Hannah Sheppard Literary Agency launches
Posted on 14th March, 2023
Press release: for immediate release on 14 March 2023
HANNAH SHEPPARD ESTABLISHES THE HANNAH SHEPPARD LITERARY AGENCY WITH A FOCUS ON BRINGING DOWN BARRIERS TO ENTRY FOR AUTHORS
Hannah Sheppard is launching the Hannah Sheppard Literary Agency (HS-LA), a boutique agency with a focus primarily on commercial adult fiction and children’s fiction from middle grade through to YA. With her departure from DHH Literary Agency, the Hannah Sheppard Literary Agency will be opening to submissions from today, 14 March 2023.
While at DHH, Hannah worked with authors Dee Benson, Sarah Bonner, Abi Elphinstone, and Chris McGeorge amongst others, and will continue to represent the majority of her client list at her new agency. With HS-LA she is aiming to consciously build a community of authors who celebrate diverse and joyful representation and also commits to opening the agency’s virtual doors to aspiring authors for a monthly zoom drop-in to help demystify publishing.
Hannah says:
“I have spent the last few years thinking about publishing and my privilege within it and how best to use that to increase inclusivity and open the doors to more authors. I’m proud to have been part of the DHH initiatives to welcome a broader range of voices and it’s great to see the wider industry starting to think more openly too. Personally, as I’ve listened to the conversations that are taking place, particularly among hopeful authors from underrepresented backgrounds about how impenetrable publishing feels and how agents often seem intimidating, I’ve had a growing sense that I could experiment with doing things differently. I’m excited to launch my agency with that eye on change and openness at the centre of its creation.”
“Leaving DHH was the hardest part of this decision, but it has always been my dream to start – and to fully steer the focus, direction, and impact of – my own agency. I am hugely appreciative of David Headley for the opportunity he gave me when he invited me to join DHH back in 2013 and for his mentoring and wisdom over the last ten years. Working with the talented DHH team has been such a pleasure and I couldn’t be more grateful for their friendship and support as I take on this new chapter and launch my own agency.”
Hannah Sheppard studied English Literature at the University of Liverpool. She has worked in publishing for twenty years – she started her career in house in editorial, at Macmillan Children’s Books and then Headline Publishing Group where she published Tanya Byrne’s critically acclaimed Heart-Shaped Bruise. In 2013 she moved to agenting with the DHH Literary Agency and after ten happy years there is launching her own agency.