Pitch your writing in person at International Literature Festival Dublin 2026!
Date with an Agent is now open for submissions
Agents receive thousands of unsolicited manuscripts every year, so how do you make your submission stand out from the crowd? Meet leading industry professionals and get the inside track on how to best hook their interest at this exclusive pitch event.
Held during The Insider’s Guide to Publishing at ILFD in Merrion Square Park, at Date With An Agent, top literary agents will each give ten writers one-to-one tailored advice. Just like writing, hooking an agent takes imagination, time and effort. Submit today for a chance to be one of only ten writers selected to speak to one of our five leading industry professionals at Date With An Agent.
Now in its twelfth year, The Insider’s Guide to Publishing is two single-day events (Friday is tailored to those writing for children and YA; Saturday is for those writing for adults) presented by ILFD in partnership with industry expert Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin - aka bestselling author Sam Blake - and Writing.ie.
The Insider’s Guide to Publishing for Children & YA, Friday 22nd of May
The global children’s publishing market is expected to be worth $15 billion by the early 2030s. Discover the inside track on this ever-growing industry at this full-day event focusing solely on books for children.
Agents : Sallyanne Sweeney, International Creative Agency (Early Readers & Picture books), Clare Wallace , The Darley Anderson Children’s Book Agency (Middle Grade), Molly Ker Hawn , David Higham Associates (Teen/YA).
The Insider’s Guide to Publishing for Adults, Saturday 23rd of May
This full-day event goes behind the scenes on all aspects of publishing.
Agents: Maria Whelan , Mushens Entertainment (Literary Fiction/Book Club), John Baker , Bell Lomax Moreton (Speculative Fiction/Science Fiction/Romantasy/Fantasy), Jade Kavanagh , Darley Anderson Agency & Associates (Crime/Thriller), Isobel Dixon , Blake Friedmann Literary Agency (Memoir/Historical Fiction), Shanika Hyslop , Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film Agency (Women’s Fiction).
How to apply for a Date with an Agent
To be considered for a one-on-one meeting with an agent at Date With An Agent, you must submit online. Click the button below to view criteria, terms & conditions , and submit your work. The deadline for submissions is Tuesday 7th of April, midnight. There is a cost of €30 per entry. Should you be selected to meet an agent, they will receive a copy of your submission to review in advance of your meeting. All applicants will receive one year’s free membership to Writing.ie , Europe’s biggest writing resources website, worth €35.00! Details will be sent to applicants upon submission.
If selected for Date With An Agent held during The Insider’s Guide to Publishing for Children & YA on Friday 22nd May or The Insider’s Guide to Publishing Adults, you will need to book a ticket for the full-day event. Tickets are at a discounted rate of €40. ILFD will contact those who have submitted in advance with the time slot for your allocated agent.
From start of March, tickets for The Insider’s Guide to Publishing for Children & YA and The Insider’s Guide to Publishing for Adults cost €80 each | €70 each Early Bird will become available for those who wish to attend the seminar without the option of submitting their work for a Date with an Agent. Lunch is included in the ticket price.
Submit via the following link : click here
Meet the Agents!
All the agents we invite to Date with an Agent are leading industry professionals specially selected by Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin/ Sam Blake, founder of Writing.ie, the Writers Ink online writing group, and Murder One, Ireland’s International Crime Writing Festival.
Agents at Date With An Agent at The Insider’s Guide to Publishing for Children & YA (Friday 23rd of May)
Picture Book | Sallyanne Sweeney | International Creative Agency
Sallyanne Sweeney is drawn to projects that combine creative ambition with broad readership appeal and her taste ranges from the literary to the commercial, with a focus on distinctive voices, strong storytelling, and fresh perspectives. She has a gift for guiding debut writers into long-term careers, while supporting established voices to reach new audiences. Her clients include Sunday Times and Irish Times bestsellers, and their work has been recognised with major honours including the British Book Awards, Irish Book Awards, Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards, and the YA Book Prize. Sallyanne will be looking at Picture Books and Early Readers at Date with an Agent.
