Success stories
Our writers go on to publishing contracts with major publishers.

Orion, an imprint of Hachette, will publish a second novel by The Novelry graduate, Rebecca Ley.

Rebecca says: “The Novelry’s writing courses are unique—intelligent, surprising, more than a little magical—and I can’t recommend them highly enough. The lessons enabled me to tap into my subconscious in a way that no other writing course had. The result was my debut novel, For When I’m Gone, which was published by Orion Fiction.

“While working on my second book I returned for another course, which was also superb, and invaluable in terms of understanding archetypes and the ingredients for a spellbinding plot. The course rewires your writing brain—suddenly, completing a manuscript seems manageable. Combine this with astute advice from incredible writer Louise Dean and I can’t imagine a better head start in this particular creative process. You can even do it all in your pyjamas, should you want—what could be better!”

Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House in the U.S., and The Borough Press, an imprint of HarperCollins in the U.K., has acquired the debut novel by The Novelry graduate, Rosie Storey.

TV rights to adapt the novel have also been snapped up by See-Saw Films, a production company with BAFTA, Emmy, and Oscar wins.

Dandelion is Dead follows Poppy, who, in the throes of grief, responds to a match on her dead sister’s dating app. But when she meets up with Jake, the attractive stranger—who thinks she’s her dead sister, Dandelion—their chemistry is undeniable, and the lies quickly spiral out of hand...

Rosie was introduced to her agent Jemima Forrester at DHA through The Novelry’s bespoke submission service.

Rosie says: “My plan after completing The Novelry program was to approach literary agents, so I was thrilled when The Novelry made these introductions. As someone who has been writing for many years, I’m used to my fair share of rejections; I was absolutely delighted (and surprised) to have the opportunity to meet a number of great agents very quickly. I couldn’t have hoped for a better experience. Thank you so much to Josie and The Novelry—I really felt part of a team.”

Shylashri Shankar, a graduate of The Novelry, has signed a three-book publishing deal with Canelo Crime.

Blood Caste is an atmospheric upmarket historical crime fiction novel set in nineteenth-century India under the British Raj. Rivalries flare between an outcast Brahmin detective and a prickly English inspector when they must join forces to find a Jack the Ripper copycat in 1895 Hyderabad. Blood Caste will appeal to everyone who has devoured books by Abir Mukherjee, Sujata Massey, and Elly Griffiths.

Shylashri was introduced to her literary agent James Wills at Watson, Little through The Novelry’s bespoke submission service.

An earlier draft of Blood Caste won the 2022 Spotlight First Novel Award, and was also longlisted for the 2022 CWA Debut Dagger. Shylashri is a researcher based in New Delhi, and won the AutHer Award for Best Non-Fiction 2021 for Turmeric Nation: A Passage Through India’s Tastes. She has also published three academic books, and reviews crime fiction for a national magazine in India.

Pushkin Children’s Press has published four middle-grade fiction novels by The Novelry graduate Susie Bower, as well as two books for younger readers.

Susie was introduced to her agent at literary agency Peters Fraser and Dunlop (PFD) through The Novelry’s bespoke submission service.

Susie says: “I joined the amazing online writing community The Novelry. Up until then, I’d only written full-length fiction for adults but had got to the point where I’d lost momentum and couldn’t finish anything. I wailed to Louise at The Novelry that I had no ideas and she assured me that after the first week of The Novelry courses, I’d have something. She was right. I waited 66 years to get an agent. It was worth it.”

Theo Clarke’s memoir Breaking the Taboo is an instant Top 20 non-fiction bestseller!

Biteback Publishing acquired the first book by The Novelry graduate, Theo Clarke. Breaking the Taboo: Why We Need to Talk About Birth Trauma, which The Times described as “a shocking book exposing Britain’s maternity crisis,” and the Daily Mail called “a shattering story of giving birth in Britain today,” received widespread coverage in national news and was picked as Book of the Day by New Statesman.

Theo says: “I used The Novelry courses to write 100,000 words in six months. As I progressed through the classes, I realized how important structure was to writing my story down. I found it so helpful to be given advice such as thinking of myself as the ’past you’—more like the main character in fiction. For the first time, having never been a plotter before, I finally sat down and wrote out a chapter list.

