London Writers' Salon

Literary agents Madeleine Milburn, founder of an award-winning agency, Abigail Bergstrom, writer and publishing consultant, and Juliet Mushens, strategist for bestselling authors, reveal what happens after an agent says yes. They explore finding a unique creative lens, building an author brand, judging publisher enthusiasm, choosing passion over the biggest advance, navigating rejection, and reinventing a career when a book doesn’t sell.

Dawn O’Porter, bestselling novelist, memoirist and broadcaster, discusses finding confidence through writing and why the page remains her most loyal creative relationship. She explores drafting without rigid plans, bringing characters to life, writing honestly for young readers, and turning food into the structure of Hungry Eyes. She also reflects on memoir, creative community, sustainable routines and defining success beyond money.

Sarah Gilbert, Lulu’s Public Relations Manager with 16+ years in publishing, shares practical publicity guidance for indie authors. Learn how to think like a publicist, shape a reader-focused pitch, build a targeted media list, and use press releases to clarify your book’s story. She also explores local coverage, grassroots momentum, launch timing, media kits, backlist promotion, and avoiding PR scams.

Joanna Penn, bestselling thriller author and creative entrepreneur; Orna Ross, award-winning author and Alliance of Independent Authors founder; and Eleanor Anstruther, novelist and Substack literary creator, explore the indie author path. They discuss owning rights, choosing traditional deals strategically, mastering publishing’s seven processes, marketing without outsourcing too soon, and paying yourself first. Eleanor shares how serialising a finished novel on Substack can build confidence, community, and a distinctive creative ecosystem.

Emma Gannon, Sunday Times bestselling author of Olive and A Creative Compass, explores recovering from burnout through play, trusting creative intuition, and redefining success on her own terms. She shares the messy birth of Table for One, her squirrel-like approach to gathering ideas, the quiet power of everyday creativity, and the realities of self-publishing, ownership, and artistic integrity.

Anthony Anaxagorou, a British-Cypriot poet, publisher, and educator, explores returning to writing, surviving rejection, and escaping the trap of prize culture. He discusses restless creativity, repeated revision, and finding poems through listening. The conversation also tackles poetry’s loaded idea of accessibility, pushing language without losing readers, turning literal experience into layered truth, and building a more inclusive literary community.

Marti Leimbach is a bestselling novelist, Oxford creative-writing teacher, and author of Dying Young, adapted into a Julia Roberts film. She recalls sudden success and returning to the blank page. They explore character-led discovery, revising oversized drafts, protecting a writer’s relationship with the page, turning difficult experiences into fiction, and why self-doubt may signal talent.

Laura Palmer, an editor and publishing executive who helped discover Stieg Larsson, and Jessie Sullivan, a performance-led publishing marketer with £8m in attributed revenue, reveal how Pellerin Books finds the right readers. They explore market research, smarter ad spending, vanity metrics, covers and editing, authentic social media, subscription reading, AI search, and why great writing remains the ultimate marketing strategy.

Lily King, the award-winning novelist behind Euphoria and Writers & Lovers, discusses the emotional arc of a novel, the scenes writers avoid, and finding a stalled book’s missing engine. She explores women and literary ambition, silencing self-criticism, writing from personal experience, notebook-based routines, useful criticism, and the patience required to finish a first novel.

Rachel Mann, a CAA literary agent and former editor who represents fiction and some non-fiction across adult, YA and middle-grade. She discusses what creates a physical, electrifying response to writing. She talks about navigating submissions, managing multiple requests and timing, why cutting often improves prose, and how platform and market realities shape representation.