Who I am

I have worked as an editorial consultant, both freelance and with the Andrew Nurnberg Agency, for eleven years, and read and reported on manuscripts for The Literary Consultancy for nine. In that time, I’ve helped many writers refine their manuscripts to readiness, and move on to the excitement of submission, representation and publication. I’ve also helped clients deal with the painful realisation that their current book may be a training effort, and enabled them to get the maximum of useful experience and knowledge from the process.

With my other hat on, I’m a children’s literature critic, reviewing and writing on trends in children’s and Young Adult publishing for The Times Literary Supplement, The Guardian and The Metro.   I also review for other publications, including the glorious Books for Keeps, the UK’s leading independent children’s magazine. This means my understanding of the market is always current, and I have comprehensive knowledge of both classic and contemporary children’s literature to draw on (I sometimes review adult titles too, particularly memoir, horror, thrillers and literary fiction.)  

Until December 2020, I was part of Team Down the Rabbit Hole, a radio show about children’s books broadcast monthly on Resonance FM – you can listen to episodes here: http://dtrhradio.com/episodes/. Other broadcast experience includes Women’s Hour, The Today Programme and Sky News.

I have chaired panels at literary festivals including Oxford, Cheltenham, Greenwich and YALC, and judged prizes including the YA Book Prize, the CLiPPA Poetry Award, the British Book Awards, the Branford Boase and the Costa children’s book award.

I have written several non-fiction books for children and am currently working on my second collection of poetry for adults. My first book, a non-fiction guide to the UK for 5- to 8-year-old readers (or anyone who loves trivia about sweets and silly place names) is published by Ladybird in August 2019. You can order it here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/312/312131/the-big-book-of-the-uk/9780241382608.html 

My first poetry collection, The Women Left Behind, is illustrated by the award-winning Chris Riddell, and published by Dempsey and Windle. You can order it here: https://www.dempseyandwindle.com/imogen-russell-williams.html