“The Novelry helped me realise that I wasn’t writing my whole story down but only a portion of it. In my case, this was the moment I suffered a traumatic birth while elected as an MP in one of the most turbulent moments in recent British history—with three Prime Ministers and the death of the Queen.

“I started to think seriously about story arc and what was the change I had undergone. I began writing my memoir about being one of the few MPs to have had a baby while elected, but I ended up sharing how vulnerability became a strength—and revealing in much more detail than I had planned the trauma of giving birth to my daughter. I realised on the course that my memoir wasn’t about me, but about what I had learnt from my experience to help others recover from their birth trauma and feel less alone.

“I found the practical exercises particularly helpful, such as sketching out a timeline with key events and using old photographs on my phone to prompt ideas and write them down. Writing a book can be a lonely job, so I also enjoyed connecting with other writers by joining the workshops. Having done other writing courses, I would recommend The Novelry as the course that helped me get my published book over the line—so thank you!”

Boldwood Books have published three novels by The Novelry graduate T.J. Emerson.

Tracey says: “These creative writing courses have changed my writing life. Within a short time of starting the lessons, I had my idea sorted and ninety days later I had my first draft. After taking the editing course and taking advantage of all the wonderful author chats and workshops offered by The Novelry, I secured a two-book deal, and it has been optioned for development into a six-part TV series.”

Cassie and Megan Siechert have signed with agent Keifer Ludwig at Bookends Literary Agency for their co-written debut novel, Kill Her Story.

‍In Kill Her Story, Mexican-American scholarship student Harper Gomez runs an anonymous gossip blog exposing the secrets of her wealthy classmates. But when her best friend is murdered and all signs point the untouchable Carrington family, Harper teams up with the first boy to break her heart to take them down — but, in a small town, there are always people willing to kill to keep secrets buried.

The sisters are graduates of The Novelry and were introduced to their agent at Bookends through The Novelry’s bespoke submission service.

Cassie and Megan say: “We joined The Novelry after secretly dreaming for years of becoming authors. We had written a lot of books before, but we had a new idea that we were so excited for that we wanted to do everything we could to make it succeed.

“With The Novelry, we got such great feedback and encouragement from Simran and Krystle that helped bring our writing to a level we never could have imagined. Now we’re signed with our fantastic literary agent, we’re ready to take everything we learned from The Novelry and continue our dream of writing!”

Claire L Gordon, a graduate of The Novelry, has signed with literary agent Emily Talbot at United Agents after being announced as the winner of the 2026 Rooker Prize.

The Rooker Prize is a story-opening competition launched at Lewes Football Club in 2022 and sponsored by Hachette UK, for the first 400 words of a middle-grade fantasy.

Claire says: “It was November 2024 and I had never written anything longer than a picture book and never believed that I could.“My husband was studying for his second masters and I was jealous. REALLY jealous. But with three young children, there was no way a masters was on the cards for me. Then, while browsing university courses (torturing myself on what could have been), I came across The Novelry. It only took a few days of research to decide this is what I needed - a flexible, expert-led course which could teach me how to write a children's novel.

“The Novelry did not disappoint. I internalised every bit of advice given to me by Piers on our coaching calls, reflected on areas for development after feedback from Simran and spent hours watching the workshops on catch up while folding mountains of washing.

“The coaches and editors became the voices inside my head as I schemed, plotted, wrote and edited. Against all good advice, by early 2026 I was writing/editing three books simultaneously - one chapter book, one lower-middle grade and one middle-grade that I had written with The Novelry.

“I never actually ended up querying in the traditional sense as I won two writing competitions and had agents reaching out to me. Obviously this was a dream scenario which I would never have achieved without studying and learning the craft with The Novelry.

“My agent and I will be working on my newest middle-grade together (and yes that does make this book number four).“Without a doubt I am proof that The Novelry really does grow writers. Thank you to the whole team, I would never have got here without you."

Clare Barnett Huerta, a graduate of The Novelry, has signed with literary agent Chris Bucci at Aevitas Creative Management.

Set in 1923, Clare’s historical crime novel The Finest follows an ambitious young policewoman in New York’s first and only all-female precinct, as she risks her career to prove her friend’s husband innocent of murder. Inspired by real-life detective Isabella Goodwin and the short-lived Women’s Precinct, this will appeal to fans of Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs series and Ray Celestin’s City Blues quartet.

Clare was introduced to her agent through The Novelry’s bespoke submission service.

