teacher, she also warmly welcomes submissions from teachers, especially if the submission falls into one of the other categories she has listed. Following-on from this, she enjoys reading stories that follow a ‘beating the system’ narrative. Louise is NOT looking for: -romance -romantasy -epic, traditional fantasy -space opera -straightforward women’s fiction -children’s fiction of any kind -non-fiction Louise would like you to submit a covering letter, 1 page synopsis and the first three chapters or 5,000 words of your manuscript in a single word document. (In addition to the paid sessions, Louise is kindly offering one free session for low income/under-represented writers. Please email agent121@iaminprint.co.uk to apply, outlining your case for this option which is offered at the discretion of I Am In Print).  By booking you understand you need to conduct an internet connection test with I Am In Print prior to the event. You also agree to email your material in one document to reach I Am In Print by the stated submission deadline and note that I Am In Print take no responsibility for the advice received during your agent meeting. The submission deadline is: Friday 27 September 2024

As we become more loving we experience more love in general in our lives and in all our relationships. If you would like to experience more love in your life, then this workshop is for you.

LOOKING FOR: PICTURE BOOKS, YOUNG FICTION, CHAPTER BOOKS, MG, YA Penny Holroyde has worked in children's publishing for almost 30 years from foreign rights at Walker Books to Rights Director at Candlewick Press in the USA, before becoming an agent specialising in children's books with the Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency. In 2015 Penny co-founded Holroyde Cartey with Claire Cartey, former art director in children's books at Hachette. The agency focuses exclusively on authors and illustrators for the children's book market. Penny has a particular love for picture books but is looking for authors and illustrators working across fiction and non-fiction for all children's ages from pre-school to crossover. She's always looking for humour in picture books and chapter books and heart with some messaging in MG. In YA she's looking for strong character with contemporary settings. She'd also be interested in seeing some horror in YA. Penny is offering 121 sessions for young fiction, middle grade, YA and picture book writers. For chapter books, MG and YA fiction, please submit a covering letter, synopsis and the first three chapters of your manuscript in a single word document. For picture books, please submit a covering letter and two texts. (In addition to the paid sessions, Penny is kindly offering one free session for low income/under-represented writers. Please email agent121@iaminprint.co.uk to apply, outlining your case for this option which is offered at the discretion of I Am In Print).  By booking you understand you need to conduct an internet connection test with I Am In Print prior to the event. You also agree to email your material in one document to reach I Am In Print by the stated submission deadline and note that I Am In Print take no responsibility for the advice received during your agent meeting. The submission deadline is: Monday 7 October 2024

LOOKING FOR: MG, YA, ADULT FICTION, ADULT NON-FICTION, NON-FICTION FOR 7+ Megan Carroll is looking for writers in a variety of areas, and from a wide range of backgrounds – she is particularly keen to hear from Black, Asian, and LGBTQIA+ writers. Her main areas of focus this year are adult fiction and non-fiction, as well as non-fiction for 7+, and MG and YA fiction. In Fiction, Megan is keen to see high-concept love stories (think The Flat Share or The Lock In) for both commercial and reading group readers. She’d love to see those familiar romance tropes – enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, love triangles, forbidden love etc. – with underrepresented characters at the centre. She is also looking for historical fiction and gothic horror (think Laura Purcell, Stacey Halls and Silvia Moreno-Garcia) – anything that has a creepy, uneasy undertone is likely for Megan’s list. Megan is also actively looking for upmarket fiction and would love to see layered family drama, contemporary stories about life today and darkly comic novels that explore a specific time, place or experience. In Non-Fiction, Megan is keen to hear from experts in their field talking about topics relating to film, music, true crime, popular culture, history and issues from largely unrepresented perspectives. She is keen to see memoir, narrative non-fiction and essay collections. In Children’s and YA, she is keen to see contemporary YA with humour, and romance at the heart – fun and emotional stories that appeal to the interests and issues of the teenage readers. She’d also love to see thrillers and horror stories for this age group too. It’s unlikely that high fantasy novels for YA readers will be right for her, but she is keen to see stories with fantasy elements in a real world setting. On the younger end, Megan is looking for funny, contemporary middle grade – think Louise Rennison and Karen McCombie – and anything creepy and spooky for 8-12 year old readers too. She’d love to find something like Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events and is keen to find original adventure stories in both fantasy and realistic settings. Megan would like you to submit a covering letter, 1 page synopsis and the first three chapters or 5,000 words of your manuscript in a single word document. (In addition to the paid sessions, Megan is kindly offering one free session for low income/under-represented writers. Please email agent121@iaminprint.co.uk to apply, outlining your case for this option which is offered at the discretion of I Am In Print).  By booking you understand you need to conduct an internet connection test with I Am In Print prior to the event. You also agree to email your material in one document to reach I Am In Print by the stated submission deadline and note that I Am In Print take no responsibility for the advice received during your agent meeting. The submission deadline is: Wednesday 16 October 2024

