Overview
I've been working in publishing since 2013, when I started as Editorial Services Assistant at Pan Macmillan London, working on copy-edits and proofreads and specializing in the SFF-focussed Tor list. I worked with authors such as Adrian Tchaikovsky, Genevieve Cogman, and Jay Kristoff.
In 2015 I was hired as Junior Editor at YA and MG fiction publisher Chicken House – over the following eight years I was promoted through Editor to Senior Editor, ultimately acquiring for the list across multiple genres. Titles I worked on included Costa Book Award-winning Asha and the Spirit Bird by Jasbinder Bilan and bestselling Tin by Pádraig Kenny, which reached no. 11 on the Times children's bestseller chart. The below portfolio contains a selection of the titles I worked on while at Chicken House.
In 2023, I moved to the US and switched careers into literary agenting. I represented both adult and children’s fiction and select non-fiction for The Bindery Agency and sold titles in both the US and the UK. In my top deal, I closed a six-figure, 48-hour pre-empt for an epic fantasy triology launching with PRH UK in 2025. I worked closely with all my clients to develop their manuscripts for submission, continuing to use my editorial skills throughout my time as an agent.
I left that job in July 2024 and am now freelancing while I seek my next step in the publishing world.
Lastly, I have three YA novels out with Bloomsbury UK – fantasies We Are Blood and Thunder and We Are Bound by Stars, and horror/thriller Let’s Play Murder.
I hope to bring my mutlifacted, 11-year experience to bear on every project - I have a commercial eye, an exceptional understanding of what publishing involves, and a passion for helping writers develop their craft.
Services
Fiction
Languages
Awards
- Longlisted for the Branford Boase Award 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022
- Shortlisted for the Trailblazer Award (London Book Fair) 2017
Certifications
- Copyediting, Rewriting and Substantive Editing (Publishing Training Centre, London)
- Advanced Proofreading (Publishing Training Centre, London)
Work experience
Self-Employed
Working on freelance editorial projects for a variety of clients including publishers Bonnier and Chicken House and writing organizations Writers & Artists and Jericho Writers while I seek my next opportunity in publishing.
The Bindery Agency
Seeking and signing outstanding literary talent, building a diverse list of 19 authors across middle-grade, YA and adult fiction and adult non-fiction.
Building valuable contacts with international and film/TV agents to benefit my authors and the agency.
Successfully pitching, negotiating and selling projects to publishers including deals with three of the Big Five, generating advances worth $300k in first year of agenting across YA and adult.
Freelance
Structural and line-editing MG/YA fiction, initially finishing off my ongoing Chicken House projects. Reading children's submissions for a top London scouting agency.
Chicken House
Promoted from Junior Editor to Editor (2014) to Senior Editor (2019). Responsible for the editorial of half of Chicken House’s list, I acquired new titles, planned for the development of my authors’ careers and worked on approximately 15 children’s fiction titles per year, ranging in age-group from 7+ to Young Adult. I worked on bestselling Tin by Padraig Kenny and Costa-winning and Waterstones-shortlisted Jasbinder Bilan's first four novels. Managed the Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition, the largest competition for children's writers in the UK.
Pan Macmillan
Project-managing a portion of Pan Macmillan’s adult trade fiction list from copy-edits through to finalisation, particularly focussing on Tor (SFF) titles. Fully trained in proofreading and copy-editing.
Portfolio
Kesia has 2 reviews
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Di B.
Nov, 2024
Stuart W.
Sep, 2024