Clare says: “The classes gave me the structure, motivation, and confidence to complete my manuscript. Having the support and guidance of accomplished publishing professionals was invaluable at every step. Writing coaches Emylia and Anna gave me insightful feedback on plotting and characters. Editors Tash and Josie helped my submission package shine and introduced me to my agent. I’d recommend The Novelry to any novelist pursuing traditional publishing.”

Connor Martini, a graduate of The Novelry, has signed with literary agent Jamie Cowen at The Ampersand Agency for his debut novel, Pale Red Dot, an adult science fiction adventure on Mars that explores history, memory and guilt, with a queer romance subplot.

Connor says: “My experience with The Novelry can only be described as transformative—they helped turn my story into a book, and turned me from a hobbyist into a writer. My coaches were invaluable—they were the perfect mix of encouraging and critical, and everyone at The Novelry was engaged in my work and clearly invested in my success. The course equipped me with a set of tools that I know I will use throughout my writing career. I am so deeply grateful to The Novelry for their support and guidance; I would recommend any aspiring writer wanting to take their work to the next level to work with them with absolutely no reservations.”

Daisy Carrington, a graduate of The Novelry, has signed with literary agent Nicole Cunningham at The Book Group for Homewrecker, a book-club thriller in which a scorned wife finds solace in an angry internet community—until one of her followers decides to take matters into her own hands.

Daisy was introduced to her agent through The Novelry’s bespoke submission service.

Daisy says: “Over the years, I started and abandoned many novels. After hitting a milestone birthday (I won’t say which one), I decided I didn’t want to look back on my life with regret for never at least trying to fulfil my literary ambitions. I decided to search in earnest for a writing course that would teach me the structure to write (and finish) one of my many book ideas. I discovered The Novelry after a Google search, returning to the home page repeatedly over a month-long period where I debated signing up. I’m so glad I did! The team has been fantastic—helping me through writing humps and plot holes, and getting me to where I am today, which is represented by a fantastic agent who shares my vision for my future career. I couldn’t be more thrilled with the support of the amazing coaches and editors at The Novelry, especially Tash, whose encouragement, thoughtful feedback and industry expertise made navigating revisions and the submission process a joy.”

Danielle Cahill, a graduate of The Novelry, won the Caledonia Novel Award 2024 with her novel Trad Wives and signed with literary agent Ariella Feiner at United Agents. The novel also won the BPA Pitch Prize and was longlisted for the Bath Novel Award.

Emily James, a graduate of The Novelry, has signed with literary agent Kiya Evans at Mushens Entertainment.

Emily says: “Working with The Novelry as part of the Octopus Scheme for underrepresented writers was such a fantastic support as I worked on my novel. It was so encouraging to have the whole team believe in me and my writing, both during my one-to-one coaching sessions and our Octopus Scheme catch-ups, and so lovely to have The Novelry team cheer me on when I signed with my agent. It’s also been fantastic to get to know the other writers on the scheme with me, and I can’t wait to hear what comes next for them! Thank you so much to everyone at The Novelry for being such a huge part of my writing journey.”

Emily Want, a graduate of The Novelry, has signed with literary agent Kate Rizzo at Greene & Heaton for her debut romance novel, The Summer I Found You.

Set on an idyllic Canadian island and featuring the electric will-they-won’t-they love story between an aspiring novelist and a handsome architect, it pairs the small-town feel and romantic lakeside setting of Carley Fortune’s novels with the humour and emotional depth of writers like Emily Henry and Mhairi McFarlane.

Emily was introduced to her agent at Greene & Heaton through The Novelry’s direct submission service.

Emily says: “I am so thankful to The Novelry for their support in getting me to this point in my writing journey. I’ve enjoyed countless one-on-one sessions, workshops, and author interviews as part of my membership, and I’ve been continually impressed by the entire team’s kindness and professionalism. I owe particular thanks to Gina Sorell for her enthusiasm and humour during our coaching sessions, and the editorial dream team of Nic Caws and Emily Kitchin for their detailed and thoughtful feedback. Emily’s expertise and cheerleading throughout the query process was invaluable, and I’m beyond delighted that The Novelry’s submission service has led to me finding representation with the fabulous Kate Rizzo and her lovely team at Greene & Heaton.

“I look forward to remaining part of The Novelry community and would encourage any aspiring writers who are considering joining to take the plunge!”