Life is hectic. Finding time out feels almost impossible. We want to pray, we want to reflect, but when we do find a snatched moment to ourselves, we remain distracted. I've designed this space to help you reconnect with your breath, to gently stretch your body, and to listen... to the voice of your inner wisdom, and to the voice of your Beloved.  We will meditate with scripture, we will journal, we will use creative means to listen to the Spirit. We will sit with Love. I hope you will come away feeling centred, refreshed and assured of your belovedness.  Two hours, on Zoom. "Come away with me to a quiet place" The sessions will be shaped around the following themes this year: October: Teresa of Avila November: Letting Go December: Advent / Expectant Hope January: The Gifts of Winter Darkness February: Love March: Lent April: No Session May: Resurrection / Spring June: TBC July: The Gifts of Summer August: No Session You are invited to participate from the comfort of your own home. Ideally you'll be able to find a little space where you won't be interrupted. You might wish to ask those you share space with to help you protect this time by respecting your privacy. All who sign up will be sent a link to the recording of the retreat which will remain live until the following session. If you would like to participate via recording, simply register for the event. It would be great if you could let me know that you won't be with us in real time. Past Participants are Saying: "A really well led session allowing time for reflection and prayer." - Ellie Virtual Mini-Retreats are hosted by Lissy Clarke, Spiritual Director, Yoga Teacher and the voice behind the meditations at Contemplative at Home.  NB: Virtual Mini-Retreats are FREE for members who support the show at £15/ month and above (thank you!! ✨) - but you must still register to secure a place on a particular date, as places are limited. Memberships can be started or stopped at any time. More information here.

Self-help and relaxation skills and exercises for stressed, burned out SEN parents and carers

LOOKING FOR: ADULT FICTION, NON-FICTION Rachel Neely began her publishing career in 2016 at HarperCollins, before moving to Hachette where she worked as an editor for the next six years, specialising in crime and thrillers along with book club novels and contemporary fiction, most recently as a Commissioning Editor at Orion. Rachel joined Mushens Entertainment at the start of 2022 as an Associate Agent, assisting Juliet Mushens with her client list, including multiple Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling authors. Simultaneously she began signing her own clients. In August 2023 she was promoted to Literary Agent and is actively growing her list, looking for book-club fiction, dark academia, rom-coms, tragic love stories, crime and thrillers. Please note she is not the right agent for sci-fi, espionage novels, YA or children’s books. She signs both commercial and literary authors, and is always looking for a distinctive voice matched with a compelling plot. She also is especially drawn to darker stories that centre characters with tragic fates, dark pasts or buried trauma. She is also keen to find authors from underrepresented groups who can bring a fresh perspective to well-worn story arcs, or capture experiences shared by many but, as of yet, underexplored in fiction. She would love to see a commercial locked-room thriller in the vein of The Midnight Feast, The White Lotus or with shades of Succession; novels about cults such as The Girls; a voice-led serial-killer thriller reminiscent of How to Kill Your Family; compelling dark academia to rival The Secret History; a high-concept but tragic love story that will make her ugly cry in the vein of The Time Traveller’s Wife or One Day; and anything that has an outsider trying to break into the world of the privileged and morally bankrupt. Besides those above, her favourite novels include The List, The Talented Mr Ripley, The Lovely Bones, Other People’s Clothes, The It Girl, The Girl Before, Notes on an Execution, My Dark Vanessa and My Sister the Serial Killer. Rachel would like you to submit a covering letter, 1 - 2 page synopsis and the first 5000 words of your manuscript in a single word document.  (In addition to the paid sessions, Rachel is kindly offering one free session for low income/underrepresented writers. Please email agent121@iaminprint.co.uk to apply, outlining your case for this option which is offered at the discretion of I Am In Print).  By booking you understand you need to conduct an internet connection test with I Am In Print prior to the event. You also agree to email your material in one document to reach I Am In Print by the stated submission deadline and note that I Am In Print take no responsibility for the advice received during your agent meeting. The submission deadline is: Monday 7 October 2024

Anxiety and Self-Love Journey This group coaching package is for you if you feel: constantly anxious and worried not good enough worried about the future, changes, uncertainty stuck in the same cycle of thoughts that you can’t get out of like you are not living your best life