NOTE: Calidris Literary Agency does not charge a reading fee.

Submission Guidelines

First, a point on the etiquette of multiple submissions

Please note that it is perfectly acceptable to make multiple submissions to agents and publishers, but as a matter of courtesy you should state this at the outset. Also please understand that I am a sole agent and I may spend several days reading a manuscript and making notes of queries and suggestions. If I then make an offer of representation and find that the author has signed with another agent I have completely wasted my time and I am upset and unhappy, not to mention disappointed.
An example: an interesting (and publishable) non-fiction manuscript came to me with an ‘urgent’ note from the author. When I asked if he’d submitted to other agents he said yes but we then agreed (at least I thought we agreed) that in exchange for a quick response by a mutually agreed deadline, I would have first option. Two days before that deadline he emailed to say he’d accepted an offer from another agent. Well, it’s a small world. I know that agent so I contacted her to tell her what had happened. The author had not told her that he’d sent his work to other agents so we were both deeply unimpressed.

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Please send a preliminary email or phone before submitting work to ensure that it will be of interest to the agency.
Calidris does not accept sci-fi, speculative fiction, fantasy, children’s books, screenplays or poetry.
Submissions by email only and please include the following:

• First three chapters only and a one-page synopsis (MS Word doc, not PDF). Name the file with the title of  your work.
• A Table of Contents (for non-fiction)
• Market analysis including target readership and list of competing or comparable titles, if applicable
• Relevant biographical details including any previous publications
• All pages should be numbered
• N.B. Please state whether your manuscript has been submitted to other agents or is currently under consideration by a publisher. (See above note on multiple submissions)
• If the manuscript has been professionally assessed please include a copy of the report.

All submissions are acknowledged via email on receipt and an estimate of response time given.