Middle Grade | Clare Wallace |The Darley Anderson Children’s Book Agency
Clare Wallace has wide and varied taste but is always led by and looking for standout voices and characters. Representing everything from picture books right through to YA and a boutique list of adult fiction, she is passionate about inclusivity and is always keen to read submissions from under-represented writers. Her clients have been Sunday Times and New York Times bestsellers, Irish Book Award winners, shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, picked as Waterstone’s Children’s Book of the Month, shortlisted for the Branford Boase, nominated, longlisted and shortlisted for the Carnegie prize, among others. Many titles have been adapted, or are in development for screen. At Date with an Agent Clare will focus on Middle Grade books.
Teen & YA | Molly Ker Hawn | David Higham
Molly Ker Hawn primarily represents authors who write fiction for children and young adults. Her authors’ books have been New York Times, Sunday Times and international bestsellers, and have won and been shortlisted for the American Library Association’s Michael L. Printz Award and William C. Morris YA Debut Award, the Barnes & Noble Children’s Book Award, the Costa Book Award, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the Carnegie Medal, the Children’s Books Ireland Book Award, the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis and more. A director of David Higham Associated, Molly will be looking at YA books at Date with an Agent.
Agents at Date With An Agent at The Insider’s Guide to Publishing for Adults (Saturday 24th of May)
Speculative Fiction/Science Fiction/Romantasy/Fantasy | John Baker | Bell Lomax Moreton
John Baker focuses on authors writing in the adult, new adult, and YA spaces. He is cultivating a list shaped around his passion for science fiction, fantasy, horror, and action/adventure fiction. His authors have won the Imagined Future’s Prize, the Future Worlds Prize, been featured on the Sunday Times Bestseller Charts, and have been adapted for cinematic release by Oscar-winning collaborators. John will be meeting speculative fiction writers from across the full spectrum of the genre, selected for Date with an Agent.
Literary Fiction/ Book Club | Maria Whelan | Muschens Entertainment
Maria Whelan graduated from University College Dublin with a BA in English and Drama, then obtained her Master’s in Literature and Modernity from the University of Edinburgh. Having begun her career in publishing as a Foreign Rights Assistant at Janklow & Nesbit in New York, Maria went on to work as an assistant and agent at Inkwell Management in New York for eight years. Looking for literary and upmarket fiction, Maria has broad tastes covering speculative fiction, horror, magical realism and reimaginings of myths, fairy tales, and folklore. Maria will be meeting with literary and bookclub fiction writers selected for a Date with an Agent at the seminar.
Crime/Thriller | Jade Kavanagh |Darley Anderson
Jade Kavanagh represents a list of thriller, horror and book club authors. Debut novel The Shallows by Holly Craig, her first client, published in September 2023 and became an instant Kindle Bestseller across the US, UK and Australia. Since then, Jade has had a run of debut deals in addition to re-invigorating backlist authors. Jade will be meeting with the selected crime and thriller writers.
Memoir/Historical Fiction | Isobel Dixon |Blake Friedmann
Isobel Dixon’s interests are wide-ranging, and her clients’ work includes contemporary, historical and literary fiction, crime and thrillers, memoir, biography and narrative history. She represents writers from around the world, among them Sunday Times and New York Times bestsellers and international prize winners. An internationally published poet, Isobel will be meeting with writers of memoir and historical fiction during the seminar.
Women’s Fiction | Shanika Hyslop | Madeleine Milburn
Shanika Hyslop enjoys working closely with her authors editorially and is particularly keen to find authors who want to build a long-term career in writing. Throughout her career, she has worked with numerous bestselling and award-winning authors, including Gillian Anderson ( Want ), Bonnie Garmus ( Lessons in Chemistry ), Ann Patchett ( Tom Lake ), Emilia Hart ( Weyward ), Maggie O’Farrell ( Hamnet ), Abi Daré ( The Girl with the Louding Voice ), and Claire Keegan ( Small Things Like These ), among many others. Shanika will be meeting with the Women’s Fiction writers selected for Date With an Agent at the Insiders’ Guide to Publishing Seminar.